Villa Isis

The villa is well built, with lots of natural stone, and the pool is pleasant, though smaller than it looks in the photo. The kitchen equipment was very good, with an oven, refrigerator, and more. It’s clear the owner has invested in the place. But there were a lot of problems during our stay, which began Saturday, July 31. The first night, five pool alarms kept us awake, so at 3 a.m. we took the batteries out (*). We told the Billiker agency the next morning, but nothing was done during our rental week. On arrival, the Billiker representative had warned us about low water pressure, saying it was an Entre Deux problem because water comes down from the mountain, is treated in Saint Pierre, then pumped back up. The shower did have only a thin stream, especially upstairs. If someone flushed the toilet while we were showering, we had to keep shampoo on our heads, so we worked out a schedule between the two bathrooms. There was no hot water on Wednesday evening. We reported it Thursday morning, and the agency said we should switch on the electric water heater when there was no sun. It was already switched on, though, and still didn’t work. The pool was freezing on Thursday despite the promised ability to adjust its temperature. The agency said it would send an electrician Friday, the day before we left. Instead, when we got back from the beach on Friday, there was a plumber called by the owner because of a large water bill. He said he’d found and sealed a leak, which explained both the low pressure and why the electric water heater hadn’t tripped. So the issue wasn’t what Billiker had told us. The pool felt warmer too, but we don’t know if that was related to the leak or because Thursday and Friday were sunny while Wednesday was rainy and cold. The owner is building a second villa next door and using water from ours for the builders. There were also lots of smaller frustrations. There’s no air conditioning, which wasn’t a problem in winter when it’s cool, but there’s no heating either, so bring a sweater or even a down jacket. Blankets were missing, so warm pajamas are a good idea. Each of the three bedrooms has a double bed but only one nightstand. There isn’t a fourth bedroom for a seventh person, just a 4m² storage room. The downstairs bathroom has no towel rack, and the one upstairs is tiny. One toilet had no brush, and the other brush came loose when used. Lots of light bulbs were burned out, including the one in the downstairs bathroom mirror, and there was no bedside lamp in the upstairs bedroom. There’s nowhere to hang clothes in that bedroom, even though there’s a huge separate dressing room. There were lots of electric mosquito repellent holders but no refills. We discovered tiger mosquitoes on the first night, and there’s Dengue fever in Réunion. The agency "graciously" provides two rolls of toilet paper even though there are three restrooms. They don’t provide soap "free of charge" for the bathrooms or powder room, so remember to bring your own. ...

Very peaceful and a really nice place. The pool was so cold, though, which was disappointing since we chose it for the "heated pool" feature. It would work well for a family or group of 6-7 people.