There's a strange phenomenon here on the Costa Blanca. It's called the Blanket Factory Tour. At every market, there'll be a brace of walnut-coloured expats standing by a sandwich board, handing out leaflets and urging you to take advantage of a ‘free' coach trip. ‘But there's no such thing as a free lunch, (or coach trip)' I hear you say. Those are my sentiments exactly so, in the interests of investigative journalism, and because I had a free day, I signed up for a tour.
Taking the advice of Mr and Mrs Mahogany, I opted for a visit to Guadalest, a beautiful village in the mountains above Benidorm. The scenery is stunning, and there are lots of lovely little shops and museums built into the rocks. Considering Guadalest is something of a tourist trap, with dozens of coaches disgorging their cargoes of camera-clutching visitors from all points of the globe every day, the prices in the shops are much cheaper than we have come to expect on the coast.
There are lots of pick up points for the tours, all in areas where there is plenty of free, safe parking. We joined the coach at Quesada, only a 5 minute drive from our home in Algorfa. The coach was modern and comfortable and, once everyone had been collected, we discovered that our courier was very knowledgeable about the area and gave us plenty of information without being intrusive. So far, so good.
When we arrived at the Blanket Factory, we were told to expect a ‘short demonstration.' Our courier stressed that we were under no obligation to buy, and told us we could look forward to coffee and cake and a free raffle. ‘How could they afford to lay on all this?' I asked myself. Well, the demonstration didn't just involve blankets as we know it. These were double thickness, virgin merino lambs' wool under blankets, throws, pillows, dressing gowns and slippers, not to mention latex mattresses with lambs' wool toppers. The pillows retailed at around £80 each, while a complete ‘sleeping system' would set you back well over £1000.
The cheerful Geordie chappie who did our ‘short' (only an hour and a half!) demonstration assured us that, with this system, we'd get the best night's sleep we'd ever had. I wasn't so sure. The thought of parting with over a grand just for a mattress, blankets and pillows would keep me awake worrying about the state of my bank balance. Others obviously didn't have the same concerns, as several of the 20 or so people in our group made purchases. Others cheerfully admitted that they were only here for the trip and the free refreshments, and said they came on at least one trip every week.
When we finally arrived in Guadalest, we had two hours free time, which was nowhere near long enough to do justice to the place. Several people, including my husband and myself, decided that there just wasn't time to do lunch and explore, so we missed out on our meal. We needn't have worried, though. On the way back, we stopped at a large bodega where we were offered samples of wine, chorizo sausages and chocolates. You may think that sounds like an unlikely combination, but, when you've been on the road for over 6 hours with very little to eat and drink, it's just what the doctor ordered. Perhaps it was all part of a cunning plan, because almost everyone on the coach came out with a large bag of goodies.
Do the Blanket Factory Tours do what it says on the tin? Well, yes, although I'd argue with their definition of a ‘short demonstration.' An hour and a half is the length of the average feature film, and it's obviously going to eat into the time available at the destination. One couple who had sampled the Benidorm Market trip the previous week said that by the time they arrived, most of the stallholders were packing up. As it only costs around 10 Euros for Benidorm Market on an ordinary coach tour, I would imagine that that would be the better option, as there is plenty of free time in the resort. And would you really be prepared to sit through a demonstration of overpriced goods before embarking on the trip proper? I think I'd lose the will to live if I had to go through all that again. On the other hand, the Blanket Factory Tours are a good way of seeing the beautiful Costa Blanca if you're on a tight budget. With the pound currently at an all time low against the euro, many people are having to trim their living costs, so these trips do allow them to save on fuel and wear and tear on the car.
The tours compare favourably with regular coach tours in terms of customer service and comfort, so it's down to personal choice. There is absolutely no pressure to buy anything, so I suppose, in this instance, there is such a thing as a free lunch!
