No Place in the Sun .

[Ray]

Am very happy with my voucher,, as someone once said.

I'll Be Back ...

[hogfather]

Ah, but will they?

[Ducks]

Ah, but will they?

We don't know what they bought in the end! Any number of the posters here could be either of them...

(Note: not me, for the record. ) 

The problem with the show is that it puts pressure on people to make a quick decision that involves hundreds of thousands of pounds. I certainly wouldn't want to do so "under the gun" just to make good telly for somebody else! We were looking for about a decade before we finally found our perfect place, and while the actual sight-to-sale happened within a six week period, that was after years and years of looking at and rejecting properties, all the while refining our list of needs, as well as readjusting our expectations.

The show was a fantastic resource for the serious buyer fifteen or twenty years ago when it started, because there was limited access to foreign property until you had boots on the ground— and even then, local knowledge was essential. People went on the show because they needed the help. These days, however, you can do it all yourself, and all from the comfort of your sofa at home. You can scope out locations on Google street view, shop the local agents' sites as well as whatever multi-agent site the country has available, browse forums and Facebook to get an ex-pat's view, watch a bunch of YouTube videos of people's experiences, read TripAdvisor reviews of nearby hotels for information on local amenities or problems, and do just about everything to inform yourself before fetching up in person for a viewing. 

With all that in mind, why would anyone go on a show like that these days? Mainly for the fun of it, I suspect, or because it is easier... And if you don't buy, you now have several agents' particulars so you can keep tabs on their sites once you go back home to make sure you don't miss out on a similar, but better, property that comes up later. Buyers on more recent seasons have much less pressure and motivation to buy because they don't "need" the show the way they used to.

I still enjoy watching it, though... And if not for the show making us take a second look at Caleta, we would never have ended up there, so I'm very grateful to it! We'd written it off after a short and generally underwhelming holiday there years ago, but the show made us re-consider. Very glad we didn't end up buying down South, as Caleta is so much more convenient to us across the board. I think that's probably the real use of the show these days— introducing people to areas they hadn't really considered, as well as general entertainment.

[trex]

I still enjoy watching it, though... And if not for the show making us take a second look at Caleta, we would never have ended up there, so I'm very grateful to it! We'd written it off after a short and generally underwhelming holiday there years ago, but the show made us re-consider. Very glad we didn't end up buying down South, as Caleta is so much more convenient to us across the board. I think that's probably the real use of the show these days— introducing people to areas they hadn't really considered, as well as general entertainment.

It annoys me a bit when they visit costa de antigua/nuevo horizonte and talks about it as an "up and coming" area 😂

[Ray]

Have been to Costa de Antigua many many times over the last 10 years or so. And really must say that every year the place gets better.
Half finished complexes are now getting finished, some have owners living in them, some have pools with water in them, where once it was just a empty pool.

I always thought of it as a second homers kind of place, and not really a holiday place, even if it does have 3 hotels.

One or two complexes do have some squatters, and it seems that once in, squatters are hard to get rid of.

All in all its a place I like very much, if they knock down that old lido thing, and maybe that big unfinished hotel behind Stoners Bar, it would give the area a big boost.

[trex]

Have been to Costa de Antigua many many times over the last 10 years or so. And really must say that every year the place gets better.
Half finished complexes are now getting finished, some have owners living in them, some have pools with water in them, where once it was just a empty pool.

I always thought of it as a second homers kind of place, and not really a holiday place, even if it does have 3 hotels.

One or two complexes do have some squatters, and it seems that once in, squatters are hard to get rid of.

All in all its a place I like very much, if they knock down that old lido thing, and maybe that big unfinished hotel behind Stoners Bar, it would give the area a big boost.

I know that there's squatters in the big complex (I think it's called miramar). But surely there must be more than two complexes that have problems with squatters? 

I had a walk around costa de antigua a couple of weeks ago, and yes, you have absolutely right. Things have gotten better over the years, but it's in my book far from good. If they knocked down that hotel that you are talking about and actually made a town center in the open spaces it would probably feel a lot nicer. 

I'm not here to slag off costa de antigua, I just think that there's a exaggeration when they say it's "up and coming", I doubt that it will ever be a sought after area.

What is it about the place you like?

Article for reference: https://www.diariodefuerteventura.com/no...%A1s-pobre

[Ducks]

if they knock down that old lido thing

Was this ever opened? Every time I pass it, it makes me kind of sad.

[Ducks]

For really short period of time. They were asking for a tenner at the entry and because most complexes had their own pool, not many visitors were eager to pay. That's what I heard, never saw it open on my own.

That's amazing. The water parks in Gran Canaria always did very well. Wonder why it didn't take off here?

[Captain Sensible]

For really short period of time. They were asking for a tenner at the entry and because most complexes had their own pool, not many visitors were eager to pay. That's what I heard, never saw it open on my own.

That's amazing. The water parks in Gran Canaria always did very well. Wonder why it didn't take off here?

It did open for a few months back in the mid 90's. The problem was that it wasn't a water park with attractions. It was just a water/pool area with sunbeds. It was also in a location away from any concentration of tourists, especially as other resorts on the island were only just expanding.

[Pub the Shack]

I’m surprised at this comment - I’ve been visiting since the early 90’s and I’ve never seen it open?