David and Paula Jones are a couple from Canada and the UK respectively. They worked many years in London as Business Consultants, but they left their successful careers behind to live in the small, white-washed village of Otívar. Were they crazy?

They married in 2012 at the beautiful Palacete de Cazulas in Otivar. In the lead up to the wedding they visited once a month for a year. During this time they absolutely fell in love with the village, its people, stunning views and way of life and they didnt want this to end. They loved it so much they signed a contract to buy their house the day after their wedding!

They started visiting their home often for holidays and eventually they commuted to and from London to work. After three years the commute became too difficult and the pull to live in Otívar permanently, became stronger everyday. They volunteered at Valle Verde Animal Rescue and soon found themselves with five dogs and two cats! So they needed to be home more often.

They decided to use their love of all things property and left their jobs and set up an inmobilaria in the village called Perfect Casa, which has successfully helped to bring life back to many empty houses in the area. One thing they learned from planning their wedding and running their business, is that there are many people looking for a place to stay in this traditional village for one or two nights, as its ideal for extreme sports, cycling, and hiking and unless you would like to rent a whole house there was very little available.

They have now been joined by their nephew Jordan who is an experienced carpenter to work on their latest venture. They have been working very hard during the last year (Covid permitting) completing renovations to a large, village townhouse. They have a new ’boutique style’ Casa Rural called Villa Otívar opening in the village some time in April.

They explain: “we want to appeal to all different types of traveller. We have some luxury rooms with large ensuite bathrooms, walk-in wardrobes, TVs, aircon and robes, but we also have some cheaper ensuite rooms without the extras, for those quickly passing through. Our family suite has a small kitchen and can offer a self-catering holiday. We are also dog friendly of course, and so we are hoping to see lots of furry friends come and visit.

We wanted to ensure that there was plenty of communal space for people to relax and enjoy their time here, so we have a tapas, terrace bar, which also serves breakfast, a relaxing chill-out terrace and The Snug, which is a cosy space with lots of books, a fireplace and whisky bar.

We are really excited to be opening and hoping to attract many more visitors to Otivar and see them fall in love with it, just as we did.”

Villaotivar@outlook.com
Facebook: Villa Otivar@otivarpueblo
Website: www.villaotivar.com