14 Jun 2007 5:00 PM:

Hi Paul - to date i've not paid any community fee to EH. I emailed them in september asking for information as to why they included reception costs in the charge when they are their responsibility. I'll gladly pay towards the general maintainance but I see receptionists as an integral part of their business and they should brunt the cost. Would you believe - i never got a response.

My parents returned yesterday and said they had a great time there. They were there for 3wks and commented that the hotel was busy. During their stay the hotel hosted a wedding party and 26 rooms were hired out for a number of days. For general holiday use they estimate that 20 rooms were occupied. They were extremely happy with the service from EH staff and paid particular compliments to David (i wonder if its a different fella).

As they were leaving David handed them a stack of post that has arrived there for me. I'll pick it up when I see them next, but i'm wondering if it will contained a request for community charge payments.

Looking at the Don Juan website i consider, including iva and other costs incurred, that negative equity is going to be faced for several years. I'm 1yr into a 15yr mortgage and think i'll struggle to cover costs if I sell before 2012. Prices in spain are on the decline and with the ECB  interest rate on the increase, EH rental contracts are worthless so I'm planning on sitting tight and hoping EH have to sell out to a proper hotel company.

Community thread: All is Quiet!!!

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12 Jun 2007 9:29 AM:

I've been checking out the donjuanbeachresort-spain.com website and from there you can see how many apartments are for sale and at what prices. This site must of been updated quite recently. From the sales info i got from interealty back in 2003 the prices of some units have been reduced by €50k. Not good news!!!!!!

The EH Hotel website now shows them having only 2 hotels. Whats happening to EH? Could we find a new hotel company running the Don Juan? Does anyone have any news on whats happening as I'm not due a visit until August.

Community thread: All is Quiet!!!

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25 Feb 2007 2:21 PM:

Sorry for a delay in replying Paul, i've been working and haven't been on the website for a week.

Personally, I can not see EH striking any deals with owners for long lets. The main reason being I think they have limited resources and lack ambition. If you look at their website they now appear to have only 5 hotels, last year it may of been 12-15. They have either sold out to another hotelier or have closed them down due to running costs exceeding income.

Hotel occupancy raised last year to above 75%, I think EH might deliver 40% at the Don Juan. I see very little in the marketing of the Don Juan and think they are happy now to have 35 odd rooms available to them as this is a 100% increase in what they had last year. If they have a better year this year then they may wish to expand the room numbers in readiness for next.

Lets hope i'm wrong. Next saturday i'll be at the Don Juan for a couple of weeks and will speak with David about the progress of their business an ask him if there are any improved deals on offer to us owners.

Community thread: All is Quiet!!!

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17 Feb 2007 1:23 PM:

Hi Paul, i anticipate that with family, friends and ourselves the apt will be used for maybe 20wks this year, so if EH were willing to strike a deal I would be interested in listening to what would be on offer. One of my isues with the contracts that EH have is the inflexibility of it. ie you need to tell them, I think in Feb as to when you wish to use the apt and hand it over them for the rest of the year. The main periods EH want the apt clash with the times I want use of it (June/July/August/september). So for me to reconsider giving the apt in those summer months the sum i'ld want would be €400-€500 a week. I just can't see that happening.

Reading some of the other forums on this site there appears to be some doubt on whether disney will have any project in or close to manilva, if true that news would be a disaster.

Can you think of any reason why EH have not sought the community creation and a fee from the sold apts? If 67 apts are sold then EH are missing out on nearly €27k a quarter. Thats a sum of money that if you've budgeted for and are not receiving, you miss!

Community thread: All is Quiet!!!

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15 Feb 2007 4:17 PM:

Paul, I totally agree with you regarding the Don Juan as a quality investment. I made a decision in July 06 that I would not be signing with EH as returns were basically only 20% of the yearly outlay . I started to look then about the possibility of resale and that seems to be extremely difficult with a stagnent property market on the CDS. Some of the apartments advertised last summer are still up for sale now. Hopefully this year there will be a positive announcement from Disney regarding their project and the market will change.

I do enjoy the Don Juan and the local area and have resigned myself to keeping the apartment for the next 2-3yrs. Maybe then I'll get a reasonable capital return that will compensate for the potential cost of owning the apartment for 4yrs. My crystal ball is very cloudy and I can not see anything other than Disney making a diference to the market.

If EH come up with €9-10k I would sign up for 2 years before selling but the hotel has been very quiet since september and I can not see them at this stage even covering their costs. Nobody appears to have paid for the community charge and no-one seems to be arranging a community meeting so EH must be digging deep into their pockets to keep the hotel running. How long for could be a worry for us owners!

Community thread: All is Quiet!!!

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