Holiday Home Success Stories

We helped our client from the Netherlands find this beautiful retreat with stunning views near Bohinj lake having searched all across the Gorenjska region for the right property. The client's brief was for a house with tourism rental potential that could also be used by himself when empty for relaxing holidays soaking up the views. He was happy to take on renovations on condition that it could be done with relatively low involvement from him due to distance and a busy career. After the purchase was complete the decision was taken to work with a "hands on" local partner building company whom Think Slovenia had positive experience of working with in the past. The house was stripped down with the excpetion of a number of original features which helped to retain a feeling of the house's history and origins. Renovations took a few month and took a 2  bedroom house to a 4 bedroom one using all the ample space in the loft and putting in dormer windows. In the basement a traditional "kmečka peč" farmhouse stove was put in. The furnishing was done by the client and Think Slovenia assisted with some of the final details and making sure that everything was as it should be for tourist rentals. 

Dandelion House Before:

Dandelion House After:

Villa Nebina together was one of largest renovation projects. Purchased by a Slovenian Company owned by a group of 4 English families wanting to develop a portfolio of luxury apartments for the discerning traveller in Slovenia. Villa Nebina, located inthe charming faming village of Rateče close to Kranjska Gora, was originally a large typical farm building, part residential, part barn, dating back to the late 19th century and needing lots of TLC. It may have been abandoned for a few years but nevertheless it was packed full of charm, which we aimed to retain as much of as possible, with as many originall walls and features as possible. We also had to navigate tight  planning restrictions for this protected property and it ws challenge to create 4 apartments to comply with developer's wishes. We worked with a professional devleoper on the works helping the owners appoint and manage their own surveyor and legal consultant to control the works. After completion of works Think Slovenia took on a complete fit out and furnishing brief working to a tight budget to furnish all the apartments and kit them out for rental down to the last spoon and fork. Villa Nebina has been a successful project for many years now, welcoming several hundred tourists every year.

These developments could not have happened without the incredible help received from Dan, Pia and team at Think Slovenia. From organising the initial land / building purchase, to assisting through the development of the apartments, to furnishing them to a high standard and managing the rentals, Think Slovenia have done an amazingly good job. When small maintenance work on a property is needed, when a guest has a problem, when we need to obtain all the right permits Think Slovenia are there to sort out all the issues.We could never have achieved what we have done without Think Slovenia.”

Villa Nebina Before:

Villa Nebina After: 

Villa Planina was Think Slovenia's first project where the client wanted to undertake a major development for tourist rental to be built form scratch. We sourced a stunning piece of land in Rateče, a small village near Kranjska Gora ski resort. Our brief from the client was to build a high quality 4 apartment building furnished and fitted for tourism rental with an area for guests to relax. Together with local developers we built 2 two bedroom and 2 one bedroom apartments with cellar where we planned a table tennis / pool room, ski and boot area, kids room and an area for linen storage. The technical project management and planning side of the build was contracted our by the developer and Think Slovenia assisted the client in appointing and managing independent legal consultants and surveyors to oversee the process. When built, the whole house needed to be furnished and fitted out. We had a mid level budget for this and so used a mix of "off the shelf" furniture, some unique pieces and a lot of made to measure carpentry. We also fitted out the apartments according to 3* tourism regulations but went the extra mile to make sure that guests felt comfortable with high quality linen, towels etc and fully filled out kitchens. We have been renting and managing this property for the owners ever since, keeping it in a good shape with regular maintenance work to ensure that after 10 years the property is still in excellent condition.

Villa Planina Before:

Villa Planina After:

Šmartno is a charming village in the Goriška brda wine growing area of Slovenia and the owners of this property had a true love for the region and its wines and briefed Think Slovenia to help them find the perfect holiday property for them to enjoy both! We searched for a while for a suitable property in various villages including Šmartno which is one of the showpiece villages of the region. After a long search we managed to find them an old house in a great position in walking distance to the centre of the village but with great views over the hills and vinyards. We first helped the owners contract with an architect who undertook a building permission application. Unfortunatelly a lot of the original house had to be demolished due to the condition of the walls, but the owners worked painstakingly with Think Slovenia, our partner quantity surveyor and partner interior designers to create a stunning Goriška brda style villa which retained many of the original features and materials to create a truly stunning home in this wonderful region. The property is now ready for rental and Think Slovenia have been appoointed to assist with the management.

Šmartno before:

Šmartno after:

A UK client was looking for a fun project with a good rental yield. After an exhaustive search for the right property he took a brave decision to buy an unloved, poorly laid out house which was unfinished on the outside, with an unconverted loft, empty cellar rooms and lots of boxy rooms on the upper floors. Having helped secure the property for a great price, we helped develop plans to open up all those boxy rooms, with a loft conversion, games room and Summer kitchen in the basement and huge open plan living space on the second floor maximising the stunning views. The property was super insulated with a 25% EU Eco funding obtained for the client on the insulation costs. A professional quantity surveyor was brought in to help manage the works which were delivered on time and on budget. We worked to a mid range budget for furnishing, combining existing funishings with Ikea classics and a few special pieces to create a very comfortable and practical interior for tourist rental. Our whole team got involved at the final stage to build flat pack furniture, unwrap kitchen equipment, install TVs and put final touches like towels & linens in place. Rental targets were reached in year one with a 7% gross yield on the total purchase / renovation / fit out costs, fantastic reviews from guests and one happy owner!

Villa Bohinca Before: 

Villa Bohinca After: