I was initially going to entitle this The Golden Rip-off, but to be fair, that would be a bit harsh. This strip of southern Spain’s Andalusian coast is absolutely beautiful, and we are staying smack in the middle of it. Extending about 5km from old town Marbella to Puerto Banus, this stretch of beachfront is home to some of the poshest villas in Spain And the wealth continues up the hillside away from the water towards La Concha, an imposing shell-shaped mountain that overlooks and protects the entire area.
Needless to say, things are a bit on the pricey side here. When we see brunch at a sea-side restaurant being promoted for €95…each, we think ‘gouging’. That may be the case but it’s also the norm here. The rich don’t care about the cost. Judging from the palaces and villas, the yachts, and the super expensive cars we’ve seen, if you want to be part of the in-crowd here, the entry fee is probably $100MM minimum. This IS where Prince Alfonso Hohenlohe built his luxury Marbella Club Hotel after all.
We’re staying not far from the ocean-front and we enjoy the daily walks up and down the beach promenade. On a clear day we can even see Gibraltar from our deck. The weather has been gorgeous, and we share the seaside walkway with lots of active joggers and bikers, strolling ex-pats and vacationers, beach vendors hawking designer handbags from Dior and Louis Vuitton, and of course, the wealthy. It’s been interesting glimpsing how the 0.1%-ers live.
Winter is off season apparently, but summer is way too hot and there are a million more people so quieter is good and as a place to soak up the sun in the winter it’s perfect. Kinda like a spring-break Mexico vacation without the tequilla.
There seems to be a fair amount of construction going on too. That would be luxury condo and villa construction, so money is pouring in. We could think of worse places to hang out and we’ll definitely be back. Obviously ordinary people live here as well and with the thousands of condo rentals available, living on a vacation budget like we are is very doable, but if you want to eat out every day and think a €95 brunch is no big deal, then you’ll need to bring your fat wallet and a LOC. And I have a nice yacht I want to sell you.
