Reviews
International
New Zealand
Jennifer and Lee, 'El Remanso', Isla Saboga, Panama
30th September 2019
​This was Martin’s 4th sit for us, and that alone should say a lot about the level of trust and satisfaction we have with the services he provides. He’s very meticulous, detail-oriented, and follows instructions to the letter, all of which are good traits for a house sitter.
While we had no pet-sitting responsibilities for him this time (apart from basic over-sight of 5 'adopted' island dogs on our behalf), he took over handling all our Airbnb rental guests during his 5-month stay (1st May to 24th Sept 2019). That was not what he had originally signed up for, but he did a wonderful job, the guests loved him, and I think he actually enjoyed it!
See further down this page for original house-sit testimony.
Kurt and Robert, El Valle, Cocle, Panama
30th April 2019
​3rd sit for 1 calendar month (whole of April) in El Valle for Kurt and Robert..
See further down this page for original testimony.
Sonia and Jeremiah Allen, Los Tambos, Cayo, Belize
25th March 2019
​To whom it may concern,
I am writing this letter of recommendation for Martin Gray as a professional house sitter. We have a small plot of land with an off-grid home in the Cayo District of Belize (inland, away from the coast). Our area is fairly remote by modern standards, and healthy doses of jungle surround our community. Our little homestead runs on solar power and we raise chickens for eggs.
We met Martin via another of his clients here in Belize and our first impression was very positive, he seemed very professional, and intentional about his house sitting jobs & duties. My wife and I were planning a 16 day family vacation with our children to Mexico, and required a house sitter to look after our house dog “Chloe”, cat “Brownie” and our 23 laying hens.
Martin arrived on time and took copious notes according to all the instructions we gave him, being very careful to listen and confirm all of the details. So we set off and entrusted him to handle things while we were gone.
While we were on vacation, we had regular unprovoked updates from Martin, with pictures of our pooch, cat and hens, giving us assurance that our home was in good hands. On a couple of occasions, my wife wrote him requesting specific updates, and Martin was very prompt and thorough with his replies.
Upon our return, we discovered our home had not just been taken care of, but Martin had gone above and beyond his call of duty as a house sitter...he cleaned much of the home, manicured some of the yard...lovingly cared for our animals, and did it all with the utmost professionalism and charm.
Martin is not only a very capable & professional house sitter, he is also a great conversationalist and generally a very nice man. We would wholeheartedly recommend his services for house sitting, even in more simple, remote settings like ours.
Sherrie and Louis, Spanish Lookout, Cayo, Belize
1st April 2019
​We were fortunate enough to have Martin "join our family" for an extended, odd sort of housesit. We had three different trips planned, about a month apart (spanning early January to late March), and Martin was able and willing to stay with our critters while we did that. More importantly, the dogs approved him. Sitters are challenging for us, because we have very protective and territorial dogs that don't take to just "everybody". Martin, however, was a big hit with them. Even the cats decided he was good company ... after a while.
Martin was a perfect sitter for us, as he spent most of his time here at the house keeping the animals company while getting on with his work. Our property covers 60 acres and he coordinated well with the workers that came to do various chores, and the whole place ran quite smoothly under his direction. Even my plants thrived with the attention he gave them!
He left everything in order, nothing out of place ... and a nice batch of (chocolate) brownies for our return! We highly recommend Martin and hope we can have him back some day!
Cynthia, Lago Atitlan, Guatemala
11th January 2019
​Martin house sat for me on and off between my 2 houses for 2 months in November-December 2019 on Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.
We tag-teamed between the 2 houses, one an off-the-grid, boat access only acreage near Santiago and the other a rental house in the town of San Pedro.
Very comforting to have a responsible, competent and reliable person on board!
While on the acreage, Martin kept the gardens watered and ordered and took excellent care of my cat. He worked with me to show the house to prospective buyers twice. Both appointments were last minute and one he handled entirely on his own impressing the real estate agent with his professional and informative manner.
At the house in town Martin fed and walked my 2 older rescue dogs.
In both places each time I returned, everything was in order and that is a lovely way to come home.
Martin has a level head dealing with problems and sorting out the best uncomplicated solution to whatever comes up. That was a characteristic I very much appreciated.
He comes highly recommended!
Richard and Peggy Rasp, Teakettle, Belize
13th November 2018
​We were delighted to have Martin back for the fifth time to house/pet sit for us while we went on vacation from September 27th to November 13th. He again very competently watched after our house and pets while we enjoyed a worry-free trip to California and Southeast Asia. Once again, he exceeded our already high expectations. Not only were our four dogs well cared for, but the house was spotless, dinner was prepared for us upon our return, and our long driveway was pressure washed. Besides that, he oversaw the harvest of our crops of dragon fruit, the collection of eggs from our 30 hens, and payment of our worker’s weekly salary, among many other tasks.
We also left him a semi-functional car, but he liaised with our mechanics and helped source parts to keep things running.
He’s a jewel who we hope to have at our house in the future. Our dogs also look forward to his return.
Fabio and Erika, Las Lajas, Chiriqui, Panama
13th July 2018
​(Assignment from 10th June to 4th July 2018)
Martin is a great house sitter, his first sentences were: "You are my clients, I make a service to you and I want do it the best that I can". We appreciate it so much, also because we were already on our trip and we had to find a substitute to our previous house sitter.
He was really professional and reliable and he passed most of the time at home, so our 4 pets were really happy to have someone with them. We found them healthy, relaxed and devoted to him. The property was in good conditions and everything was fine.
Martin is the right person if you want to be sure your house and pets are in good hands! Thank you for everything!
Erika and Fabio,
'La Pepita de Marañon' hostal.
​https://www.lapepitapanama.com/
Becky and Dion, Camberwell, London, England
14th April 2018
​Thank you so much for the evident care you have taken of our house and pets (cats Minnow and Muffin, 11 outdoor koi fish and indoor aquarium).
It was lovely to walk back into such a clean and welcoming home.
​(Assignment from 22nd March to 7th April 2018)
Joanne and David, Rafal, Costa Blanca, Spain
12th March 2018
​For anyone who wishes to have Martin come and watch your home and animals, you have chosen wisely. We were away on a major diving vacation for over 3 months (start of Dec 2017 to early March 2018) and Martin came to house sit for us, looking after our two dear pets Coco and Charlie (who has an injury/on-going back problem) so I needed someone I can trust to watch over him. Charlie did indeed have 'an episode' where he needed injections for his injury, and whilst Martin did try (at all costs) to contact me he made the decision to go ahead to the vets. Most people would have waited for me to confirm 'yes or no' but in this case my dog can't wait and Martin made the right choice. I was finally able to connect with him and he told me everything (so I could put my mind at ease).
Other than making sure my dogs were healthy and well Martin was more than capable of making sure the house was still standing until we got home. While we were away he went beyond anything I imagined for keeping the garden tidy: it was spotless from weeds, brushed and looking awesome (better than I do lol). He did so well that it made me decide to work on the garden so I will now get very few weeds (thank you Martin).
Martin kept us updated (with photos of my fur babies) on a regular basis and also made good connections and contact with our landlord (being able to go directly to him for a couple of other small plumbing problems which came up, as well as letting us know of any maintenance problems).
Our pool maintainence guy and our cleaning lady came in once a every week and confirmed everything was clean and tidy (in fact Martin kept everything so clean she really had to search for things to keep her busy).
Martin asks many questions and keeps perfect notes so you can feel great to go on your holiday and when you are away he will keep you up to date with things going on around the house. If he is unsure he will ask questions but he is also very aware you are on holiday and will wait until you get back to him.
I hope I can get him back here again for another sit as we do go away every year and as often as we can.
You will not be disappointed to have him watch your home and animals.
Lee and Jennifer Scott, 'El Remanso', Isla Saboga, Panama
31 October 2017 (+repeat sits months of April and Sept 2018)
Martin did a very impressive job of house-sitting during our month-long vacation in October! We run a small B&B in the Pearl Islands of Panama, and he not only took excellent care of our two dogs and a cat while we were gone, but he also greeted the few guests we had booked for the period during our absence, and did an excellent job of keeping us posted.
Just days after we left, a broken water pipe out in front of the house had to be attended to, and he made the phone calls and stayed behind the workmen until they had taken care of the issue.
The house was impeccably clean when we returned; the pets were healthy and happy; and it was very reassuring to have someone here who clearly treated the house and the pets as though they were his own. Martin greeted us on our return with a loaf of fresh-baked raisin bread, and for that (and all the rest, of course) he gets a 5-star review!
We got along so well, we were happy to extend his stay after we returned. He was a huge help in greeting the mass of guests who showed up for the first holiday weekend in November, so if he ever decides to change careers and go into the hospitality industry, he’s a natural at that as well.
Lee and Jennifer Scott
El Remanso
Villa #30, El Encanto
Isla Saboga, Panamá
http://sabogavacations.com (shared with permission)