BMI Cardiff

Hi

I though it would be a good idea to set up two new threads as hopefully we are getting nearer to completion, and any advice would be useful

Janice

You might be right there Max. I was contacted recently by Andalusian Dream Homes whom i bought the apartment from. They have a susidiary company that deals with furniture and have packages starting at €7000 for a 2 bed. Their web site address is http://www.dhinteriors.com A friend of mine moved out to spain a couple of years ago and had brand new furniture which they bought in London transported to Marbella and when the goods finally got there half of it was broken and some items missing! definitely much simpler to get it in spain perhaps?

You might be right there Max. I was contacted recently by Andalusian Dream Homes whom i bought the apartment from. They have a susidiary company that deals with furniture and have packages starting at €7000 for a 2 bed. Their web site address is http://www.dhinteriors.com A friend of mine moved out to spain a couple of years ago and had brand new furniture which they bought in London transported to Marbella and when the goods finally got there half of it was broken and some items missing! definitely much simpler to get it in spain perhaps?

We mostly seem to be first timers so it is the blind leading the blind with this advice but based on stories from friends that have done it before we plan to buy in Spain - it is generally cheaper but we're not going for a "pack" - they are good if you're going to rent out or have no time but they are not personal.
Spanish beds tend to be harder than us soft Brits are used to so we plan to go to the "British Bed Store" just up the road in Mijas. For the rest we're going to buy what is available in Spain - it may not be the same as we have at home but that doesn't mean it's not as good.

I agree, personaly i would buy the furniture in Spain, my friends who transported furniture from london ended up buying pieces of furniture locally to replace the items that went missing or got broken during transport. There are quite a few furniture shops / warehouses on the N340 (and surrounding roads) from San Pedro out to Estepona which maybe worth checking out.

Just bought all the stuff in the uk. We have hired a van and booked the ferry for the 21st of December. We will be going the long way for the adventure (Calais) . I will be putting the furniture in my parents spare room in Mijas (10 mins from Don Juan) until our place is ready. I just wanted to get stuff not available in Spain. I have seen some great furniture in Spain but I wanted to be different.

Hi Andy I am doing the same thing , not sure wether to go to calais or go to bilbao found site called trasmeditierranea. Return fair to bibao with cabin and van approx 550 pounds  also only 9 hour drive compared to 24 from calais . I would be interested how you got on and prices I am also out there xmas have a great adventure and a good xmas

Friends of ours have recently done the Bilbao trip driving to Marbella. Their ferry was also about £500 (including meals!) and it cost them about £400 in petrol and tolls. I think they took either a long wheel base tranny or a luton van. They said the ferry was fabulous and the drive wonderful, so could be a good trip. The drive from Calais is just a bit too far for me and looking at the petrol used for the drive through Spain, I don't think it would be much cheaper doing the long haul.

Michelle

Hi Andy how did the adventure go , I would be interested in the time it took and the cost and was it enjoyable Cheers Ray

Hi Ray

It was a very easy drive and I would recommend it to anybody. The ferry was £200 and the cost of Toll roads and fuel was £300. We spent a night in France near the Spanish boarder. It is a long drive but its a nice drive too. The worst bit was getting to the ferry in the UK and it was the same on the return, the roads seem so much better in France and Spain.

We never had a single traffic light and only one roundabout from Calais to Mijas and that was in Madrid and not a single hold up all the way. There are a lot of services and hotels all in all a very pleasant journey.

It was a lot easier than I expected. Paris is a the only bit where you slow down for half an hour apart from that its 80 mph most of the way. I have posted a lot of new DJ pics in the photo gallery.

Good luck and enjoy yourself .

 

Andy

Just pointing out the fuel and toll was £300 each way.

 

Andy

Hi all,

Happy new year.

Just wanted to see had anyone else looked into the www.villapac.co.uk its a furniture place in fuengirola and you go there and pick a style of furniture that suits you down to the knifes and forks. its around €10,000 to fully furnish the apartment the company fit all the furniture make all the beds they do everything even hang the curtains etc ready for you to walk in and be straight on holiday, I dont know if this is a good idea has anyone else looked at this or how much dose it cost to furnish it yourself as I see some of you brought your furniture from the U.K.

Anyone with infomation on this I would love to hear your view.

We have been there and I had a positive impression. Quality seems fine. Can't really judge the prices as we are not in the market (we'll move our own stuff). There are more companies with a similar offer. F.i. http://www.imperialspain.com/packages.htm. They have a store in Mijas and are quite large.

Hi Max

Thanks for that advice I had a look on the web site there package looks really good and better quality than villapack. Were you in the stores and which do you think is the better place, I value your judgement as you live there and seem to have information on any thing that any one requires.

Thanks again

Lorraine and Eoin

Hi Eoin and Lorraine

I was reading another post that suggested http://www.dhinteriors.com/ . They seem quite reasonable, though I have not been to their shop just outside Marbella. Just to let you know I have booked flights to go over from the 15th to the 23rd April to furnish my apartment (hopefully). If you are over then, I will take you to the Makro wholesalers warehouse if you like. Let me know your plans. Anyone else interested in going, let me know, and we can meet up.

Cheers

Westport (Pearce)

 

Hi Pearce,

Thanks for the information, I dont know wheather to go with a package or to go and shop around myself, thanks for the offer of the Marko card but I have one. I have never visited the Marco in Malaga do you know do they do furniture etc.. Sorry I cant go in April at that time but I will be dying to hear how you get on. I was looking at the web site that Max recomended and I really liked the Alicante range it is a mix of brown leather and marble,but it was €17,995 to kit out the apartment which is very expensive. So if you see anything similar on your shoping trip if you could let me know that would be great.

Yours thankfully

Lorraine and Eoin 

Hi Eoin,

Didn't visit the imperial shop yet, but the nice thing about them is that they have a very large supply on stock. So you can make up your own package without the usual (ridiculous) delivery times.

I have had a look at the various companies offering packages and overall i have to say that i am not that impressed. What i found is that you may like some items and some items you may not. Most of the companies have said that you can change items you dont like for others but usually these 'other' items you have to pick from a catalogue and how can you tell from that? IMHO packages are good if you are renting the property or if you do not have time or the inclination but if you do and can spend the time looking i am sure you can find better stuff and give it more of a personal touch. We went to DH Interiors during our trip in November, we had booked an interior design appointment (at their suggestion) but this turned out to be more off a sales appointment as they weren't interested to do any design only to try and sell us one of their packages! Not very impressed! We did find another furniture store called Singways this is in the new shopping complex next to the Miramar in Fuengirola. They have got quite modern looking furniture (very clean lines) but more importantly very good quality and not that badly priced not as cheap as some packages but it is better stuff and they acutally did do a design service! If you are considering Makro you may also want to have a look at Carrefour there is one near the airport and one in Estepona they have some very reasonably priced stuff from time to time.

Hi Eoin and Lorraine,

You were right about the package at Imperial being expensive at €18,000. I suppose it depends how much time you have on your hands, and if you are going to be living there, renting it out, or just a holiday home. On my last few trips I have visited a number of shops and drawn up a list of everything that we will need to get for our 2 bed apartment down to knifes and forks. I reckon I can do it myself for about €8,500 and thats with decent furnishings. I ordered our sofa ( €1100 reduced from €1800 on a sale) over a year ago now and put a 20% deposit down on it. Its still in storage at no charge. You would be advised to order these items as early as possible, maybe beds as well, as they are factory made(not in stock) and you can wait 2/3 months for them.

As for Makro, its just outside the Airport. A bit awkward to get to though. From memory they have matresses, bed linen, garden/terrace furniture, pot & pans, cutlery, crockery, glasses and lots of very cheap beer and wine. I will update you on some prices and other items there when I next visit.

Cheers

Pearce