09/08/2026
TOP XL PROJECTS | FROM AMSTERDAM TO CORFU — THE STORY CONTINUES
In my previous video, I shared part of my professional journey.
Today, I want to show you the project that effectively started the story of TOP XL PROJECTS on the island of Corfu.
My journey in construction began many years ago. After working in Ukraine, from 2019 my professional activity continued across Europe, primarily in the Netherlands and Amsterdam, focusing on construction, complete renovations and project management.
But at some point, I wanted to take the next step.
I wanted to use my construction experience not only to deliver projects for clients, but also to invest in property myself.
The concept was simple:
find potential → acquire → renovate → create added value → bring the finished property to the market.
Amsterdam offered enormous opportunities, but the amount of private capital required to independently invest in property was significantly higher.
So I started looking at other European markets.
And in 2023, I came to Corfu for the first time.
I had never been to Corfu before.
In fact, I had never even been to Greece.
The first trip lasted only four days. I came with a good friend specifically to explore investment opportunities on the island.
During those four days, we found almost nothing that genuinely interested us.
We did place a deposit on one property, but problems with the documentation later emerged, and unfortunately, part of that deposit was never recovered.
It was an expensive but valuable first lesson.
Today, with a much deeper understanding of the Corfu property market, I know how important it is to investigate ownership documentation, permits, planning compliance, the actual condition of a property and numerous local bureaucratic issues before committing to an investment.
After four days, I flew home.
But something unexpected had happened.
Corfu stayed in my mind.
I had seen only a small part of the island, mainly following the same route towards the north.
A few days later, I told my friend that I wanted to return and explore Corfu properly.
He was leaving for a conference in China, so approximately one week later I flew back alone.
This time, I wasn't simply looking for a house.
I wanted to understand the market.
For the next week, I travelled through different parts of Corfu, studying property prices, locations, renovation potential, tourism, construction costs and possible investment margins.
And then one particular opportunity appeared.
An old, neglected piece of land.
Two small buildings.
A lot of work.
But also something much more important:
potential.
I decided to take the risk and acquired the property.
That decision started a completely new chapter.
I had to go through the entire process: documentation, permits, planning, engineering, site preparation and construction.
For a period of time, I significantly reduced my activity in the Netherlands because the Corfu project required almost all of my attention.
At the same time, I continued completing projects for long-standing clients in Amsterdam.
For the next period, my life looked something like this:
Amsterdam → work → profit → Corfu → investment → Amsterdam → another project → Corfu → another stage of construction.
The profits generated through my work in the Netherlands were gradually invested into creating my own project in Corfu.
Step by step, an abandoned property began turning into something completely different.
At the same time, my first clients on Corfu began to appear — international property owners who were looking for more than simply construction workers.
They needed someone who could provide quality, modern construction solutions, project management and personal responsibility for the final result.
This is how TOP XL PROJECTS began developing its activity on Corfu.
Today, that first investment project is complete.
And this is where I want to explain the structure behind what we do.
TOP XL PROJECTS is the construction company.
We specialise in construction, complete renovation and turnkey property development.
Thalorya Olive Retreat is the brand we created for our own completed investment property when we decided to introduce it to the short-term rental market.
Hospitality and short-term rentals had never been my professional business before.
So I wanted to test something else:
How would the end customer experience a property created by a builder?
We launched Thalorya Olive Retreat through Booking and Airbnb.
And today, the result speaks for itself:
10 out of 10 guest ratings.
But the reviews themselves matter even more to me.
Guests talk about comfort, quality, atmosphere, infrastructure and — most importantly — the feeling of being at home.
For a builder, there are few better tests of a completed project.
Almost any property can look impressive in carefully selected photographs.
But when real people arrive, live in the space, use everything you have created every day and then give it the highest possible rating, that is a completely different measure of quality.
This is why Thalorya Olive Retreat is much more than a property for us.
It is our own real-world case study.
A project through which TOP XL PROJECTS has completed the entire property lifecycle:
investment search → acquisition → documentation → planning → permits → construction & renovation → engineering → interiors → landscaping → brand creation → launch → operation and rental management.
And people can actually come and see the result.
Not a rendering.
Not a catalogue.
Not a promise of what we might be able to build.
A real completed property.
You can see where we started.
You can see the construction process.
You can see the finished result.
And you can see how real guests evaluate the property after actually living in it.
This is the experience we now offer our clients on Corfu.
TOP XL PROJECTS can take responsibility for a project from the initial idea to a completely finished property:
architecture and design, technical assessment, permits and documentation, engineering, construction and complete renovation, interior and exterior works, bespoke kitchens, swimming pools, landscaping, planting, infrastructure, furnishing and preparation for operation.
From idea to key.
And when the project is an investment, we understand the challenge from another perspective as well.
Because we have invested our own money.
We understand that a successful property is not simply about beautiful finishes.
It is about budget, construction quality, operating costs, risk, functionality, marketability and long-term value.
Today, Thalorya Olive Retreat continues to operate as a short-term rental property and is also available on the property market for sale.
For TOP XL PROJECTS, however, it remains the strongest demonstration of what we do.
TOP XL PROJECTS creates the property.
Thalorya Olive Retreat proves the concept.
We don't simply build houses.
We create properties people want to live in, businesses that can operate, and real estate designed to preserve and create value.
TOP XL PROJECTS | CORFU
From idea to property.
From property to lifestyle.
From investment to real value.
