robinandjan

Hi, thanks for the useful information particularly about the shopping centre. We are about to complete on our second floor apartment (Block 4) and I was wondering if anyone knows whether there is someone on site planning to "manage" apartments on behalf of others. We would love to hear from anyone who would like to take responsibility for letting our Apartment for us. Alternatively does anyone know of a good management company in town. I have so far only contacted Superior. We are here in Portugal/Spain at the moment and the weather is glorious!
Regards Jan

Dean

Jan

Steve Brown at Let & Care in Ayamonte is very good. We have found him very helpful and he also lives on Esuri.

Dean

robinandjan

Thank's Dean - we will call in to see him when next there, but do you know whether he has email?
Jan

Pam Sarky

Is that the shop next to egg in nest? If so they also have some very nice garden furniture too. Well worth a look.

Regards Sam

Dean

Jan

Steve & Katharine Brown
Calle Muelle de Portugal 47
21400 Ayamonte (Huelva)
Costa de la Luz - Spain
Tel: 0034 - 959322474
Fax: 0034 -959470754
Mob: 0034 - 661119461
[email protected]
http://www.letandcare.com

Regards

Dean

matt begley

got the bulky items of furniture from Trevor at Furniture Frontera - the pricing for the 'furniture packs' gives a good indication of price. Carrefour do a kitchen items/white goods package aimed at 2nd home owners.

easy enough for me - I sat down and read the paper whilst Liz went and chose everything!

cleaning - have heard mixed reports on Confortas standards. Benny is snagging for me next week and will sort a thorough clean with him and Sam.

having had a look around the property 2 weeks ago the dust is the biggest issue - gets everywhere.

enjoy the bank hol.

Dave Williams

Is anyone buying a Townhouse in Manzana 6?

Carol&John

Thanks Graham G for the photo. Indeed it does sit nicely. I'm guessing the neighbours' (below) a/c slave unit sits on their own terrace?

Graham G

You are quite right. That's the way it works in the Ragos as you can see on floor one in the middle of this picture..................Graham

Carol&John

Gracias, Graham G

billybassett

Hi,

does anyone know what the plans are for the regeneration of the harbour in Ayamonte? I was told a few years ago that the industrial units were to be relocated to the new industrial park off the motorway, and that the harbour area where the fish preparation units etc are, was to be the location of new bars, restaurants, shops etc.

I'm thinking it could be a lovely area, something like in Villa Real where there are a couple of nice restaurants near the ferry terminal.

I've spent an hour or so searching for information about this, but cannot find anything.

John & Kath probably know all about this, but I've not seen posts from them in a while.

Any ideas?

Karen

CAROL ELIZABETH

[QUOTE=matt begley]got the bulky items of furniture from Trevor at Furniture Frontera - the pricing for the 'furniture packs' gives a good indication of price. Carrefour do a kitchen items/white goods package aimed at 2nd home owners.

What sort of price did Trevor ask for the furniture packs - the website seems to show what can come in the pack but no price except individually by item. I thought the price of the packs offered in the shed (is it Conforta?) quite expensive although it is the easiest option. However I am prepared to do a bit of leg work when the time comes including a trip or two to IKEA but think in the long run I would like to get the bulky items locally.

Where did you all go for the a/c units - ones that heat as well as cool?

Jon-Bxl

Just got back from a 3 week stint in France, Portugal and Spain - drove 7000kms! I have a load of photos, that once I get around to downloading etc - I will compress and post. I havent had time to go through all the posts so sorry if Im repeating something. Didnt stay in Ayamonte so didnt have the chance to meet everybody this time, though we were delighted to meet Karen (billybassett) and her family and Sam and Benny (who did my snagging for me)

I was pleasantly surprised with my duplex, probably went with low expectations... A big issue for me is that there no way to put a bed against the wall in the downstairs bedroom with the doors leading to the terrace - as it shows on my plan from Fadesa. The doors opening will 'hit' the side of the bed. Does anybody have the same issue? This can be fixed I think quite easily and I will be pushing that with our friends in the shed.

A snagging point that Sue kindly told me was that the kitchen countertops may be too low for a dishwasher, anyone snagging should check on that.

The pools are a big disappointment for me, I think they are 'poxy' and frankly there is just no room around the pool for all the people that may want to use them in the high season for a seat or lying down etc.

The AC noise will be an issue, and for those who posted before about sound levels, I think the sound levels quoted are INTERNAL sounds, they dont include the noise of the external box. So if I am right - this will give no real indication of the noise we will hear outside the terrace. Fujitsu are currently advertising silent AC on the TV - which I would like to check up on. Again this wont do anything for external noise, but the quieter the rooms inside the better. Re Decibels - its a 'logarithmic scale' meaning that only a change of 3 decibels doubles the noise.... adding 10 decibels is 10x the noise. So its worth looking at the specs carefully.

Fortunately for M6 residents - I think I can say that for all of us - the huge electrical box is not against the terrace, but in the communal top area against a wall.... so I was pleased about that. Even though I see it from my terrace its at least not blocking my view.

Another point apparently in Villa Real across the water they have free Wifi access - so for those of you with a notebook and wifi cards/connection, nice place to go over have a beer and download.

I would also like to put a wrought iron gate in the corridor. There is no need for anybody else to go to my duplex door, so there is a unique space that can be used. Its really a 'back door' and I dont see an issue with taking the space. Likewise I would have no need to go down my neighbours bit either so I would have no issues with them also putting in a gate. A bit of extra space for no real hassle.

With wrought iron on my brain - I thought of security issues (we have none really) - its easy to move between terraces. I jumped easily into my neighbours area to take a photo... and one can access every terrace from the top communal area. Though I doubt if people would want spikes/fences on the terraces!

Carrefour have a great deal - fridge freezer, dishwasher, washing machine, kettle, toaster etc for only 899 Euros the lot. If you go on past IKEA in Seville and follow the granada direction after about 5/10 mins you come to a HUGE shopping area with all sorts of shops

For those interested I bought a MIO 269+ GPS system. Its got all the maps of Europe installed on a hard disk, so no card changing. ITs a great tool - I used it the week before I left on a trip through Benelux and Germany, and then for this big trip. Very good and useful tool, small enough to slip into the pocket on leaving the car, and very accurate too. So its completely zero hassle. I have no commercial interest, just a bit of feedback for those interested. My girlfriend is jealous of it, Im a typical bloke that wont ask for directions - but follow avidly whatever 'orders' that little box gives !

Ayamonte is 'Anglicising' really quickly - I was surprised at the changes in one year. If we can keep a nice blend of cultures it will benefit us all - I think. I wont make anymore comment than that observation, as some people get very hot and bothered about the subject! I have a photo of 2 tapas blackboard menu's one in English and the other Spanish to share later!

It was a good trip, I am pleased overall with the duplex, once some things can be sorted out. I dont think I personally made a good financial investment here, certainly not for the next 5 years or so anyway... and comparing to other investments (mathematically) it doesnt work for me.... and I think wont work for me either - even in 5 years. But its not all maths, its sitting on the huge terrace having a drink and chilling out. Each person will value that in a different way!

On the trip I had wine at 50c a glass, huge G+T's at 3 Euros each, once a coffee and brandy for 1.30! A stonker lunch in Burgos in a really local restaurant for 8 Euros. We only got ripped off in one restaurant that we thought wouldnt do it, so I advise always to ask the prices up front (I know it sounds obvious now).. also a possible trick when you order a large wine is that they leave a bottle at the table - half to 3/4 full. You must tell them how much you drank when asking for the bill - or they will charge for a bottle. A friendly guy told us that and sure enough they tried. We both had a disappointing meal at La Lota this time, (the one in Ayamonte - not the Marina, owned by the same people, one of the lawyer we often talk about). I always give a resturant a second shot. Also last time I had absolutely delicious black-pig ribs, that I always ask for. Didnt have any this time. So I think it was a one-off.

Although Im a francophile, it was nice to go out and eat/drink at really great prices. Coming back into France (and the very beautiful part on the coast around Perpignan) and it was back to 3+ euros for a half... ouch!

PM me if you want any info on the hotels/places on the driving trip down.. but please allow some time for a response as I have a HUGE pile of letters to go through, and cant seem to start it - off for another drink now! So still in holiday mood.

Cheers
Jon

steph

Hello jon,
what a fantastic trip.I would love to know the exact route as we plan to drive down one day.
As for the dishwasher we found that if you take the top off it fits snuggly under the units.
Regarding your doors ours open outwards to the terrace so maybe they have been fitted incorrectly.
regards steph

Carol&John

Hi jon-bxl,
Good post, and am looking forward to the photos as and when...
I too would be interested in your car journey from Burgos down to Ayamonte. Here's another link to a similar yet separate thread, if you so choose,"Is this the way to...":
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=366297
There's also ("Ayamonte - Isla Canela"):http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=363395
And, another ("CE Duplex Problem"):http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=369907
Regards,
Carol