Villa recommendations please please please

[Humblebumbley]

Currently considering a villa holiday but don’t know where to start so does anyone have any villa recommendations?

Looking for 8-10 people. A pool is an absolute must! Would be ideal to be able to walk to beach and some nice places to eat but not totally opposed to hiring cars for one or both of those things. We’d like a couple of days out to mix up the pool days so not completely in the middle of nowhere. Also not more than an hour from the closest airport.

Open to anywhere in Europe really.

I don’t really want to use Airbnb and would happily book an independent villa but the thought of being conned is scaring me slightly, plus there’s just so many potential sites I don’t know where to start!

Please help!

We had a family villa holiday this year, I don't think I ever want to share a pool with strangers again 😂 only six of us though so no use recommending the villa itself!
My mum arranged it and she found the villa on booking.com, which was a good way to browse and compare, but then went onto their own website and booked direct having read good reviews.

We use Solmar Villas. Loads of choice and you can refine your search criteria.

You'll probably need to at least decide on a destination (or maybe 2 so you can compare) before searching for villas, or you'll be overwhelmed!

Sounds like maybe an island would suit? Beach/close to airport? We used to go to Minorca regularly when the kids were little, there are loads of villas to choose from, and you can filter your search for pool, air con etc. Also I found it useful to check out the locations on google earth - it might be near the beach but sometimes the '10 minute walk' is massively uphill!

There are loads of villa sites but some are very pricey! We used to use owners direct.

Scott Williams Villas

and if you want Greece https://ionianestates.com/

Or failing that Simpson Travel should be able to sort you out.

We’ve just used these for a villa in Lanzarote. They have a few different villas in the same complex depending on how many people are going.

playablancavilla.co.uk/

If you are worried about being scammed, use one of the larger, well known companies such as Villa Plus or Solmar.

Or you can search for local independent companies for the location you want to go to, then look up any reviews for them. For instance, we've used Bartle Holidays in the past with great success, but it's very much based in Son Bou, Menorca - although with your description of your needs, this might suit you well

Using Google earth to check surrounding area is a great idea. We had similar situation with a holiday home in the UK which was very open about being a tricky walk to the beach but I underestimated how much so!

Thank you, I’m hoping to get a few recommendations for places people have actually stayed if possible. But also taking on board all the tips and I’ve saved all the recommended sites to search!

You need to check also how to get to shops, even if you eat out the majority of time, you will want to have some food and drinks in the villa. I would recommend hiring 1-2 cars.

If you have smaller children, Majorca is a great island. We loved the east coast, Can Picafort or Port de Pollensa. The stretch of the coast has a shallow beach, clean and sandy and you have buses and you can hire bikes if you really don't want a car for the whole time.

Easy to get from Palma everywhere and it doesn't take too long.

But I find that large villas with a pool and close to shops/restaurants aren't easy to combine, most villas which are 5+ bedrooms are a bit more remote.

Menorca- Binebecca. Very close to the airport. Has a small but good supermarket and a bakery. There are a number of restaurants and Mahon is close.
This company is very reliable.
https://www.redorka.com/en/