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Date Published: 05/07/2023

Battle of the bathers returns to Benidorm over reserved beach spaces

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Locals are up in arms in Benidorm over bathers reserving prime frontline beach spots with deck chairs and umbrellas

Battle of the bathers returns to Benidorm over reserved beach spaces

As the sun goes down on another perfect summer day in Benidorm, a curious influx can be noticed on the city’s beaches – dozens of people dragging deck chairs and umbrellas, towels and coolers and lining them up in perfect formation along the waterfront. Here, the seats and other accessories will stay until sometime the following day, when their owners decide to hit the beach.

This practice of ‘reserving’ the prime beach spots either late the night before or at the crack of dawn is an ongoing source of frustration for Benidorm locals and causes war each and every summer, but it’s getting out of hand with barely a scrap of sand available to late risers. It’s particularly rife in Rincón de Loix and Torrejó and at points on the Levante beach.

The controversy is a fraught one, with most people arguing that it’s unfair for beachgoers to reserve spots right on the water that will sit empty for hours when others could be taking advantage of them. Similar scenes are often witnessed around the swimming pools of hotel resorts every summer, and there are endless videos online of tourists lining up early in the morning to run around the pool and put their towels down on a sunbed to claim it as theirs for the day, even if they don’t plan to be there until much later.

But those who condone the practice see nothing wrong with nabbing a top spot first thing.

"Let them get up early like I do," one local said, who added that, after all, the practice isn’t prohibited.

While this is true in theory, the Local Police actually do have the right to remove belongings if they’ve been left unattended for a long period of time and in nearby Torrevieja and Calpe the authorities will actually fine anyone caught trying to reserve a spot with a chair or umbrella. In Benidorm, many beachgoers have taken matters into their own hands and moved unoccupied sunbeds, which has naturally led to some nasty public rows.

The Councillor for Beaches, Mónica Gómez, said that "it is an issue that worries us" and she explained that the authorities are trying to find a balance that keeps everyone happy. It’s "a matter of awareness and respect," she added.

In other news: Dozens of towns in the Valencian Community to receive cash to promote motorhome tourism

Image: Freepik

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