Racó de Galeno in Benissa: a day in the house where the sun walks into the living room

Why I chose this house

Benissa lies between Calpe and Moraira, and people come here not for a promenade but for quiet. Large plots, an unhurried life, and the sea close by all the same. I chose Villa Irati at Racó de Galeno for the way it is laid out: day and night live on different floors, and the heart of the house is an inner patio with a tree, around which the whole daytime life moves. A house like this works just as well for one person with a book as for a large group.

A day in this house

8:00. Sun in the living room. The living room and terrace face south-east, and the morning here begins with light on the living room floor. Coffee is taken by the window, or you step out with your cup onto the already warm terrace while the garden is still cool.

9:00. Breakfast by the patio. The whole main floor is given to daytime life: living room, dining room, kitchen, and in the middle the patio with the tree. Greenery is visible from almost everywhere, and it feels as if the garden starts not outside the window but inside the house. The kitchen is handed over finished; all that is left is to put your own dishes on the table.

10:30. Quiet hours. The bedrooms are on a separate floor, so during the day the main floor stays quiet: you can work, make calls, read, and nobody disturbs anybody. At these hours the sun also works for the house: it makes part of its own electricity with its panels.

13:00. A pool of your own. The pool is yours alone: no timetable, no other people's towels on the loungers. Children run around with wet feet and you can relax, because the floor by the water and on the terrace is non-slip.

15:00. Cool inside. In the hottest hours it scorches outside, but inside it is cool and the air is fresh even with the windows closed: the house ventilates itself. Time for a siesta.

18:00. Evening in the garden. The heat eases and the plot comes alive. More than fifteen hundred metres of your own land mean space: room for a garden, for children's games, for a long walk with a glass without leaving your own gate.

20:00. Dinner on the covered terrace. There is a barbecue of its own, and the table is laid for the whole family and guests. Under the roof dinner does not depend on the weather, and the terraces are so spacious that everyone finds a corner: some by the fire, some at the table, some in silence.

22:30. A bathroom for everyone. The bedroom floor has four rooms, and each has its own bathroom with a large shower behind floor-to-ceiling glass. Guests live as in a good hotel, and in the morning nobody waits for their turn.

January. In winter you walk around the house barefoot: there is underfloor heating in every room. Lights and climate are changed from an iPad without getting up from the sofa; two iPads are already included in the price of the house.

What it costs

For this money you get not just a big house but a world of your own: light, garden, pool and quiet that nobody enters except your guests. The residential has a second villa, Villa Alora, for 4,810,000 euros: it steps down the slope in terraces and has its pool on the main terrace.

On top of the price come 10% VAT and 1.4% stamp duty, plus notary and land registry.

Who is nearby

Closer to the sea and smaller in size you can find villas in Calpe (La Merced, Gran Sol), in Cumbre del Sol (Magnolias) and in the valley by the mountains (Elements EcoResidences), but none of them is a house this spacious, with four en suite bedrooms and a plot like this.

Who it suits

For a family living here all year round. Four en suite bedrooms, underfloor heating for winter, coolness in summer and a garden where the children spend the whole day.

For someone looking for a second home for themselves. Arrive for the season, open the windows to the garden, dive into your own pool and forget the city.

For those who love having guests. A covered terrace with a barbecue, a private pool and a bathroom for every guest bedroom.

For those whose office is at home. The bedrooms are on a separate floor, and the daytime part of the house stays quiet and bright.

My advice

A house like this has to be felt, not read: stand in the living room in the morning when the sun comes in, and sit on the terrace in the evening. Come and see Villa Irati in person. Your price is the same as at the sales office, and I take care of negotiations and checking the documents. Write to me and I will send the plans of both floors and all the photos. Why you are better off with me than without me.