Property in Cyprus

Posts Tagged ‘Cyprus properties’

Minthis Hills golf club held a Motherball competition on 1st April.  They experimented with the order of the holes played, with the front nine as  1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9  and the back nine as 10-11-14-15-16-17-18-13-12. 

It proved a success and was enjoyed by all the members, as well as the beautiful Cyprus sunshine.  Golf in the morning, beach in the afternoon, what more could you ask for!

 Sponsored by AquaSpace, Ocean Basket and Minthis Hills Golf Club, the competition was fierce and the winners were: 

1^st Winner David Hudson, Derek Bailey, Bridget Sheldon  120

2^nd               Ted Peel, Terry Duggan, Glen Edwards                 115

3^rd                Tom Bestford, Lacki Gilchrist, Anita Aldridge  112 comeback

4^th                Charles Parr,  John Thompson,  Di Worth           112

Cyprus Golf is as popular as ever and at Minthis Hills (www.minthishills.org) we have a club that is going from strength to strength.   A full calendar of competitions take place throughout the year and on the 28/03/10, we held our Monthly Stableford Competition, sponsored by Goose, Fat & Garlic.  The winners were:

Division  I                                     

1^st Winner          C. Monks                            

2^nd Winner          D. Hudson                     

 Division II

1^st Winner          M. Stephenson   

2^nd Winner          P. Talbot                         

3^rd Winner          L. Gilchrist                  

 

Ladies

1^st Winner          Y. Preeme                        

2^nd Winner          M. Fortescue                    

3^rd Winner          G. Jones

On the 17^th March, Minthis Hills Golf Club held its annual St Patrick’s Day competition (www.minthishills.org).

This year there were 84 entrants, from both Minthis Hills and other clubs, surpassing all previous years.  Always good “craic”, this year was no exception.  Green was the colour of the day and a few St Patrick’s Day party hats were in attendance.

 

The field was highly competitive, but well natured and the jokes were flying, especially after a refuel at the 10^th hole. As sponsors, Pafilia and Minthis Hills were very proud to sponsor this event and that everyone enjoyed it so much.  We believe, itIt is an excellent way to celebrate St Patrick’s Day and we look forward to next year’s tournament.

The winners board:

1^st Men            H. Austin & P. Williams

2^nd Men           R. Birkett & P. Skinner

 1^st Ladies         A. Aldridge & D. Hudson

2^nd Ladies        Lesley Jones & J. Jackson

 Mixed              Linda Jones & G. Turton

The first golf course to be built in Cyprus, Minthis Hills has been undergoing a transformation. Well known golf architects, Mackenzie & Ebert, have been working their magic and the course is already looking extremely good. It is being upgraded to reflect the same concept and levels of luxury of the whole Minthis Hills resort, including the golf course properties, clubhouse and driving range.

Therefore, the character of the surrounding landscape has been emphasised, with new vistas being created between the most important points on the golf course, including the monastery and the clubhouse. In addition 9 of the holes have been reseeded with new grass and the concrete water channels (for recycling water back to the reservoir) have been hidden away. The new signature hole is also well underway.

Over the last couple of years a number of changes have been made, including the creation of the dramatic 14th hole, teeing off over a ravine. Very few dare to drive straight for the green, most choosing to aim for the simpler option of the fairway and then the green. We are still waiting for our first hole in one on this hole. The last two times there were holes in one on the course were spring this year; the 8th hole by a visitor to the course and the old 15th by a female member of the golf club.

Other improvements have been:
- small practice putting green by putting green
- putting green by clubhouse
- new greens & bunkers
- the changing of the contours of the fairways to enable rainwater to be recycled
- a computerised irrigation system

There will be further updates on the golf course shortly.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has already demonstrated that it has potential for Pafilia and its Cyprus properties, especially Minthis Hills, whose barefoot luxury villas and bungalows are very appealing to Saudi Arabians and expats. As result, we have opened up our first office in the Middle East, in Jeddah, KSA in the Al Andalous area of the city.

The company has a strategy of establishing local offices in key geographies with a view to providing local support and knowledge in local languages. Part of our Global network, this now joins our London, Moscow, St Petersburg, Kiev, Dublin and Chania offices. To head up our activities in KSA, Kyriazi Anghelopoulos has been appointed as Saudi Arabia area manager, who has a great deal of valuable experience in this region. I look forward to working very closely with him so that together we can realise our vision for the area.

We marked the occasion with an inauguration ceremony where our partner in KSA, Sheikh Mohammed Bakhashwain, and I signed the contracts for the office. This was followed by our first invitation only Pafilia seminar held at the Hilton, which was highly successful.

Cyprus is new to Saudi Arabians, but there are very strong reasons why we believe that we can provide expatriates and Saudi Arabians alike with what they desire; attractive holiday homes or investment property in an EU country which has a warm and pleasant climate, mountains, sea and so much more while being just a short flight away. Cyprus and Saudi Arabia each have a rich cultural heritage going back to ancient times, while having all the advantages of a modern cosmopolitan society.

Another aspect in the attraction of Pafilia’s Cyprus properties is that the Government has announced that non-EU citizens investing a minimum of €300,000 in property in Cyprus are highly likely to be granted an immigration permit, which is equivalent to a permanent residence permit. There will no longer be a need for visas or renewal of residency permits for non-EU citizens and owners will gain almost the same rights as Cypriot citizens.

In addition, Cyprus is the perfect place to enjoy life to its full. As well as its climate, Cyprus has a very relaxed lifestyle that removes the stress of everyday life. The low crime rate and family oriented culture create a safe and secure environment where your children can play outside without worrying. This is supplemented by an excellent education system, first class healthcare and state-of-the-art infrastructure. Cyprus is also an International business centre, where there are Inward Investment initiatives and where you can set up a company easily. It has low or zero taxation and bilateral tax treaties with a vast variety of countries, providing a gateway into the EU.

As developers of Minthis Hills’, Pafilia, is not focused on just Cyprus property.  We have a broader interest than that and have just announced the donation of plants, trees and materials totalling around €10,000 to create a Municipal green area for the people of Latchi.  This picturesque seaside town, famed for its fresh fish, is less than 20 minutes drive from Minthis Hills.

This announcement is part of the Corporate Social Responsibility programme that we are developing and follows our donation of 200 parking spaces in Limassol and the pledge we made at Minthis Hills to the UNEP’s Billion Tree Campaign.  

Occupying around 900m2, the Muncipal park is designed to attract families, both locals and visitors and has a large lawn, trees to create shade and river bed gravel around the plants.  It is an attractive garden that will mature well with time.  The plants used are all drought tolerant Mediterranean ones that require minimal water and are not prone to damage by sea breezes.  We have also installed an automated irrigation system to ensure optimal use of water.

We worked very closely with the Municipality of Polis Chrysochous to complete this park, with us designing it, providing the materials and overseeing it, ehile the Municipality carried out the work.  According to the Mayor of Polis Chrysochous, Angelos Odysseos, Pafilia has contributed significantly to the Polis Chrysochous area over the years.  This has not only been by building properties, also by helping with the Municipality’s many cultural and artistic activities.  The Polis Chrysochous area encompasses the popular town of Polis and Latchi and is in a naturally beautiful area of Cyprus, once the ancient kingdom of Marion.  There are several art galleries and a number of artists and sculptors in the surrounding areas, opening their studios regularly as part of the National open art studios tour.  It is on the edge of the Akamas National Park, a whole untouched peninsular with rare species of plants and animals.  .

It was Pafilia Services, the sister company to Pafilia Property Developers, who led the project.  Their in-house landscaping team has a great deal of expertise in this area and had in mind to create a small attractive park.  We believe it has been successful and we wish the people of Latchi enjoy this park for many years!

Cyprus properties are now competing against the best in the world, with Minthis Hills winning 5 stars in two very competitive categories in the Europe & Africa Property Awards 2009 – “Best Golf Development” and “Best Architecture (Multiple Units)” for both the resort and its golf course properties.  Minthis Hills has now been nominated for the International Property Awards as well to compete for the accolade of World’s Best in each category.

 

Obviously we are very pleased about this news and, to quote Demetris Ashiotis, one of our executive directors, “Minthis Hills is special to us, we live and breathe it.  It is an opportunity to take everything we do to new levels.  It will be the address not just in Cyprus, but the Mediterranean.  We are very proud to have this recognised and it demonstrates our ability to compete at the highest eschelons.”

 

Designed by Woods Bagot of Emirates Towers fame, our private residences combine traditional and modern features to create a look and feel that possesses universal appeal.  Both the properties and the resort as a whole have been designed to be the epitomy of barefoot luxury.  They bring you close to nature, the views and the wide open spaces and at the same time offer real pampered luxury with 5 star services.  By blurring the boundaries between inside and outside, the architecture is in touch with nature, while the whole design and the finishes exude luxury.  Traditional Cypriot mountain village elements, such local stone and wood and interior courtyards, are a fundamental part of the design, while facilitating energy efficiency by encouraging cross-ventilation to provide natural cooling during Summer.

 

Part of the renowned International Property Awards, the European Property Awards have been running for 15 years.  The judging panel included Eric Pickles MP, chairman of the Conservative Party, Ben Wood, industry head property markets of Google UK; Peter Bolton King, group chief executive of the National Federation of Property Professionals; Imtiaz Farookhi, chief executive of the National House Building Council; Christopher Hall, president elect of FIABCI; Wilhelm Harnish, Master Builders of Australia (MBA); Thijis Stoffer, International Consortium of Real Estate Agents Association (ICREA); Helen Shield, editor-in-chief of International Homes Luxury Collection magazine and Gillian Farr, head of design of Laura Ashley Home.