# Two new TV series



## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Has anyone watched the new series that have started?

Get away for the winter was on every weekday BBC1. It is rental properties and a bit silly format. Some nice views of Spain though. Couples who want to spend a few months away are taken around to look at rental properties by a local agent. Only one partner travels and the one viewing sends back views of the apartments. The voice over is Gloria Hunniford.

Many of the rentals seem very high for the low season. The ones in Cadiz town were around 1200€ pm in January and not very nice. 

Second is on C4 and another new life in the Sun, includes couples in France too. Same old format, will their B&B be ready for the first guests, will the bar or restaurant open in time:drama: One new bar was in Javea and is vegan food, Think it's called Ethos, anyone know it?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Isobella said:


> Has anyone watched the new series that have started?
> 
> Get away for the winter was on every weekday BBC1. It is rental properties and a bit silly format. Some nice views of Spain though. Couples who want to spend a few months away are taken around to look at rental properties by a local agent. Only one partner travels and the one viewing sends back views of the apartments. The voice over is Gloria Hunniford.
> 
> ...


I haven't been to Ethos - now called V-thos (some company was threatening legal action over the name.)

It seems to be doing well though, if you can trust the rave reviews on FB


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

I've caught the rental one and the thing that I find astonishing is the stratospheric rents.

Suppose we were spoilt by 3 bed 2 bath townhouses for 250 Euros pcm.


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## cermignano (Feb 9, 2017)

Yes I watched the rental series. i thought the rents were quite dear for what was on offer. i didnt watch the other series as i thought it was repeats. Will get it on catch-up. thanks


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

xabiachica said:


> I haven't been to Ethos - now called V-thos (some company was threatening legal action over the name.)
> 
> It seems to be doing well though, if you can trust the rave reviews on FB


Just had a look on trip Adviser. The food sounds and looks very good. I do wonder about the reviews as food is very subjective and even very good ones get some bad reviews too. Almost every review is 5* with no constructive comments.


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## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

Why rent and only spend the winter over here when you can come over here for good before the Brexit drawbridge
goes up over ( withdrawl agreement ) acquired & inherited EU rights ?


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

The single mum who opened a boutique hotel in Frigiliana, well, we know her!! Bumped into her when they were doing some of the filming. She has her hair done at the same place my mother goes to and they also know each other. She is very down to earth and a kind and caring person.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

thrax said:


> The single mum who opened a boutique hotel in Frigiliana, well, we know her!! Bumped into her when they were doing some of the filming. She has her hair done at the same place my mother goes to and they also know each other. She is very down to earth and a kind and caring person.


I was a bit confused with that story. She had two boys so she rented a villa with a pool. How could she run the hotel and care for two kids in another place. It wasn't explained.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Williams2 said:


> Why rent and only spend the winter over here when you can come over here for good before the Brexit drawbridge
> goes up over ( withdrawl agreement ) acquired & inherited EU rights ?


Can't you leave Brexit out of any thread:roll eyes:

Perhaps, like myself they like to visit other places and getting away a bit in winter whilst loving where they live


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

I've seen the winter rentals one a couple of times (kept indoors by all this rain we've been having!) but not the other one.

Something that has bemused me is that the would-be renters sometimes talk of renting out their UK home to cover the rental abroad, but only intend to be away for maybe a couple of months. Could they rent for such a short period - AirbnB, maybe?


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## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

Isobella said:


> Can't you leave Brexit out of any thread:roll eyes:
> 
> Perhaps, like myself they like to visit other places and getting away a bit in winter whilst loving where they live


To be honest there are only so many shopping days left before Brexit, the clocks ticking !!


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> I've seen the winter rentals one a couple of times (kept indoors by all this rain we've been having!) but not the other one.
> 
> Something that has bemused me is that the would-be renters sometimes talk of renting out their UK home to cover the rental abroad, but only intend to be away for maybe a couple of months. Could they rent for such a short period - AirbnB, maybe?


Quite possibly.

But what about all one's _stuff_?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

jimenato said:


> Quite possibly.
> 
> But what about all one's _stuff_?


Very true. A large family home in my town starting operating as a b&b a year or so ago, and a common complaint in reviews is that there are too many personal items in the rooms. It isn't cheap either (around €90 per night), and the bathrooms aren't even ensuite for that.

I've been looking at short term rentals in various places for trips later on this year, and all the prices (not just in Spain but other countries as well) seem to have increased quite a bit since last year. I usually book via booking.com and something else which has just cropped up is that a lot of the properties are now charging an additional cleaning fee per stay (and sometimes per night), some have other charges as well (some I saw in Italy charged extra per night for towels and bed linen!). Surely cleaning and linen should be included in the rent, unless it's just a ruse to make the initial rental price look a bit more reasonable?


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Lynn R said:


> Very true. A large family home in my town starting operating as a b&b a year or so ago, and a common complaint in reviews is that there are too many personal items in the rooms. It isn't cheap either (around €90 per night), and the bathrooms aren't even ensuite for that.
> 
> I've been looking at short term rentals in various places for trips later on this year, and all the prices (not just in Spain but other countries as well) seem to have increased quite a bit since last year. I usually book via booking.com and something else which has just cropped up is that a lot of the properties are now charging an additional cleaning fee per stay (and sometimes per night), some have other charges as well (some I saw in Italy charged extra per night for towels and bed linen!). Surely cleaning and linen should be included in the rent, unless it's just a ruse to make the initial rental price look a bit more reasonable?


Sounds a bit like no frills airlines


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## cruizes (Oct 9, 2011)

Isobella said:


> Has anyone watched the new series that have started?
> 
> Get away for the winter was on every weekday BBC1. It is rental properties and a bit silly format. Some nice views of Spain though. Couples who want to spend a few months away are taken around to look at rental properties by a local agent. Only one partner travels and the one viewing sends back views of the apartments. The voice over is Gloria Hunniford.
> 
> ...


But only 50 per cent actually makes the move.


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## cermignano (Feb 9, 2017)

Yes, they should just give the full price because unlike 'no frills' you don't have any choice in the matter. I have been trying various websites recently for a Portugal holiday in May. Airbnb show you 'cleaning and service' fees. But Homeaway prices go up by £100 after you have final price much different from advertised rate. It is really annoying.


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## Swerve (Jun 29, 2011)

Thanks for posting. I'll catch up on iPlayer. Etc.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> Very true. A large family home in my town starting operating as a b&b a year or so ago, and a common complaint in reviews is that there are too many personal items in the rooms. It isn't cheap either (around €90 per night), and the bathrooms aren't even ensuite for that.
> 
> I've been looking at short term rentals in various places for trips later on this year, and all the prices (not just in Spain but other countries as well) seem to have increased quite a bit since last year. I usually book via booking.com and something else which has just cropped up is that a lot of the properties are now charging an additional cleaning fee per stay (and sometimes per night), some have other charges as well (some I saw in Italy charged extra per night for towels and bed linen!). Surely cleaning and linen should be included in the rent, unless it's just a ruse to make the initial rental price look a bit more reasonable?


I met a couple last year who had come over for a wedding. They were booked into one of the older apartment blocks. No frills, no lift, no pool, no heating no aircon.

On arrival to pick up the keys at the agent, they were told that they had to pay a cash fee for cleaning & linen - upfront. It was something like 100€ for cleaning & linen was extra.

Considering it was a 2 bedroom apartment, & they were staying 4 nights, that seemed extortionate.

There was nothing mentioned about it on the website - but they really had no choice but to cough up.

I asked about it on a local FB group & others had had the same experience with that particular agent. What did surprise me though, was that it's common practice now, although the other agents who responded do have it clearly set out on their websites.


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## ccm47 (Oct 15, 2013)

But is it possible to do the cleaning oneself? In France there's always been these charges, and we've regularly done the cleaning. Firstly it encourages the guest to look after the property, and secondy the guest is assured about their privacy, during their stay.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

There's a Spanish series that's causing a bit of a stir, "La Fariña" It's the story of drug smuggling in the north of Spain, in Ourense in the '80ś and 90's. 

*In this time period 80% of the cocaine that came into Europe entered by the Galician coast. *

The series is based on a book which has been "secuestrado" by court order. I think this means confiscated/ seized. The judge has also ordered that no more copies be printed or distributed. This is because someone named in the book, Bea Gondar is suing the author. This has of course meant that book sales (second hand and illegal) have soared and the series is much talked about.

I'm not sure if the series is still going ahead, but it's supposed to be tonight at 22:40 Antena 3. It's an incredible story of drugs, crime, corruption, greed...It will be a challenge for most of us though with the accents, but at least there is the beautiful Galician coastline to keep interest going! Here's the Fariña page on the A3 website
ANTENA 3 TV | Fariña, la serie que trata el narcotráfico gallego de la mano de Sito Miñanco | ANTENA 3


It tells the story of a dark period in the history of Galicia


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## tony3121 (Mar 5, 2017)

xabiachica said:


> I met a couple last year who had come over for a wedding. They were booked into one of the older apartment blocks. No frills, no lift, no pool, no heating no aircon.
> 
> On arrival to pick up the keys at the agent, they were told that they had to pay a cash fee for cleaning & linen - upfront. It was something like 100€ for cleaning & linen was extra.
> 
> ...


We rented a apartment through Owners Direct in October last year, we explained we had a small Dog and she said that was OK, one week before we arrived she sent email saying we would have to pay €120 extra for Dog and €100 cleaning in cash.
It was too late to cancel as we would lose all the money, so we had no choice, If we were told there was extra for Dog at beginning that wouldnt have been aproblem.


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## cermignano (Feb 9, 2017)

Robbers


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Isobella said:


> Just had a look on trip Adviser. The food sounds and looks very good. I do wonder about the reviews as food is very subjective and even very good ones get some bad reviews too. Almost every review is 5* with no constructive comments.


According to Tripadvisor Javea has 70+ 4.5 and 5 star restaurants.

My opinion differs somewhat. I think we've got about 10 really standout ones, dozens of very ordinary ones (nothing wrong with that), and plenty of absolutely awful ones as well (most of which have at least 4 starts on TA).


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Lynn R said:


> Very true. A large family home in my town starting operating as a b&b a year or so ago, and a common complaint in reviews is that there are too many personal items in the rooms. It isn't cheap either (around €90 per night), and the bathrooms aren't even ensuite for that.
> 
> I've been looking at short term rentals in various places for trips later on this year, and all the prices (not just in Spain but other countries as well) seem to have increased quite a bit since last year. I usually book via booking.com and something else which has just cropped up is that a lot of the properties are now charging an additional cleaning fee per stay (and sometimes per night), some have other charges as well (some I saw in Italy charged extra per night for towels and bed linen!). Surely cleaning and linen should be included in the rent, unless it's just a ruse to make the initial rental price look a bit more reasonable?


I find Airbnb's final price is often different than the headline. I was in a hurry when booking something in the UK a couple of weeks ago. I found a "Superhost" owned lovely looking place and at 90UKP for the one night I was OK with the price. When I clicked to book it highlighted that the price was for single occupancy and displayed the box to specify/confirm the number of people. Then it added a cleaning fee and a service charge. 

I booked the nearby Travel Lodge instead because I didn't have the time to find a place within my budget (a reasonable, I think, 100UKP) because it's not possible to understand pricing without going through the booking process.

I used to love Airbnb. Not now.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Interesting, I'll give it a try. Although if you might struggle with it PW, I'm not sure I'll stand a chance.



Pesky Wesky said:


> There's a Spanish series that's causing a bit of a stir, "La Fariña" It's the story of drug smuggling in the north of Spain, in Ourense in the '80ś and 90's.
> 
> *In this time period 80% of the cocaine that came into Europe entered by the Galician coast. *
> 
> ...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Horlics said:


> According to Tripadvisor Javea has 70+ 4.5 and 5 star restaurants.
> 
> My opinion differs somewhat. I think we've got about 10 really standout ones, dozens of very ordinary ones (nothing wrong with that), and plenty of absolutely awful ones as well (most of which have at least 4 starts on TA).


I agree with you. I've only ever had one truly awful meal in Jávea though - but there are places that I know to avoid without having been there. 

We do have two Michelin starred restaurants though. Bon Amb now has two stars, & the restaurant in the hotel Rodat was recently given one star.


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