A great villa, but beware
Posted by James L
on 18/07/2017
The 6 of us were excited to visit Croatia and spend some time relaxing by the pool, eating locally and of course Barbecuing.
Therefore Villa Klosta in Klostar looked perfect.
Upon arrival, (after a very easy drive from Pula airport) we met Gabbi the villa Rep who showed us around.
The villa itself is a fantastic looking old farmhouse and newer, but almost indistinguishable, larger villa, connected by a terrace area. The whole area is walled and very private.
It is safe to say that all 6 of us were impressed. The facilities were clean and as expected. That is to say, nice, but not luxurious.
The owner appeared, to repeat the introduction to the villa and was very welcoming.
The good and the bad.
The villa does not have enough sunloungers, 4 for a max occupancy of 10.
There are no pool/beach towels provided.
The pool and BBQ area are great, big enough for a gentle swim or pool games. The BBQ is built-in and large enough to accommodate a significant amount of cooking, of which we took full advantage.
The whole villa has aircon, which we were shown upon arrival, and was set to 17c. This was fine for the most part as it was on in most bedrooms and the smaller house most of the time. However, the larger of the 2 villas aircon started to pour water after 2 hours of arrival and was promptly switched off for the remainder of the week. Apparently the max difference between outside and in should be 8c. This fact was not something mentioned by the Rep or owner. If the difference is greater than 8c then it can cause leaks, this is quite a significant point. Particularly as upon arrival the fact it was on 17c was highlighted as a positive!
Deck chairs, the villa had 4. However 2 were broken on arrival, the first had a cut/severed cord that holds the weight and unusable, the 2nd had obviously been broken at some point but this fact hidden, likely by previous residents. It was missing a piece of wood from the right hand side and the second it was sat in collapsed. Both were promptly stored in the utility area and not considered again until we left.
Upon check out an inspection was completed by the owner and villa Rep.
We had broken 2 glasses, not an issue and unfortunately the pool drain plastic had snapped during a game of inflatable volleyball.
We promptly paid in cash for the pool drain, our fault so no issue. None of us mentioned the broken chairs, after all they were broken upon arrival.
This is were the issue began, at the airport, we received a call that we were to be charged for the chairs. Which was totally unacceptable. Gabbi, the Rep was very polite and apologetic and callled us, the owner and her manager. We were told it was us, and there had never been any issues before. After speaking to her manager the made the decision to waive the charge. Correctly and gratefully received.
On the final day, the villa managed to go from a would definitely recommend and rebook to a 'no thanks, we'll find somewhere else next time' a real shame.
Our recommendations are;
1. If you have a rep let them do their job. They are independent and paid to do a job.
2. If the aircon has a limit, highlight this, in detail, the leaks were soaked up and mopped with minutes, but may have stained the tile floor. This is entirely the risk the owner takes by showing people around herself (which was initially great, but soured). If she chooses to do this, she takes responsibility for informing the residents of the nuances or instructions.
3. Beach / pool towels for all residents
4. Mosquito plugs in each room
5. More sun loungers
6. Be careful on inspections, if something is broken it can easily be covered up and then impacts the next residents as in this case, turning a repeat customer into a never again customer!
A wonderful setting and villa in general, spoilt by accusations of damage and statements that we were the first! The pool drain price was instantly known from the top of the owners head, suggesting this has happened before, if not many times. It was also paid instantly, meaning that we would have paid for the chairs, if we had broken them, which we did not.
Side note. Croatia is beautiful and both Porec and Vrsar are definitely worth visiting. Particularly Vrsar for the fishing festivals. Full of life and laughter.
