A Perfect Holiday for Everyone!
Penya Roja Climbing Lodge provided the perfect accommodation for a group of accomplished climbers from Romania who visited us for ten days immediately after Christmas. The group consisted of five couples, accompanied also by two young children, who all stayed in the house – some of them in the main house on a bed and breakfast basis, and two of the couples in our self-catering apartment. In this way they were all able to stay at the same location within easy reach of the famous Gandia Crag (known locally as Penya Roja), but to have the level of accommodation and service that was appropriate to their individual needs and budgets.
The convenience and versatility of the accommodation really came into its own during the course of their visit. All of those staying on a bed and breakfast basis (in the main part of the house) chose to dine with us each evening, and very often the couples in the apartment did so too. However, even on those occasions when the apartment guests catered for their own dinner, they would join their friends later in the public rooms of the main house for a convivial evening and to talk about the day’s climbing. In fact, some of the group – mainly the mothers of the two children – did not climb at all, but were happy to relax in the gardens of the villa during the day and even had lunch here too whilst the others were at the rock-face. It turned out that the varying levels of accommodation and catering options could be applied to everybody’s differing requirements with ease, and everyone soon found that whatever they wanted to make their stay convenient and enjoyable was available with no problem at all.
Penya Roja Climbing Lodge turned out to be a great base not only for their climbing holiday, but also as somewhere that was well located for those rest days between climbing expeditions when a day trip to somewhere of interest was called for. Their main interest and motivation for coming to the area was obviously the exceptional climbing to be found in the immediate vicinity. Not only is Penya Roja within walking distance, but also El Bovedon is too – another crag that provides challenging climbing routes – as well as many others within reasonable driving distance. Our guests, however, chose to spend the vast majority of their climbing time on Penya Roja and were very impressed with the exceptional number of climbing routes on the crag with levels of difficulty to suit every member of the party.
Sometimes though, a break from rock-climbing was on the agenda, and it was on those occasions that the location of the villa really added to their holiday experience. It was easy for them to take day trips by car or train to Valencia city or to drive to Alicante, or alternatively just to drive the short distance to Gandía’s award-winning beach to enjoy an afternoon’s winter sunshine. They found that they were able to have not only a rock-climbing holiday, but also a beautiful winter sunshine break with their families – a perfect combination for this particular group of friends. The children particularly enjoyed visiting attractions such as the Bio Park in Valencia as well as the aquarium at the City of Arts and Sciences in the city also.
Every member of the group said at the end of their stay that it had been one of the best vacations they had ever taken, as the combination of accommodation, climbing opportunities in the immediate vicinity and excursions in the area in general meant that there really was something for everybody to enjoy, and nobody in the group had the chance to be bored or left at a loose end. They were all of the opinion that they would love to return to us in the near future, as there were still plenty of challenging climbs left for them to attempt and lots of the surrounding countryside for them to explore at other times too. It was a real pleasure to have them stay with us, and we certainly hope to see them back with us before long.
