What is Torrevieja really like

Firstly Los Altos is in Orihuela Costa, not in Torrevieja which is the next town.  May sound a bit nit-picky but you need to know which town you are actually looking at.  Torrevieja is a traditional working Spanish town and resort so full of all the amenities you would expect in a working town. i always feel safe when walking around there .  Orihuela Costa is a much newer area, only a few small hamlets until the 1970's but there has been 40 years of building since then.  Very international and great beaches.  It is a designated tourist area but not along the lines of Benidorm or Torremolinos!  Low rise properties, good residential population and with plenty of amenities, open all year round.

Los Altos is one part of Orihuela Costa, which is one very large, and still growing, town.  The areas include Los Altos, part of Punta Prima, Playa Flamenca, La Florida, Cabo Roig, La Zenia (which has a fabulous and large shopping mall!), Los Dolses, Villamartin, Campoamor, Lomas de Cabo Roig, and a few other names will also crop up as areas within the wider Villamartin area.

I would suggest you visit, but bare in mind that things are not quite as they normally are!  There are lots of small commercial areas dotted about with lovely cafe/bars and restaurants, shops for just about everything, market on Thursday morning in Cabo Roig by the sea front and another much larger one in Playa Flamenca on Saturdays.  If you are not so bothered about being right by the coast but want an more traditional small town than San Miguel de Salinas, just inland from Orihuela Costa.

Thanks so much Davebev1, your response is very reassuring.

Myself and my partner are hoping to visit in the near future, as we want to see for ourselves, if not before, then mid Jan is already booked.

Once again, thanks for the details.  

Paul

Very exciting for you! Such a shame that Covid is making things, like house hunting, so difficult.

If you look on Google Maps, there’s a road called CV95 that more or less gives you the divide between Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa. Los Altos  is near this divide, so well suited to having the best of both worlds!

We live in Lago Jardín 1, which is just across the CV95 (Torre side). It’s a lovely community, with a good mix of full time and holiday residents, and a good mix of nationalities. 

A car is a good idea, to make the most of this lovely part of the world, but there’s a good bus service around the area, so getting into Torrevieja isn’t a problem.

If you don’t mind being inland a little, there are some nice small towns that might be worth investigating.

My Spanish teacher, Lorena, also has her own estate agency, which you can find on Facebook: Casas Wilson. She’s very good at understanding the brief and hunting it down! She’ll also be very honest with you and will be upfront about any potential pitfalls. Definitely worth talking to her. 

If I can be of any help when you are ready to start looking, please feel free to message me. We took early retirement and moved out 2 years ago - best thing we ever did! 

Thank you so much, JillPe.  I will definitely look up the estate agent you mentioned, as we are looking at other areas nearby we are also thinking about, La Rosa in Guardamar as an example.

We are hunting on line in the absence of physical viewings, shortlisting those we want to view in January, when we will be in Costa Blanca.

I at the moment am favouring Los Altos, whilst my partner Cathy, is leaning towards La Rosa.  We will decide when we visit.

One added complication is we will not be ready to retire for several years, so are looking for a holiday home we could visit as well as potentially rent for the next 5 or so years, with a view to moving permanently when we retire.  

Thanks again for posting, really appreciate the feedback.

Paul

Hi

I bought a property, in Los Altos 4 years ago and love it , where I am I have a 5 minute walk to bars and restaurants, plus 20 minutes walk to the beach, my apartment is on a wide street and has plenty of parking, so much that I have never used my under ground space. It’s like a few areas if you want quiet you can get , plus your not far away from Torrevieja it’s 1:35 on the bus and about 10 for a taxi . For us Los Altos is perfect , one thing if planning on renting, there are a lot of restrictions/ conditions you have to comply with to get your tourist license. 

This is the first time you have mentioned considering renting out the property.  If you mean renting to the holiday market then that restricts what and where you buy.  To be able to let a holiday property it must first have a Tourist License.  These are quicker to get in some places than others and some communities do not allow new Licenses to be issued.  Los Altos falls under the Town Hall of Orihuela Costa which is in Playa Flamenca and they are slow to issue the Certificate of Compatibility needed to be able to apply for the License itself.  The property should also meet certain criteria on room sizes and equipment.  Please look at the guides on this forum we did - the written blogs are older but still valid and the videos are newer.  The only way to be 100% sure that you will be able to let the property out is to buy one with an existing License, but they do not come onto the market very often.  You do not need a License for long-term letting but that would leave you unable to use the property yourself, so defeats the object of buying a holiday home.  If being able to let out the property to the holiday market is important then please do a lot of research.  Happy to help - just Private message me with your specific questions.

This is the first time you have mentioned considering renting out the property.  If you mean renting to the holiday market then that restricts what and where you buy.  To be able to let a holiday property it must first have a Tourist License.  These are quicker to get in some places than others and some communities do not allow new Licenses to be issued.  Los Altos falls under the Town Hall of Orihuela Costa which is in Playa Flamenca and they are slow to issue the Certificate of Compatibility needed to be able to apply for the License itself.  The property should also meet certain criteria on room sizes and equipment.  Please look at the guides on this forum we did - the written blogs are older but still valid and the videos are newer.  The only way to be 100% sure that you will be able to let the property out is to buy one with an existing License, but they do not come onto the market very often.  You do not need a License for long-term letting but that would leave you unable to use the property yourself, so defeats the object of buying a holiday home.  If being able to let out the property to the holiday market is important then please do a lot of research.  Happy to help - just Private message me with your specific questions.

Happy to help. Guardamar is lovely, but I would say there is less going on out of season.

We also have a little 1-bed house opposite us that we let out to family and friends. 

Just about to have a new Kitchen & Bathroom fitted, which should be finished by Christmas, so if you’d like to stay there in January, our weekly rate is just €200, to include linen & clean. We can arrange airport pick up €45 each way, and a hire car for €10 a day. As we live opposite, we can add any local knowledge to your search ... over a G&T of course!! PM me nearer the time if you need any further I fo