Amazing Luxury Villas is more than an agent between the owners of the properties we represent and our clients; we will go out of our way to ensure that you are satisfied with your chosen villa. Whilst our clients acknowledge that the rental contract entered into is between them and the owner, Amazing Luxury Villas will never shirk from our responsibility to ensure that you experience a peaceful and memorable holiday. Conditions vary from one destination to the next, however there are some featured services common to all of our villa holidays:

Value
In addition to the independence you will enjoy at a private villa, value for money is one of the prime reasons why more and more people are moving away from hotel resorts for their vacation. Most hotels around the world levy government taxes and services charges... in some cases as high as 30%. By the time you have paid for meals drinks, snacks by the pool and perhaps laundry services your daily bill will be 90% higher than the original price published.

In contrast, with Amazing Luxury Villas there are no extra costs to worry about so budgeting for your holiday becomes easier and results in much less expense. Taxes and service charges are usually not required in the countries where we feature villas... and if they do exist, they are considerably lower than hotel levels. All of our villas can rightly be compared to 5 star hotels when it comes to personal service. They feature trained local staff to provide you with all of the daily domestic services you could possibly need; and it's all included in the prices we quote. Further value is achieved when it comes to dining. All villas offer a trained cook (usually at no extra charge) who will take your orders in advance, buy fresh produce from local markets and convenience stores and prepare and serve high quality meals...and only for the cost of the produce. Many of our villas also feature cars and drivers, which belong to the owners but are included in the price (check the 'facility summary' link in the villa detail section of this website for more) and are available for the guest's personal use. Add to this free airport transfer service in most destinations and its not difficult to see how your day-to-day holiday expenses are going to be considerably lower than they will be in a hotel resort.

Villa Staff
Every villa we represent has a brigade of trained staff who are available, on a daily basis to provide you with all household services as well as take care of the maintenance and security of the property. Dining is an essential element of the villa holiday, so we ensure that every residence offers a trained cook (usually at no extra charge) who has skills in local and international cuisine. Domestic duties include cleaning, laundry, shopping, food preparation, cooking, meal service, ironing, bed making and general tidying-up. The staff are always on call at the property to provide you with food, beverages and in some cases spa services, bringing you snacks and drinks upon request throughout the day.

Property maintenance staff will tend to the gardens, equipment, pool balancing and cleaning, vehicle cleaning and are always more than happy to run errands for their guests, like posting cards or sending films for development for example. Gratuities for your villa staff are encouraged if you are happy with the quality of the services provided. We recommend that tips are paid at the end of the stay and are fairly distributed amongst all of the staff...but the amounts are entirely at your discretion.

To supplement the service provided at your chosen residence, Amazing Luxury Villas has a Private Concierge Service to assist you with any matters concerning your holiday experience. For further details about our Private Concierge Service click here.

Amenities
A full list of amenities and facilities at Amazing Luxury Villas are detailed in our website in the 'facility summary' pages of the villa details section. Common to all Amazing Luxury Villas are private swimming pools, air conditioning, fully equipped kitchen (including crockery, utensils, cutlery, glasses, ice makers, cookers, fridges and all the every day implements you would find at home). Disposable items such as soaps, washing liquids, cleaning products, toilet rolls, light bulbs and tissues are all included in the price and are replenished as consumed. Linens, sheets, towels (for en-suite and beach use), napkins, picnic rugs and table cloths are all provided by the villa and included in our price.

Unless specifically noted, each property offers a variety of entertainment equipment and amenities. These usually include, TV with local and satellite channels, VCR, DVD, VCD and stereo systems. Libraries of books, audio music, video games, magazines, films, playing cards and board games...anything else that you might wish for can usually be arranged by our Private Concierge Service. Find out more by checking the villa 'facility summary' details. You'll also notice here that many of the villas have sporting facilities, such as floodlight tennis courts, gymnasiums, billiard tables, ping pong and putting greens. Our golf course villas will also often include a round of golf for all guests.

Telephone
Whilst 'getting away from it all' is probably best achieved at one of our Amazing Luxury Villas than anywhere else, for some people staying in touch is an important consideration. Most of the villas we feature have permanent in-house telephones, some have a stock of mobile phones whilst others are fully rigged up with cable or satellite connections. Whatever type your chosen villa has, we will provide you with telephone numbers (of the villa, our local staff and other emergency numbers) before you leave for your holiday so you can circulate the details to your friends and family.

It's worth remembering though that several of our destinations do not enjoy sophisticated telephone systems, so be prepared for tedious delays when you make calls, particularly international calls. To get around this you may wish to bring your own GSM mobile phone, which is roam capable within your chosen destination. We can also pre-arrange for you to rent a GSM mobile during your stay, providing you with the number in advance of your arrival.

Internet
Internet connectivity is essential for some; even on holiday. We recognize the importance of this and therefore encourage villa owners to make this service available. Many of our properties have mini-business centers where you can plug in your laptop or use the in-house hardware available. (Check the 'facility summary' of each property to ascertain what internet facilities are available)
However, some of our properties do not have such connections so please let us know in advance what your computer & internet needs are and we will endeavor to provide appropriate equipment. Failing this, most of our villas are located close to internet shops or cafes so you will never be far from the net!

Children
We highlight in this website those villas which are particularly suited to families with young children, after all many of the properties have been specifically designed as family holiday retreats. Facilities for children are listed in the 'facility summary' pages of each featured villa and we have made a note in our descriptions of which villas we consider to be particularly suitable for children...especially from a safety point of view.

Our Private Concierge Service also has an extra stock of kid's equipment, such as high chairs, car seats, strollers and cribs. We can also organize nannies and baby sitters if they are not already available at the villa.

Health
As with any type of holiday, particularly those taken in developing countries, the tropics and other extreme climates, you should ensure that you have taken the necessary inoculations and most importantly health insurance before you travel, your medical advisers at home can help you with this.

We have identified what we consider to be the best medical service at each of our holiday destinations, details of these can be found in the 'Amazing destinations' link of this website. Similar details are available at the villas and our Private Concierge Service will be on hand to assist you in the unlikely event that medical problems arise. Amazing Luxury Villas insists that every property we feature must have basic health and safety procedures, which includes a health and safety briefing when you arrive and a first aid box with medicines and lint for minor ailments. Please advise us beforehand if any of your party has special needs, we will do what we can to prepare for them.

Transportation
Your airport transfers to and from the villa are per-arranged by Amazing Luxury Villas; look out for our staff holding the diamond motif sign when you enter the airport arrivals hall. Some of our properties have cars and drivers available (Check the 'facility summary' pages of the villa detail) but with those that don't, we usually recommend you hire a 4 wheel drive vehicle and driver (varies by destination). We can arrange for the vehicle and driver to be waiting for you at the property when we drop you off from the airport. Make sure you understand the hours of service of these cars because whilst the vehicle maybe available 24 hours a day, the drivers will normally be on duty for a maximum of 10 - 12 hours. If you are undertaking a full day out with a lot of travel, don't forget to offer to take care of the meal and refreshments for the drivers and that their lodging costs are also covered. For the inexperienced, driving conditions at many of our featured destinations are 'scary' at best. Road surfaces are variable and unpredictable, traffic signals are not always clear and many locals ignore them anyway. If you are not used to such conditions we strongly recommend that you rent a vehicle and driver.

However, many of our guests live in the region where they are holidaying and are familiar with the traffic scene. For them , there is a wide choice of vehicles at every destination, including cars, 4 wheel drives, jeeps, family utilities, convertibles, mopeds, motor bikes, bicycles and very often big-bikes! You will always need to have an international driving license for the vehicle you are intending to rent and don't forget we can pre arrange everything at competitive prices, before you arrive; leaving it until you do arrive will mean in some destinations that you have to leave your passport at the rental company as a form of security deposit. For shorter journeys local taxis are always accessible and cheap. Insist on the meter being switched on, bargain the price for longer journeys and let our staff advise you which taxi firms have the best reputations.

Security
Amazing Luxury Villas are particularly concerned with your security and well being whilst on one of our holidays. Each villa contains at least one safe deposit box and for more valuable items our Private Concierge Service can recommend banks who offer safe deposit box services. By design many of our residences have open living areas, particularly in the tropics. That is to say some of the rooms are open to nature and cannot be locked. Such properties will always be located within walled gardens and for added security the villa may also offer 24 hour or night time security guards. Don't assume that villas offering such services do so because they are in unsafe areas. This is certainly not the case, it has more to do with the open style of living and that in some countries providing such services is not an expensive exercise.

As with all types of rented accommodation, Amazing Luxury Villas and the property owners bare no responsibility for lost or damaged personal items. We recommend that you use the safe boxes provided and avoid leaving anything of value lying around.