References and Reviews

Serge

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Grant and Esther do a great job in making sure the house sitter is well received and briefed. I spent a week looking after Chilli, Bruno and the house. And had enough time to see the places I wanted to visit in Budapest. The car was useful to take Bruno for the morning walks while Chilli stays at the house. And for my city visits the bus was the easiest way to get around. Language barriers with the house staff are non-existent with the use of Google Translate. In summary: a great experience.

Ellen Carter

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Connor and I loved housesitting in this stunning home in Budapest, Hungary. It was our first housesit abroad and we were picked up and dropped off at the airport which made things so much simpler for us! The house is beautiful and the garden areas and swimming pool are stunning. We loved lounging by the pool on the hot days and then barbequing in the evenings. Grant and Eszter are so lovely and incredibly accommodating, cooking dinner for us on our first night and making sure we were comfortable before they left on their trip. Taking care of Chilli, the Dachshund was easy - she is an adorable and cuddly dog who liked to follow us around the property and snuggle up on the sofa. It was an absolute pleasure to stay at the house in Budapest and we had a brilliant holiday - taking a cruise on the Danube one evening and spending a few hours in the artists' village of Szentendre. We also did a couple of walking tours of the city and explored the Fisherman's Bastian and the Hungarian Parliament - both of which are must-sees!

Gayle Sturrock

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Grant and Esther were very friendly and helpful, they welcomed me warmly and briefed me on the house. They were generous and made sure they provided for my arrival. The house is beautiful and wonderfully landscaped - Very well designed with carefully thought out places to sit and relax around the garden. I came out early to visit in Budapest; it's a great place to site see. There is a local shop which is handy to the housesit. There are English speaking contacts Grant and Esther introduced me to, which was helpful to know. Chilli the dog was very affectionate and playful. She has a clever trick of hiding your shoes - be warned! A lovely housesit - Highly recommended!

Elizabeth Rice-Munro

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Budapest seemed like a far away fairy land filled with history, mystery, beauty, struggle and inspiration coupled with quiet, solitude for reading and writing, beautiful dogs and a pool. It was. I had no Hungarian language and I am never afraid to pantomime and act. If you are in City Center, yes, you will meet more who have some English. I went with a Translator on my phone. Would highly recommend. The stunning homeowners met me at the airport. Such a relief after many hours and cities to reach them. I was given a tour of a major architectural and repurposing project in the city, accomplished by the owner. I felt honored that this was shared with me. That evening I was toured about the many rooms and buildings, met the two very different pooches, given detailed instructions and contact information , and met the lovely family as we all sat down to dinner together. Incredible generous gift of time and selves to bring me in on what they needed of me and what they would be doing. The description is true in that you should be able to walk up and down many stairs or steep drive without difficulty. I have driven throughout the UK on the small and narrow country roads, this particular area of Budapest is hilly like San Francisco with tiny narrow roads. Best left to Taxis which were quite available with a phone call. I am a confident and experienced dog lover, a swimmer, gardener and writer all of which were quite helpful. The Boxer is large and looks intimidating, and can be. When his master left, I took over the feeding and caring and I became his. He followed me everywhere. His little buddy, the Dachsund was a warm and cuddly little thief. Any slipper or small item was fair game to her. She also loved to burrow under the covers with you. There was a small, but fully quipped grocery, bakery and Chinese restaurant about 1.5 km and a Clinic that I taxid to for the mandatory SARS Covid test.