Thank you

What a ride…

Where did the time go? It seems like only yesterday that  a young Steve and Sabine were opening an office, and some of you were walking round with hard hats hearing a vision of what Vila Porto Mare would be….

Fast forward over 20 years and with the announcement of 14 July, things changed.. As the poster in the kitchen foretold. ..

What a ride….

We showed 20 thousand sets of people round the resort! And 5,000 or so of you bought one and joined the family😊  And we thank all of you. Every one. We don’t want to name any owners as to be honest this article would be huge and then we’d be upset about who we didn’t name, you have no idea how much happiness you brought to our daily lives. The chocolates, the home made scones! Choccy choccy and hot cross buns that we all loved except Sabine hates raisins, which we laughed at every time. Wine, golf balls, hugs, bacon, massaman curry paste. Yorkshire tea. So many happy memories, so many sad moments. All of you made an impression on us, from the owners who come in every day to chat to those that just wave and say thanks on a Monday. We have seen kids come on their first visits with parents, and then being owners themselves with their own kids. Friendships for life were made with us and with other owners. Sadly owners passing, and then happily their partners coming out the next time and finding the rest of the owners great comforts and future friends. And honestly, no matter how many times any of you said ‘you know this is the best thing we ever did’ we never got tired of hearing it.

And for us, the team. So many of us, beyond count. Some staff who played big parts in the operation and in our and your stories, Nicola, Ciaran and Sarah, Neil, Rachelle, Anita, Yvette, Tom and Brenda, Lisa, David, Paulo, and some that came in and left in a blink of an eye. Sadly this side of the family also lost some. Carla and Eddie, both sadly missed and hopefully looking down on us. Carla no doubt still talking slightly Scottish because of her colleagues, Eddie still telling stories about how he bought his mercedes.

All the daft moments. We could explain ‘super-fast computers’ or when Anita got stuck on the lower garden and had to shout help, or the time Tyrone fell asleep in … actually we won't tell that story.

So many moments that weren’t really work, the Machico food festivals and that long drunken walk up the hill, going to watch Maritimo lose with lots of owners, golf golf golf…. The 21 club.  The Christmas parties, the wine trips. Clare's famous Christmas lights tour with home made biscuits!

And now… it's not the end…

it's

time-

-share

team 2.0.

Two months down the line and things feel surprisingly almost normal. Did we dream it? Okay there are no contracts, but the office is still the same, maybe less manic. The smiles are still there. Clare, Cindy and Sabine all still welcome you with open arms, just Sabine only does it Tuesday to Thursday. Steve sent out the maintenance fee letters a month earlier than normal and i think he's already working on next years. Bruno continues to be the coolest driver in town. John left and then snuck back, at the same desk still annoying Cindy and Clare when they are trying to work. Joanna now has a Tui uniform and Simon is enjoying his freedom.

Thank you for the journey so far. To be continued. ..