Klaus H.
First, to be clear, this review is about Villa Mica, not the holiday rental company. At first glance, it seems like a nice house at an affordable price. We were told the pool could be heated so we’d be sure to have water at 25 degrees. Since that would be easy to achieve with our own pool in Germany, we paid the extra 20€ a day for heating, expecting to use what really is a beautiful pool. But the heating didn’t work, so that money was wasted. We asked about it several times and explained the problem, but were told it was because March was unusually cold. That was exactly why we wanted the heater. There had been a storm before we arrived, and the cover couldn’t be put on the pool because it might blow away. We put it on ourselves the morning after we arrived. The water measured 21 degrees then and 23 that evening, so we hoped we’d be able to swim soon. The same thing happened throughout the holiday. The highest temperature we measured was 23 degrees. When I complained, they blamed the weather again. That’s the reason you want a pool heater. You don’t need one when it’s 30 degrees and sunny. The air conditioning heated the house well, but not the bathrooms. In one bathroom, a small electric towel heater was supposed to warm the room, along with the living room AC because the bathroom door opens straight into it. That wasn’t possible in the larger bathroom, and its small heater didn’t work at all. After a few days, they finally brought us a small electric heater. We were told that every house on La Palma only has a 7.5 kW electricity connection and the power gets shut off if you use too much. Good luck in summer, when the AC units have to run at full capacity. There are no shutters on the south-facing windows, so the kitchen and living area get full sun. As for the first photo, some doors had cracks and stuck, making them hard to open. We reported a patch of mold on the main bedroom ceiling right at the start. They blamed the rain, saying houses get damp, but nothing was fixed and nobody apologized. In the kitchen there wasn’t even salt or pepper, which I consider basic. We left sugar, salt, a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and so on for the next guests. There were enough pots, pans, and glasses, though they were fairly basic quality. The road beside the house was another issue. Construction noise was bothersome, even if it may eventually stop, and the traffic noise is definitely there. If you sleep with the window open, cars start waking you in the front bedroom at around 4:30 a.m. Outside, it feels almost like being next to a highway. This is the main road connecting the south and north of the island. We didn’t use the billiard table that looks so impressive in the photos. Some of the cues were broken, and the roof over the table is only a sunshade, so you can’t grill when it rains. For me, it would have been better to spend a little more and enjoy the holiday. The view is definitely 'made to look better in photos.'
