Villas, gites, cottages, hotels, apartments, what's the difference

Villa holidays have become increasingly recognized as a superior type of holiday as standards of villa accommodation have risen throughout the world to reflect expectations of villa holidaymakers.

The fundamental distinction which sets villa holiday accommodation apart from hotels and apartments and camping holidays is the privacy a villa offers. Your facilities are yours alone so you don’t run the risk of having other people making a noise such as banging hotel doors at night or intruding on your facilities such as taking all the sun-loungers by the pool. When we select our villas we also take things a step further and ensure that there are no undue disturbances from nearby roads or such likes.

Gites and cottages are essentially a more basic type of accommodation which vary a great deal in quality. There are various categorisations which have built up over the years to try and match people’s expectations with what’s on offer but the fact is that generally speaking gites and cottages tend to be more rustic and less well equipped than a villa.

More and more villas have their own private swimming pool these days and this has become another distinguishing factor from an average holiday home. A private pool is just that, it’s yours and nobody else can come along and foul the water or splash around to disturb you, take away your children’s pool toys or disturb your good swim.

Not so long ago a private swimming pool was seen as an extravagant luxury and in countries such as Italy and Greece they were largely unheard of. The revolution in cheaper, more efficient pool installation of the last 15 years coupled with a huge demand for villas with private pools has led to a proliferation of villa owners investing in pools.

The essence of a villa holiday is that you can park your car securely at your property which is set in a good, relatively peaceful location. Your villa will have a good sized, attractive garden which is child friendly and pleasant. The house itself will be like a home from home with some local peculiarities but comprehensive, modern amenities. You will not be disturbed so you can relax and enjoy the holiday you deserve.

Villas du Monde - Villas Worldwide has a carefully chosen selection of villas which has been refined over the last 20 years. To view a worldwide selection of quality villas have a look at our website where you will find everything from high quality gites with private pools in France to holiday homes in Spain and around Mediterranean Europe as well as the French Caribbean.