Marbella is one if not the most famous towns in Spain, For over 50 years it has been a popular holiday destination for people from around the world. However it was not always a bustling town with hotels and restaurants and it has also had its fair share of turbulent times

There has been settlements in Marbella since the Paleolithic and Neolithic times and archaeological excavations have found remains from Phoenician, and Carthaginensian settlements in the Rio Verde area of the town.

The Romans also settled in the town, calling Marbella Salduba. The Marbella we know today really started to form during the Islamic rule and it is from the Islamic name Marbil-la from where the town gets its modern name. The Muslims built an impressive castle which was surrounded by high walls. The muslim rule was ended in 1485 when the Spanish took control of Marbella and over the centuries the small town began to grow.

In the 1940’s Marbella was just a small village with a population of around 900.

Little did they know that there small peaceful village was about to be invaded once again

The change began when a Spanish Prince, Prince Max Egon zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg and his heir Alfonso were traveling in the area and a problem with their car forced an unscheduled stop in Marbella

The young heir Alfonso was so impressed by the town , he bought land and started to market Marbella and the surrounding area as a tourist destination. He founded the famous Hotel Marbella Club, a stunning resort with traditional low houses in 1954. He then started to convince members of the European Nobility that Marbella was the place to enjoy the discreet luxury of the area including Jamie de Mora y Aragon, the brother of Queen Fabiola. The young Prince Alfonso is most likely to be remembered as the Father of Modern Marbella

Marbella Club Hotel

The cornerstone of the development of Marbella, this beautiful hotel complex has been offering luxury accommodation to the worlds jet set holiday makers for over 50 years. Following its creation in 1954 the hotel has grown into one of the best hotels in Europe, possibly the world.

It now offers guests 84 rooms and 37 elegant suites nestled amongst lush gardens designed by the Prince himself as well as 14 Andalucían-style villas, with their own gardens and pools. It is in essence pure luxury. The complex also has fine dining in its restaurants and a luxurious Spa. There is also a Real estate office on site which offers the hotel guests an exclusive service for those people wishing to turn their holiday in paradise into something more long term. Marbella that we know today started with this fantastic idea from a forward thinking man who has helped forge a lifestlyle like no other

The town began to grow and in 1974 Marbella saw the arrival of its next influential visitor. The Prince Fahd later King Fahd of Saudi Arabi came to Marbella after he had broken the bank in Monte Carlo. He became a regular visitor to the town right up until his death in 2005. Along with him came well over 1000 people including a little known Osama Bin Laden spending vast amounts of money. This influx of wealthy visitors who demanded quality helped shape the Marbella we have today.

The steady flow of people looking for the jet set life style continued to frequent Marbella well into the 1980s including the “Queen Of Marbella” Gunilla von Bismarck, who is known for her tireless work to raise money for sick children.

In 1987 the ugly side of crime hit Marbella when the daughter of a Local Billionaire and Korean Princess Kimera was kidnapped. The kidnap of Melodie Nakachian pushed Marbella to the front pages of the world’s media.

In 1991 it looked like Marbella was going to enjoy many years of prosperity following the election of a new Mayor. Jesus Gil y Gil, a representative of the Independent Liberal Group (GIL in Spanish)and a builder and President of Athetico Madrid football club came to power with the promise to fight of petty crime and the declining prestige associated with the region. Everything seemed rosy. Actor Sean Connery was asked to be an international spokesman for the growing town.

This period started so well and the town grew tenfold after the mayor oversaw an extensive period of building and development across the town

This extensive program however came under heavy criticism as the construction of these developments took no notice of the excisting urban plan and also that the mayor liked to rule the town not from his office in the town hall but from his office at the Club Financiero. Despite all this Gil was able to convince the voters to keep him in power for many years to come.
During his 11 years in power the town grew and grew but it also saw the arrival of alleged Russian Mafia and soon the criticism led to investigations of corruption and the man who had promised to cut petty crime and build a brighter future for the town was forced to resign after he was jailed for diverting public funds for Atlético.

A former waiter Julian Munoz who was linked romantically to the famous singer Isabel Pantoia was chosen to bring Marbella out of the dark following the GIL years but he was overthrown soon after by his own party who elected the glamorous Marisol Yague. Everyone thought the bad times were over but in 2006 scandal again rocked the town when both Munoz and Yague were jailed and the town was plunged close to bankruptcy.

Then on April 8th 2006 Marbella darkest day came when the Spanish government took the unprecedented step of suspending the council. What followed was and investigation known as Malaya which has rocked Marbella with over 80 people charged with various crimes including money laundering and town planning crimes. The situation has seen more corruption cases too all of which have dented the image of Marbella

May 2007 saw a bright new future begin for Marbella when a new mayor was chosen Ángeles Muñoz the PP candidate won the local election and the rebuilding of trust began. Only Time will tell.

Puerto Banus

The Jet Set visitors to Marbella have been visiting since the 1950’s, but there was always something missing. This missing link was connected in 1970 when a Madrid property developer, José Banús desgined and built a Marina not far from Marbella itself. It was to be a luxury marina and shopping complex for the Marbella jet-set and the super rich.
The Marina enjoyed a lavish opening in May 1970 with the guest list numbering 1700 including the Aga Kahn, Roman Polanski, the famous film director. The founder of Playboy, Hugh Heffner and Prince Rainer and the glamorous Princess Grace also attended the exclusive event where guests consumed over 50 pounds of Beluga caviar while being entertained by a young singer Julio Iglesias.

The jet set enjoyed this little slice of luxury with many famous people mooring their expensive sea vessels including that of the King Of Saudi Arabia and many Hollywood actors and actresses.

The development grew and grew and there are now many top bars and restaurants along the harbor itself. Although in the last few years the tourist trade of wealthy north Europeans have and holidaying Spanards looking for the jet set life have forced the development to spread thus causing a loss in the exclusivity of the area and many of the superstar residents have moved on to more private and exclusive destinations.

Even so Puerto Banus still remains one of Europe’s hot spots for the worlds jet setters