The Portal de la Marina and me is a long love story ... When I visit my parents when they are on…read moreholidays in Spain, it's a bit of an addictive habit to go there! I must say that their village is not full of shops... so, for shopping, the Marina is kind of "the place to be"! It includes all major conventional chains : H&M, Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull&Bear , Mango, Bershka, Stradivarius,... But unlike Belgium, each piece is 5-10€ cheaper (even more at Dutti). Big difference in the wallet! This year, I crushed for Oysho and its sport collections! The mall is really huge and there is also a supermarket, restaurants, snacks, perfumeries, hairdressers, fish pedicure stands, opticians (of course which such a sun there), movie theater, game zone, ... You can easily spend a whole day @ The Marina (if it rains even if it is rare or too hot during lunch time - thank you airco!). For shopping addicts, this is the place to be in Costa Blanca (Ondara - Valencia).

This Outlet Store is fairly small but nice and modern. It's easy to navigate and is all on one…read morelevel, with the exception of a movie theatre on top floor. The merchandise didn't seem to be discounted, in comparison to other Outlet Malls I have been to. I didn't see any sales or specials to speak of. There are lots of seating areas and restaurants to choose from to eat at. The restrooms were among the cleanest I have seen for awhile. Covid precautions in effect. Overall, a pretty mall but with limited amounts of higher priced merchandise.

I am a fan. This is the sort of store that used to be commonplace in uk and Ireland but alas now…read morerare. Almost a harrods without the pretentiousness. One can buy a doughnut for £1.50 or an espresso for less. I bought Stilton cheese the world's greatest in my view. Yes I had coffee with Stilton. I could have bought a 90 inch tv but Ryanair wouldn't carry it or a new iPhone or a £10,000 bottle of Hennessy (70cl). I could buy a Samsonite suitcase or fresh or frozen squid. So you get the picture and I guess they sell 10's of thousands of different products usually over 5 floors. If yiu ever go to Spain and where you are has this place it's worth a bit of time even for a coffee and snack. Their cafes and restaurants are usually top floor so the views are great. As for me I settled for £180 worth of caviar and a tin of goose liver foie gras with black truffle at £50 and both sat comfortably in my pocket.