Searching for large store
Searching for large store
I will be travelling down from Granada to Palomares, Almeria later this month and would like to know if anyone knows of a large store (Ikea, Primark or similar) that I could visit to buy house furnishings on that route - A92 & A349. We could if necessary detour via Almeria City.
stores
Hi G
Unfortunately we do not have anything like an Ikea or Primark in the Almeria area at all. The nearest Ikea is Murcia - about an hour and a quarter further on from Palomares - you might think there should be one in Granada and there is going to be but not until the end of 2009!
If you need lighting, bathroom fittings etc Leroy Merlin at Roquetas is excellent.
They also have ready made curtains and a great selection of blinds, curtain poles and furnishing fabrics.
However if you do plan a visit to Ikea at Murcia then there is also a Leroy Merlin close by and you can kill two birds with one stone. There is a Corte Ingles department store in Murcia city itself. A lot of people seem to like it but we have only been once and were not that impressed.
For other furnishings there are plenty of local stores -
feel free to pm me if you have any specific requirements as I may be able to make more relevant recommendations.
Buen Viaje.
Jane
Unfortunately we do not have anything like an Ikea or Primark in the Almeria area at all. The nearest Ikea is Murcia - about an hour and a quarter further on from Palomares - you might think there should be one in Granada and there is going to be but not until the end of 2009!
If you need lighting, bathroom fittings etc Leroy Merlin at Roquetas is excellent.
They also have ready made curtains and a great selection of blinds, curtain poles and furnishing fabrics.However if you do plan a visit to Ikea at Murcia then there is also a Leroy Merlin close by and you can kill two birds with one stone. There is a Corte Ingles department store in Murcia city itself. A lot of people seem to like it but we have only been once and were not that impressed.
For other furnishings there are plenty of local stores -
feel free to pm me if you have any specific requirements as I may be able to make more relevant recommendations.
Buen Viaje.
Jane
For true domestic harmony it is essential that dogs know their place, which is below all cats
LMH Accommodation Offers Report
www.villa-rental-andalucia.com
http://www.fincalaserenidad.com
LMH Accommodation Offers Report
www.villa-rental-andalucia.com
http://www.fincalaserenidad.com
Looking for a store
Hi Jane,
Thank you for your reply. What we really need are single sheets (flat & fitted), pillowcases, pillows, cushions, saucepans, cutlery and patio furniture. Really the things required for setting up our apartment for letting - so not hugely expensive items.
G
Thank you for your reply. What we really need are single sheets (flat & fitted), pillowcases, pillows, cushions, saucepans, cutlery and patio furniture. Really the things required for setting up our apartment for letting - so not hugely expensive items.
G
Kitting out
Hi G
I tried to do this via a pm but it keeps going into my outbox and I can't seem to make it leave!! Sorry to everyone else for clogging up this thread with so much detail
Obviously Ikea is good for all this stuff but if you don't want to bother with the journey there are lots of places locally which are fine for the things you need. (Actually Ikea don't really do much by way of patio furniture, amazingly!)
If you do fancy stopping off in Almeria, go to the Centro Mediterraneo where there is an Al Campo supermarket (they are Auchan in France in case you are familiar) where sheets and towels are very reasonable and they also have lots of kitchen type stuff. In The Centro there is also my absolutely favourite shop - Casa. They have loads of dining and kitchen ware, very stylish very reasonable. Almost next door to Casa is Zara Home who have cotton sheets in loads of colours. It is definitely worth investing in cotton for this climate as it is really appreciated by visitors - we have changed over entirely over the years. White is fine and indeed to be recommended as you can bleach it if required. If you are using a laundry then I would say almost 100% essential as sheets do get lost and then you have the aggro of trying to match them.
The one thing you may find harder to get in the Spanish shops is English size pillows if you want them (although Zara do have the cases). There is a relatively new shop in Turre called Sunshine Wholefoods which is soon to move to bigger premises because they are doing so well. They have a big range of towels and English pillows. Nice bedwear too but not 100% cotton. Their prices are very keen - I bought two feather pillows there recently for €30 the pair but they do synthetic much cheaper. Gill's ex-catalogue shop on Mojacar Playa opposite Ferreteria Lopez tends to be quite expensive for linens and towels and those who have been here a while do not shop there!
For patio furniture for renting you can't do much better than Ferreteria Lopez for price if you are buying plastic and they are worth checking out if you want something more stylish as well, but for these there are also a few places on the Real Antas estate (by junction 534) who have reasonable prices, and Ramblizos is well priced too (leave at Junction 534 and heading to Antas rather than Vera, about 300 metres on left hand side.) You go in down the left hand side into the side entrance and then upstairs for patio stuff.
On the whole you will get better deals in Spanish establishments than English with the possible exception of SUnshine WHolefoods who I commend for not trying to rip off the Brits while filling a hole in the market.
When buying cutlery, crockery and glassware for renting you need to buy stuff you can repeat - things do get lost and broken - and for this reason you may want to consider the bog-standard cutlery that you can buy in all the ferreterias, and the white crockery that looks as though it is made from a sort of glass (careful with prices which vary ENORMOUSLY! There is one stall on Vera Market selling this for a huge price and you can get it 20 metres away in a Ferreteria for a lot less).
If you are really lucky and Lidl have one of their cutlery offers on while you are here you can get some really stylish stuff for not too much and it is worth buying a couple of sets of 6 place settings and keeping the rest in reserve.
Not worth buying fancy dishes for serving/to go in oven. The traditional terracotta stuff is cheap, serves both purposes and you can get it all over - Ramblizos and Lopez both have lots - and you can add to it and replace it over time. If you have a gas hob you can even use it on the hob but it has to be soaked before the first use for several hours.
If you don't know the Mediterraneo Centre or how to get there, try google maps espana and if that fails let me know via my website and I will give you directions.
I don't pretend to have given you all the options in terms of where to shop but I think I have covered most of the things you mentioned but not sure how to get back to your post without losing this so am sending it as it is. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions - we are forever indebted to those who helped us when we started out and like to be able to help other newcomers in return.
Wishing you all the best in your new venture
Jane
I tried to do this via a pm but it keeps going into my outbox and I can't seem to make it leave!! Sorry to everyone else for clogging up this thread with so much detail
Obviously Ikea is good for all this stuff but if you don't want to bother with the journey there are lots of places locally which are fine for the things you need. (Actually Ikea don't really do much by way of patio furniture, amazingly!)
If you do fancy stopping off in Almeria, go to the Centro Mediterraneo where there is an Al Campo supermarket (they are Auchan in France in case you are familiar) where sheets and towels are very reasonable and they also have lots of kitchen type stuff. In The Centro there is also my absolutely favourite shop - Casa. They have loads of dining and kitchen ware, very stylish very reasonable. Almost next door to Casa is Zara Home who have cotton sheets in loads of colours. It is definitely worth investing in cotton for this climate as it is really appreciated by visitors - we have changed over entirely over the years. White is fine and indeed to be recommended as you can bleach it if required. If you are using a laundry then I would say almost 100% essential as sheets do get lost and then you have the aggro of trying to match them.
The one thing you may find harder to get in the Spanish shops is English size pillows if you want them (although Zara do have the cases). There is a relatively new shop in Turre called Sunshine Wholefoods which is soon to move to bigger premises because they are doing so well. They have a big range of towels and English pillows. Nice bedwear too but not 100% cotton. Their prices are very keen - I bought two feather pillows there recently for €30 the pair but they do synthetic much cheaper. Gill's ex-catalogue shop on Mojacar Playa opposite Ferreteria Lopez tends to be quite expensive for linens and towels and those who have been here a while do not shop there!
For patio furniture for renting you can't do much better than Ferreteria Lopez for price if you are buying plastic and they are worth checking out if you want something more stylish as well, but for these there are also a few places on the Real Antas estate (by junction 534) who have reasonable prices, and Ramblizos is well priced too (leave at Junction 534 and heading to Antas rather than Vera, about 300 metres on left hand side.) You go in down the left hand side into the side entrance and then upstairs for patio stuff.
On the whole you will get better deals in Spanish establishments than English with the possible exception of SUnshine WHolefoods who I commend for not trying to rip off the Brits while filling a hole in the market.
When buying cutlery, crockery and glassware for renting you need to buy stuff you can repeat - things do get lost and broken - and for this reason you may want to consider the bog-standard cutlery that you can buy in all the ferreterias, and the white crockery that looks as though it is made from a sort of glass (careful with prices which vary ENORMOUSLY! There is one stall on Vera Market selling this for a huge price and you can get it 20 metres away in a Ferreteria for a lot less).
If you are really lucky and Lidl have one of their cutlery offers on while you are here you can get some really stylish stuff for not too much and it is worth buying a couple of sets of 6 place settings and keeping the rest in reserve.
Not worth buying fancy dishes for serving/to go in oven. The traditional terracotta stuff is cheap, serves both purposes and you can get it all over - Ramblizos and Lopez both have lots - and you can add to it and replace it over time. If you have a gas hob you can even use it on the hob but it has to be soaked before the first use for several hours.
If you don't know the Mediterraneo Centre or how to get there, try google maps espana and if that fails let me know via my website and I will give you directions.
I don't pretend to have given you all the options in terms of where to shop but I think I have covered most of the things you mentioned but not sure how to get back to your post without losing this so am sending it as it is. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions - we are forever indebted to those who helped us when we started out and like to be able to help other newcomers in return.
Wishing you all the best in your new venture
Jane
For true domestic harmony it is essential that dogs know their place, which is below all cats
LMH Accommodation Offers Report
www.villa-rental-andalucia.com
http://www.fincalaserenidad.com
LMH Accommodation Offers Report
www.villa-rental-andalucia.com
http://www.fincalaserenidad.com
Thank you so much for all the information - it is really going to help us a lot. I have sent pm but as I am new to the site I thought I had better reply by this method also! I didn't expect a reply so soon.
Kind regards,
G
http://vzone.virgin.net/john.burns9/palomares-rent.html
Kind regards,
G
http://vzone.virgin.net/john.burns9/palomares-rent.html