Residential areas Orihuela, Mil Palmeras
Mil Palmeras (Orihuela Costa)
The Mil Palmeras residential area of Orihuela Costa is at the southernmost end of the municipality’s coastline, and shares a beach with the area of the same name in the neighbouring municipality of Pilar de la Horadada. It is separated from the rest of Orihuela’s coastal residential developments by the Barranco Rubio ravine, and from the Pilar de la Horadada part of Mil Palmeras by the Cañada Hermosa gulley, although the main coastal street now crosses this valley and makes access easier from the south than from the area of Campoamor.
The residential properties here can be divided into two broad categories: those which have been here for a good few years, and those which haven’t yet been built! This is one of the few parts of Orihuela’s coast where construction work is still in progress: it appears that to a large degree this area has been slow to attract the attention of town planners and developers, and quite a lot of urbanization work is still going on. This can make access slightly frustrating, as the roads crossing the valley are subject to closure!
Those properties which are completed are in general either small terraced chalets and apartments, or flats in the larger blocks located on top of the cliff, with their own communal swimming pools and garden areas. Extra holiday accommodation is provided by the large hotel which looks out from the cliff-top over the beach and the Mediterranean, but activity here, as in the rest of the development, is minimal during the winter, when the Orihuela part of Mil Palmeras is rather deserted.
Apart from the beach bar there are just a couple of eateries located behind the beach, but out of season they offer a far from complete service. Shopping facilities are equally limited: a shopping centre built to serve the community is sadly under-used, and almost all of the premises are unoccupied. However, just on the other side of the valley in the part of Mil Palmeras which belongs to Pilar de la Horadada there is a far wider selection of restaurants, bars, shops and even a chemist’s just half a kilometre away.
Shopping facilities
Within easy driving distance there are many more shopping and dining opportunities: the largest local mall is Zenia Boulevard, just 6km away along the main road, while other large retail parks are Habaneras in Torrevieja (20 minutes’ drive), Dos Mares in San Pedro del Pinatar (15 minutes), Espacio Mediterráneo in Cartagena (30 minutes) and the Nueva Condomina and Thader centres in the north of Murcia (45 minutes). Another shopping visit of interest might be to the towns of Elche and Elda, where thousands of locals make their living in the footwear industry, one of the few sectors which have continued to thrive during Spain’s economic crisis over recent years. Shoes from this area are exported all over Europe and the rest of the world, and for those who like to keep abreast of the latest fashions the factory outlets in the area are a veritable shopper’s paradise.
Local street markets are always popular with holidaymakers
Those wishing to sample the wares at typical local street markets in the morning can make a trip to any of the following, all of which are held weekly:
Monday: Santa Pola, San Pedro del Pinatar, Elche.
Tuesday: Orihuela, Mil Palmeras, Benijofar.
Wednesday: Monforte del Cid (fruit and veg only), Guardamar del Segura, La Mata. Santiago de la Ribera, San Miguel de Salinas.
Thursday: Campoamor, Cabo Roig, La Marina, Aspe (fruit and veg only), San Javier, Rojales.
Friday: Torrevieja, Pilar de la Horadada, Los Montesinos.
Saturday: Santa Pola, Almoradi, Playa Flamenca, Elche.
Sunday: La Marina, Ciudad Quesada, Campo Guardamar.
Health facilities
The local public health centre is in Calle del Mar at the inland end of the Aguamarina area, next to the N-332 about five kilometers away. During the week there is an all-night emergency unit at this centre, and at weekends this facility is operative 24 hours a day. The telephone number is 965 322965.
The nearest chemist’s is the one mentioned above on the other side of Cañada Hermosa. Two hospitals are located between 15 and twenty minutes’ drive away: one is the Los Arcos hospital to the south just outside San Javier (leave the AP-7 motorway at km 780 on the RM-1/MU-301 heading towards Santomera and Sucina), and the other is the Torrevieja hospital to the north (signposted from the N-332 on the CV-95 towards Orihuela).
Sporting facilities
There are three golf courses within a fifteen-minute drive from Mil Palmeras, namely Las Ramblas, Campoamor and Villamartín, and Las Colinas and Vistabella are only a few kilometres further afield, as is the course at Lo Romero inland from Pilar de la Horadada. Under half an hour away by car is the historic town of Orihuela itself, which gives the municipality its name, and other possible visits include the cities of Alicante, Murcia and Cartagena, all of which are well under an hour away by road.Click for sporting information Orihuela
Orihuela as a municipality has a wide range of attractions and activities, with plenty of places to visit and activities to enjoy. More detailed information can be found in the dedicated Orihuela municipality section, accessed via the map box at the bottom of every page, including suggested places to visit and things to do.
The area has a good social scene due to the year round presence of a multicultural community, with a wide range of clubs, charities and associations in not only the Punta Prima area but also neighbouring residential areas.
English speaking services are supplied by the Town hall which has an office dedicated to the needs of its foreign residents nearby.
Click for Foreign residents office, Orihuela Costa
Click for beaches overview to see beaches in the Orihuela municipality
Click for the full Orihuela municipality section, which includes information about the whole municipality , where to go, what to do, what's on etc.
Click for Business directory listings of Agents selling, renting and maintaining property in this area, select property.
