Layouts · Kitchens · Bathrooms · Electrics · Air Conditioning
Complete and partial apartment renovations across the north Costa Blanca, from a new kitchen or bathroom to a full strip-out and rebuild, handled by one team that has worked here since 1999.
An apartment reform is rarely just a matter of paint and tiles. Walls are shared, pipes and cables run through the whole building, and the neighbours above and below have a say in how and when you work. Dragon Reforms has renovated properties across the north Costa Blanca since 1999, and apartments are a regular part of that work: sea-view flats bought for retirement, holiday apartments that need updating, and family homes in towns such as Benidorm, Calpe and Altea.
We take on complete reforms, where the apartment is stripped back and rebuilt around a new layout, and partial ones, where only the kitchen, the bathroom, the floors or the electrics are done. The same firm handles design, building work, plumbing, electrics, carpentry, plastering, painting, tiling, windows and doors and air conditioning, so you are not coordinating half a dozen trades from another country.
Many of our clients live in the UK, Scandinavia, the Netherlands or Germany and visit a few times a year. We run the project day to day, send progress updates and photos, and deal in English and Spanish with your community administrator, suppliers and town hall. The quotation is free, and the work is guaranteed, with the scope set out in the quotation.
What is included
Every flat is different, so the scope is agreed with you and written into the quotation. These are the areas we are most often asked about.
Why it matters here
The coast is full of apartments, and a lot of them are working harder than their owners realise.
From the high-rise blocks of Benidorm to the smaller complexes in Calpe, Altea and Finestrat, apartments make up a large share of the housing along this coast. Many were built for holiday use or bought as second homes, and the fittings reflect that: simple kitchens, basic bathrooms, tiles chosen for price rather than longevity, and layouts designed around separate small rooms.
Sun, heat and sea air are hard on a flat. Salt and humidity affect window frames, metalwork and bathroom ceilings, and long periods of closed-up summer heat show quickly in paint and joinery. Air conditioning has gone from an extra to an everyday need, and glazed terraces are often what turns a seasonal flat into one you can live in all year.
Then there is the building itself. An apartment sits inside a community of owners, with shared walls, shared services and shared rules. A good reform plans around that from the first visit rather than discovering it halfway through.
Scope
Neither is better in itself. The right one depends on what the flat needs and how you use it.
A complete reform makes sense when the apartment is dated throughout, when the layout no longer suits you, or when the plumbing and wiring are old enough that you would rather replace them while the walls are open. Doing everything at once means one disruption, one set of dust and noise for the neighbours, and finishes that match from room to room.
A partial reform suits flats that are sound but tired. Often it is the kitchen and bathroom, or new floors and doors with a repaint, or air conditioning and a glazed terrace. Spreading work over several visits costs you the economy of a single job, but it can fit a budget or a rental calendar better.
We will tell you honestly which route we think fits, and say if a smaller job would give you most of the benefit. If you are unsure, a visit to see the flat and talk through your plans is the best starting point, and the quotation is free.
Layout
Small rooms and closed kitchens are the most common complaint we hear.
Many apartments on this coast have a separate galley kitchen, a narrow hallway and a modest living room. Taking out a partition and joining the kitchen to the living space can change how the whole flat feels and lets light reach further into it.
Not every wall can be removed. Some partitions are simple infill, while others carry load or hide pipes, ducts and wiring that serve neighbouring flats. We check what a wall is before anyone draws a plan on it, and where the building’s structure is involved we say so and explain what that means for the design.
Layout changes bring knock-on work: moving a kitchen means new drainage and extraction, shifting a bathroom changes the plumbing, and new openings need lintels, plastering and flooring repairs. Because we do those trades ourselves, the layout, the services and the finishes are planned together.
Storage is part of the same conversation. Built-in wardrobes, a utility cupboard or a bench in a window recess often give more usable space than a few extra square metres would.
Kitchens
In an apartment the kitchen is usually the room with the most constraints and the biggest effect. Space is limited, extraction has to reach an outside wall or a shared duct, and the water and drainage points are fixed within the building.
We design kitchens around how you cook and how often you are there. A holiday flat used for a few weeks a year can have a simpler, hard-wearing layout, while a permanent home may need more worktop, better storage and appliances placed for daily use. Either way we handle the strip-out, new plumbing and electrics, wall and floor tiling, joinery and final fitting as one job.
Details matter in a compact space: lighting over worktops, socket positions, the swing of doors and drawers, and where the bin and the washing machine go. We talk these through before building starts, when changing them costs nothing.
Bathrooms
Apartment bathrooms are often small, windowless or fitted with a bath nobody uses. Replacing the bath with a walk-in shower, choosing larger tiles and adding proper storage can make a modest room feel considerably bigger.
Waterproofing is the part you do not see and cannot afford to get wrong, because a leak in an apartment reaches the neighbour below. We prepare walls and floors carefully before tiling, test connections and follow a sequence that protects the finished work. Ventilation gets the same attention, since Spanish humidity punishes poorly ventilated bathrooms.
For older owners and anyone planning to stay long term, a level-access shower, grab-rail fixings and non-slip floors can be built in from the start. Our disability living work covers this in more depth.
Behind the walls
The services behind the walls decide how well a reform lasts. In older apartments the electrical installation may be undersized for modern appliances, and pipework may be due for replacement. A reform is the cheapest moment to deal with both, because the walls and floors are already open.
We rewire fully or partially, fit new distribution boards and plan socket and lighting positions for how the flat will actually be used. New water supply and drainage are routed to suit the new layout and connected to the building’s existing risers with care.
Air conditioning is easiest to plan before the walls are closed. Pipe runs, drainage and electrical supply can be hidden, and the outdoor unit can be placed with the community’s requirements in mind. We supply leading brands and size the system to the rooms rather than guessing.
Finishes and openings
Windows and sliding doors affect heat, noise and sea-air wear. New frames and glazing make a flat noticeably calmer and easier to cool, and we match the work to what the community allows on the facade.
Glazed terraces turn an exposed balcony into usable space for much of the year. They involve the facade, so they are worth discussing with the community early, and we can help you work out what to raise with the administrator.
Inside, new flooring, interior doors, plastering and painting give the apartment its finished look. We deliver the floor and tiling work, hang and fit doors to suit the openings, repair and skim walls, and paint last, once the dust has settled.
The building
Most apartment communities have statutes covering building work, and many set working hours and ask owners to tell the administrator before starting. We recommend checking before you commit, and we plan the programme around those hours, noisy work included. Depending on the job, the town hall may also need to be informed or give permission, and we can help you find out what applies.
Lifts and access shape the practical side. Materials, appliances and waste have to travel through shared corridors and lifts, so we protect common areas, keep them clean and schedule deliveries sensibly. Flats without lift access or with narrow stairs need more planning and more labour, and we allow for it in the quotation.
If the flat is let to holidaymakers or used as a second home, we can plan around your bookings and aim to leave it ready to receive guests. Durable, easy-to-clean finishes suit rental use well.
For owners abroad, we manage the project on your behalf, send photos and progress updates by phone, and hold keys if you arrange it. You make the decisions that matter, and we deal with the rest in English and Spanish.
Before you start
If several of these sound familiar, it may be time to ask for a quotation.
A good contractor will welcome these questions, and we are happy to answer them before any commitment.
Areas
Seven towns have their own apartment reform pages below, and Alfaz del Pi & Albir has a separate apartment page of its own.
Each town page looks at the local mix of apartments and what it means for the work. If your flat is somewhere nearby that is not listed, get in touch and we will tell you whether we can take it on.
Reforms for high-rise and old-town flats, with lifts and community rules planned in.
View Benidorm →Reforms for old-town flats and sea-view apartments, planned around hillside access.
View Altea →Reforms for year-round flats in hillside complexes, built around daily use.
View La Nucía →Upgrades for coastal and hillside flats, from finishes to terraces.
View Finestrat →Reforms for seafront flats, with materials chosen to cope with salt air.
View Calpe →Careful reforms for flats in small blocks and older village buildings.
View Polop →Reforms for old-town flats and coastal apartments, handled differently.
View Benissa →Apartment Reforms in Alfaz del Pi & Albir and the surrounding area.
View Alfaz del Pi & Albir →Questions
A complete reform strips the flat back and rebuilds it, often with a new layout, new services and new finishes throughout. A partial reform deals with selected areas, such as the kitchen and bathroom, the floors or the electrics. We can quote for either and advise which suits your flat and budget.
Often yes, but it depends on the structure. Simple partitions can usually be removed or moved, while load-bearing walls and shared service ducts limit what is possible. We check on site before proposing a plan, and tell you plainly what the building allows.
That depends on the work and on your community’s statutes. Internal changes are normally less sensitive than work affecting the facade, terrace, shared pipes or common areas. We recommend speaking to the administrator early, and we can help you work out what to ask.
Yes. We plan the programme around any hours the community sets, and around the neighbours, scheduling the noisiest tasks with care. We also protect lifts and shared areas during deliveries and keep them clean.
Yes, this is a regular part of our work. We manage the project, send photos and progress updates, and speak English and Spanish with suppliers and the community. We can plan the timing around your visits or rental bookings.
Yes, and it is best planned during the reform so pipes, drainage and wiring can be hidden. We supply leading brands, size the system to your rooms and consider where the outdoor unit may go under your community’s rules.
We install windows and glazed terrace enclosures. Because they alter the facade, they usually need the community’s agreement, so it is worth raising early. We can help you prepare what to show the administrator.
Yes. Plumbing, electrics, carpentry, plastering, painting, tiling, windows and doors and air conditioning are all handled by our own team, which keeps the work coordinated and the responsibility in one place.
We cover all eight towns: Benidorm, Altea, La Nucía, Finestrat, Calpe, Alfaz del Pi & Albir, Polop and Benissa. Alfaz del Pi & Albir has its own separate apartment page already, and the other seven towns are on this page’s town list.
Get in touch
Tell us about the flat, the town and what you would like to change. We will arrange a visit or discuss photos and plans, and give you a clear quotation that is free of charge.
Customer reviews
Genuine Google reviews from Dragon Reforms customers.
Complete Apartment Renovation – Benidorm
“I would like to say a huge thank you to Dragonreforms. Nico and his team did an excellent job renovating our 2 bedroom apartment in Benidorm. This included a beautiful new bathroom, kitchen, flooring, interior doors, plumbing and complete electrical works. Truly amazing workmanship. You have made our dreams come true.”
Two-Bedroom Apartment Renovation – Benidorm
“We would like to say thank you to Nico and the team at Dragonreforms for an excellent job in renovating our two bedroom apartment in Benidorm very clean and punctual and everything we asked for was done without any problems, excellent project management so no worries all aspects of work were communicated to us as we were in the UK, could not ask for more.”
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