We buy a lot of stuff from El Corte Ingles. They used to be very pricey but are very competitive nowadays. At least half the money we spend in the shops is spent there

They have very good furniture nowadays and the TVs etc are better than the ones offered in MediaMarkt etc and at competitive prices (the smart TV I bought was 100 euros cheaper than the price in the UK for example)

And at rebajas time you can get amazing bargains in their clothes and sportswear sections. Last winter I kitted myself out with ski gear, everything at half price

The problem is that everyone still thinks El Corte Ingles is expensive, and of course compared to Mercadona and teh cheap clothes shops, of course they are. But there is no comparison in terms of quality.

ECI has suffered as Spaniards have started shopping based on price. Believe it or not, this was actually not very important to them during boom times

The Gourmet Experience on the top floor of the Corte Inglés in Callao is good. I especially like a restaurant called "xo street" there, also there's a good dim sum place there, and fantastic views down Gran Via. The shop food is way over priced though.

I often buy stuff from El Corte Inglés - the trick is to wait for a "Semana Fantastica" or "8 días de oro" when they'll knock the prices down. Also people buy presents there because people can always return them if they don't like them. They have an advantage in that they are a complete monopoly - there are hardly any other department store chains in Spain, well not in the city centres at least. It would be good if a chain like Zara branched out and offered them some competition.

Cortefiel is the traditional competitor, certainly in terms of the clothes selection. Not very nice though, its more down-market, a bit like Debenhams while ECI is John Lewis

Zara have Zara Home which while pretty good, is at least as expensive as ECI

Agree with this. We just bought a bookcase from their Urban Class range - really pleased with it - there are very few stores that offer furniture like that.

However I don't think those stores offer the complete works like ECI. No food section, electronics, etc. I think Zara Home is just textiles as well - no furniture as such. Zara have been buying up prime retail space in the centre of Madrid, around the Slamanca area, so I'm hoping they'll branch out a bit.

I like Zara home. ECI customer service is the best in Spain. Never went a bundle over their clothes though. Aimed at the very young or very old in Marbella.

You have moved to Madrid and living in a hotel Are you rich, have you won the lottery

surely there isn't anything inbetween in Marbella Jacky ??

ok "only Granada" but we have a recently refurbed 4* hotel that is currently doing room only for 29.95 €.

and we stayed for a short while in that hotel 4 years ago when the BH started working here, whilst the flat she was moving into was refurbished by the landlord

was in ECI today, as we have 2 in Granada, along with 2 Hipercor's and 1 Supercor (where the tills are continually full of women queueing to pay for clothing as they seem to have a permanant sale).

The Gourmet Experience is great, many fine brandies and whiskey's, various other things, had a word with the manager as the top end Rums are few and far between and he has given me the contact in Madrid Head Office to put forward suggestions to the product range.

Perhaps some of the old management are clinging on, but they know they have super stores in key locations and have to move with the times. The main store in Granada is next to a much used church and the television cameras are always picking up their windows when recording the faithful entering and leaving.

Over the decades I have bought cheap, and kept on buying cheap because it didn't last very long. Now retired I want quality and that is what I get at ECI, along with knowledgable staff who know their products, even when buying a cup of coffee on the top floor.
And more of their staff are speaking English, which can take some of the pain out of dreary old shopping

Bin strike over apparently! Madrid in the ascendency?

http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2013/11/...103_1384602547

I don't think the locals are quite so impressed, especially with "La Botella".

That's because she's useless.

probably something to do with a new issue of PPE and stacks of overtime at enhanced rates ??

Granada had a similar problem a few months ago, something to do with salaries and job cuts because the street cleaning and bin collections are outsourced and the company concerned was looking to make more profit.

.

.....and now an extension of the Burgos riots has hit town.

http://www.euronews.com/2014/01/16/s...eads-to-madrid

Hopefully this year can't be any worse than last, with the Olympic and Casino shambles to boot.