A brand new Iceland supermarket opened in Benidorm this morning - relocating from near the La Marina shopping centre, (which is technically in Finestrat) to the Rincon de Loix side of Benidorm. Many of the British ex-pat shoppers are already familiar with the location as it is next to the "Pink House" - which is used in the filming of the ITV Benidorm series and almost across the road from Benidorm Palace. The building was actually used in the last series, when it was transformed into the arrivals hall and passport control at Alicante airport.
Same friendly staff
The store had its grand opening at 10am and the occasion was marked with the cutting of a ribbon to officially inaugurate the new premises - witnessed by excited shoppers and Head Office management. Penny continues to be the manager and the staff have transferrred to the new store so you will be familiar with all the faces. The store is certainly smaller than the previous one but they have managed to squeeze in an awful lot of products into the space. The staff will monitor popular products and also make a note of requests from customers - checking back after the first few weeks if there are repeated appeals for for any discontinued lines.
Longer opening hours
With the new look store comes new opening hours. I was delighted to be told by Penny that they will now be open 7 days per week! Monday to Saturday they will be open from 9am until 9pm and half a day on Sunday - from 9:30am until 2:00pm, so hopefully catching shoppers on the way back from the Sunday market. Although there is no carpark at the new site, there is plenty of parking on the street directly outside. It is definately great news for all the ex-pats, who generally live on this side of Benidorm or towards Albir and Alfaz. Some volunteers from MABS - a local Cancer support group were invited to set up a stand outside to promote and raise awareness of their organisation, in the hope of also finding some more much needed volunteers.
