5 Secrets to Keeping THC Homes Beautiful and "Holiday Ready"
With spring in full swing and the warmest season on its way, our Algarve local concierge Nicole Remus shares how she ensures your Hideaways Club homes are "holiday ready" this summer.
Munich-born Nicole Remus, 47 is our local concierge in the Algarve and manages your four villas in the region. Remus has worked in foreign property management for the past 15 years. In addition to ensuring properties are well maintained, Remus also acts as concierge to guests during their stays.
Here, she lets us in on how she keeps the Algarve villas in tip-top condition and "holiday ready" this summer:
- 1. Boiling point
Boiler or drain problems could spoil a holiday and can be a lot of hassle to sort out, so a specialist maintenance company runs a thorough boiler service and solar panels are checked out. Drains are inspected and cleaned and septic tanks emptied by a specialist company.
- 2. Outdoor living
Holiday home outdoor space is really important for alfresco meals and barbecues, so all terraces, verandas, paths and outdoor furniture are power washed to clean any mildew or staining. For holiday homes near the sea, steel railings are cleaned and treated once a month to prevent rust.
- 3. Flower power
It can be tempting to think gardening can be done in one blitz in the spring, but it really has to be done regularly to keep grass and weeds in trim and to keep shrubs and flowers in the best shape for summer. We water plants during dry spells, especially in areas of low rainfall, so that you don't arrive to brown scorched earth!
Our swimming pools are maintained by specialist contractors on annual contracts. In Portugal where there can be minor earth tremors, we do not drain the pool, because without the weight of the water, the pool walls are vulnerable to cracking when tremors occur.
- 4. Inner beauty
Scuffed skirting, marked paintwork and chipped crockery will make a holiday home look tired and unloved. Paintwork in your homes are touched up or cleaned every year and completely re-decorated every four to five years.
Duvets, cushions and curtains are dry cleaned before the start of the season and all crockery and equipment checked and counted. We make sure all electrical items, such as TVs, satellite, wifi, electric shutters and security alarms are in good working order, as technology has a habit of going wrong.
- 5. Spring clean
A property that has been locked up for several weeks, or even months, can smell musty when it is opened, so we clean your homes every week at the very least, whether it is occupied or not.