written by Braylen237 on 27/01/2023
Stayed in Villa Estrella in Playa Blanca. Disgustingly filthy sofas hidden below dirty blankets. Never a good start when you arrive for your holiday. It wasn't finished there with surprises....Broken and damaged patio furniture, damaged coffee table with rust stains, picture hooks with missing pictures, no dining furniture in the dining kitchen...just a big empty space....window blind fittings with missing blinds, broken and damaged fridge, no dressing tables in bedrooms, no mirrors in bedrooms, dangerous pallet style decking with extremely sharp broken sections waiting on an unsuspecting child to impale themselves on it, filthy pool....we thought the place had been burgled it looked so bad. We then realised it was just a horrible villa with stained walls and disgusting furniture that Villa Plus were renting to unsuspecting and trusting customers. The local rep was helpful in telling us there was nothing she could do but that the villa did need 7000 to 8000 euros spent on new furnishings. We think she might be underestimating the work that needs done to this horrible Villa Plus rental
written by Kazbryant100 on 30/10/2022
Absolutely terrible experience.. management feedback very poor.. do not use.. I stayed in a villa in August which was not cleaned to a decent standard.. but more than that our swimming pool turned green after three days due to the filter and pipes broken.. we had no pool use for 2 days whist this was being fixed, due to this I picked up a stomach parasite which meant I had severe upset stomach and sickness on return which I've only just fully recovered from... including two lots of antibiotics and as a side note green hair too..(which I was advised to out tomatoe ketchup in) No grips on the steps getting in so my nephew slipped and hurt his leg. It's been over 2 months since my initial complaint and around 6 emails and I have finally heard back from villa plus advising that they sympathise but take no responsibility . This is disgrace and disgusting especially as I have photos of the issues and have been so unwell. Do not use this company.. we spent over £2.5k and they are awful. Very disappointed.
written by Salazarpv1979 on 21/07/2022
Company disgusting. Gave them a call due to a medical accident happening and asked if we could have a refund due to what had happened. They stated they give no refunds, I then asked them if they could give the money back in a voucher or change the dates of the stay and they said there was nothing they could do, considering we spent A LOT of money for the villa we had rented and due to no fault of our own we were unable to travel. They were absolutely useless didn’t help at all or even give a solution of what they could offer us. I think this is absolutely disgusting the way they treat their customers and if they continue to treat their like this they will end up losing a lot of business. Absolutely DISGUSTING.
written by JamesCroo on 29/06/2022
We have had a two week stay at this lovely, bright, airy and modern Villa which we booked through Villa Plus. The Villa was absolutely spotless on our arrival and the owner has been in twice to change the beds and do what is supposed to be a quick clean. She is marvellous and each time she has been in with her colleague the place has been left immaculate. It’s spotless! Ellani comes to water the plants in the front garden during the evenings and they both clearly have great pride in this Villa. They also own Villa Flora next door which looks immaculate too. The Villa sits back from the quiet road in a small hamlet off the main road near to Maleme. I’d advise anyone visiting to have a car. You could walk or get a taxi to the beach and shops but the weather here is beautifully hot and it’s much easier with a car. There is an electric sliding gate which is wonderful and the button on the house key fob opens and closes it. Although Villa Stratianna is joined on to Villa Flora they are completely separate and each has its own swimming pools. The pool is also spotlessly clean and Stratianna has lovely views to the coast through modern plate glass surrounds around the patio area. There are two balconies upstairs - one is a large balcony with great views and lovely to sit out on in the evening with a bottle of wine. The other is more intimate and more suitable for a quiet couple. The Villa is well furnished and has everything you’d need. A very good washing machine in the upstairs bathroom and a drier rack we put out on the larger balcony. There is a double and twin room upstairs. Both have lovely views. Downstairs there is a large living room with a couple of sofas, dining table (but we are outside on the patio where there’s another table and chairs). There is plenty of crockery and cutlery, pots and pans and an electric kettle and toaster. There is a filter coffee maker which takes ground coffee. There is a big fridge freezer. There is also a portable Bluetooth Akai Loudspeaker for use by the pool and very fast, free WiFi for the Villa. We didn't turn the TV on whilst we have been here - how lovely is that! There is a double bedroom downstairs which overlooks the pool and has opening doors to the terrace. There is very efficient air conditioning in all the rooms (and a quiet setting which you can set on the individual remote control handsets in each room) The aircon goes off if you open the room’s outside door - a sensible thing. The downstairs bathroom has a shower and a loo. My tip is to use the supermarket In Maleme on the main road (go left as you drive to the main road and it’s a few hundred yards long on the right). It’s cheap, clean, modern and a good choice and we found much better than the large German multinational which is nearby but you turn right on the main road and it’s about a mile away) There are no negatives about this Villa. Without a shadow of a doubt I would give it 10 out of 10. They are lovely people. We have had a wonderful two weeks here and we don’t want to go home!
written by bfCrowley248 on 07/10/2021
We had our villa booked since last year and 5 days before we fly out they tell us the villa has been withdrawn. Absolutely no offer of any compensation and if customers cancel within certain time frames they don't hesitate to inflict penalties. Appalling service and we will NEVER use them again and word of mouth will cost them lots of business.We will be telling everyone about our experience with you even our local newspaper and maybe even national. Shame on you Villa Plus - treat customers how you wish to be treated as you will lose a lot of money when this could've been handled so much differently. How about telling us to find alternative accomodation and you would cover the difference if it costs more is the very very least you should be offering. APPALLING SERVICE
Written on: 21/07/2022
We had exactly the same happen to us, they offered us nothing at all, think it is absolutely disgusting when people are spending a lot of money and they can’t even do anything to return to money! Not even a voucher to use again with them!
written by Fiona440 on 07/12/2020
I was a package customer with Villa Plus - ATOL protected - holiday cancelled beginning of September - FCO guidance and also my return flight no longer operating and no available alternatives. Jet 2 immediately refunded for both flights to VP and I was verbally assured by VP that I would be issued with full refund within 14 days. Nothing happened and despite extensive emails, complaints to ABTA, CMA, Resolver and trading standards, all I had back from VP was the usual generic nonsense ' if you have been promised a refund, then you will get this - we don't know when but thank you for your patience'. Well my patience finally ran out and with no sign of any proposed date for a refund after 8 weeks I went down the section 75 route. Although the full amount was back in my credit card account almost immediately, I had to wait 35 days before claiming this back to my current account as VP could 'dispute' this - although why they would when this money was owed to me ? Well, they did nt dispute and I was finally able to claim the full amount back from my credit card last week. During this time I heard nothing from VP aside from further generic emails. So pleased I just did nt sit and wait it out for VP to pull their finger out. Section 75 definitely the way to go as at least I knew I would eventually get my money back. Having holidayed with VP on a number of previous occasions, the disdain and utter contempt they have displayed towards their customers during this pandemic makes me realise they are not a trustworthy or ethical company. Next years holidays with them are villa only - please read their terms and conditions - they are not covered by ATOL/ABTA and you will get absolutely nothing back from them if your holiday is cancelled.
written by Louise13460866 on 23/10/2020
We booked a holiday for 4 to Cyprus on the 23rd of September for a week before the Coronavirus pandemic with Villaplus. We had expected the holiday to be cancelled under the current circumstances however, received an email stating otherwise. This email gave us an ultimatum, pay the outstanding balance in 48 hours or our holiday would be cancelled and we would loose our deposit. We had already been trying to email and phone Villaplus in regards to this holiday with no response in email and to find a recorded message when phoning which said the phone lines had been closed. I feel we were pushed into loosing our deposit as it was impossible to speak to someone at the company especially within the tight 48 hour deadline provided. Our deposit was already high and we were not in a position to lose even more money to the company by paying the remaining balance. In this tight window we tried to find out more ourselves about the tests required to go and seen you need to be showing symptoms to get tested by the NHS. We seen that you can get tested privately but at a cost of £100 upwards per person and the websites confirm the 72 hour turnaround required for holiday makers is not guaranteed so again this could have resulted in our party just loosing even more money. One member of the group has been shielding throughout the pandemic and another is pregnant and therefore travelling unnecessarily for both is a huge health risk. We have tried to explain this to Villa plus who have sent back a standard email not even acknowledging our points and basically telling us to go through our insurance. The way this pandemic has been handled by the company is appalling, they have no regard for the safety of their customers and clearly are only interested in tricking them out of their deposits or as much money as possible. Closing phone lines and ignoring customer emails until after the deposit has been lost shows this is a clear tactic being used by Villa plus to make as much money as they can from customers during these desperate times. We would have been more than happy to have even been offered a credit note for the deposit to use at a later date once things have calmed down but were given no such choice. Instead we have been bullied into a situation where their terms and conditions mean they can pocket our money. I have reported Villaplus to the Govt's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as behaving unfairly during this pandemic and would encourage others in a similar position to do the same.
written by carter2303 on 08/10/2020
I agree with those that have gone before, no communication, never answer the phone but cut you off about 20 mins in to the call. Didn't even have the courtesy of telling us our holiday was cancelled. The website gives the minimum of information and is irrelevant to those of us who are owed money, many of whom like us paid up over a year ago to ensure we get the villa they want. It is tempting to say that the holiday industry has been hit hard, sadly whilst I am sympathetic many of us have been hit hard and will have lost jobs or at the very least have a very uncertain future, and dont forget, this is not their money, they aren't doing us a favour. We have had 3 holidays cancelled this year in total and the response from Jet2 for example is vastly better than Villaplus. As part of our package I was able to book extras with Jet2 direct and I got a refund before the holiday with Villaplus was even due. Truly the worst company I have ever dealt with. I have no faith that I will get a refund unless I contact the credit card company. Head over to trust pilot and notice the ridiculous way they respond to reviews without addressing the actual issues raised in the review.
written by on 05/10/2020
We were put in here when our villa was unavailable at last minute. Villa has lovely garden & pool area. Unfortunately I couldn’t use the pool. Too cold. Villa plus were very good & sent reps & the owner & it was “fixed”. Not in my opinion. We paid a lot for this holiday but only used pool once. Far too cold. Was told couldn’t turn heating higher as water will go green. In kefelonia our pool was beautifully heated could walk straight in. Bed was hard as a rock & pillows too. Need new pillows. Never got a good nights sleep not once. We couldn’t have WiFi for our first 3 days because we were told wrong info & didn’t know the password. A very nice helpful rep helped us out nothing too much for him. They’re not all like this sadly. I’m not putting villa plus down we’ve used them for years & mostly happy with things. Make sure you have both pool table & table tennis if that’s what you want we were without our table tennis twice. Once not even there & once broken. All in all sad about the pool as big part of our holiday but just too cold. Area quite nice. Quiet but near strip. Make sure you go to Johnny Hoopers opposite. Lovely man. Makes you very welcome. Great night out. Sunday afternoon lunch & entertainment by Johnny & his sax. Lovely villa aside from all else.
written by Colincch on 23/09/2020
Please don’t book with this company. Read all the reviews over the last 6 months. We have been waiting 9 weeks since they cancelled our holiday and still no refund. We are amongst many. If you feel like booking with them. Try ringing them. They will not answer the phone and only deal with emails relating to the possibility of banking a new deposit. They have been subject to a pounding by which , castigated on watch dog and if you read all the web sites you will see an obvious pattern. Do not risk your hard earned money. Despicable company
written by Thomas105 on 04/09/2020
DO NOT BOOK WITH VILLA PLUS!!! Discracefull how they have acted through covid. Deliberately uncontactable, closed phone lines and not answered emails. Then we were told we breached our contract. After taking legal action Villa Plus backed down and returned our deposit in full. We have used Villa Plus for years now but will NEVER again!! Hopefully they will not survive this as a company by how they have treated their customers.
written by notquiteretired on 20/08/2020
we have villa only holiday booked for 22/8/20, today is 20/8/20, villa plus havnt sent travel documents but tell us our villa is available to us despite flights off due to travel restrictions, say no refund but we may be offered voucher as good will gesture. We havnt cancelled our booking but have seen our villa same dates aswe paid for resold on booking.com so villaplus, we know our villa is NOT available as you claim, REFUND please
written by 1Cook on 15/08/2020
Our original holiday to Portugal was booked for July but due to Portugal not granted air bridge status was cancelled a week before due date. We immediately booked another holiday to Spain initially being told we could transfer the cost of this to the new booking but was then told this wasn't possible. We paid £8649 for Portugal and then had to pay a further £7596 for the Spanish holiday which was taken one week later than the first holiday was booked !. We did not receive the necessary documentation until 2 days before we flew despite continuously chasing them. We had pre-booked and paid for cars to be collected from Alicante - on arrival despite having the car vouchers Avis told us Villaplus had not put through the booking to them - resulting in a 3 hour wait and extra £1394 cost of hire car. Not great with 4 children under 5 waiting in a hot car park . Avis asked if we could speak to Villaplus so they might sort it out for us but of course they are not answering their phones. I immediately contacted the local rep on arrival at the villa who came and confirmed it would quickly be resolved before we returned home - but it wasn't. Despite chasing him and emailing Villalplus head office whilst we were in Spain. since return I've emailed and written letters to head of customer service without any acknowledgement of any communication. 3 weeks later I am still to hear anything about the car refund and 5 weeks later I am still waiting for a refund. Despite being a very loyal customer over many years booking one or two holidays every year I would never again use this company, Their lack of customer support is appalling and to then email me offers on new 2021 bookings when they haven't dealt with their existing customers issues is not good use of their resources.
written by JonBanks on 03/08/2020
Villaplus is an absolute joke. DO NOT ENGAGE THEM. They falsely advertise their villas. The house is tired, shabby and cheap with a manky pool even our 9 year old didn’t want to swim in. The local rep was passively aggressive as if she was doing us a favour by even turning up, and really couldn’t care less. Her boss was just as unhelpful saying they’d offered us an alternative (except it was just as shabby, built in the 70s. I don’t want anyone falling for their spin. Since taking our first, much needed, holiday with them I would NEVER use them again.
written by JulietteMiller on 10/07/2020
VP took our money for our balance knowing full well that our flights (as part of a package to Crete in September) had been cancelled by TUI. No communication from VP - just an automated email to say if we did nt pay our balance we would forfeit our deposit. So we have now paid for flights that don't exist. OK - VP need to book an alternative for us. Easier said than done. Firstly, you cannot contact them - they will not answer emails/phone calls/social media pleas. You just have to sit tight and wait but in the meantime all the decent alternative flights are being snapped up and prices are rising as they become scarce. You then note on their terms and conditions that a change of carrier/airport or flight time is allowed - anything up to 12 hours difference in flight time is viewed as a minor alteration - no compensation or cancellation - you will lose all your money if you do decide it's not suitable. Furthermore airports are 'grouped' by them so Birmingham is grouped with East Midlands and Doncaster, (the latter airport being some 140 miles from where I live). Again a change of airport to one in this group is viewed as a minor change and you either accept their change or lose all of your money. So when are VP likely to share our mystery travel arrangements with us ? Well according to some posts on facebook and trustpilot,it may be as little as 2 days before we are due to fly. So I am now looking at my original flight time of 7 am from Birmingham being moved to possibly a 6 pm flight theoretically from Doncaster or EM, and my return to Birmingham being moved from 2.30 pm arrival to (again theoretically) Doncaster or EM at stupid o'clock in the morning and I may not be told about this until 2 days before my departure date when further monies may be be demanded or I lose the lot. I cannot believe that VP could treat their customers so shabbily. I just wish now that I had not paid my balance and just taken the hit with the deposit - losing hundreds rather than thousands of pounds. At least I would now be sleeping rather than relentlessly logging onto to airline pages and trying to guesstimate what VP might be considering as an alternative and trying to work out how I get my family to whichever airport they chose.
written by on 09/07/2020
Villa booked and paid for in full in Croatia on 11th July 20 all flights cancelled, contact from Vila plus this week by phone asking if we intended going? I explained no as all flights are cancelled, their reply was that I could drive. According to them as from the 10th Croatia is open for business so it’s not their problem and down to me to go through my insurance leaving me out of pocket, I need a cancellation invoice for this to happen so I requested one, sent a link to request which is the info email address, no further contact via emails I’d social media, now there phones won’t take calls, Villa plus sort it out and look after your customers start taking responsibility and stop using Government legislation as a get out clause, terrible customer service. I will never use again.
written by on 22/06/2020
After using Villa Plus a couple of times I would never use again, I have never come across a company that acts in such a unethical manner towards customers finally after weeks of pressure and Which? magazine writing an article about them they have finally agreed to refund Villa only bookings up to the 28th June. They have constantly changed their minds regarding refunds, balance extensions etc. I would recommend that anyone with a balance to pay pushes really hard for an extension and also before paying any balance ask what the Covid arrangements are. The Mallorcan Tourist Board confirmed that when villas are available to customers the pool will be out of use. Anyone travelling with VP in the future should check Covid precautions that are beginning taken and also what the local restrictions are. The way that this company has treated people has ensured that I will never use them again. Although whether they will be operating in 2021 is debatable as they haven't paid villa owners for over 3 months as confirmed by villa owners on their FB page
written by Elliana252 on 13/06/2020
We booked a villa only trip with Villa Plus to Majorca in May. 2 days before we were due to go (obviously trip wasn’t able to happen because of Corona) their statement on the website was assuring ALL customers they would be receiving a refund and urging them not to contact their very busy (well they do only work 10-4) call centre. Fast forward 2 weeks and we received the first contact we had had from Villa Plus since we paid our balance in May. No refund after all- our fault we couldn’t get there. They made the villa “available” although they didn’t tell us that or send us access details (which meant they breached their contract). Which have written an article on their behaviour (just search online for “Villa Plus refunds” and they are being investigated by the CMA. I urge anyone to think very carefully before booking- can you afford to lose all your money if anything goes wrong?
written by CiaraFletcher384 on 12/06/2020
We had a villa (accommodation only) booked for late May, for 14 family and friends, all from different households. Costing c.£3000 for a week. Then COVID-19 hit. From Mid-March, Villa Plus started telling customers that they would contact us to let us know our options for dealing with bookings. We didn't hear anything. They then stated that Villa Only bookings would be refunded. Again, we were supposed to wait to hear from Villa Plus, and not to contact them as they are too busy to respond to customer contact. We didn't hear anything. Then, from mid-May, they stopped saying Villa Only bookings would be refunded, and began to say that they "would contact Villa Only customers". Again, do not contact them, they will contact us. We didn't hear anything. Our departure date came and went with no contact from Villa Plus. If we emailed or called them we had no answer. We didn't hear anything. Eventually, on the 29th May (the day we were due to return to the UK) Villa Plus emailed us to say that "our Villa was available to us" and although they were sorry we could not get there, we were NOT eligible for a refund. They did not even offer re-scheduling dates or a credit note... just that they were keeping our £3000 for which we received absolutely nothing. Villa Plus never got in touch with us directly to state the Villa was available, or send us access codes or location details (which they state they will do 10-14 days before departure). We didn't hear anything. Despite consumer law being clear that companies should refund for services that the customer could not access, Villa Plus maintain that the Villa was available for use... so they will not refund us. Of course, it was impossible for us to travel to Spain, we could barely travel within the UK... We are also a large group of 14 people, which also broke local Spanish law which maintained no groups larger than 10 could meet together. There is simply no way that this Villa service we paid for was available to us. Villa Plus recently changed their stance and now offer a voucher (why on earth they couldn't have done this straight away, who knows). However, not only have they shaken our trust in them, we're also aware that vouchers are not protected by law in the event the company might go bust. We are eligible for a cash refund. This is a large amount of money, which we need back given the impact on income that members of our group have suffered as a result of lockdown and businesses closing down.
written by Morgans193 on 09/06/2020
We booked and fully paid for a villa-only in Spain for a week in May through Villa Plus , however received no information, despite them having our details, from them regarding the situation re the current global pandemic and how it would impact on our holiday , despite numerous emails and phone calls. Neither did we receive any address details or key access details as promised in their terms and conditions, prior to the commencement date . They are now refusing customer refunds on the basis that it wasn’t their problem that international tourists are banned from entering Spain , and UK residents are unable to travel . Refusing to engage in any correspondence. Having taken legal advice and that of CMA ,we know they are acting illegally, and will pursue the debt owed to us .AVOID THIS UNSCRUPULOUS UNETHICAL COMPANY- there are plenty of other decent operators out there who will not misappropriate your hard earned cash . Shame on you Villa Plus , shame .
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Mill556's Comment
Written on: 21/07/2022
We had exactly the same happen to us, they offered us nothing at all, think it is absolutely disgusting when people are spending a lot of money and they can’t even do anything to return to money! Not even a voucher to use again with them!