Playa Blanca has established itself as a first class tourist resort over the last decade, with a number of high quality hotels and many beautiful holiday villas offering high standards of accommodation. But it is also home to a unique complex, the Heredad Kamezi, which combines all the advantages of a hotel with a luxury villa setting. So guests have all the benefits such as a regular housemaid service and a manned reception, whilst still enjoying the peace and privacy that only a self-contained villa can provide.
Situated directly by the sea, the thirty-one villas are each individually designed, right down to the swimming pool and garden layout, so that no two houses are the same.
Stylistically, many of the details to be found in the villas and around the complex follow the principles of César Manrique, with curving pathways, volcanic stone walls and whitewashed pools. But it isn’t merely the look of the place that owes a debt to Lanzarote’s most celebrated artist, as the complex has also been developed to be as ecologically friendly as possible.
Thus instead of installing air conditioning in each unit, the villas have all been designed to allow the flow of air throughout their interiors to keep them cool in the hot summer months. Solar panels are also in use, for heating the water used indoors. And a water recycling system ensures that none of the precious liquid is lost, with seawater drawn in and de-salinated on site, for use in the houses and pools.
In fact, the use of saltwater in the swimming pools eliminates the need for chlorine or other chemical additives, as the water is refreshed on a daily basis. And after a second filtering it is then used to irrigate the extensive garden areas. Enabling every one of the villas to have its own grass lawn, something of a rarity in Lanzarote.
The interiors of the villas are spacious and airy, with living areas that are well-lit and that open out onto the patio and garden. The fully equipped kitchens, with built-in work surfaces, are laid out to ensure cooking is a pleasure (although for those who feel it is a chore, there is also the option of hiring a cook). Each house has a variety of options for dining either in or out of doors. And the facilities provided in each living room cover not only Satellite television, DVD players and CDs, but also include telephone and internet access. The same attention to detail means that the bathrooms offer either hydro-massage showers or Jacuzzis. And the master bedrooms all come with an extra TV and built-in safe.
Guests at Heredad Kamezi will also find that they have individual parking, right outside their villa, with further on-site amenities including a supermarket that is open seven days a week. In the centre of the gardens is a volcanic stone cave, a design flourish that may amuse younger visitors, along with the play area that has swings and a climbing frame. The child-friendly philosophy doesn’t end there though, as babysitting services can also be arranged, to give parents quality holiday time as well.
Villas in the first line next to the sea have a raised position alongside the promenade – which means that none of the gardens can be overlooked. A private doorway opens out onto the walkway from the complex and gives direct access to the sea. As well as designing the properties individually, each garden and swimming pool is unique, with high quality teak decking surrounding each of them, whether the pool is oval, round, lozenge-shaped or square. Creating some seriously stylish areas for lounging.
Each villa has been named after a famous figure, so there is a Bill Gates villa, an Albert Einstein, an Auguste Rodin and a Vincent Van Gogh. What each of these individuals had in common apart from their considerable achievements, is that they were or are dyslexic. The owner of the complex, who created the name Kamezi from his children’s first names, has used this opportunity to raise the profile of dyslexia, a condition one of his daughters’ also has.
