The other side of the fence!

Agencies and other headaches, keys and cleaners, running costs and contracts...in short, all the things we spend so much of our time doing behind the scenes.<br>
GillianF
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The other side of the fence!

Post by GillianF »

OH and I have just got home from a week's holiday in Paphos, Cyprus. We rented a self catering apartment - first time ever we've done such a thing despite having been renting gites for over 20 years.

What an interesting experience to be on the other side of the situation. Quite a few things made us think about what we do, how we do it, what we provide etc. etc.
AndrewH
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Post by AndrewH »

Was there anything your considered better than what you are prepared to provide in your rental(s)? Conversely, was there anything noticeably worse? Are you planning any changes as a result of your experience?
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PW in Polemi
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Location: A village in Paphos, Cyprus

Post by PW in Polemi »

Hi Gillian

Whereabouts were you staying? In the heart of the tourist area (Tomb of the Kings road or Poseidonos Avenue), a little further out (Coral Bay/Pegeia area) or somewhere like Tala?

Was it a "professional" holiday let, or obviously somebody's second home?

Would you rent self-catering again (for the extra space, freedom to eat when & where you want, etc) or do you prefer the hotel lifestyle?
Dogs have masters. Cats have slaves!
GillianF
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Post by GillianF »

We were staying in a 'professional' apartment a few kilometres out of town so we needed to drive in every evening to eat. We did cook for ourselves one evening. Otherwise, we only self-catered to make our own breakfast most days (except for two when OH demanded the full English breakfast on offer in the port area). We could make a cup of tea when we got back after a day out which was nice to do. We had a glass of wine before going out in the evening and another when we got back. We could make ourselves a lemon tea which we prefer before bed.

We arrived late Friday afternoon and had been sent a text with instructions to access the key and were told someone would contact us to visit on Monday morning. A nice young woman made an appointment for Monday morning and duly arrived to do the paperwork and check we were OK with everything.

On that matter it did make me think that I might have preferred the sort of 'meet and greet' I provide for guests on arrival as we have only just installed a 'keysafe' and only intend to use it for guests arriving in the middle of the night or if we are away ourselves. We've only done that once in 20 years and I was never very happy not to meet our guests at least once during their holiday.

The information pack in the apartment was a bit 'light' on detail/information. There was no explanation of the air conditioning which we found quite difficult to operate. The washing machine instructions only said to make sure it was turned on at the wall and to press the 'On' button after selecting the programme. All the programmes on the controller were in Greek - an English translation somewhere would have been helpful and would, potentially, save the owners a fortune. I may well have selected a 90 degree boil wash with pre-wash for just some t-shirts and underwear that needed a quick, low temperature wash.

The other information in the apartment all related to bus routes in and out of town and was dated 2015 which didn't give me much confidence any of it was up to date. Some information about the opening hours of the two closest minimarkets and where the larger supermarkets were would have been helpful.

There was a notice on the back of the door which was the basic health and safety, what to do in a fire etc. and told us that we had to leave the apartment clean and tidy or risk a 100 Euro cleaning fee. We weren't sure when check out time was and I would have liked a little guidance about what 'clean and tidy' meant: Strip the bed? Wash the floors? The apartment had a broom, mop and bucket so I wondered if we were expected to use them on departure or were they just for our convenience during our holiday.

The Wifi code was printed and framed on the wall and I thought that was a rather good, neat, foolproof way of presenting boring but vital information. I may well do that myself.

The apartment was nicely well furnished with good quality, modern and matching furniture throughout and on to the balcony. We were very comfortable. The kitchen was equipped for four although there were only three mugs - I assumed one had been broken and not noticed to be replaced. The glasses were quite thick, heavy quality. There were a few different size plastic boxes we could have used for storing biscuits etc. which I don't provide and may now consider I ought to do so. The cooking pans were a bit random. In an apartment for two we had a huge frying pan, huge colander, small-ish saucepan and a small omelette-type pan. Nothing was non-stick. The one night we cooked in we had bought frozen pies and tins of vegetables. There was no baking tray or similar to cook the pies on so they went directly on the oven shelf which wasn't very convenient. The double sink we had was 'huge' and we could have wasted an enormous amount of water waiting for the hot to come through and then fill the sink adequately. As it was, we are both fairly conscientious about wasting water and know, from previous experience, that Cyprus has had shortages so I boiled the kettle for hot water and washed up our few breakfast dishes, mugs etc. in a 'puddle' in the sink. The washing up bowl provided was not much smaller than the sink. Again, the owners could save themselves a fortune in water and electricity by thinking about the day to day practicality of washing up.

On the very plus side we had a dish drainer, a brand new washing up liquid and sponge, two loo rolls (just enough for our six days) and two tea towels which I was glad to find.

In the shower room the shower curtain was only just long enough and although I was very careful to tuck it inside the shower tray OH was less good at that and flooded the bathroom every time - perhaps that was the reason for the mop and bucket! The shelf above the sink was cluttered with a four piece toothbrush holder, soap dish, soap dispenser and mug which was all matching and very smart but just took up space we would have preferred for our toothbrush etc. For a short stay the set was a bit over the top, unnecessary and really just got in the way.

The only disappointment was the supply of linen. The actual bed linen was 'cheap', there were no spare pillows (a real pain for OH who always uses the extra pillow), the bath towels did not match (a small point but attention to detail makes a guest feel cared for) and the hand towels were more like big flannels (this might be a cultural thing). This let the whole place down as compared to the rest of the apartment, quality of furnishings etc. it looked out of character and mean.

The only other thing I noted was that there was no mention of re-cycling, sorting of rubbish. We put the whole lot in one big kitchen bin liner and then put the bathroom waste in there and took it to the large wheelie bin outside. We saw hardly any recycling on Cyprus.

We've come across the method of putting toilet paper in a bin beside the toilet and not in the toilet before and wondered why that was now. I remember doing it 30 years ago in Ibiza and was told it was because the Island's plumbing was Victorian and could not cope with toilet paper. Is this the case on Cyprus or is it a cultural thing?

On the whole, we were happy. We'd go self-catering again because although we like to eat out mostly we did like doing our own breakfast, freedom to have a cuppa etc. We'd go back to that particular apartment block again.

It was quite an interesting experience to be on the other side of renting and very useful. I think I now know what we do 'right' and where we could improve.
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PW in Polemi
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Location: A village in Paphos, Cyprus

Post by PW in Polemi »

What a very comprehensive review, Kathy. Glad you enjoyed your stay in Cyprus overall.

If you wish to enjoy the "real" Cyprus, you need to stay further out of Paphos town, more into the villages, then you will experience the friendliness and warmth of the locals and sample some good Cypriot meals for about €30 per couple (that price includes drinks).

We send all our guests a very detailed set of directions, complete with photos of relevant points en route, to a meeting point from where they follow us to the cottage with us pointing out the closest mini markets and taverna. We do this "meet and greet" for everyone, even if their late evening flight has been delayed to the wee hours of the morning!

Did you need the air conditioning for heating? I know it's warmer closer to the coast, but I'd be amazed if you needed cool air this early in the season!

We translated the Greek instructions for our washing machine and stuck labels over the Greek - we have had appreciative comments about this. To me, it's not rocket science, it's something that guests need to know.

In our information pack (The Book of Zorba!), we give detailed directions and opening times for local mini markets and larger supermarkets, plus banks, chemists, etc. We also give detailed information on and directions to some of our favourite local village tavernas.

For the 2 of you, even if there had been 4 not 3 mugs, that's not enough. I feel you need at least two per person, plus extras, otherwise they are either spending all their holiday washing up, or running the dishwasher for a handful of items only. And, yes, you are correct, Cyprus has now suffered two consecutive dry winters so the water storage is only at about 30% - very worrying.

The non non-stick pans may well have been a deliberate purchase. We decided not to opt for non-stick in the cottage on the grounds that many tourists leave their thinking heads at home and would use any implement, metal or otherwise, thus damaging the non-stick surface. Plus if anything gets cooked on (oil on the frying pans, for instance), then it's easier to use a harsh scrubby thingy to remove said detritus.

I've not noticed that hand towels here are appreciably smaller than UK hand towels, so I don't know why the ones provided for you were so small. I must admit that I've wondered about leaving non-matching bath towels (sheets really) so that each person knows which one is their towel, rather than each couple having identical towels.

How many pillows were left per person? I leave 2 per person, so for our sleeps 4 cottage, that's 8 pillows for normally only 2 people. We're also only 5 mins down the road so can easily bring more if required.

Recycling has not yet fully caught on in Cyprus. There are some recycling points, and I give detailed directions in our information book.

The loo paper in the bin thing is because most places are not on main drain, they have a septic tank so too much paper overloads the system and leads to blockages and nasty niffs. As far as I'm aware, the pipework is the same size as in UK.

Have you brought to the attention of the apartment owner/manager any of the points you've raised about information, equipment, etc?
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GillianF
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Post by GillianF »

I was rather afraid I'd rambled on for too long so it's nice to know someone read it all!

We did drive out to villages etc. Sadly, the only place out of town where we ate was a tourist attraction we fell upon which was catering for coach parties and large numbers. We weren't very hungry so I just had a pre-packed sandwich and OH had a smallish pizza in the self-service which didn't have much charm about it. We did find that the portion sizes in the tourist centres were HUGE and I just couldn't manage it. I hate waste and it annoyed me somewhat. When we visit again I will get in touch with you beforehand and take advice if I may? I was very tempted to contact you while we were there ...

It certainly would have been nice to pay less for meals. When we were last on Cyprus (26 years ago) we thought it was very reasonable to eat out but a bit steep this time. Times change and the 'resorts' were very different but the welcome and friendliness was just as good.

I would have appreciated better instructions to find the apartment as we only had a street address. I send my guests a suggested route from the French ports and then detailed instructions for when they are closer. They come to us and follow me the last five minutes (small, country roads) to the gite. On our arrival we didn't have a map of the island and certainly not a street map of the town so a few clues would have been helpful. I too give opening times, location of local supermarkets for my guests and most ask when I do the meet and greet.

The day we arrived, and the next, there was an incredible storm with torrential rain so we just wanted a little heating when we settled in. We didn't need the heating or air conditioning otherwise.

I take your points about the non-stick (I do the same!) and the towels.

There were two pillows - one each. I would have liked another one each and, if not, would have expected at least one spare. In hotels there is usually at least one on offer and OH usually grabs it. In our apartment there were no spares and the pillows were not great quality so he used the four balcony chair cushions and his jumper folded up under the pillow - not very satisfactory! We actually considered going out and buying a pillow.

We did mention the shower curtain, supermarket/general information and washing machine instructions to the lady who came round to see us. I did point out that we run gites ourselves because it seemed only fair. She explained check out was 10 but could arrange for it later and texted us that it would be OK for 12 which was very helpful. Now that we are home we may well e-mail and point out the issue of the pillows and bedding etc.

As a matter of interest - how often would you (in your own home) empty the 'toilet paper bin'? I would have liked to empty ours before our week was up but did not feel inclined to buy a whole roll of bin liners and there were no spares left for us. I could have used our supermarket carrier bag but I was keeping that to re-use in the supermarket!!
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PW in Polemi
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Location: A village in Paphos, Cyprus

Post by PW in Polemi »

Hi Gillian
Yes, of course you (and any other LMHer) can contact me for advice and info - we love Cyprus and want other people to see it (her?) as the beautiful place we live and love. Wish you had contacted me - we could perhaps have met up and showed you bits of Cyprus you would not have seen otherwise - although perhaps if your map was a typical tourist one, and your map reading/direction finding abilities as poor as mine when we first arrived, you would have definitely seen bits of Paphos town that tourists generally don't get to see! :lol: :lol:

Light lunches are a problem over here - when we were holidaying, we would often order one meal and 2 plates so we could share. A "sandwich" type lunch at a taverna could be a pitta souvlaki. Generally this comes as a large pitta bread, stuffed with 2 or 3 kebabs worth of whichever meat you ordered, and plenty of chopped salad. Our local taverna does a REALLY good one and wraps it tightly in paper so the locals can have it as a take-out. There is a definite art to eating it out of the paper without dropping the contents ... :oops: :lol: The benefit of "eating in" is you get a knife and fork and often a half of lemon to squeeze over the contents, and can then easily leave as much of the pitta bread as you wish!

Such a shame you didn't find a decent eatery for lunch - I must admit we tend to steer clear of any that cater for coach parties, certainly while the coach is there!

As I warn our guests, portions are not exactly diet sized - but it is the norm here to ask for a doggy bag. Generally, the staff will either ask whether it is for you (in which case they bring a polystyrene container) or for your dog/cat, in which case it is probably just a small plastic bag or piece of aluminium foil. There is no need for embarrassment (a la typical Brit!) as asking to take your leftovers home merely shows that you enjoyed the food and do not want to waste it.

I know what you mean about the rain - even if the temperature does not drop, it's a psychological reaction to FEEL colder. We've just checked the central heating at the cottage - our first guests of the season arrive on Friday and some rain is scheduled (although if it's like most of the previously scheduled rain, it will disappear before it arrives.)

When it does rain here (generally January and February), it tends to come down in almost Biblical proportions, nothing like the gentle English pitter patter of April showers! You may have noticed rather large gutters/drainage ditches at the sides of the roads - they are very necessary and yet some roads still become raging rivers during periods of heavy rainfall.

At home, the toilet paper bins are emptied daily. As a cheap liner, I use the small bags generated with each purchase of fruit or veg - they're just the right size for our bins! The kitchen bin gets emptied most days, and daily in summer. We're not on a bin-collection round (too far out of the village itself) so we dump the sealed rubbish bag in the back of our twin cab (pickup or ute, whichever you recognise :D ) and deposit the rubbish in the nearest village green wheely bin as we pass. Our guests at the cottage only have to walk across the road to access a green wheely bin. In the cottage, one of the kitchen drawers is full of various small bags suitable for toilet bin liners and also a roll of kitchen bin liner bags. Occasionally, a guest will leave a nearly full roll of bags - not always the right size, too big for the toilet bins and too small for the kitchen bin :lol:

As far as I'm aware, Lidl is the only supermarket that charges for carrier bags (and I leave plenty, plus a cool bag for our guests) - the green revolution has yet to really impact Cyprus. :(

April and May are lovely months to visit Cyprus - warm enough generally not to need too many clothes, not too hot to do any of the touristy bits, and the hills are still lush and verdant. Plus, of course, April is still strawberry season, just!
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GillianF
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Location: Dordogne

Post by GillianF »

Fascinating to 'talk' to you. I'll definitely contact you before another visit. The map we had was of the tourist variety and I'm not that good at reading maps so we did see a few places more competent people would miss! In my favour - having learnt Russian (don't ask) at school I could make sense of some of the Greek road signs and with a bit of practice even managed to work a few other things out too. I don't speak Greek (only double Dutch) but once I know a word means whatever I can decipher it when I see it again.

I did notice people getting doggy bags and sharing food. I was tempted to ask for a starter to have as a main course but didn't have the nerve. Britishness! Living in France we've got used to portion sizes being adapted to allow for five courses! I think the most annoying thing was that most things came with a mountain of salad and chips. In one place everything was served with rice, vegetables and a choice of jacket potato or chips. OH said "no chips" but got them because they'd run out of jacket potato and I said "nothing but vegetables" and got a few sad carrots and undercooked cauliflower!

The rain was biblical. We were in the minimarket and watched it slowly rise up to the hubcabs of the car and it was ankle deep within minutes. Quite spectacular really.
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PW in Polemi
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Location: A village in Paphos, Cyprus

Post by PW in Polemi »

The "mountain" of salad is of course a staple of the ultra healthy Mediterranean diet. Cyprus is a little different due to its history with UK. It's been somewhat Anglicized - 3 square pin plugs, driving on the left of the road, etc etc - and chips are one of those things, especially in the tourist areas. Pork is very cheap and part of the local staple diet - this dates back to when just about every family (and they were mostly in the rural area then) not only had a few chickens, but fattened up a pig or two over the year. With the change of regime and the growth in the tourist area in particular, more workers were needed in the towns/cities so the then government set up a subsidy on pork so the families who moved to towns and could no longer keep their own pigs, could still afford to eat pork.

Sunday and Monday will be very busy at the A&E - many Cypriots are refraining from eating meat and meat products as it is Lent. Saturday night, after the midnight service and the lighting of the candles with the blessed flame, families will go home and stuff themselves silly. And the feasting continues over Sunday and Monday too. :roll: The village men tend to be a little more lax about not eating meat during Lent - after all, a lot of them work in the fields, so it is not unusual to go to a neighbouring village for a meal, and see some of the men from our own village eating a meze, heavy on the meat! :lol:

We sometimes ask for the starter as a main course - sometimes it comes as starter size and sometimes the chef "ups" the quantity to main course size! As we tend to frequent the same etablishments, we've got to know where the HUGE portions are, as opposed to the simply large! :lol:
Dogs have masters. Cats have slaves!
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