Marbella is having a makeover — or maybe a make-under. It is scrubbing off the fake tan. The Spanish seaside city is known for its partygoers, overpriced champagne, opulent beach resorts and mega-yachts, but none of this is in evidence on narrow Calle Ancha (Broad Street), one of the main thoroughfares of Marbella’s medieval old town. Apart from a pair of Scandinavian tourists soaking up the morning sun at a pavement café and locals going about their business, it’s quiet.
I’m here to learn about plans to make the old town a travel destination in its own right. Visiting in the winter low season naturally plays a big part in the sedate feel. But, even at the height of summer, this area of Marbella — formerly an old fishing village — is a very different proposition from the unbridled hedonism found further down the coast.
When most people think of Marbella, what they are picturing is Puerto Banus, about five miles southwest. This is where you’ll find the glitzy marina, the Ocean Club Marbella, with its legendary parties and streets lined with Versace, Dior and Hermès. Many of the luxury hotels, such as Puente Romano, Nobu and Marbella Club, are set about halfway between Puerto Banus and Marbella proper.
This palm tree-lined boulevard is home to some of the poshest resorts on the Costa del Sol. It’s no coincidence that this street is named after Alfonso von Hohenlohe — a German prince whose lineage can be traced back to the House of Württemberg. Von Hohenlohe was educated in Bohemia and Spain and arrived in the Costa del Sol in 1947 seeking to revive his family fortune. He became enamoured with Marbella and invested in a vineyard, Finca Santa Margarita. Seven years later, this dilapidated Spanish finca, or rural estate, was reborn as the Marbella Club Hotel.
In the decades that followed, every playboy, leading lady and socialite worth their salt descended on the Marbella Club. More resorts sprang up around it and, before long, Marbella had cemented its status as the glitziest spot in Spain, competing with St Tropez in France and Capri in Italy.
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Where the rich and powerful go, the rest of the world follows. In the 1960s Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Grace Kelly all visited. But by the 1980s, the old-school sophisticates seeking a refuge from the public eye were being replaced by those aspiring to their glamorous lifestyles.
Weaving in and out of alleyways lined with flowers and whitewashed houses in the old town, such razzle-dazzle is nowhere to be found. “I’ve only seen Marbs on Towie,” my reality TV-addicted American friend wrote in response to my Instagram story of the place. “This looks nothing like it.”
I’m staying on Calle Ancha, at Maison Ardois, a romantic nine-room boutique hotel set in a restored manor house dating from 1929. It opened in 2021 as the first of five new boutique hotels by local hospitality group La Ciudadela Marbella.
“It strikes me as odd in a destination as internationally famous as Marbella that so few people know the old town,” says Miguel Cerván, CEO of La Ciudadela. “It is one of the most beautiful and well preserved of its kind in the Mediterranean.”
Maison Ardois has been thoughtfully redesigned with original details, from the handmade Spanish-style geometric tiled floors to the wooden beams and vaulted ceilings. Hardwood floors, walk-in showers, 500 thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets and ultra-luxe bathroom amenities from Guerlain and Loewe dial up the luxury feel.
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Meanwhile, the on-site Thaissence restaurant combines fresh, locally sourced produce with Peruvian and southeast Asian touches to create dishes like lobster chilli crab or avocado ice cream with chocolate, grapefruit and mint, surprising in both their playfulness and richness of flavour.
La Ciudadela’s second hotel, Hotel Santo Cristo, opened last month. A stately home from 1920, the building, with its Andalusian-style interior courtyard, brims with greenery and local craftsmanship. Its restaurant, La Bouganvilla, serves food typical of the Andalusian Mediterranean coast but with a modern twist, such as dishes of bluefin tuna with foie gras mi cuit. The third, El Castillo, is due to welcome guests before Easter. An upmarket 15-room property, it’s the only hotel situated within the Moorish walls of the old town, with a rooftop worthy of a Manhattan private members’ club, and A Fuego restaurant, celebrating the finest meat, fish and veggies all cooked on a grill.
The company has a further two openings planned for the next couple of years. One will be the group’s first five-star, suites-only hotel, set in a former conservatory in Plaza Puente de Ronda. The fifth building is in orange blossom-filled Plaza de los Naranjos.
While the hotels are delightful, I can’t help but wonder if a town like Marbella that is already so firmly on the tourist trail really stands to benefit from attracting yet more visitors. Miguel Cerván is quick to dispel my concerns: “We’re not trying to create a sudden tourism invasion but, rather, to raise the bar on what the historic old town can offer,” he says, adding that this refers not only to the accommodation, but also the restaurants, which already attract a mix of tourists, locals and residents from the surrounding towns.
“Our objective is to put a spotlight on what we believe is the authentic Marbella, the Marbella that’s always been there.”
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The mayor of Marbella, Ángeles Muñoz, agrees: “An ambitious, sophisticated project like this is fantastic news not only for this area, but for the entire municipality and even the Costa del Sol,” she says.
By the end of my three-day stay, any doubts I had about the existence of an “authentic” Marbella have evaporated. Between visits to local businesses and conversations with their owners, I feel confident that much of the town shares La Ciudadela’s vision.
A key factor in any genuine Spanish experience is the food — and even more so in Andalusia, where people take particular pride in their local cuisine and its mix of Iberian and Moorish influences. What I tasted during my time here more than delivered the goods on that count.
On a bright day reminiscent of full-blown British summer, I sit outside on Bar Altamirano’s sunny terrace in short sleeves, ordering countless tiny glasses of sherry while tucking into plates of fried fish and seafood. The garlicky grilled baby scallops, or zamburiñas, are as fresh as they get, while the deep-fried anchovies, or boquerones fritos, are battered just enough to make them crisp without disguising their flavour.
I also find time for a dinner of tapas, once again accompanied by bone-dry, white manzanilla sherry, at Taberna La Niña Del Pisto. I try Andalusian specialities such as salmorejo (a denser version of gazpacho), served with chopped hard-boiled egg and Iberian ham, and pisto, a flavour-packed take on ratatouille that’s so good I order it twice.
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But it’s not all gluttony. I also visit local ceramicist Ana Ortiz in her atelier. Ortiz, an artisan whose work is inspired by the shapes and colours of Marbella, makes every piece by hand. Her creations can be found throughout the La Ciudadela hotels, in the crockery and ceramics used in the restaurants, as well as the beautiful turquoise washbasins I have been admiring in Hotel Santo Cristo.
On a walking tour of the old town, I learn about the ancient walls, built by the Moors when Marbella was under their rule from 711 to 1485. The history of the town dates back even further, as evidenced by the three Ionic capitals — or support structures from Roman columns — that form part of the Moorish castle walls. My guide points them out to me, explaining that the people who built the wall probably came across these remnants of a previous civilisation and decided they would come in handy as construction material.
And still, there’s more food to be had.
I try a tasting menu by the Asturian chef Marcos Granda at his two Michelin-star restaurant Skina where the dishes include crayfish cannelloni with vanilla and curry, and slow-cooked egg with seasonal mushrooms. Fortunately, the restaurant, which seats only ten diners at a time, inhabits the same tiny passage as Maison Ardois so I don’t have far to go for my siesta.
Granda is pleased about his new neighbours. “We need to take better care of the old town,” he says. “I’m a believer in less is more, by which I mean less quantity and more quality,” he says. “Instead of filling the streets with tables and chairs, we should strive to offer tourists more quality in everything we do.”
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On my last day, I wander down to the beach and gaze at the sunset over Puerto Banus. It isn’t hard to picture a 23-year-old German prince seeing this for the first time and falling head over heels.
Isabelle Kliger was a guest of Hotel Maison Ardois, which has B&B doubles from £185 (laciudadelamarbella-ma.com). Fly to Malaga
Three more Costa del Sol hotels
Palacio Solecio, Malaga
What could be more appealing than an urban hideaway in the heart of the city that is only a 12-minute stroll from the beach? Set in an impeccably restored 18th-century Andalusian palace, Palacio Solecio in Malaga offers everything from beautiful Moorish-inspired design to a sunny rooftop terrace and a well-equipped gym. Plus there’s Michelin-starred chef José Carlos García’s excellent Balausta restaurant. Sharing Malaga’s old Jewish Quarter with the Picasso Museum and the ancient Roman amphitheatre, this is the ideal choice for visitors who don’t want to have to choose between a relaxing beach holiday and a city break.
Details Room-only doubles from £148 (palaciosolecio.com). Fly to Malaga
Puente Romano, Marbella
If your ideal beach holiday on Spain’s sunshine coast involves a designer bikini and rubbing suntanned shoulders with the international glitterati, then Puente Romano is the place to be. Originally imagined by Alfonso von Hohenlohe as a luxury apartment complex, it was later converted into a hotel, which officially opened in 1979. Ever since, it has challenged the Marbella Club for the title of most exclusive seaside resort on Marbella’s Golden Mile, with its unbeatable beachfront location, 185 ultra-luxe rooms and suites, no fewer than 14 bars and restaurants, three pools and an opulent Six Senses spa.
Details B&B doubles from £464 (puenteromano.com). Fly to Malaga
Anantara Villa Padierna Palace, Costa del Sol
Surrounded by vivid greenery, Anantara Villa Padierna Palace is a sophisticated, old-world palace with 132 rooms, suites and pool villas. Less than three miles from the coast, it is ideal for those who enjoy combining culture and wellness without having to miss out on a day trip to the beach. The hotel features three world-class golf courses, six bars and restaurants, and a multitude of sports — from tennis to horse riding and croquet. Other facilities include a cool beach club, a kids’ club and the superb 2,000 sq m Anantara Spa complete with Roman baths, a hammam, aromatherapy steam rooms and a pool.
Details B&B doubles from £268 (anantara.com). Fly to Malaga
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