costablog.com

The recent times of economic downturn have seen many of us reconsidering our annual holiday plans, and whilst few of us have cut out a holiday completely the trend has certainly turned towards cheaper destinations. Holiday resorts outside of Europe have benefited from an increase in visitor numbers as Brits turned their backs on the previously popular destinations of Spain and France. However no sooner than they began to boom the bubble appears to be bursting for destinations such as Turkey and Egypt, as the tables begin to turn back in favour of tried and tested destinations like the Costa del Sol.

Figures released by various online travel agencies suggest that Spain has regained its position as one of the most popular destinations for British holidaymakers and with such a wide range of holiday homes available to rent it’s easy to see why the Spanish Costa’s are so favourable with British holidaymakers. Read more »

The aqueduct in the illustration is not as old as it might appear, but it’s still quite famous. It was built to supply water to the sugar plantations in Nerja in the 19th century. The Aqueduct is situated near Maro and is officially called Acueducto del Águila or better Aqueduct of the Eagle. The structure, which has already been classified as being of “cultural importance”, is one of the projects from the Initiative for Sustainable Tourism in Axarquia. Nerja Town Hall now asked the Junta de Andalucia’s Culture Department to contribute to the restoration which will cost 792.000 Euros. It is hoped the works to restore the monument will begin at the start of next year and should take about 12 moths to finish.

Just a few weeks ago on the 29th October was the Grand Opening Celebration of Hard Rock Cafe Marbella. The Marbella cafe is Spain’s fifth Hard Rock Cafe after Barcelona, Madrid, Mallorca and Gran Canaria. It is situated in the heart of Puerto Banus, on the corner of Plaza Antonio Banderas, opposite the El Corte Ingles department store and adjacent to the Marina Banus shopping centre. The new establishment is of around 1000sqm and has recently received a 2.5 million euro installation and decoration investment. There is space for around 300 people. As well it includes a bar, an open-air terrace and Rock Shop, and also features Hard Rock’s limited-edition merchandise. The new cafe is expected to create about 70 permanent jobs and up to 100 in summer and will definetly bring some more tourists to the port of Marbella. Read more »

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is a major British retailer with over 885 stores in more than 40 countries around the world. But there was none in Spain. The company had stores in Spain before, in Madrid and Sevilla, but closed it eight years ago. But with Marbella as a city with many english people living here they want to try it again now and will use the new store in La Cañada Shopping Centre as a pilot for further expansion. The new store in Marbella is being established on a franchise basis by the same company which has been in Gibraltar since 1968, which is York Marbella SL. The new shop is on the second floor store in La Cañada, next to Benetton.

Making excellent use of the space, the 1.300 square metre shop squeezes in a good selection of clothing, the ever popular lingerie, home wear, gifts and children’s wear. Attracting more than its fair share of interest was the food store, which although small, is packed full of delicious British goodies including much of the ambient food range, including teas, biscuits, crumpets, chocolate, competitively priced wines, and a superb selection of frozen goodies, among them many mouthwatering Indian, Chinese and Italian dishes. About three million euros have been invested in the new Marbella store which will employ between 50 and 70 people according to the time of the year.

Now is the perefct time to visit the Costa del Sol or at least to book your holidays. The weather is still ok, I mean, better than in northern european countries and the prices are down until the season starts again. Obviously the high season is over and the prices have dropped a lot. And in times of crisis many hotels have even special offers to attract tourists. A good example is Hostal Casa Mercedes in Nerja. They have a special offer until December 23rd. Get 4 nights and only pay 3 or get 7 nights and pay 5. You get the same between January 7th and February 7th which is the perfect time to relax after christmas. If you are more looking for a real holiday package, then they even offer holiday + spa + sightseeing. Between February 7th and March 7th you pay the normal price of 315 euros for a full week of holidays in one of their rooms with terrace (two persons) and you’ll get two free entrances to the famous Nerja caves (Cuevas de Nerja) and two entrances for a termal circuit in the Spa Paraiso de Agua in Nerja. Have a look on the website from Hostal Casa Mercedes in Nerja for this special offers.