家族やグループに最適な美しい町の近くにあるプール付きの大きなヴィラ

My parents along with my Aunt purchased Casa Alexandra in the summer of 2007 after falling in love with the town of Xativa on a chance holiday with some relatives. Having retired, they sold up in England and achieved the dream of living abroad for 7 amazing years. They made great friends, had marvellous weather and thoroughly enjoyed the experience until deciding to return home to see more of their 3 sons, of which I am one. I'm lucky enough to manage Casa Alexandra with my partner Isidora (we're both in the photo) and our brilliant housekeeper Debbie.
Alex Grimwood

Xativa is a beautiful, lively town of approx 30,000 inhabitants, the old capital of the Valencia Region. We had never heard of the town until my sister came to live here, she originally intended to make her home in Denia, but was persuaded to have a look further inland and discovered this hidden gem, we came out for a visit and immediately fell in love with the place.

The Town, originally Roman, was founded because of it’s unlimited supply of fresh water which is provided by natural springs, you will often see people filling their water bottles from one of the many fountains. The historic old town is fascinating, particularly the castle ruins which is serviced by an excellent tour. From the beautiful Basilica houses to some of the effigies that are paraded through the town on Good Friday, something not to be missed. At Christmas the tree and Nativity Garden stand for the 12 days and are never vandalised, something that would be a miracle in the U.K, the festivities conclude on the 6th Jan with the festival of the Three Kings, a lovely festival for the children. Then, in March is the Spectacular Fire Festival, when the most incredible paper mache effigies are built and then burnt, all this in the middle of a busy town.

On summer evenings the atmosphere is one of family and community, people of all ages out until very late enjoying life, certainly the older residents of Xativa are not worried about strolling around the town at midnight.

The surrounding countryside is very green, the mountains offer a a breathtaking backdrop to the orange and olive groves which are abundant here. There are lovely walks through quiet areas and rivers full of fish. Birdlife is varied and some are very pretty, a visiting friend, counted 22 different species in one morning while sitting in our garden. All this and only 30 mins drive from the sea. I could go on about the place forever, but don’t take my word for it, come and see for yourself, you will not be disappointed.

The grounds are large with a well maintained garden that seemed very rare when we were looking to buy. Most of the Villa's just seemed to have concrete or tiled verandahs; but we have lot's of grass and plants. Also, we have a big family and lot's of friends, but whoever was coming out to see us- there was always room! And, being a split level property it's easy for two families to have a bit of get away from each other for a while!

Finding the perfect area to live in was vital and with Spain being such a vast country it could have been easy to make a mistake.
What we wanted was to sample a true Spanish way of life; one which had appealed to us for a number of years. It was particularly important to find an area that wasn't besieged by tourists all year round but did provide all the amenities you would expect- great restaurants, good night-life for when our son's visit, a beautiful setting and most importantly; lovely people with a community feel. This, Xativa certainly has in abundance.