Townhouse for sale in Sax, Alicante

Every so often we think we have seen it all and then another surprise is around the corner or on the corner in this case. A really big property in the town that would suit two families who could live separately and rarely bump into each other.

This is a two floor property with a middle level that is an enormous garage that we imagine would fit six cars but four large cars very comfortably and there is loads of on-street parking.

The property is constructed magnificently and the architect has done a quite superb job with the distribution and with the huge outside space with a private 6 x 3 swimming pool there is very much a country feel, in fact, it is the rare thing we often joke about, a country house, in the town.

There are a few steps up to the impressive front door that opens to a hallway with the large and beautiful lounge/diner to the right that has air conditioning for cooling and heating and bear in mind that there is a ten panel solar system that has recently been installed so the only electricity bill is the standing charge and you have underfloor heating throughout.

There are French doors that lead out to the extraordinary terrace and exterior spaces.

The kitchen is fully fitted and has sufficient space for a table and chairs and has a walk-in pantry and also features a door out to the terrace.

There is a double bedroom opposite the kitchen, which is being used as a second lounge presently. From there are a few steps up to the bedroom and bathroom level where there are four bright and spacious double bedrooms, the master with a lovely en-suite bathroom and, off the hallway, there is a guest bathroom. Three of the bedrooms have high-quality fitted furniture.

Back to the hallway where there are a few steps down to the quite enormous garage, and from there, another few steps take you down to the lower level which has two bedrooms, a single and a double. Then the incredible lounge/diner, a massive space with a feature log burning fireplace and a storage room.

It would take little money and imagination to make the lower level into a separate family spacious apartment, and there is a separate access to the terrace and swimming pool from here.

The extraordinary outside space that features the 6x3 private swimming pool and terrace, the lovely garden area and the summer kitchen fitted with a BBQ and a gas hob and a washing area. With something like 180 m2 there are lots of areas for relaxing or al fresco dining nor entertaining.

Sax is so popular because it is far enough inland to be "inland” yet it is only 30 minutes to Alicante Airport and 35 minutes to the beach. Access is by the A31 Dual Carriageway Alicante to Madrid Autovia (Motorway to you) which runs just outside of the town, by rail and coach from Alicante so you can go to the beach and not have to take your car, and now we are only eight minutes drive away from the AVE station at Villena.

The AVE is the high-speed train from Alicante to Madrid which has only four stops. From boarding the train will have you in Madrid in 2hrs 9mins for as little as 9€ if you are lucky enough, but around 25€ if not.

Let us stick with the town of Sax for now rather than escaping to the beach or Madrid.

Sax is dominated by its 13th-century castle known as the Headlight And Guardian Of The Border a landscape of history and rock. When driving back home to Sax after daylight the sight of the castle, fully lit, and seemingly floating in the air is one of the most welcoming sights I have ever experienced. It´s a sign we are almost home.

Commercially, is the home of three major international businesses selling "persianas y toldos”, window blinds and sun canopies and a shoe industry that means if you recently bought a pair of shoes in a UK Department Store, for example, the chances are they could have been made in Sax or nearby Elda and we now supply 60% of the footwear used in all Spain´s hospitals. It is an incredible feat.

Both Sax and the smaller town of Salinas just eight minutes drive away have close to full employment and lots of opportunity which means our crime statistics are very low and both towns are safe in a way that is hard to imagine if you have arrived from the UK or Holland. Walking around whatever time of day or night is a pleasure rather than something to fear.

Sax is small enough for everyone to know each other and a family who has a son or daughter who is a criminal brings shame on the family.

Recently we have seen the opening of a Consum supermarket, the equivalent of a Waitrose or Marks & Spencer Food Hall whilst there has been a Hiperber and Dia, both excellent supermarkets for as long as I can remember, and if that isn´t enough there is a Carrefour (Think Tesco) eight minutes’ drive away within a shopping mall complex that has a cinemas which shows films in English with Spanish subtitles. There are also six gyms in Sax and a superb one in the shopping mall along with Ten Pin Bowling etc Sushi Restaurant and many others.

Sax is served wonderfully well with schools, our son was eight when we moved here and reluctantly, we put him into a state school, he always went to a private school in Manchester, and within six months he was fluent in two languages and following five years in a secondary school went on to study Pharmacy at Complutense in Madrid one of Spain´s most famous and prestigious universities.

However, he didn´t like the idea of going into pharmacy as a career so he is studying law and working as my business partner. He already has a diploma in Spanish Property Law.

For health, Sax and Spain, in general, is far superior to the UK. In the town, we have a new Health Centre with eight doctors, two nurses, a diabetes clinics and a 24/7 Emergency Walk/In Centre. We have three pharmacies, two of which have at least one person who speaks English and their advice is always excellent.

Ten minutes away in Elda is the remarkable award-winning University Hospital El Virgen De Salud where the surgeons are second to none and the food is atrocious, well it can’t all be good! Newly opened is the Fibromyalgia centre offering support and therapies for those suffering from acute pain.

There are now three Language Schools in the town and the town hall ran a scheme for language swapping that may be run again. Learning Spanish is a lot less difficult than it may seem and there are new ways of learning that concentrate on conversational Spanish.

There are restaurants and bars aplenty with prices that are at first beyond belief and a three or four-course lunch of good quality can easily be found for 13€ or less. For a special occasion, there is Casa Mami and El Fuente restaurant at the hotel Fuente del Cura which are a little more expensive but great food experiences can be had.

Nearby Villena, ten minutes or so up the A31, has some excellent restaurants including the very fashionable Tita´s Gastrobar and the stunning, in my opinion, Condumio.

In Elda, ten minutes in the other direction, there is Xambel, Xhagar, Fabrica, La Sirena and Tenaz, all very good restaurants and surprisingly inexpensive. In most bars and cafes, a coffee and toast for breakfast will cost no more than 2,50€ and the coffee is possibly the best in Europe.

Our biggest challenge these days is finding properties as opposed to selling them as Sax and Salinas as both have become incredibly popular, as there are very few building permits left in either of the towns and yet they are growing. So, come look around and enjoy.