Great customer service for electrical goods
Wortens in La Canada commercial shopping centre in Marbella offers great customer service for electrical goods. I stopped going to its predecessor Boulanger as any faulty item had be taken by you to Estepona for a repair. So on toaster and smaller goods you didn’t bother. Finally I didn’t bother even entering their door.
Wortens is a different shop with a different customer care policy. They also have smaller electrical goods such as toasters at the types of prices you would find in Argos in the UK.
We bought an HP printer during the summer and after a month the paper feed stopped working. We had lost the receipt but had a bank statement. I didn’t think that would be enough and was prepared for the shop telling us ” tough luck.”
Wortens found our receipt on their computer and took the printer and all our details via their special customer service counter on the left hand side of the shop before the entrance. It took about three weeks and today we came back from the store with a brand new printer. HP have a policy of no repairs on their printers, so once they had established their was a genuine fault, they provided us with a new one via Wartens.
I’m a happy customer, have heard similar excellent reports from others that have bought electrical products that needed a repair. If Wortens is unable to repair they will provide you with a new product and the guarantee lasts two years.
I’ll be back….
Tigi haircare half price sale
Tigi haircare has a half price sale on, lots of hair products from their catwalk and bedhead range both for women and men.
Click on this link. They post to the UK and Spain.
Loyalty card at El Corte Ingles
There are now loyalty cards available at El Corte Ingles in the Costa del Sol. These are not credit cards but cards that allow you to receive money off from a range of goods and services in El Corte Ingles and the surrounding shops. If you have an El Corte Ingles card you will shortly receive a personal invitation to join the loyalty programme ( free of charge), otherwise you will need to register here, http://www.whatshot.es/
Each month the discounts you can receive when you show your loyalty card may change. Some current examples of discounts available from the El Corte Ingles loyalty card are: 25% off Benalmadena sea life centre, 10% off McDonalds, free car wash if you spend over 30 euros, golfing discounts, free meals and 10% off gel nails on the ground floor of the Puerto Banus El Corte Ingles. You show your card and you receive the discount.
I’m already loyal to El Corte Ingles not least because they make car parking so easy in Puerto Banus, love their air conditioning in the summer, am a fan of their minced beef without any E numbers or colouring and I am very loyal to their philosophy of stocking all things “that sparkle and are made of pure bling.” I could quite happily just sit in a deckchair on the ground floor of the Puerto Banus store with a martini in my hand and people watch. Then soak in the scents of designer perfumes and all those gorgeous handbags and shoes that are made of the softest leather.
Perhaps the loyalty card for El Corte Ingles will be a scratch and sniff one.
Falling in love…
Yes I’m falling in love with Marks and Spencers in La Canada. It has been a slow burning love affair but I am now under its spell.
I tried numerous shops this year in the search for a strappy top that wouldn’t make me look like mutton dressed as lamb, wouldn’t be super thin or super stretchy or super awful. I eventually found myself miserable in Marks and Spencers and voila, the perfect strappy top was there. It has washed well, kept its colour. I was miserable no more.
This week I have been trying to find the perfect bikini after my original one pinged off my body at Torremolinos Water Park.
I went to Puerto Banus and tried El Corte Ingles as they have racks and racks of bikinis at all different prices. I must have tried at least 12 on and whilst the tops were usually ok the bottoms well….. Mostly they made me look obese, or a duck, or my legs looked like Tom Thumbs and generally and wholly unattractive. The Spanish aren’t pear shaped and I am.
So today I thought I would try Marks and Spencers. The tops and bottoms came in different sizes which was helpful, we aren’t all exactly the same up top and below. I tried just the one bikini on and it was made for me. There was no price and at this point I was so drugged up with delight that I had actually found a bikini that did not make me look like a walrus, I would have paid anything.
The other thing about Marks and Spencers is that the staff are so smiley. The sales assistant in the dressing room, the lady on the cash desk, the lady at the food counter.
A really pleasant shopping experience and I’ll certainly be back next time my bikini pings.
My perfect bikini - now to find the body.....
Playgrounds in Marbella
So much fun!
Will I make it or won't I?
There are plenty of playgrounds in Marbella but unlike the UK where mums get together in toddler groups, it can be hard for new comers and new mums to find these playgrounds as they are often tucked away in the Marbella urban areas.
I took Erikita today to the playground close to Swans primary school in Marbella. Photos below for you to see it if you haven’t been before.
More suitable for older children rather than toddlers as the climbing frame was tricky for Erikita and she’s nine! She loved the zip wire, but again needed some help getting onto the ramp. If she had worn trainers rather than flip flops it may have helped. 
Lots of stones/gravel in this playgrounds so trainers highly recommended, if your little ones haven’t outgrown them over the summer.
Smaller swings and a mini slide for younger tots but I would say best suited for those aged 6 years and up.
Directions….if you know where Swans school is located ( the primary school) carry on driving ( Swans school is on your right) and turn 2nd right. You will see a circular dog walking/poopie area on your right. Go up the hill and about quarter of the way up is the playground. Plenty of off road parking here.
Word of warning, the slides are too hot in the summer to use. Hot metal and bottoms don’t mix. We just went for about 15 minutes, took water with us and that was enough exercise for the year, I mean day….
You can also walk to the El Corte Ingles here if you fancies a little sit down drink. There is a restaurant/cafe area on the 1st floor.
Air conditioned!!!!!!!!!!!
Slippery slide.....
Me, getting carried away....
Climbing frames, slides, swings and zip wires....
Happy campers?
I’ve just told my daughter that all being well we will head off to Tarifa next week camping for a few days.
Her face lit up, “Yey, Primark.”
And there was me thinking she was happy to spend a few days in a mossie infested tent with her mum and dad.
For those of you on the same wave length as my daughter, Primark is located close to Tarifa, at Algeciras. So yes you could drive to Primark and miss Tarifa altogether, or head to Tarifa and hit Primark on the way back home. We will be doing the latter and we will be sedating her father and brother…..
My favourite buys this summer
Have been my swimming shorts from El Campo supermarket at 3.99 euros. No need to bikini wax ( sorry if that is too much information….) no need to worry about cellulite ( though at my age that is the least of my worries….dying is more of a concern ) and much more suitable for parading around on a beach than little stringy numbers best left to those under 30 years.
Also loving my little denim shorts. I only bought them for the garden but in this heat I have even dared to wear them to the supermarket and much cooler than anything else in my wardrobe….apart from my swimming shorts!
Lastly my strappy t-shirt around 6 euros from Marks and Spencers in La Canada, lovely tomato shade which makes me feel summery and cheerful. A splash of colour in the wardrobe is good for the soul……
What have been your best buys this summer?
Rebajas La Canada
Children's dress down to 3 euros, H&M
Gin Gin in her new summery dress
Promod bracelet down to 3 euros
The rebajas or sales have been on in La Canada shopping mal now for a while and I popped there recently for a quick look.
I found the dress above for Gin Gin reduced from 9.95 euros to 3 euros, so we bought two in different patterns, they are ideal for this hot Spanish summer. From H&M kids wear.
The bracelet was from Promod down from 9.95 euros to 5 and then at the caja they said it was down even more to 3 euros. It is really pretty with an inset intricate silver pattern weaved inside the actual bracelet. A lovely present for a friend. They had quite a bit of jewellery that was all heavily discounted.
Zara had some fantastic reductions on adult clothing, lots of signs saying 7 euros.
Imaginarium continue to have quite a few toys with some big discounts too. They gift wrap the toys that you buy too.
I’ve also heard the in El Corte Ingles Puerto Banus there are lots of designer clothing with 70% reductions.
Happy Shopping if you have the energy….
Cheap Tigi hair and skin care, Tigi products 40% off
You can buy cheap Tigi hair and skin care products which cost a fortune if you buy them from hairdressers here in Spain. With CheapSmells they mostly have a whopping 40% off the retail price and in the UK postage is only 0.95 pence per item and in Spain they deliver to the UK based upon weight which will be shown clearly at the checkout. The mens Tigi products are particularly good value.
You can buy from CheapSmells Tigi bed head body mist retailing at 16.78 euros, for 9.81 euros. Tigi bed head for men, the wax has 40% off, priced at 7.71 euros. Tigi bed head hair care control freak conditioner frizz control has 40% off making it now priced at 7.47 euros.
They have Tigi gift sets for sale too and designer perfumes heavily reduced. I’ve used this site lots of times and delivery is fast and these products are all brand new.
Funky lights for children
There are some really funky lights for children and teenager’s room in Casa in La Canada. There are mushroom shaped touch lights, which have three different degrees of lights. There are some cool rock lamps and some good sized lava lamps. They also have the lights that children like to hang from their headboard in different styles and colours.
We were going to re-decorate our daughter’s room over the summer but she’s happy now just for a few changes. Out with the pink princesses and in with the lava lamps, swivel desk chairs and gittery clocks.