Testimonials

Caroline and Dave have helped us tremendously in our search for our dream home in Spain. We started exploring the region around Benissa by going on a day tour together. Then we discussed our wishes with regard to the house and the environment. While we were back in the Netherlands they researched our ideal images from the internet. Fortunately, they were very critical about the location, sunny side of the mountain and the house by making many visits on our behalf. On the beautiful pictures of the websites you do not see that it is located near a busy road.

After a few weeks of intensive searching, we got the tip to travel immediately because our dream home had been found. And indeed we are now almost the proud owners of a country house in the Benissa region. They gave us good advice during the settlement of the administrative matters. A big advantage, they are fluent in Spanish in addition to Dutch and English.

In short, we are very satisfied with their personal service. Their help does not stop with the purchase of the house. We will continue to use their services in the future for any renovation and maintenance.

Soon we will toast together at our new holiday home in Spain.

Two years ago we started looking for a house in Spain. Unfortunately without result. We were looking for a house with a separate outbuilding/apartment. This year we rented Dave and Caroline's house, Casa Sadie, in Bernia for 2 months.

During our stay in Bernia we went looking for a house again, but unfortunately we didn't succeed, had many setbacks. In the meantime we had good contact with Dave and Caroline. We had to go back to the Netherlands. But after the umpteenth disappointment, Dave and Caroline got to work for us. They have looked at many houses and kept us informed via the app and mail. 

Within 1.5 months they found us a house in the Jalon valley, we flew to Spain and were very enthusiastic. Made an offer that same day and yes, we have a house, partly due to the hard work of Dave and Caroline who go after everything for which we are very grateful.

Dave and Caroline are now arranging everything for us in Spain while we are still in the Netherlands which is super nice. November 18, 2021 we will move to Spain.

Dave and Caroline are truly wonderful people, and amazing hosts. Because of C19, we could not travel in August 2020, but D&C were more than helpful in letting us change our dates to exactly 1 year later for our stay at Casa Summer - which is, simply put, THE perfect holiday destination for our young family - with enough room for Nan and Granddad, Auntie and Cousin, too. D&C helped us with directions from the airport, and even walked up the road to greet us in our hire car so we wouldn't get lost. On our 1st day, they helped us in with our luggage, showed us around the casa (which is very spacious, lovely modern decor, and plenty of space for everyone, with outdoor and indoor living spaces in abundance) and helped settle us in for a good holiday, making sure we knew how to operate the BBQ, gas cylinders if needed, the TV, and everything in between - even making sure we had some basic provisions (including beer, champagne and wine!) to get us going.

 It was Nan's birthday whilst we were staying, D&C gave us some great restaurant recommendations, and helped make sure the big day was an even better celebration - thank you again for making it extra special. We also wanted to change the sleeping arrangements, as we had found a problem in one of the rooms, for which D&C couldn't do enough to help solve the problem (it wasnt a huge problem, but their response was to go above and beyond the call to make amends). At one point, one of the kids sat on a patio table and broke it (kids will be kids). When we told D&C their only concern was that the child was unhurt and "not to worry" about the breakage. It was a large table and would not have been cheap to replace, so we went in search for a replacement for D&C and with their guidance and contribution, we hope we got what they wanted to make up for the damage we caused. Sorry again about that!

Both Dave and Caroline were contactable and in contact with us throughout our stay, and were able to answer any questions we had, with very quick response, too. The level of attention was absolutely right, with no intrusion at all, yet on hand when we needed. Whilst we have booked private and Airbnb rentals in the past, with C19 we (and mostly Nan and Granddad) were worried about what might happen, as you never know if hosts can truly be trusted (we have had our fair share of last minute cancellations, and lost deposits etc) - but we feel like we struck gold with Dave and Caroline as they couldn't be more honest, trustworthy and genuinely good people.

You have both been amazing and have really helped us to ensure we had a great holiday, from last minute changes a year ago, to understanding and helping through our challenges, to making the mother in law's birthday extra special - thank you, and we hope to be back again in the future.

Chris, Charlotte, Madeleine.

On our way to the Netherlands, we received a phone call that our house was underwater due to a burst pipe.

What are you doing then? Turn around or call Caroline and Dave from HelloVillas?

We did the latter. And we can only say that this was a very good choice. They took immediate action. Dave and Carolien made sure that the house became dry again. They frequently consulted with us and the intermediary of Axa insurances. The damage experts were showed around. After two weeks we came home and we could live in a habitable house again. Even the beds were made.

Bravo for the service of HelloVillas. Thanks Caroline and Dave.

We were happy that Caroline and Dave from Hello Villas (www.hellovillas.es) have done overseeing work on our pool in Denia. We are always worried when we need to do renovation works on our house in Denia when we are at home in Germany and are not present to supervise the work.

 
Dave and Caroline are fantastic at coordinating all construction and renovation work. They have fully coordinated with the builders concerned and have made sure we were kept informed of the construction progress (with photos). Their attention to detail is so important to us and we feel that we were in good hands. Thanks again Dave and Caroline

After taking ineffective steps to find our ‘perfect location’ for long-term rental, we were alerted by a friend of a friend of Dave and Caroline of ‘Hello Villas’… and immediately experienced how friendly, helpful and flexible they are: we had made an appointment and had to change it… and they were able to accommodate us.

We were warmly welcomed at Casa Sadie and immediately fell in love with it.

Dave and Caroline have a passion for unique locations and high-quality rental accommodation.

And, instead of a short-term let (their core business) they accepted my offer to rent for a full year. In the end, since we needed to bridge 5-6 weeks between our current rental accommodation (in retrospect a rip-off compared to the standards that Dave and Caroline maintain) they agreed to help us by giving us a very acceptable deal on Casa Summer till Casa Sadie became available.

At both locations, we were very warmly welcomed and totally supported in transferring our baggage from the van into the house. Each house was sparkling clean, with a ‘welcome package’ (olive oil, nuts, wine!) and we got a thorough technical tour to find out how everything worked.

Even when I forgot, or had difficulties (like with the electrical system, a common weak point in Spanish homes!) they were on (more or less) 24-hour call and highly supportive.

They kept us informed of when the gardener or water-truck would come… and suchlike… and always respectfully maintained their distance and let us know if they needed to access the property for anything.
The rental agreement was quickly arranged with full transparency about details, a feature I very much appreciate.
Above and beyond this, they know the Costa Blanca, they know the ins and outs of living here… and are selflessly willing to share this knowledge and experience.

After many own renovation jobs over the years, we have built up a lot of experience bringing it all together, with the right contacts and a high level of communication and coordination. 

The picture is the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of our latest apartment renovation success.

There is lots of advice we can give that can be helpful to others who are looking to purchase an apartment to renovate, or who are already living in an apartment and want to do some improvements. So we decided to summarise here some findings! 

1. Know the rules! The first place to start before going any further is to find out about the rules in terms of approvals to renovate from your local authorities, or ‘comunidad’.
2. Know what you want! Think the wider picture before the details – do not design around your furniture and always keep in mind your design is resellable.
3. Permits and licenses! The next stage is to prepare your design and scope of work and submit this to your ‘Ayuntamiento’ (townhall) for renovation license and approval. Planning and budget! Planning, here is the magic word, is often challenged, as so is the budget. It is very important to manage the flow of different trades and works, going on in parallel or consecutive, have the materials (e.g. construction materials, windows, kitchen, bathroom furniture etc.) ordered or ready and timeframes set. Be realistic with figures and add for contingencies. Construction! Think ahead for what is needed and keep track of what you spent.
4. Clean & furnish! 

So glad I found Hello Villas! Casita Muñeca has been a countryside dream come true for me and Dave and Caroline couldn’t be more helpful settling me in and making sure the house was totally what was advertised and more.

A simple and fair rental contract agreed, with no hiccups. I’m really pleased with this little house and the way it’s cared for by Dave and Caroline, they are super reliable and professional!
Couldn’t wish for more !!
Debbie