Guide to Puerto Banus

When it comes to summing up Puerto Banus, the guest list for the inauguration ceremony back in 1970 just about says it all. Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco celebrated the opening of the Mediterranean’s first pleasure craft marina along with the likes of the Aga Khan, film director Roman Polanski and Playboy boss Hugh Heffner.

It was a gathering of global glitterati which sealed the fate of this once sleepy section of Spain’s Costa del Sol. Puerto Banus was catapulted onto the world stage almost overnight and earned a reputation as one of the most exclusive holiday destinations on the planet. It became the role model for many other magnificent marinas along the Spanish costas and throughout the Mediterranean but few have risen quite as high in the glitz and glamour stakes as Puerto Banus.

Over the decades the marina has provided a safe port of call for some of the world’s most sumptuous super yachts – floating mansions worth tens of millions of pounds and designed to satisfy the every whim of Arab princes, Hollywood superstars and billionaire businessmen. It’s not so much a pit stop for serious sailors as a showcase for the waterborne toys of the obscenely wealthy.

Tourism and Puerto Banus

Puerto Banus, six kilometres west of Marbella, is still a favoured holiday hot spot of the rich and famous but these days it attracts more ordinary mortals in large numbers. Day trippers come here in their droves and holidaymakers on a limited budget are catered for in the mid range hotels and reasonably priced self catering apartments which have sprung up around the marina in recent years.

It started life as the hub of a celebrity holiday haunt named after one of the most successful property developers of the Franco era – Jose Banus who built a luxurious tourist complex with golf courses, a bull ring, top of the range hotels and some of the classiest night clubs Spain had ever seen.

Puerto Banus today

Now Puerto Banus has become a town in its own right attracting more than four million visitors a year with its designer stores, haute cuisine restaurants, huge casino, famous nightlife and a range of entertainment facilities which even the workaday wage earner can afford (well almost!).

It’s not the best place for a family holiday (unless your surname happens to be Khashoggi) but it’s well worth a day visit even if you’re having to watch the euros at the same time as celebrity spotting. Entertainment facilities include an aquarium, multi-screen cinema complex with original soundtracks, a good beach, plenty of watersports and dolphin watching boat trips in the Bay of Algeciras.

Things to do in Puerto Banus

Children will love a day out at the Cortylandia Amusement Park which offers all kinds of unusual attractions including an Indian settlement and “wild river” rides through a mock-up of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Moderately well off singles and couples will find there’s a range of reasonably priced hotels, holiday villas and apartments in and around Puerto Banus besides the lap of luxury accommodation which attracts the seriously smart set. In fact the resort has now become a popular destination for hen and stag weekend packages organised by northern European tour operators.

Golfers from all over the world are drawn to Puerto Banus which boasts no less than nine 18-hole golf courses on its doorstep including some of the best clubs in Europe - Atalaya, Guadalmina and the exclusive Marbella Golf and Country Club are all within easy driving distance.

Serious shop-a-holics with money to burn will think they’ve died and gone to heaven when confronted with a selection of  designer stores rivalling LA’s Rodeo Drive and offering every big name in the book – from Armani and Chanel to Gucci and Dior. Your average shopper will feel more at home in the El Corte Ingles department store or the shopping complex opposite – Marina Banus where quality clothes (Zara, Bershka, Pull and Bear etc) are on offer at prices which don’t break the bank. The complex has a variety of other shops and a handy rooftop play centre to keep the kids entertained while parents indulge in a spot of retail therapy.

One of the resort’s most popular attractions is its bustling Saturday street market where you can pick up everything from valuable antiques and works of art to a new-born puppy and dodgy “designer” sunglasses.

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