The
pull of the Costa del Sol by PJ Lopez
The Costa del Sol has been one
of the most popular holiday destinations since the 60's when sun worshippers
used to flock to the newly popular Torremolinos, which gave birth to the
term 'package holidays'. Since then more and more resorts have been developed
and are favourites with holiday makers looking for all year round sun,
good value for money and a solid infrastructure.
We have seen the luxury resort
of Marbella become one of the elite worldwide holiday destinations thanks
to those visionary men such as Ricardo Soriano (hotelier and friend of
the rich and famous), Jose Melia (builder of the Melia don Pepe and a chain
of luxury Costa del Sol hotels), Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe (the original
risk taker and founder of the world famous Marbella Club and Puente Romano
Hotels) and of course Jose Banus (founder and builder of the luxury marina
Puerto Banus).
These men, amongst others,
were pretty much responsible for placing Marbella firmly on the map as
one of the most luxurious holiday resorts and popular hangouts to the rich
and famous. Now some forty years on the Costa del Sol remains one of the
first choice holiday destinations to many people from all over the world
every year.
Quite a lot has changed since
the first holiday makers flocked to the Costa del Sol back in the 60's.
The country is no longer a dictatorship since the passing of Franco in
1975, the currency is no longer the peseta since the introduction of the
Euro in January 2002 and flights are much more affordable since the birth
of low cost airlines like EasyJet.
The scenery has also changed
quite dramatically over the years too as the Costa del Sol became a main
area in which to own a holiday home or more recently a place to relocate.
As the demand for properties increased so did the construction, which in
turn slowly changed the Costa del Sol from a series of small fishing villages
to busy towns and holiday resorts. However, that aside the Costa del Sol
still remains a unique destination for holiday makers and home buyers.
As the tourism to the Costa
del Sol increases each year the government are implementing a number of
infrastructure amendments to help keep people moving freely from resort
to resort. The largest of these includes the building of a new airport
terminal at Malaga International Airport and then the construction of a
new runway. This will allow more flights to and from the Costa del Sol
and mid next year there are plans to restart an old Delta Airlines route
to and from New York. In addition British Airways have just announced that
from March 2008 they plan to increase the number of flights to Malaga Airport
from their London hub airports.
In December 2007 the brand
new AVE high speed rail link starts to operate between Malaga and Madrid
shaving off over 2 hours on the current journey time to two hours forty
five minutes. In addition to this the existing RENFE rail link which currently
stops at Fuengirola in the west will be extended to eventually run down
to Algeciras linking up Marbella and Estepona on the way.
Plans have also been approved,
subject to an environmental impact study for a new motorway linking San
Pedro de Alcantara to Ronda cutting down the journey time from fifty minutes
to just twenty two.
All of this is helping keep
the Costa del Sol a firm favourite to holiday makers and home buyers and
the recent 'cleansing' of the Marbella town hall and disassociation from
the former corrupt mayors is slowly bringing back the property investor.
There really is nowhere like
the Costa del Sol with its mountainous terrain on one side and the Mediterranean
on the other. From the western parts of the Costa del Sol views of Gibraltar
and North Africa are clearly visible.
The Costa del Sol is just
2 hours from many of the Northern European countries by air and boasts
one of the best all year round climates of any Mediterranean area. From
Nerja in the east right down to the busy port of Algeciras in the west
the Costa del Sol remains one of the key holiday destinations of Europe.
Top
About the Author: www.getspain-costadelsol.com
Puerto José Banús,
more commonly known as Puerto Banús is a marina in Marbella,
Spain on the Costa del Sol. It was built in 1970 by José Banús,
a local property developer, as a luxury marina and shopping complex for
the jet-set and the super rich. The lavish opening of the complex
in May 1970 was attended by, amongst others, the Aga Khan, film director
Roman Polanski, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, Dr. Christian Barnard (pioneer
of the heart transplant), and Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco.
A youthful Julio Iglesias was contracted to sing for the guests for the
enormous sum of 125,000 pesetas. An army of 300 waiters from Seville served
50 pounds of beluga caviar to the 1,700 guests.
The focal point of Puerto
Banus is the marina. It has berths for 915 boats, including those of the
King of Saudi Arabia and several of the world's wealthiest individuals.
Behind the harbour lie streets filled with bars, boutiques and nightclubs.
Behind the main square is a vast El Corte Inglés department store.
The marina has 915 slips
for boats and ships from 8 to 50 meters. Its surface area is 15 hectares,
and its depth ranges from 3 to 6 meters within the marina, with 7.5 meters
at its entrance. There is beach on each side of the marina. Many of the
yachts moored within can enjoy an unobstructed view of La Concha mountain,
one of the coast's landmarks. |
