No small print
House rules
Villa Paula is a historic property with original artwork, large gardens and things that have been here longer than we have. These rules exist so your stay goes well, and so the house is the same when the next group arrives.
They’re written out in full, with no hidden conditions. If anything isn’t clear, ask before booking.
First things first
Check-in and check-out
Check-in is from 3 pm and check-out by 10 am. These times are strict, because between one check-out and the next check-in there are six hours of work between two people.
You can check in earlier or leave later, subject to availability and at additional cost. Ask in advance and we confirm depending on whether there’s a group the day before or after.
If the group lands early and we can’t bring check-in forward, we store the luggage at no cost so nobody spends the day carrying a suitcase.
How many
Sixteen people, and beyond that it’s a celebration
The capacity of the house is sixteen people, which is also the licence. Those are the people who sleep here and the ones counted as guests.
If anyone else comes, even just for a meal and leaving that night, it stops being a stay and becomes a celebration: it’s arranged in advance and carries a supplement covering wear on the house, insurance and cleaning.
It isn’t a way of charging extra: a meal for thirty leaves the house in a different state from a meal for twelve.
The house
Looking after what’s here
The house is handed over clean and tidy, and we ask that it’s left that way. The rest are specific things we’ve learned over the years.
The wooden furniture
Much of it is natural wood, and sun cream, oil and sugary drinks leave marks that don’t come out. There are tablecloths, mats and trays all over the house: worth using them before putting anything down.
The artwork and the rugs
What’s on the walls is original, and the rugs are handmade. You can live with them: we only ask that you bear it in mind.
The fireplaces
They can be used and the firewood is included, but someone from the house lights them. We’re reachable for that.
Cleaning
The final clean is charged separately and paid at the end of the stay. Additional service during the stay can be requested, at a cost.
Rubbish
Separated into paper and card, plastics, organic and general waste, in the bins by the parking area. In the toilets, only what belongs there.
Damage
Anything broken beyond normal use is down to whoever broke it. There’s an inventory of what’s in the house.
Living together
Sound, smoke and what isn’t allowed
Volume
Music and pool lighting in moderation: normal volume until midnight and half that afterwards. There’s countryside and neighbours around us.
No smoking indoors
Outdoors yes, in the marked areas such as the gallery. Cigarette ends in the ashtray: the Valencian countryside is dry most of the year.
No parties
A celebration by a group staying here is another matter, and it gets arranged. An open party, no.
Drugs
No drugs of any kind are permitted on the property. If it happens, we reserve the right to inform the authorities.
The most important thing on this page
The pool and children
The pool is outdoors, unfenced and uncovered, and it’s more than thirty metres from the house. The installation complies with current regulations, which at that distance from the dwelling don’t require fencing.
There’s no lifeguard. An adult has to be close by and paying attention whenever there are children in the water, and the same goes for anyone who can’t swim. Close by means at the pool, not in the house.
Thirty metres is nothing for a child who sets off walking and a great deal for someone indoors. And in a house full of people it’s easy to assume somebody else is watching: it’s worth deciding on arrival who is watching and when.
It’s the only rule on this page that admits no qualification.
Celebrations
If people come who aren’t staying the night
It’s the most common thing: someone invites family who live nearby for lunch, or friends staying in the city. It’s allowed, and it gets arranged.
It has to be arranged in advance, and then the celebration service applies with its conditions. For the purposes of these rules, a guest is someone who sleeps here, within the capacity of sixteen. Any additional person not sleeping here turns the stay into a celebration.
The group chooses the suppliers: cook, musicians, florist, lighting. There’s no approved list and no minimum per head. We have our own and can arrange everything, but that’s an option and not a condition.
The conditions are set out on the celebrations page, also with no small print.
What we do
House services
Transfers
Arranged from here, with our own drivers and eight-seater vans. They are charged for, by the transport provider, and the price is given before you book.
The garden
Maintained by the estate staff: pruning, mowing and citronella against mosquitoes. If the timing is awkward on a given day, say so and we change it.
First aid
There’s a first-aid kit for minor things. For anything else, we’re reachable at any hour.
Bookings and recommendations
We can help with restaurants and anything else in Valencia. Once your booking is confirmed you can ask for the house manual.
Energy
The house has its own solar power. Making the most of it is simple: don’t leave things on that aren’t being used.
Being reachable
We offer 24/7 support throughout your stay. If something goes wrong, it gets sorted the same day.
Accessibility
If someone in the group has reduced mobility
The house works, and it’s worth saying because almost no historic property does.
A single step
From the parking area to the ground-floor bedrooms there is one single step. If needed, we put ramps in.
Adapted showers
There’s a shower seat and grab rails.
Parking at the door
The car comes right up to the house: no crossing the garden with a suitcase or a wheelchair.
Tell us when you book and we prepare the house accordingly: which bedroom, where to park and whether the ramps are needed. It isn’t paperwork, it’s a two-minute conversation.
Who can come
Nobody here asks who you are
This house is for anyone. We don’t discriminate on grounds of origin, colour, religion, orientation or identity, and we’ve never had a problem with it.
We write it down because anyone who has had a bad experience booking somewhere is glad to read it beforehand, rather than having to find out on arrival.
If anything isn’t clear
Ask beforehand, not afterwards
We’d rather talk it through than have someone discover a condition on arrival. Any question about these rules gets answered on WhatsApp in minutes.
Message us on WhatsApp See the house
villapaula@villapaula.es · +34 635 67 68 88