Playa Blanca, Villa Carlara

On this fourth visit to villa Carlara we were please to see even more improvements to what was already such a well equipped home from home.The pool has been relined with fibreglass and is in excellent condition, comfortably heated and well maintained twice weekly. The gardens are really attractive with new plants having been added since our visit last year. The lounge area is very comfortable with a huge TV that has loads of channels to cater for all tastes. The bedrooms are very comfortable and kitted out with excellent quality bedding. Although there were only two of us, it was obvious that the villa could comfortable cater for 6 people.

There are local shops and restaurants that are just 5 minutes walk away and plentiful enough to be able to allow a stay locally without travelling too far. There is a local bus that runs every 30 minutes to Playa town and taxis from the villa to town cost less that 6 euros each time. The town has the first Leonidas Belgian chocolate shop in the Canaries and we mad full use of it.

We mad use of a grocery delivery service advised by the owner and that worked really well taking the stress out of shopping for our two week stay.

We will definitely try to return to Carlara for a fifth visit.

We spent a glorious ten days at Villa Carlara in what was our first experience in a private villa rental. This was a marked departure from our normal timeshare holidays that we have taken over the past twenty four years and we found it very revealing as to what is real quality. The villa has three bedrooms and was actually too big for the two of us but we like plenty of space.

The first thing we noticed on arrival was that everything was exactly as described on the website we had booked from. It was advertised as 5*, would we agree with that rating – definitely! The whole space was very roomy, light and airy, the garden area was spacious and well kept and the private heated pool looked so inviting. Decoration throughout was fresh and bright.

The kitchen was perhaps over equipped with glassware, tableware for villa and pool area that was of very high quality. It was very well equipped with electrical appliances and had a separate utility area with washing machine and tumble dryer.

The bedrooms were large and well appointed, each looking out on the pool area. The master bedroom that we used had a high vaulted ceiling, a separate dressing area, en suite bathroom, air conditioning, designer bedding and a memory foam mattress that was extremely comfortable and assured us of a good night’s sleep every night. The two other bedrooms had two single beds each, again with air conditioning.

There were two bathrooms and a separate toilet that were very well equipped. One bathroom had a toilet and walk in shower that was very handy for my wife who has mobility problems. The other that was en suite with the main bedroom had a bath, toilet and bidet as well. Each area was spotlessly decorated in marble with really thick luxurious towels provided.

The lounge was again very large with three settees, a very big flat screen TV with many Sky channels, DVD player with a multitude of DVD,s, internet router, X-Box with games and a CD player.

There was also a separate atrium laid out as a dining area that got very hot during the day.

The outside area was where we spent most of our time, mostly under a solid wood canopy that overlooked the pool that was heated at a comfortable 28-31 degrees each day and was cleaned and checked twice a week. There was also a huge dining table with eight solid wood chairs under the canopy as well as a rattan chair, table and settee set, all complete with cushions. The garden had lots of colour mainly from oleanders, bouganvilla and hibiscus that were all in full bloom. A barbecue area was also provided.

While we spent most of our time at the villa just relaxing we did manage two days out in the main town of Playa Blanca where there was a multitude of different shops and restaurants that saw us enjoy a couple of good Tapas meals and a bag of souvenirs. The local area offered a range of restaurants, patisserie, small supermarkets that were quite well stocked and reasonably priced. These were all within five minutes of the villa. There was also a bus stop where the busses run every thirty minutes to the main town for a cost of 1.35 euros. A taxi back from the town cost 5 euros.

We found that correspondence with the owner was very easy and she was extremely helpful and attentive both before and after our holiday. The manager of the property, Jayne, made contact early in the holiday, helped with a few queries we had and offered any support we might need during our stay. Everything was well organised so we had no need to bother them. The pool was cleaned and checked twice weekly and again we found the person who cleaned the pool very helpful and friendly.

Overall it was an excellent holiday in a very well presented villa and we really hope to go back again soon.

We stayed at Ville Carlara over Christmas and New Year 2011. We had a wonderful time at this well maintained villa. The beds were wonderful, better than at home. Everything was in perfect working order. The kitchen and livingroom were wonderful, the paint on the walls was as good as any I´ve seen...

I do not recognize the reviews that were made earlier at all! I read the earlier reviews just before leaving for Lanzarote and they scared the hell out of me. I opend the villa door with a heart pounding very loudly and... what a relief: everything I had hoped for and expected when booking the villa was behind it. Every guest that left a comment in the guestbook was very positive, a lot of people returning.

Perfectly clean, very thick lucious towels, nice Molton Brown soap, a kitchen equipped with everything you might need, TV's/DVD's/Xbox/Wifi all ready and working. I would recommend this villa to anyone!

this villa is made out to be wonderful, well i am sorry but it is not at all luxury!!!!!!!!! maybe the owner would benefit from visiting her villa , we were told she rarely goes near. And you have no chance of getting your deposit back. She makes excuses up that you have caused damage, which is totally untrue. She is a very unpleasant person

We stayed at Villa Carlara Playa Blanca Lanzarote for almost 5 weeks from 3 January 2010. When you live somewhere for a few weeks, you see the flaws more clearly than when staying for just one or two week's holiday trying to cram every activity in. Yes, this is a lovely luxurious villa with everything the photos say, but it could also benefit from some care and attention. For instance, all the walls, inside and out, could do with a coat of paint, many of the doors didn't shut, only one of five solar inside lights worked, the once-attractive artificial flowers were dirty and dusty and the ADSL internet connection advertised is in fact 3G wireless with poor reception. The glass atrium, absolutely brilliant on cool January days, leaks when it rains and the inside walls have orange and grey streaks from top to bottom as evidence of previous rain storms.

Now, we know that Lanzarote is a sub tropical island and cockroaches, ants, mosquitoes etc are commonplace; we have been renting villas on a long-stay basis on the island for quite a few years now. So, did we have an infestation of cockroaches at Villa Carlara, or were we just unlucky that the street drains were fumigated when we were there? We don't know, but it was certainly the two live cockroaches in our bed that brought matters to a head. Having discussed it at length (as you can imagine), we believe they had used the lovely floor-trailing Ralph Lauren bed valance as a climbing frame. Under the bed and in the folds of the valance had proved to be a favourite hiding place for cockroaches in previous days.

Regretfully we spent the last few days of our Lanzarote holiday in a local hotel.