Power station explosion

The independent report commissioned by President Christofias has concluded that the President himself is responsible for the tragic explosion that killed 13 people and left the island without power back in July this year.

The explosion occurred on July 11th when 98 containers of gunpowder epxloded having been kept in the open in full sun for over two years. In the ensuing months, work has taken place to restore much of the power at the stricken power plant, aided now by the lull in the tourist season, when demand is far lower.

While the recent report has laid full blame on Christofias, the President has decided that he is not to blame at all and is resolutely ignoring both the report’s conclusions and calls for him to resign.

Of course.

Power Trouble

A fatal explosion in Limassol has affected power supplies intermittently across the island. Fortunately we have no villas anywhere near, but there is potential loss of power and/or water over the next few days.

Cheap flights on offer

Jet2 have released booking for summer 2012 and there are some good deals available. Best I could find was £64 outbound in late June, inclusive of taxes and charges, to Paphos from East Midlands airport. Jet2 also offer extra legroom seats at a reasonable £22 charge. Check out http://www.jet2.com/

Key Safes

A key safe is a little box by the front door of a villa with a keypad. Get the numbers in the right order and the door drops down to reveal the keys. Very nifty. A Really Good Idea is to open the door, then put the keys back in the safe and twirl the numbers. That way, you can’t lock yourself out of the villa . . .

On our villa info site we have just published a  new article listing 10 ways to save money on a Cyprus villa holiday.

 

You can find the article here and more money-saving suggestions are always welcome.

Be Careful Out There!

Some people think booking direct with the owner is a cheaper way to rent a villa. We disagree on several counts, but an article in this weekend’s Daily Telegraph reveals just how risky booking direct with “the owner” can be.

A British man who used letting agency websites to con holidaymakers into booking non-existent villas on the Continent has been jailed for two years. Andrew Ryder, 47, pleaded guilty to 13 counts of fraud by false representation after stealing more than £120,000 over a year.

The article goes on to say that Reports of advertisements for non-existent villas – or for genuine properties not owned by the advertiser – on websites such as Craigslist and Gumtree rose sharply last year.

Our main issue has always been whether an owner would tell you their villa was not suitable for your needs. We often steer people away from their first choice once we find out what their key issues are, but then we have hundreds of alternatives and our key aim is customer satisfaction. People with one villa may have the main aim of filling it, but now there is the danger it may not even be their villa!

The full article can be found at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8245572/British-man-jailed-for-holiday-villa-fraud.html

Happy New Year!

2010 was our best ever year for sending people to villas in Cyprus and we hope to make 2011 better yet. We have taken on some fabulous new villas, and many owners are offering great early booking discounts to get the year off to a busy start. Even at this early stage many of the popular villas have taken bookings for school holidays, so don’t miss out – start your research now.

As ever, we stand ready to answer your questions as honestly and helpfully as we can, and we look forward to your enquiry (and best of all, your testimonial to say what a great time you had!).

All the best from the team at CPV

Contrasting weather

As we shiver in the UK, I notice that temperatures in Cyprus are finally forecast to drop just below 20 degrees C. next week. Poor things! I was out for a week at the end of October and noticed the first week of November was forecast to be even hotter. That drew me in to watching the weather on a daily basis, and only twice has the daily maximum fallen between 25 degrees. That’s close to 80 in Fahrenheit, and absolutely lovely in anyone’s language. As I pile more logs on the wood-burner and look out at the snow and ice, I can’t help contrasting it with swimming in the sea only weeks previously.

Prices of villas and flights in November are of course at rock bottom levels, so it may be worth thinking about for next year.

Online availability – It’s coming!

Enough excuses – we now have villa availability live and visible on our test server, ready to go live after testing. I won’t bore you with the cause of the delays – suffice it to say we are one of the few travel companies that doesn’t believe in taking the money first and then sorting out the problems.

So to the enquirer who wrote this month:

This website is useless for search purposes.

Question:

If a  buyer can’t type in his dates and then see availability why would he waste time here when there are others that can and do offer that facility????

You have lost my interest already, without bothering to look at any property !!!!

There is truth in what you say, and we are addressing the issue. Probably too late for you though . . .

Above and beyond the call of duty!

Had to smile yesterday. We got a villa report in from a customer who had enjoyed their stay. No surprises there, but he also commended the service he received while planning his holiday, despite the problems he posed.
Those problems related to being on active service, and having very limited access to communication, in a rather difficult environment (!). We were happy to help, and even more happy to be at this end of the process. He deserved his holiday!