Resort Update/Thoughts

Just back from 3 weeks ar CDA.  Fantastic.  I visited La Torre and Mar Menor resorts too.  La Torre - even in the height of summer, seemed a bit dead.  Strange.  Mar Menor was nice though.  CDA is full of life in comparison to both of them though.  I went into the restaurant on site and had a nice lunch.  Not the dearest and not the cheapest place to dine but, hey, no one forced me to go and we did enjoy our meal.  Didn't go to the pub.  Not fond of it (too smelly most of the time) so can't comment on that.  Supermarket well-stocked and useful with nice staff too. 

The resort feels looked after BUT with the following exceptions:

1 - What on earth are they playing at with the lighting?  As you drive up the main entrance boulevard off the main road all the lights leading to the big CDA sign are off - as well as the sign lighting.  It looks hellish and SO unwelcoming.  This theme appears to continue all over the perimeter lighting.  It's is mental.  Chunks of lighting off where it is needed, chunks of lighting on where it is not needed and, overall, a very weird experience.  I do have a huge bee in my bonnet about the ridiculous amount of these street lamps PW installed.  They have used 3 when 1 would have been sufficinet throughout the resort.  I understand they need to make savings but this is such a scattergun approach and is detrimental to the look of the resort.  As far as I can see the solution is simple - remove the bulbs/supply to 2 of every 3 lamps in the row and - hey presto - a saving of two thirds on the leccy bill!!  Not rocket science and at least it offers a uniformed approach and appearance to the place without leaving us in the dark (another PW favourite that one......  )

2 - The area outside the supermarket is filthy and starting to deteriorate.  The walls are spattered with mess and the floor is never washed.  In addition to this, every tap in the public (ladies) loos are broken - hanging out of the sink units. 

Hopefully Milleniun Levante will sort both soon.  I will drop them an email over the next few days to let them know.  I did ask about the lighting but the girl didn't seem to fully understand my concerns.

Anyway, aside from the above, we had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the time over there.  Back in 7 weeks time.  Yeahhhhhhh.

Arlene 

When we came in a week back every third light was on on the ring road which looked good and it was that way when we brought in laws from the airport a night or so later, but last night when we returned from the airport the ring road was all off (at least motorway side of the entrance and ring road). We also have no objection at all to the lighting being reduced but at least a light here and there needs to be lit,  Spooky out there!! ( Could it have been affected by the storm?)

 Arlene,

For info on the exterior lighting see the notice on the community website,  The total blackout on some sections was due to a fault which has now been resolved, the lights on the entrance sign have also been replaced.

Al Kasar is owned and maintained by Polars World so is not the responsibility  of the community. 

Phil

We wondered about a fault. A relative and I had a stroll a stroll up through from Jardin 8 to 13 really late on Thursday evening. Jardin 8 had had the Jardin lights on for some hours but most of the others weren't on at all. As we strolled back various lights began to come on here and there.

On a positive note the Jardins are all lookinmg good and are buzzing with people- children playing, people eating and meeting and the whole place had a great atmosphere and people have been out and about well into the early hours. It's been great to see CdA so lively this visit.

Hi Phil,

Arlene makes a very good point - throughout the 16 days we were on CdA recently , the lighting was totally unacceptable on the outer ring & Car Park. It can't be that difficult to fix.  I note the update on the owner forum regarding the lighting, but this was posted on the 10th August & Arlene was reporting problems are still existing after that (upto the 14th.?)   Are you sure things have been fixed..?    Maybe someone could update us the Outer ring, entrance lighting & AK Car park lights are now working effictively....I very much doubt it.

I do believe ML are trying hard, but the lighting is turning out to be an avoidable fiasco.  Clearly there are some isues that still need resolving -  and we have got maintenance issues mixed up with economising issues.  I am not convinced they totally understand the problem, despite a number of us trying to explain the staus to them.

I wonder if one of the the resident presidents, could help by ensuring ML clearly understand the problems?

Regards

Nick

All the cars in Spain now come with headlights and torches are availible at the supermarket.

Rather than be so negative, think about the money we are saving on electricity!

Hi Darren

I know you are on Jardin 13 and was going to come and say hello when we were over.  Then I realised I didn't know your apartment number.  It was only after I got home that it struck me - I should just have looked for the apartment with the big grey cloud hanging over it!!! 

Now Now Arlene,

No need for you to go and start upsetting our cousins from south of the border: you know how sensitive they can be! (He!He!)

Jim and Betty

Back today after three weeks in CDA. Not wishing to stoke the fire with this thread but the lighting appreared to change daily. In summary however the fact that the huge CDA sign was never illuminated in the time we were their was dissaponting, especially when we were visited by friends one evening who we were considering buying a Jardine property. Im not saying this negativley influenced their overall opinion but it would mine.

LETS JUST HAVE  SOME CONSITANT APPROACH- WE WILL ALL UNDERSTAND ( I have reported my feelings to ML)

Morgan,

You are perfectly justified in making a comment like this. The sign is one of the more impressive parts of the entrance to Condado when lit up. A lot of us know cost savings have been approved by switching off every other street lamp in most areas but the entrance sign should certainly not be affected. I can't see the cause of this being the recent storms - not for three weeks !

What, with your other post on the landscaping being carried out at Terrezes, it seems like Condado has ended up being the 'boil on the backside' rather than the 'jewel in the crown' they kept harping on about in their sales promotion literature. Even progress at Polaris other resort Hacienda Riquelme town centre seems to be moving apace....http://www.hrgr.es/images/photos/hacienda220810en.pdf. Ever felt like you have been left in the lurch ?

Probably one of the mosy innapropriate comments I hear bandied about is over on Terry & Jills site as part of their very informotive reports...........'it's all good'. Without wishing to sound too negative, I for one think it is far from it.

We left CdA last Friday just after 9pm. The entrance road directly from the motorway island up to the big Condado de Alhama sign was all alight but the boulevard down to the back gate wasnt at all- not sure about down to the main gate by Al Kasar. Personally, having every third light on (as it was when we arrived) worked well and would obviously save money but long dark spaces look gloomy and depressing. We were hopeful at the time that it was still because of the flood as that was clearly extensive and caused real problem.

Arlene, you mentoned the condition of outside of the Supermarket. I havent seen it mentioned on here other than when PTAN reminded us that Al Kasar is owned by Polaris- but the ceiling came down in that entrance area due to the rain and work was underway to repair it last week- so hopefully a good sweep up  and check of the toilets area will be covered in that repair work.

Just a query- twice during our stay visitors got lost and ended up in the corresponding Naranjos Jardines rather than at our Jardines- is this just happening to us? They found the similar names confusing.

I can't remember the last time the huge Condado sign was lit - it must have been months ago....

Barry

"Even progress at Polaris other resort Hacienda Riquelme town centre seems to be moving"  (previous post) Yes very true but how many years after the resort opened. I remember reading how they had (nothing) Bar, supermarket, etc and felt abandoned and now it's happening. Good for the owners they had waited quite some time.  How long did owners wait at CDA.............. I'm not sure but much sooner than HRGR. I do believe it will happen at CDA - all in good time. I'm more than happy with what we have now and anything else would be great and appreciated.

Daniels,

You make a fair point on two fronts.

Firstly, yes there is always someone worse off. I myself have a colleague who has invested thousands of euros in a development in Murcia only to have a hole in the ground to show for it. I am very thankfull that is not us. Likewise others have bought onto resorts that were planned in phases and got the promised facilities in phase one. So they have a golf course and a club house to go with it.

Second point relating to Hacienda Riquelme is quite right. The owners have had to be very patient - a friend of mine is one. A lot of this wait though was due to the listed building conditions of the old original hacienda that was being converted to the town centre & club house.

I personally would have much rather done without the hurriedly cobbled together massive soul-less quadrangle we have that was the Foro originally, now named Al kazar (katraz as some call it) and seen something with a little bit of character built that actually has a view. Every other Polaris resort has some form of view out over the golf course. We are just so far away from the the original concept, it is a long haul flight away !

'It will all happen in good time'. Not quite sure about that myself. Without the Paramount life-line that was mooted about a few months ago, I honestly can not see any further development taking place in the near future on Condado. It has been stated in many arenas that it will take five years ,once financial & housing market conditions have finally recovered, to get rid of the glut of properties for sale in Spain. How many people do you think will risk signing up to off plan developments now ? This is how things get off the ground in Spain, so if there are going to be a scarcity of buyers willing to take those risks, how are the likes of Polaris ever going to raise the money to further develop resorts ?

So take Condado - we would than have a building programme of at least another five years (if conditions stayed favourable) just to fill in all the vacant land around the existing course. Where does that leave La Isla ,whose owners all bought into the dream of being surrounded by two golf courses and a mega-sized commercial and leisure development that was to go by the name of the 'Oasis'. Thier fertile paradise in the desert all of a sudden becomes a dust storm in the sands.

So while I do still try to look on the bright side, this is not because I have a feel-good factor about where we are, more like releived about where we could of been. I thought I had put a lot of research and preparation into our decision to purchase at Condado. I got the agent to take me to every Polaris resort finished or unfinished, look at the quality of the build inside the appartments, drive me to the site of Condado and then time the drive to the nearest beaches, towns, places of interest. It was seeing the finished product that convinced me. What was fully finished at Mar Menor was clearly coming to fruition at La Torre so there was good reason to feel confident. Although I still really enjoy spending time at our place and look forward to every vist, I have to admit, the blinkers have to be on to blot out a lot of the things that are just plainly second rate. We are very much the poor relations in the Polaris family. OK the properties were cheaper, but they are smaller and were just meant to be one cross section of a wide ranging variety of properties. The standard of the resort finishing and facilities was portrayed to be right up there with the rest of them. I defy anyone to sit on the balcony of the clubhouse at La Torre, El Valle, Mar Menor, and Hacienda Riquelme when it is finished and then not be disappointed with what we have where we are.

So let's wait and hope, but I  was banking on still being fit enought and young enough to enjoy all these outdoor exploits before I drew my pension. Interested to hear if others hold out much faith.

Regards,

We too bought into a dream, & I too did a lot of research before we concidered a Polaris build

Naturaly like everyone else we expected a shoping area between our selves Jardin 5 & 7 & eagerly waited for news that the Oasis was soon to be started. but no one,not even Polaris knew of the downward spiral that has not just affected Spain & the UK but word wide.

Having said that, we have no regrets. Ok maybe  the look of Al Kazar is not to every ones taste but at least there is a bar, resturant & supermarket.

My friend also bought off plan about  nine months before us on the Costa Del Sol. She paid 3 times as much for her two bed appartment & its no bigger than ours I has a very small terrace, about a third of our roof terrace.

As the builder went "belly up" there are hardly any street lights. no facilities on site  and she has to drive twenty minutes to get to the nearest supermarket & the resturants are extremely expensive. only 1 phase of a 4 phase build was ever completed & half of those are unoccupied.

We love going over to Condado & have made lots of great friends. My friend only goes over for two days every three or four months just to check that every thing is ok.

So chin up.

As my mother always said, be gratefull for what you have cos there is an awful lot more people  an awful lot worse off .

Jan.

www.luxuryletmurcia.co.uk

I

I like Billbo put a lot of time and energy researching the Condado site before purchase. I too visited the polaris sites and was impressed.

Condado, however was to be the jewel in the crown with lakes, restaurants, town centres and shopping, three great golf courses, million euro villas, sporting facilities and a medical centre, to list a few of its published attributes.

I enjoy my stay at my apartment, out about three times so far, with a golfing week with friends at the start of September.

The problem is, for a family holiday with my wife and adult children, I find myself looking to rent a villa in Belamadena or Mijas. Here the proximity of beaches, the vast variety for shopping, terrific night life / entertainment, the choice of numerous restaurants’ and bars and the fabulous golf courses. These choices mean there is something to please everyone: Just as I imagined Condao would be on completion.

I like Billbo wear my blinkers when out, I can certainly see the potential, the new airport for instance will help in improving transport links and may encourage future development .

I do know this, that recessions eventually end, remember Black Monday and interest rates of 15%. The difficulty here is that the problems with the Spanish economy may take longer to correct. Corruption needs to end, justice needs to be seen to be fair and we who have invested in Spain and support the economy with our spending should be encouraged and not taken advantage of.

Spain needs to encourage and develop its tourist industry, its now competing with among others Turkey, Egypt, Tunisa, and Cyprus. It must create the correct environment to attract visitors as it did in the past.

The fortunes of Condado are tied to the state of the economy. If the Spanish government gets these things right then yes I am hopeful, if not then even the long term looks much of the same to me.

Resort Update/Thoughts

Just back from 3 weeks at CDA.  Fantastic. A lot of People. Left the resort at the 28 of August.

Heavy rains (see the pictures), 40mm rain in 1 hour. Small leak in the bedroom. Went to the PW sales office in Al Khasar and the salesman directly called to the head of the after sales department.

At the same day, after siesta, workmen arrived at our apartment and had a look!!! The green keepers from Olagolf did a great job!! There was a lot of damage on the course, before our Penthouse block 16 was a big big lake!! All the workers worked from 08:00 till 18:00 day in day out. They received the mud from bunkers, fairways, buggy pads etc. Course was closed nearly a week.

Played the course and looks and played superb. 2 green fees and a buggy 90Euro. Asked for the clubhouse: the lovely girl smiled and told me that she don’t know when it will be build.

Al the mud in the streets was sprayed away by workmen.

The supermarket was very busy, 3 cash points and sometimes a row till the deepfreezes.

The “pool” in Al Khasar cleaned every day.

There was also a leak in the ceiling of  entrance hall, it was repaired within a couple of days!

Eat at the restaurant, was not super but good, busy, nearly complete, used the PW card.

Each Friday night theme party at the Clover, very busy.

Went to ML for the leak in my house, she couldn’t help me. (of course)

Went to ML for the elevator, he was out of order true the heavy rains. She phoned directly to the service engineer, he arrives a couple of hours later.

Went to ML for a stolen fire extinguisher, she reported it and told me to visit the security.

Went also to ML for the private golf buggy from my sister which “dashboard” was break open to try to make contact. They advice me to visit the security.

Walked to the gate and the guy phoned the head of the security. He picked me up by car and we visited the “places”. He reported and was very angry. There was a lot of security, in the night they walked

with 2 people, on the day they walked by one person or by scooter. We also received the security card for “free entrance” into the resort.

All the gardens of the Penthouses are cut, looks very good.

Some points of attention:

·       the lights leading to the big CDA sign are still off

·       lights of the CDA sign is still off

·       the lights on the entrance are off/on/off

·       the lights on the road after the entrance are sometimes off sometimes on

·       the entrance of Al Khasar is dirt

·       the public toilets were also dirt, the lock was broken and a couple of days later the door was closed.

·       the plants between the buggy pad the Penthouses

It’s a pity that the gym is still closed, a lot of people “used“ the tennis courts..

Best regards, Onno, Lillian & Cedrique (Holland)

Hi,

Posted photo's from last holiday.

Regards Onno.

Yes, I think the issue with the lights are sending out the wrong message to the outside world. We really should have the lights on the main roadway entrance and on the Main sign at the round about working. Maybe it would be better to pick just one exit way into the complex during the winter where all lights are working. I know we are trying to save money but the first impression always stays with visitors and we should really ensure that the entrance presented so as to create the correct image. It also disappointing now that these issues are making their way in the public domain creating another problem for owners and investors alike. I trust we can get some clarity on this issue soon as it seems to just hanging out there. There are many people who don’t have access to the web and email who must be wondering as what is the issue and the reasonability to inform (via email or snail mail) is with the property managers who we as owners employ to manage the resort on our behalf. I know somebody is going to say there is a community website but this not the correct method for propagating information. If these people don’t know about this website they are hardy likely to know about the community portal.

David

Hi Onno,

Good report & photos. Hope you and the family are well.

Say Hola to Lilian & Cedrique, see you all soon hopefully

Iain