Everyone has a different budget when it comes to planning and booking a holiday. Some people like to go on one blow-out break each year and others prefer a couple of cheaper holidays or the odd weekend away. Space In Your Case’s Alison recently spent a couple of nights experiencing what people with a big holiday budget get, when she stayed in a Scott Dunn villa in Mallorca. Scott Dunn are firmly in the luxury holiday side of things and Alison got a chance to see what they offer guests. While a villa holiday with Scott Dunn could set you back from £1,493 per person for a week’s full board stay including flights and transfers, actually she says that value for money is one of the most impressive arguments for booking with them. Here, she explains why…

“After a couple of nights staying in Las Palmeras, near Pollença in Mallorca, my main problem is readjusting to life back at home where I don’t have beautiful surroundings and staff who are there to tend to my every whim. As someone who is equally happy in a budget hotel as a 5* luxury place, I loved the Scott Dunn experience – it was unlike any other holiday I’d had before. Yes, it’s an expensive option but actually, if you get together with another family (or two) and book a villa together, it can cost around the same overall as other less luxurious hols. Here are my five reasons why it’s worth splashing out on.”

1. You get your very own in-villa chef

Yes, all of your meals and snacks are included in the price of a Scott Dunn holiday, with each breakfast, lunch and dinner being prepared by your very own chef. Breakfast might consist of fresh pastries, fruit, homemade jams, pintxos, cereals, freshly-baked bread and just-made smoothies and juices. Lunch will be something like a selection of salads, meat and fish. Dinner will start with canapés and then consist of something like pork belly and a homemade Snickers bar with sorbet. The Scott Dunn chefs are trained to an incredibly high standard so it’s like eating top quality restaurant-standard food, morning noon and night. You also get unlimited soft drinks and beers in the fridge plus a hamper of wine to last you through your stay. If you run out of wine, or you’d like something specific, you can give a kitty of money to your villa host and they will buy it for you, from the local supermarket. Aubergine salads, Malaysian chicken, tropical sorbet… We ate like royalty in our villa. Something that impressed me was learning that Scott Dunn are working in partnership with Masterchef winner Ping Coombes, who has created a menu for villa guests and tasty meals for the Scott Dunn Explorers Club. Ping cooked for us, one evening and her amazingly tasty menu of Gado-gado salad, Ayam Kapitan and Malaysian mess will be available for guests if they’d like a Malaysian meal, one evening.

2. You get your very own in-villa nanny

The villas all have a play room, kitted out with every toy and game your child could wish for. Jigsaws, a tent, craft materials, ride-on toys – you name it, it’s there. The nanny can look after your kids and keep them entertained with activities while you relax nearby. She can also take them to the beach or on day trips to nearby places. All Scott Dunn nannies are trained in the UK and adhere to strict nanny/child ratios. They’re also really flexible, giving you the option of having them for a few hours in the morning, then coming back in mid afternoon for a few hours and doing bath and bedtime if your prefer. Especially good if your little ones nap after lunch. Of course, many people go on holiday because they want to spend time as a family, so having a nanny may not be your idea of heaven, but even having someone there to think of group activities and different ways to keep your little ones entertained is worth its weight in gold.

3. You don’t have to think for your entire holiday

This is one of the big pulls for many people. The thing about most holidays is that they take a LOT of planning. Even once you’ve booked your flights and accommodation, you often then need to look into car hire or transfers, then investigate activities and nearby attractions. I love organising all of that stuff but some people hate it. With a Scott Dunn villa holiday, it’s all sorted for you. They’ll book your flights – whether you want to fly easyJet or BA – pick you up at the airport (with a cooler filled with water and fruit) and organise any trips to the beach or recommend and book any local restaurants you might fancy eating at. Each villa comes with a host who will make sure you’re happy at all times. When we arrived, the in-villa team did a little briefing by the pool for us, and explained how things work like the Apple TV which you can use, and showed us things like the iPad and Factor 30 sun cream that is there for guests to use.

4. The staff know what you want before you even know yourself

This is like a kind of sixth sense that the Scott Dunn staff have. You’ll be sitting by the pool, with your legs dangling in the cool water and you’ll turn around to find a cushion has been placed behind you, in case you fancy a lie down. Mid-morning, you’ll be thinking that you’re feeling a little peckish and your host will appear with a snack and homemade fruit cooler. As soon as you wake up, you’re asked if you’d like a tea or a coffee. And our host Sophie remembered how I take my tea after asking just once, which left me feeling massively impressed. But more than this, the staff have this ability to be ever-present but never over-bearing. Super polite, warm and friendly.

5. The villas are super stylish

Las Palmeras is decked out in a homely, minimal way. Cool lamps, wire chairs and beautiful flowers in all of the communal areas. Staying there allowed me to pretend it was my home and I was a super stylish person who had picked out all of the decor, myself. As well as staying in Las Palmeras, we also visited another villa in the area – La Samantina – which was much more modern and just as beautiful. It was basically like walking through one of those places you see on Pinterest.

Scott Dunn offers 7 nights at Las Palmeras in Pollenca, Mallorca from £1,525 per person based on full occupancy of 8 guests and including a private chef, host and nanny. This also includes full board on 5 and a half days, unlimited soft drinks and beer, a wine hamper, private transfers or car hire and flights with British Airways from the UK.  www.scottdunn.com / 020 8682 5040.

Psst! You can WIN a Scott Dunn villa holiday right now, over on their Facebook page.

Thanks to Scott Dunn Travel for inviting Space In Your Case’s Alison to experience their villa holidays.