Casa Dryllig
Calpe, Costa Blanca
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE "DRYLLIG" AND WHERE DOES THE NAME COME FROM?
Dryllig is pronounced Drill-ig, with the emphasis on the first syllable. It comes from a nickname between my sister and me, which dates back to the early 70s - the origins are lost in time!
2 COUPLES
If you are a party that includes two couples, you are in luck! Casa Dryllig is perfect for you as there are two double bedrooms, both with superking-sized (6ft wide) beds. The reason for this is that we often holiday with other couples, and we have always found that in order to get accommodation with two decent doubles, we had to rent a very large (and very expensive) villa. We thought we might fill a little “gap in the market”!
LOCAL PLACES TO EAT
In terms of eating out, Casa Dryllig is very well located, with several bars/restaurants within a couple of minutes easy walking distance. At the commercial centre at the top of the lane you will find a brilliant Italian restaurant called Madisa, which sells lovely pizzas and pasta. A few yards further on there is a great value “all you can eat” Japanese and Asian restaurant. There is also an open air bar called Bar Grizzlys, which serves lots of bar snacks including steaks, burgers, salads, baguettes, pasta, etc, and if you fancy a 15 minute stroll along the beautiful rocky coast, you will reach a bar and restaurant with panoramic views across to the Penon d’Ifach (the big rock). Please see Trip Advisor for lots of customer feedback and to find different options.
WELCOME PACK
We offer the option of a welcome pack (we charge £12) which will provide you with the essentials for a drink and a sandwich. If you would like this, can you give me your choices from the following:
Bread, Milk, Water (included in all packs)
Choice of: Butter OR other spread, eg flora, etc
Choice of: Ham OR Cheese
Choice of: Tea OR Coffee
Choice of: Red wine OR White wine OR Beer OR Soft drinks
WIFI
We have a good wifi service at Casa Dryllig. The router is located in the lounge, and the signal is available throughout the villa.
TELEVISION
We have satellite television and a 32 inch tv. We receive all major terrestrial channels (BBC 1-4, ITV 1-4, Ch4/5) and many more.
NEAREST SUPERMARKET
There are two large supermarkets just 1km from the villa, a Mercadona and a Consum, with easy parking. Both are large and bright and compare well with major supermarkets in the UK. There is also a small “supermercado” (a bit like a small community supermarket), which is about 2km from the villa. It has easy parking and a good range of basic food and drink, including several “English” products like English tea, Lurpak, Marmite etc. Directions are provided at the villa.
DISTANCE TO BEACH
The villa is approximately ½ km from the coastline, which is a rocky cove with a lovely coastal path. The nearest sandy beach is around 1km from the villa, which is an easy walk, but probably best to drive if you have lots of beach toys, parasols, etc.
THE POOL
The pool is 12m x 6m, which is considerably larger than most private pools, and just short of half the length of most leisure centre pools. It is 2m deep at the deep end, and 1m deep at the shallow end. This means that it is very good for "proper" swimming. When we go there I always try to do a mile a day, just to ward off some of the beer calories!
When the pool is heated (not during the hottest months, but included in the price outside of low season), we heat the pool to 28-29 degrees c (82-84 degrees f) and we always arrange for the heating to be turned on 10 days prior to your arrival to ensure that it is up to temperature.
PRIVATE POOL AREA
The back garden is very private, and is completely screened on two sides. The villa at the end of the garden can overlook the pool area, but it is owned by a German family who are rarely there, and their main living area is on the other (south) side. I have no problem going topless there, and feel completely private - or is that too much information??
DISTANCE TO CALPE TOWN
It is around 3km (just under 2 miles) from the villa to Calpe centre, and is a fairly easy and flat walk. We have never actually done this journey on foot, but I think it would take around 30-40 minutes.
WHERE EXACTLY IS CASA DRYLLIG?
The address of Casa Dryllig is: 10k Los Pinos, Calpe, Alicante, 03710. If you are describing the location to someone who is familiar with Calpe, it is on the road between Calpe and Moraira, near to Bar Grizzlys.
Google maps (which many taxi drivers use) formats the address as: Grupo Pinos Los Urban 10K, Calpe.
If you have access to Google Earth, you may be interested in seeing the villa from the sky. If so, the coordinates for the star at the centre of our pool are: N 38 39' 29.56" E 0 04' 32.03". You can cut and paste these coordinates in and find the villa.
TRANSFER
All directions assume flights into Alicante Airport, which is around 80 km from the villa, 50-60 minutes depending on traffic (and who is driving!!).
Valencia is approximately 120km away, and the drive would take about 90 minutes.
Although we have never used it, several of our guests have, and have spoken well of a company called Beniconnect, who provide a shuttle service for about €20pp from Alicante Airport to Calpe, but you will need a taxi to take you to the villa.
They also do private taxi hire for around €90 each way, and a minibus or small coach is around €120 each way, which will drop you right at the door.
Please contact them for a firm price. Their web site is: www.beniconnect.com, and the number for English speaking customers is: 01273 037952. The address that you will need to give to Beniconnect is: Grupo Pinos los Urban 10K, Calpe, which is the Google Maps format.
There is also a bus service, and you can find the details of timetables and prices on the web site: www.alsa.es.
CAR HIRE
While the freedom and convenience of a car would enhance your holiday at Casa Dryllig, it is in no way essential. We have had several parties stay there without hiring a car, who have had a very enjoyable time. There are several places to eat out at within easy walking distance, and although the nearest supermarket is a couple of kilometres away, taxis are easy to order for larger shopping trips.
There are several car rental agencies that operate out of Alicante Airport and you can find a selection by using a group agency called Bravo (www.bravocarhire.com). Do check whether the company is based in the terminal or is off-site, whether the fuel policy is full-full or full-empty, and the cost of extras such as a second driver, baby seats, sat nav, etc. If you need any further information on our experience with hiring cars, please feel free to contact me. You may wish to look into a company who we have just discovered at www.insurance4carhire.com. Although you have to leave a large deposit with the car hire company, this insurance will cover you for any deductions. At £42 for a whole year, this is less than many hire companies charge for one week. A car renter at the desk told us about them last time - I really wish we had found them years ago…
We have recently been booking direct with Centauro. They are more expensive, but have a very useful key pick-up system, which means you do not have to queue at the desk, which can take a long time, particularly when busy. The quickest I have managed is 20 minutes from wheels down to driving out of the car park - but it was a quiet time, and passport control was deserted!
A word of warning: Following several years of renting from GOLDCAR, with no major issues, we had a very bad experience last time We were given an extremely damaged car, and then they said that we had been involved in an accident (absolutely not true) and deducted money from our deposit. I realised when I posted an adverse review on Trust Pilot that I was not alone in being ripped off. Their score is abysmal, and I for one will never use them again.
HEALTH CENTRE
The health centre in Calpe is on the other side of Calpe, but is only 5 minutes or so by car. They deal with emergencies as well as other disciplines. You can find more information about it at: http://www.centro-medico.com, although unfortunately, their web site is in Spanish, with no option of an English version. It may be a good idea to pinpoint their location as soon as you arrive in Calpe, just to be on the safe side - hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, etc, etc!
WEATHER
Although Casa Dryllig does not come with a weather guarantee, the average temperatures and sunshine hours are as follows:
Month Max (C) Max (F) Sun hours
January 15 59 6
February 16 61 7
March 18 64 7
April 19 66 9
May 23 73 10
June 27 81 11
July 29 84 12
August 29 84 11
September 27 81 9
October 24 75 7
November 18 64 6
December 16 61 6
Source: holidayweather.com