Thanks to the work of Pasqual Almiñana Orozco, a professor of literature and author of several works on toponymy of the Marina Baixa, we recently discovered that the English poet Ted Hughes (1939-1998) and the American writer Sylvia Plath (Boston 1932-London 1963) enjoyed their honeymoon in Benidorm, specifically in 1956.
This curious research, has allowed us to see what Benidorm was like before the tourist boom. Straight from the mouth of Sylvia Plath, Benidorm was a beloved town: “As soon as I found that little town … after an hour of travel by bus through deserts of red sand hills, olive groves and scrub all so typical, and I saw that sparkling blue sea, the clean curve of its beaches, its immaculate streets and houses-all with a small town and relumbrante dream, I felt instinctively, like Ted, that this was our place…”.

The writer couple got married June 19th, 1956 and their honeymoon took them to Paris, Madrid and Benidorm. They had two sons and separated in 1962. Sylvia Plath committed suicide shortly there after in London. 

The couple stayed in his summer residence, which is now on the streets of Tomas Ortuño. This route, then was almost on the outskirts and offered peace and quiet to write and even mountain views by the absence of apartment towers.
source El País

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The TRAM- trains that up to this date only covered the trajectory between Alicante and the station in the Creueta, in the Vila, will get to Benidorm before Easter.
It seems, so far there is no inauguration date for the new stretch, although everything is indicating that it will be at the end of February or beginning of March. As a matter of fact next month it is anticipated that they will start to circulate the new test runs units of the TRAM-train between La Vila and Benidorm.

The new convoys will invest in covering the trajectory between Alicante-Benidorm in just 55 minutes, which supposes around a quarter of an hour and 20 minutes less that what it takes up to the moment in normal conditions.

When the new stretch is open, the line will also make a stip in front of the Comarcal de La Vila hospital, Terra Mitica and center Benidorm.

The last phase of remodeling the trenet will affect the Benidorm-Altea stretch, that will not be completed until the en of 2008 or beginning of 2009.

source Terra Actualidad

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We told you a couple of weeks ago that the hotel group Magic Costa Blanca has incorporated dance classes to its entertainment offers. Well, the hotel chain has pur all its effort in this initiative and they have hired Poty to direct the dance academy.

Magic Costa Blanca has designed a fantastic world centered in magic. In which the clients who visit their establisments can learn magic in their School of Magical Arts in teh Alfaz Castel and in the the Residential houses ordered by magic to be found in hotels of the group.

But this world of fantasy focused towards kids, needed to be completed with an initiative for adults. The answer is dance and the best at this specialty is Poty. A person who will take the Magic Costa Blanca brand this year and the dance academy. Poty assures that we are all going to dance.

The Magic Costa Blanca clients will learn two choreographies in two different style each week and they will get to enjoy the great dance show-contest in each hotel where they will compete realizing the choreographyes designed by Poty: the teachers, the students and the employees of the hotel.

Source jgarciacuenca

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Benidorm  is preparing a Commercial Guide, Shopping Guide, that will introduce the commercial offer for the tourist capital of the Costa Blanca, the service companies and the restaurateur companies of the city, by sector and area so that the buyer could get to know the great commercial offers by city.This guide will provide information to the city of Benidorm, about its commerce, service companies and restaurateur companies that exist in the city, with the means of improving the recognition of these offers and icrease sales in these types of establishments.

Benidorm also wants to promote the commercial offers of the tour operators so that the tourist have the best information at the time of contracting the tourist package. This guide will be distributed in tourism office, hotels, tourist apartments in Benidorm, as well as tourism fairs appointed by City Hall.

Source Diario Informacion

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The Foietes Stadium in Benidorm will welcome the national selection between Spain and Fance in the sub-21 category next February 5^th. The friendly encounter, will being at 21:45 will be televised live by channel 2 Spain Television.

The excellent terrain in the stadium of the Foites, as well as the fantastic installations have convinced the Federation that they had without a doubt pay a visit to this tourist city since it had not kept its promise 5 years ago. On that occasion the international encounter of the sub 21 went to La Condomina in Murcia.

This game will lend the opportunity to watch live the young great players such as Bojan Kirkic, on the the fixed national players.

The Federation will fix popular prices in hopes of registering a great atmosphere. The Foietes stadium holds up to nine thousand spectators.

Source Diario Informacion

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The entertaining offers in Benidorm are without a doubt one of the most varied in the nation. One of  these  awasome entertainment offers for the entire family is  the show  by The Peres Brothers,  a  pair of spectacular acrobats that offer  shows in  the Benidorm Palace  weekend evenings.

Ivan and Adan, princess estefania of Monico´s ex,  represent the fifth generation of this famous family of artist from the Portuguese circus. They have recently worked in the famous Moulin Rouge in Paris.
This type of show has offers great entertainment for Benidorm families, without a doubt one of the principle objectives of the hotel chain Magic Costa Blanca. Nights full of magic and shows. Are you curious? Spend a weekend at their hotels and discover why.

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I love Benidorm, a very simple slogan but at the same time a strong message, will be the words that represent the tourist capital of the Costa Blanca, in the next edition of the International Tourism Fair in Madrid (FITUR 2008), which will be celebrated between January 30^th and February 3^rd.Benidorm´s City Hall will invest an estimated 400,000 euros in the exposition that will represent the event and which will have as its tittle I Love Benidorm. The campaign pretends to re claim the touristic mark of the town and the pride of having visited such a city.

The cousil will take advantage of the revival to recuperate in FITUR the aesthetics and the marketing that was fashionable in the eighties with the distribution thousands of white shirts with the slogan I love Benidorm.

Benidorm wants to reaffirm its the highest level in global tourism as well as aline the city with global tourism icons.

The campaign will focus its theme on touristic photographs printed in T-shirts with the slogan I love Benidorm taken next to some of these icons such as the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben in London, the Statue of Liberty in New York or the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Source Diario Informacion

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The tourist capital of the Costa Blanca will participate during 2008 in a total of thirteen fairs and will pay close attention to family trips or “fam-trip”. Benidorm´s objective is to relaunch the cities image as a quality destination.Benidorm will invest close to a million euros, by repositioning itself in the tourist market as a city with new attractives to offer such as; Golf, congress tourism and five star hotels.

After participating in Utrech and spending a week in Lisbon, Benidorms touristic sector will be present in the Dublin´s Holiday World, Fitur in Madrid, the ITB in Berlin, the MITT in Moscou, STEPS in London, the MADI in Prague, and the EIBTM in Barcelona, the latter being specialized in the market of congresses.

Another promotional strategy will be focused on the capture of the “fam-trip” to Benidorm with foreign agencies and tour operators, but fundamentally with specialist journalist who will get to know Benidorm and its offers such as the great golf, food and fiestas.

The main countries in which there trips will be established are United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland.

The calendar will end with professional encounters that will take place in four Spanish cities with presentations to authorities, the press and sector professionals in six European cities: Newcastle, Glasgow, Brussels, Amsterdam, Milan and Bologna.

Source levante-EMV

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The Benidorm Fallas already have their 2008 representatives. They are Yolanda Alarcón and Alicia Alcántara, who were selected last weekend by the Local Fallera commitee.Last Friday the Fester House welcomed Yolanda and Alicia, as the falleras to represent their fiestas in the city during the acts that will be celebrated in 2008.

The parties will take place next March. Fire, gunpowder, color and a great atmosphere are the protagonists of these festivities.

Source Diario Informacion

Photo Flickr from ElTioRob

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The international Tourism Fair of Madrid (FITUR2008) is closer each day. In this important event there will be the presence of many municipalities of the Costa Blanca, among them Benidorm could not miss the event.  Alongside all of them the hotels Magic Costa Blanca will be highly represented, that will introduce many novelties.

On the eve of this event the FITUR’2008, Alicante presented the stand of the Valencian Community yesterday which will gather the entertainment offer of  the  of 96 municipalities of the three provinces, with special mention to some big events, such as the urban circuit of Formula One, the World Athletics and the Volvo Ocean Race .

The pavilion 5 of the IFEMA Exhibition Centre, with 10,500 square meters, will offer the four Valencian destinations, with 96 municipalities and 3 commonwealths, during the days of the fair, which is being held from January 30th to February 2^nd.

Furthermore, the Valencia Street Circuit (Circuit Formula 1), the Volvo Ocean Race, World Athletics, the America’s Cup, la luz de las imagenes, the Palau de les Art Reina Sofia, Ciudad de la Luz and the Castellon Airport will have their own booth.

The four communities that will participate will be: Castelló-Costa Azahar, Valencia Terra i Mar, Benidorm and Costa Blanca.

In addition to the destinations and major events mentioned above, there will be space for large projects, associations and federations, offering cultural, sporting and interior, such as the Archaeological Museum of Alicante (MARQ), the Palm, the Mystery d ‘Elx and  the Year Miguel Hernandez.

See you all there.

Source Actualidad Terra

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