RuralDolar needs reviewing, any takers?

[Big Sis..]

Hi Mon ..

Lovely Prop and site.
Couple of spellings...[might have already been mentioned] Dinning ....also In the double bedroom its just got double..

The client comment in Spanish I would also translate into english....

Good Luck with your bookings

[Martha]

Hi Mon - I like it very much, and the house looks beautiful!

The only improvements i could think of ...

I was a bit confused about where the house is - the top of the page says "A rural retreat" but the house seems to be in a village? I'd like to know that it's on a quiet street (for instance)

Perhaps a caption below the pictures on the home page - where are those lovely views from? Is that the entrance to the house? Maybe a little information about the situation of the house can go here.

When you go through to "The House" section, you see the same two photos as the home page - this would be a good place to put some new pics to encourage people to view the galleries - The bedrooms are particularly nice, perhaps one of those?

The Area - captions again for the photos would be great - they look so nice, but where are they?

Looks really lovely though, and the site is easy to navigate, great job

[mon269]

I’ve been away from any computers for a few days and could not see your comments earlier. Been in Spain for 8 rainy days . I will have to make any changes in a couple of days once I get back to sunny UK. Believe me, it will start raining as soon as I set foot there.

Thanks for the comments and the time spent on my review.

[mon269]

I have made further changes to my web site. I believe I have corrected all the typos now. In fact I did this as soon as I saw your comments as it was quite embarrassing.

I changed the description of the bedrooms in the house page trying to make it clearer. I would appreciate a quick look at this since it is quite a common question I get from enquirers.

Left to do:
- Add Murcia and Malaga as possible airport destinations.
- Replace some of the pictures as suggested by Firebug.

Look, your website is working a treat (Rental newbie thread)

Thanks for pointing this out RR, that’s very encouraging. I guess it’s because I’ve seen the pictures a million times that I didn’t see how appealing they are.

The client comment in Spanish I would also translate into english....

Which makes me believe you are not looking at my site but at one of the listing sites. However, this is something I was meaning to ask because I was not sure if I should translate the comments once I add them to my own website. Thanks.

[Big Sis..]

Hi Mon Your right I had clicked onto a listing site...sowwy ...

Yours looks great...I did find the pricing a bit confusing though..with the free days....

Also it says balance is due 4 weeks before...I would increase this to 6 or 8 I think youll find most of us ask for this...then if the bookings cancelled you get a lot better chance to rebook..

[Bellywobble]

I have to say I'm confused by the casadolar site. I tried to have a look a while back and just looked again, but still can't work it out.
I want to see your place, and can do so on the photos, but when I click on accommodation, for instance, I then have to do a search? I'm not technically minded at all and probably to everyone else it's all quite clear! However, the first time I looked, I was actually looking for somewhere to stay but gave up!
I've just looked on the listing site and it is all much clearer, but I would like to know what the distance is to the ski resort (driving time), and that wasn't clear to me
It looks lovely though!

[Rocket Rab]

Hi Mon,

I've had another look at your website (Andalusia Holiday Home).

I really like the soothing colours, did you choose them to reflect the colours of the region...browns, ochres, blue..?

The pictures of the region look very inviting. They give the impression of an authentic Spanish village in a beautiful setting. I also like the photos of the house, particularly the bedrooms. I think I would dress up the pictures of the kitchen and the lounge with some flowers, just to add a cheery splash of colour. I might also use a colourful throw draped over the sofa, something in red/orange might offset the lovely floor and add warmth to the overall feeling...

I have to say that I am still confused by the bedroom arrangement! Here's what I understand from your site:

You say the house sleeps 6. Fine so far.
Then I read you have:
- a single room (with double bed? )
- a double room (also with double bed)
- a triple room (double bed plus a single)
So now I am thinking - house sleeps 7 ?

Am I right in that you only have photos of two of the bedrooms showing?

On your contact page you say, after telephone details,
Messenger (do not email to this address) but then you give the email. Isn't it a bit risky to give the email address but tell people not to use it? Maybe it's there for some reason I haven't understood.

Overall, though, Mon I really like your site. It looks good, it's all very clear (you just need to sort out the bedrooms) and it's packed with lots of info about the region.

The voucher for the sangria and tapas is a lovely touch - I would be delighted to arrive and be presented with that.

Good luck with your current building project and your bookings.

Rab.

[mon269]

Hi BW, thanks for taking the time to look at the site. I see what the problem is, you are looking at one of the listing sites. My own site is www.ruraldolar.com and I hope you don’t find it as confusing.

RR, let me change the tactics here, what about I explain the bedroom arrangements and you suggest an explanation? I would appreciate you help here as I seem to struggle . The house has 3 bedrooms, each one has a double bed and one has also a single bed. When we registered the house with the Spanish Tourism Body they told us that one of the bedrooms is just under the legal size for a double bedroom and it can not be advertised as such. It is fine to have a double bed in it, but it counts as a room for 1 person only. That, and the fact that there is only 1 bathroom means that we can only accommodate 6 guests (I agree that bed wise, there’s space for 7 guests).

Mentioning that we have 3 double beds is important for us as there seem to be a shortage of these properties in the area and gives the guests more flexibility on the sleeping arrangements.

[Rocket Rab]

RR, let me change the tactics here, what about I explain the bedroom arrangements and you suggest an explanation? I would appreciate you help here as I seem to struggle .

Aw, Mon, you must be well and truly fed up with the 'bedroom question' by now!! Of course I'll try and pen a couple of phrases for you..have to go out right now..so I'll get back to you!

Rab.

[Partridge]

Ah, it all becomes clearer now Juan So are we to assume that although you are not allowed to advertise sleeping for 7 that if that is what someone wanted and you were happy then it would be ok i.e you would not get into trouble, or that you must leagally only acommodate 6.

[Bellywobble]

Much clearer now. Thank you.

My only comment would be to put the drive time to the ski resort as I know it is very difficult to find reasonably priced, family accommodation in that area, early on in the year.

[mon269]

So are we to assume that although you are not allowed to advertise sleeping for 7 that if that is what someone wanted and you were happy then it would be ok i.e you would not get into trouble, or that you must leagally only acommodate 6.

I do not accept bookings for parties of more than 6 as this is the legal limit (well, maybe if it’s a baby I can make an exception) . Having this bed arrangement allows me to accommodate families, groups where not all of them are couples and also 3 couples. Not that we planned it like this, but this flexibility turned out to be a good thing to have.

BW, indeed, the distance to the ski resort is the second most asked question.

I did not realise there would be so many things to change. I’m so glad I put the site up for review. I just need to find the time to do all the work. Looks like it will be another late night tonight.

[Partridge]

Ok Juan, getting even clearer now. I do have one more query though The picture of the third bedroom on your website looks like a single bed to me, so am assuming the open access I can see takes you to another double bedroom or is it a double bed I can see with open access to where the single bed is ?

Maybe it would be easier to word it more succinctly, something like:

Bedroom 1 is a double bedroom with double bed. Bedroom 2 is a single bedroom but with a double bed (maybe add 'for extra comfort'). Bedrooom 3 is a double bedroom with double bed with an open doorway / open access to a small room with single bed.

Using the word 'but' with the single bedroom may explain that you are aware of the discrepancy between using both single bedroom and double bed in the same description because that does cause some confusion. Using something like 'open doorway' or 'open access' will explain the triple bedroom or 3rd bedroom with single and double a little clearer.

[mon269]

The picture of the third bedroom on your website looks like a single bed to me, so am assuming the open access I can see takes you to another double bedroom or is it a double bed I can see with open access to where the single bed is ?

The picture where you can see the open doorway is the single bed part. The doorway leads to where the double bed is. In other words, you enter the room, and you walk through the single bed area in order to get to the double bed area.

Your description of the bedrooms is nice and clear, but I already know the arrangement. Anyone any opinions on this description? Is it clear enough for someone that has not had the 3 or 4 paragraphs explanations beforehand?

[Partridge]

In that case maybe bedroom 3 should be re worded to explain that it is a single with access to a double as opposed to the other way round.

Bedroom 3 is a single room with single bed from which there is an open doorway through to a double bedroom with double bed.