SpeciaLodges Avis 9

Awful company who lie.

Arrived at a lovely villa, promised a hot tub and heated pool. Neither of which where there. Have ruined my holiday and they care not a jot.

⭐☆☆☆☆

I had a very disappointing experience with Villagrancanaria.

The property we rented was in terrible condition. According to the contract, the pool and garden should have been maintained 2–3 times per week, but this clearly did not happen. The lack of maintenance was obvious. I tried to contact the company several times by phone, but they never called me back.

After we checked out, the security deposit was refunded to my bank account the next day. However, a few days later, €250 was suddenly charged to my account without prior notice.

They claimed this was because we left the property later than agreed, even though the contract clearly specified the exact checkout time, which we respected. Despite this, they still charged my card.

It is also very concerning how they were able to charge my card after the stay and how they handle customers’ payment data.

If you book with them, be aware: once they receive your payment, customer care seems to disappear. Customer satisfaction clearly does not matter to them. I cannot recommend this company.

Avoid! Big scam, and apparently more people experience the same.

This is an ongoing case involving VillaGranCanaria, Interhome, and Holidu. Interhome is trying to resolve it. VillaGranCanaria, who are responsible for the property, remain largely unresponsive. Holidu attempts to avoid responsibility by blaming the channel manager, even though the advertisement contains false information (e.g. “minutes walking distance” to the beach). You can see the sea, but the apartment is high in the mountains: walking to the beach takes 30 minutes (20 for very fit people).

Under platform and civil law, Holidu and Interhome are also liable, just like any other party such as Airbnb, Booking, you name it would be. I know this sector very well after 10 years as a B&B host. I love this sector.

A legal notice has been sent. Banks are investigating this as a fraudulent transaction and advised filing a police report. If unresolved, tourism inspectors in Gran Canaria will be involved.

Booking & representations

I booked this apartment (7–16 December 2025) only after written confirmation that:
• the apartment had sun all day (medical reasons),
• it was quiet, safe, and habitable,
• Suitable to stay in the sun all day with my pomeranian dog close (my recovery after surgery).

These confirmations were decisive for my consent.

Severe misrepresentation & defects

On arrival, the apartment fundamentally failed:
• No sun until ~15:15–15:30
• Front door couldn't be locked safely and easily from inside (serious safety risk, also the risk of breaking the key on the inside and locking myself up)
• Cold showers during the entire stay (defective hot water), unsafe for my chronic condition, with a flu of three weeks as a result - main problem
• Non-functioning shower drain causing flooding (I bought drain cleaner)
• Leaking bathroom ceiling with long-term moisture damage - main problem
• Visible, smelly mold (health risk after surgery) - main problem
• Not a great washing machine
• Loud, undisclosed parties from the restaurant below (incl. wedding until ~01:30 on arrival day)
• Numerous broken items (unusable drawer buttons, cracked bowls, constantly running toilet, etc.)
• Structural failures during storm: power outages and water entering through ceiling cracks (witnessed by neighbors)

These are fundamental defects, not minor inconveniences, and far below the standards platforms require from partners.

Storm & safety failures (20–21 Dec 2025)

During an exceptional storm:
• Water leaked through the ceiling in the bathroom
• Electricity failed multiple times
• I was told to “just keep them informed”
• I was told I could leave without refund at the check-in
• When mentioning involving police, the check-in agent said her husband works for the police, which felt intimidating
• Communication has been a nightmare. There are hundreds of emails, including not correct ones. There's no issue with the secondary employees such as housekeeping. They wanted to support and also communicated well.

Price misrepresentation

Other guests paid:
• ~€350/week for better units in the same complex
• €700–800/week for this unit (issues known but never fixed, as previous guests complained already)

I paid €1,354 + €100 dog fee + €200 deposit, completely disproportionate.

Deposit mishandling

Despite written confirmation, the deposit was sent to the wrong bank account, causing fees (six euro taken from the deposit) after days of emails and WhatsApp messages. Conflicting explanations followed. This is negligent financial administration.

Legal position

This constitutes material breach of contract, misrepresentation, negligence, safety violations, and financial misconduct under EU and Spanish law. Instead of recovering, I suffered stress, financial loss, and a severe flu.

Formal demands (full refund, six euro transfer fee, written liability confirmation) remain unanswered. If unresolved, legal steps, complaints to Spanish & EU authorities, especially tourism inspectors in Gran Canaria, and public disclosure with evidence will follow.

Long story short with utmost integrity: skip this one.

Vorsicht vor dieser Agentur ! Wir bezahlten 1000 Euro pro Tag für eine Villa , die deutliche Abnutzungsspuren und auch mangelnde Sauberkeit bot . Da wir den Urlaub genießen wollten , haben wir den Fehler gemacht , Mängel nicht zu reklamieren .
5 Tage nach Auszug wurden meiner Visa pauschal ohne Rechnung und ohne Kostenvoranschlag 1000 Euro berechnet . Die Veranda Schiebetüre ließ sich zuschieben aber nicht mehr verschließen. Deutlich normale Abnutzung , die laut spanischen Gesetz nicht berechnet werden darf ; auch das pauschale Einbehslten ohne Rechnung ist illegal . Ich habe mich bei der OMIC und der Tourismusbehörde beschwert und werde den Anbieter auch noch bei der spanischen Polizei anzeigen . Den Aufenthalt 2026 habe ich bei „ VillaGranCanaria.com“ storniert .

Beware: Nueva Suecia 523 run-down apartment and Villa Gran Canaria very inflexible with compensation! Only Stress!!!

We were staying in San Agustín for almost two months already prior to our stay at Nueva Suecia 523. We booked for 7 nights through villagrancanaria.com and luckily for only 7 nights. The communication via WhatsApp and Telefon before arrival was good. However, upon arrival, the nightmare began.

The property has a nice view over the beach of San Agustín, but that's all there is to it. The facility around the apartment reminded us of the favelas: several dried trees and plant leaves and dirt on the floor and no one who cleans it.

In the apartment, several things were broken, such as loose door handles to the bathroom and to the terrace, a faucet in the kitchen that seemed to fall off by the slightest touch, a window that couldn't be locked properly, and a broken antenna cable outside the house that we discovered because the TV couldn't get a signal. And to be honest the apartment wasn’t clean either walking barefooted in the apartment; after an hour or two our feet were black with dirt.
The antenna cable and the handle of the terrace door were fixed, and the faulty window was shut permanently.
Either way, they were quick and very instant to block our credit card with a deposit of €350.

Additionally, the broken amenities, the pictures, and information on the website were either misleading or wrong. It stated that there are two bedrooms, but one hardly counts as a bedroom since it was a dark and small storage room with no windows where one could hardly walk by the bunkbed to get to the drawer, and that was already stuffed with multiple big bags full of towels, sheets, and blankets.
There was a tiny safety box that was shoved into a storage and maintenance shaft under all the cleaning utensils; one had to halfway crawl into the shaft to make use of it.
On the description, it stated "cable/satellite TV“; however, we only had antenna TV with hardly 30 channels, and that only after it was fixed the second day.

To make it worthwhile, the community that manages Nueva Suecia installed two flood lights pointing right down at the apartment, which made everything as bright as day for the entire night and heavily disturbing our sleep. Upon questioning Villagrancanaria and the local maintenance team if they could turn it off sometime in the night or at least move them so they shine somewhere else, we were rudely told nothing could be done, and both parties said they were not responsible; we should talk to the other.

Upon repeatedly requesting Villagrancanaria for a price reduction or compensation for all the discomfort, we were told "we cannot offer you a discount".

Prior to this apartment, we stayed for almost two months at various very nice accommodations at San Agustín for the same price or even less, but this apartment was definitely not worth the money!! We were only met with discomfort and stress caused by Villagrancanaria!!!

Villagrancanaria is listing properties for rent that are not suited for renting; they should properly inspect the properties before charging you firstly too high prices for what it's worth and secondly ridiculously high deposits for a run-down place.

Hice la reserva de uno de sus apartamentos con cancelación gratuita y pagando la señal a través de Paypal. Me cargaron el IVA a parte del precio indicado (en ningún momento se comunicó que el precio de la señal no incluía el IVA). Cancelé dentro del plazo establecido para la cancelación gratuita, pero me comunicaron que no devolvían el importe a través de Paypal, que facilitara mis datos bancarios por correo. Insistí en que quería la devolución en el método de pago original: Paypal, pero volvieron a pedir mis datos bancarios por correo. Finalmente, he tenido que abrir una disputa en Paypal y veo que me quieren ofrecer una devolución parcial en lugar del importe total. La experiencia ha sido nefasta.

Able to help us out last minute with a lovely villa for a family holiday. Friendly staff met us and let us in. All good. Thank you

We booked a villa through this company and experienced raw sewage coming up in the bathroom. The company did not respond to our complaints of the smell beforehand and then told us we could only use one bathroom for the whole group. We asked for a partial refund as we had paid a lot as it was school holidays and we were offered a pathetically small sum. Holiday ruined and this company does not offer the holiday maker any protection just refers to the owners. Avoid!

We stay in Gran Canaria every year and we never use anybody but Specialodges from our accommodations. Best prices and the best service! Thanks Cristina!! You´re the greatest.