Villa Select: Private Pool Villa Holidays from a UK Travel Specialist
There is something wonderfully appealing about a villa holiday.
No breakfast buffet deadline.
No mysterious battle for a sun lounger at 7am.
No need to whisper while returning to your room because somebody else’s door is approximately nine inches away.
Instead, you can have your own space, your own kitchen and — with many of the properties offered by Villa Select — your own private swimming pool.
Villa Select is a long-established British villa-holiday specialist offering hand-picked holiday villas across popular European destinations, including Mallorca, Menorca, Lanzarote, the Algarve, Greece, Cyprus and Croatia. The company caters for everything from couples and families to larger groups and luxury travellers, while also offering flight-inclusive packages and additional travel services.
It isn’t a traditional UK online shop where something arrives in a cardboard box, of course. But if your idea of UK online shopping includes booking your next holiday from the sofa, Villa Select certainly deserves a browse.
👉 Visit Villa Select and browse private villa holidays across Europe
What Is Villa Select?
Villa Select describes itself as a villa-holiday specialist established in 1983, giving the brand more than four decades of experience in the sector. Its central proposition is a collection of private villas chosen for their individual character, style and location.
The company says its sales specialists have first-hand knowledge of many of the villas they offer, adding a more personal element to the booking process than simply scrolling through an enormous accommodation database.
That specialist approach is important.
A villa holiday involves rather more than deciding whether a hotel looks nice.
You may want to know:
Is the beach walkable?
Do we need a hire car?
Is the pool private?
Does every bedroom have air conditioning?
Can twelve people actually sit around the outside table?
These are the questions that become surprisingly important once eight relatives have agreed to go away together.
Where Does Villa Select Offer Holidays?
Villa Select’s current destination collection includes villas across Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Croatia.
Within those countries are some particularly popular holiday areas.
Mallorca Villa Holidays
Mallorca is one of Villa Select’s most prominent destinations, with properties in established resorts such as Cala d’Or.
Current villas range from countryside-style houses to properties close enough to beaches, restaurants and shops that a hire car may not be necessary. For example, Villa Lago in Cala d’Or is currently listed within the company’s no-car-required collection, while Villa Es Jardi offers four bedrooms and accommodation for up to eight people.
Mallorca works particularly well if your holiday requirements consist of:
sun,
beaches,
good food,
and somewhere attractive to sit while discussing whether anybody actually wants to cook tonight.
Algarve Villas
Portugal’s Algarve is another major Villa Select destination.
Current properties include villas around areas such as Guia, Galé, Albufeira and Olhos d’Água. Examples range from smaller two-bedroom houses to larger villas capable of accommodating groups of ten or twelve.
Many feature private pools, while some are within walking distance of beaches, restaurants or village amenities.
That can be particularly handy if nobody in the group wants the honour of becoming:
Designated Holiday Driver.
Greek Villa Holidays
Greece is also strongly represented, with Villa Select currently offering properties in destinations including Corfu and Kefalonia.
The Greek collection demonstrates just how different villa holidays can be.
Villa Lithos in Kefalonia, for example, currently combines three bedrooms with sea views and a private infinity pool overlooking Lourdas Beach. Other villas accommodate much larger groups.
Private Pools and Sea Views
This is where villas can really distinguish themselves from ordinary accommodation.
Having your own pool means:
no opening hours,
no competition for loungers,
and nobody unexpectedly beginning an aqua-aerobics class while you are trying to read.
For families and groups, that privacy can be a major part of the holiday experience.
Lanzarote Villa Holidays
Villa Select also offers villas in Lanzarote, particularly around Playa Blanca, Puerto del Carmen and Puerto Calero.
The company currently sells both accommodation-only and flight-inclusive options, with packages available from various UK airports. Its Lanzarote flight-inclusive listings demonstrate villas with private pools, Wi-Fi and differing levels of access to beaches and resort centres.
That ability to combine villa accommodation with flights is one of Villa Select’s more useful features.
👉 Visit Villa Select and browse private villa holidays across Europe
Croatia, Cyprus and More
Croatia and Cyprus add further variety.
In Croatia, the current collection includes properties such as Villa Korina on Brac Island, a six-bedroom villa sleeping up to twelve and positioned close to the coast.
Cyprus is also represented across the wider collection, including a dedicated selection of child-friendly villas.
The overall result is a catalogue that stretches from intimate couple-friendly properties to substantial group villas.
Villas for Families
Villa holidays can make particular sense for families.
Instead of several hotel rooms, everyone can share:
a living area,
kitchen,
garden,
terrace,
and often a private pool.
Villa Select currently maintains dedicated child-friendly villa collections, including properties in destinations such as the Algarve and Cyprus.
Why Villas Work Well with Children
There are practical benefits.
Young children can go to bed without the adults having to sit silently in the dark.
Breakfast can happen whenever everyone wakes up.
And having a kitchen makes dealing with snacks considerably easier.
Parents of small children already know:
snacks are less a food category and more a continuous logistical operation.
Villas for Couples
Not every villa needs six bedrooms and a family WhatsApp group.
Villa Select also has a dedicated villas for couples collection, featuring smaller private properties selected for privacy and location. The company describes these as suitable for occasions including honeymoons and anniversaries, with private pools appearing across the collection.
A Private Alternative to Hotels
For couples, a villa can offer a different atmosphere from a resort hotel.
You decide when breakfast happens.
You decide what music is playing.
And you don’t have to watch somebody reserve the poolside table you had quietly identified as yours.
Luxury comes in many forms.
Luxury Villa Holidays
At the upper end of the range, Villa Select offers a dedicated luxury villas collection.
These properties are selected around features such as space, location and higher-end styling, building on the company’s wider hand-picked approach.
Depending on the individual villa, you may find:
large private pools,
contemporary interiors,
extensive terraces,
sea views,
multiple en-suite bedrooms,
or especially desirable locations.
Naturally, specifications vary significantly.
“Luxury villa” is a category.
It is not a promise that every property contains an infinity pool and somebody called Marco making cocktails.
Read the individual listing.
Villas Where You Don’t Need a Car
One particularly useful Villa Select category is Villas No Car Required.
These properties are chosen because beaches, restaurants, shops and other amenities can be reached relatively easily on foot.
This is an excellent filter.
Holiday car hire can be useful, but not everybody wants it.
Some people would rather land, transfer to the villa and spend the next seven days being completely unconcerned about:
parking,
fuel,
roundabouts,
or driving on unfamiliar roads.
If that sounds attractive, this category is worth checking first.
Villa-Only or Villa Holidays with Flights?
Villa Select offers both.
You can search for accommodation without flights or ask the company to create a villa-and-flights package from various major UK airports. Current departure options include Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester and Stansted.
Financial Protection
This deserves particular attention when booking a holiday.
Villa Select states that its qualifying flight-inclusive packages are ATOL protected under ATOL 0739. Its website also states that it is ABTA bonded for relevant holiday arrangements.
Always check the protection applying to the exact booking you make and ensure you receive the relevant ATOL Certificate where applicable.
Holiday protection paperwork isn’t nearly as exciting as photographs of the swimming pool.
It is considerably more important if something goes wrong.
Flights, Car Hire and Airport Transfers
Villa Select can do more than book the accommodation.
Its current FAQ says the team can also arrange:
- Flights
- Car hire
- Taxi or airport transfers
- Airport parking
- Airport lounge access
- Private chefs
- Excursions and day trips
That potentially turns the company from a simple accommodation booking website into more of a one-stop villa-holiday organiser.
👉 Visit Villa Select and browse private villa holidays across Europe
Why Personal Service Can Be Useful
Travel arrangements can become surprisingly complicated.
Five passengers.
Different flight preferences.
Two child seats.
One hire car.
Airport transfer.
Villa.
Late arrival.
Somebody’s mother insisting she cannot possibly fly before 10am.
At this point, having somebody help organise the pieces starts sounding rather appealing.
Low-Deposit Villa Holidays
Villa Select currently publishes both standard and low-deposit arrangements.
Its normal accommodation deposit is 20% of the villa cost, while a low-deposit offer can reduce the initial accommodation payment to 10%, with the remaining part of the deposit payable 28 days later. Flight costs are payable in full when applicable, and the final villa balance is due ten weeks before departure.
Because offers and payment conditions can change, check the live terms before booking.
But spreading some of the initial cost may be useful for people arranging holidays well in advance.
Villa Select Review: Our Impressions from Research
An important disclaimer:
This is not a hands-on Villa Select review.
We haven’t booked one of its villas, flown on one of its packages or spent a week testing whether the pool looks exactly as inviting as the photographs.
So we won’t pretend otherwise.
What we can assess is the company’s history, current villa collection, holiday services, financial protection and published customer feedback.
The Specialist Experience Stands Out
The company says it has specialised in villa holidays since 1983, which is a considerable amount of experience in one travel niche.
It also emphasises that villas are hand-picked rather than simply uploaded automatically into an enormous property marketplace.
That curated approach is probably the strongest part of the proposition.
The Holiday Types Are Well Organised
Being able to browse:
couples’ villas,
child-friendly properties,
luxury villas,
and villas where no car is required
is genuinely useful.
Most travellers don’t simply want:
“a villa in Spain.”
They want:
“a villa in Spain where eight people fit, the beach is walkable and nobody has to hire a car.”
Specificity helps.
What Do Villa Select Customers Say?
Independent feedback is positive overall, while still containing the mixture of experiences you would expect from a travel business.
At the time checked, Villa Select’s Trustpilot profile contained just under 300 reviews and carried a four-star rating. Recent positive reviews mention knowledgeable staff, smooth booking arrangements and enjoyable villa stays.
There are also critical reviews, including complaints about maintenance issues or problems that customers felt were not resolved satisfactorily.
That makes recent reviews worth reading before booking.
Focus particularly on comments about:
the booking process,
accuracy of property descriptions,
in-resort support,
cleanliness,
and how problems were handled.
A five-star comment saying “lovely pool” is pleasant.
A detailed explanation of what happened when the air conditioning failed tells you more about the company.
Who Might Enjoy Booking with Villa Select?
Villa Select could be particularly interesting if you are looking for:
- Private villa holidays
- Villas with private pools
- Family villa holidays
- Luxury villa holidays
- Villa holidays with flights
- Mallorca villas
- Algarve villas
- Greek island villas
- Cyprus villa holidays
- Lanzarote villas
- Croatia villas
- Villas where no car is required
It may be especially appealing to travellers who like the independence of self-catering accommodation but still want support from a UK travel company rather than arranging every element separately.
Villa Select and the Travel Side of UK Online Shopping
Villa Select is a good example of how broad UK online shopping has become.
You aren’t buying a physical object.
You’re shopping for:
a swimming pool,
a view,
a week of sunshine,
and the temporary ability to pretend that the terrace overlooking the Mediterranean belongs to you.
The website lets you search by destination, dates, group size and whether flights are required, while its specialist team can deal with the extras around the booking.
That combination of ecommerce convenience and human travel advice is probably the retailer’s strongest argument.
Is Villa Select Worth a Look?
Based on our research, yes — particularly if you’re looking for a private-pool villa holiday and would prefer booking through a long-established UK specialist.
We can’t personally award Villa Select five stars without travelling with the company ourselves.
But several things are appealing.
Villa Select says it has specialised in villa holidays since 1983.
Its current portfolio covers major Mediterranean and European holiday destinations including Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Croatia.
It offers both villa-only and flight-inclusive bookings.
Qualifying flight-inclusive packages are ATOL protected.
And additional services such as transfers, car hire and excursions can be arranged through the team.
For travellers who value privacy, space and their own swimming pool, there is certainly plenty here to investigate.
Ready to Explore Villa Select?
Perhaps the family holiday is overdue.
Maybe eight of you are travelling together and four separate hotel rooms suddenly seem unnecessarily complicated.
Perhaps you want a private pool.
Or maybe you simply like the idea of waking up, opening the doors and walking outside without first locating a hotel-room key card.
Fair enough.
👉 Visit Villa Select and browse private villa holidays across Europe
Choose your destination.
Check whether you need a car.
Compare the villa facilities.
Read recent reviews.
And start deciding something far more enjoyable than what to buy online:
who gets the bedroom with the balcony?