Varadero — Local services in San Bartolomé de Tirajana

.

Odd mix of up and down market shops

A weird shopping centre. It is obviously rather old, and built by someone who had never been to a modern shopping centre on mainland Europe. And the weirdest thing is the mix of shops.

On the one hand it has very pricey jeweller's shops - the sort of place where you can spend €10,000 plus on a ring. Who goes on holiday and spends like that?

And on the other hand it has shops with racks full of cheap-and-nasty beach dresses and jumpers. Or "jewellery" all at 8€.

It has an upstairs section too, which is mainly really bad shops, plus a restaurant which, admittedly, has a great view.

But although there are cheap-and-nasty shops, they are not THAT cheap. Be warned: this is a tourist area, with tourist prices. A Peruvian knitted jacket for a two-year-old was €25 here; I actually bought it in the large and glossy Las Arenas Shopping Centre near the Canteras Beach in Las Palmas for €15.

The only saving grace are the Hyper-Dino tiny supermarket upstairs, and the two circular Gordillo supermarkets, one by each entrance (Calle Mar Mediterráneo and Paseo Marítimo) where you can stock up on beer and water, suncream and biscuits, toiletries and laundry...

Very bad experience in several shops through the years. Prices far too high compared to other shopping centers in Gran Canaria. Very rude, arrogant and aggressive sales people in many shops. Worst example: shops Trendss: the shop refused to change a short worth 20 euros (available in Cita and Yumbo for 12-15 euros) which was defective. Danger of being taken advantage of at every corner in this...

Very nice set up, clean, bright, and welcoming. The down stairs (ground floor) shopping is quite high end but at reasonable prices, the upstairs caters for the more holiday gift crowd. Sadly quite a few of the shops were closed or empty, understandable with post covid. The only major let down was the lack of ventilation and thus the heat upstairs was nearly unbearable. Still I'd...