GoCosta Villas Cumbres Family Luxe 5

The neighborhood is nice, and from outside the place looks promising, which makes the inside such a shame. It was a mess, with a poor mattress, a sofa in such bad shape that we put its mattress on the floor to avoid the springs, and blankets in the closet that I'm not sure ever get washed. The floors and microwave seemed questionable too, and there weren't enough bowls or cutlery. The website photos are misleading, and the TV is a tiny CRT. Luckily I had bleach with me. I left it cleaner than I found it, so no harm done.

We were six adults and a child, as stated when we booked, but the child didn't have a bed in our room and ended up sleeping with us. There also wasn't enough kitchenware, cleaning supplies, or dishcloths. The cottage itself is spacious and clean, so it was a mixed bag. What really made the stay difficult was the terrace, where rats that seemed used to people kept turning up. We couldn't leave the door or window open with them running around. Customer service wasn't very good either.

The agency couldn't resolve the problem next door, and we ended up leaving a day early without a refund for the lost day. We were two families with four children, expecting a quiet, family-friendly townhouse, but the neighboring place had been rented by another agency to a group of young French people in their twenties. They partied every night until 6 a.m., with additional people coming and going. When we complained, the agency said it wasn't their fault and offered no solution. I wouldn't recommend it. The beds and living room furniture were fine, but the kitchen was poorly equipped: no cutlery, scissors, or cooking utensils. There were eight of us and only six pillows and towels. There wasn't even a welcome kit, dish soap, dishcloth, or scouring pad.

We stayed in room number 55, and I can't say what the others are like. The pool was empty, though we'd been told about that beforehand. Cleaning was basically nonexistent. The blankets were ripped and smelled awful, the towels were dirty, the bathroom smelled disgusting, and the bathtub was broken with green mold. There were only two toilet paper rolls for four people. Check-in at 5 p.m. and check-out at 11 a.m. doesn't feel fair, especially after I'd travelled 3,500 km. You can't make much of your time with those hours.