Alan Wentworth-Harley's Marbella Property Insider

It will be Europe’s largest outdoor swimming pool being similar to the one they have built in Chile. At a cost of €121 million the luxury resort is set to bring the biggest pool in Europe, with 450 homes scattered around it. The hectare and a half sit in Casares, Alcazaba Hills Lagoon will create a huge area for swimmers and for other water sports. Estimated to take eight months to build, some 350 new properties are part of the plans to be built alongside an existing 100 properties, which have sat unsold since 2009. Spelling great optimism for the abandoned development, the scheme plans to target wealthy European tourists, principally British, German and Dutch. The Estepona, Marbella and Mijas property landscape has seen a magnificent year with €376 million of investment scheduled in so far alone.

One of the world’s richest men here in Malaga for a weekend away in style. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen rolled into Malaga port aboard his 126 metre yacht, Octopus, to attend a business meeting with Pilar Lopez, president of the Spanish arm of the technology giant. With two helicopters, a submarine, swimming pool, music studio and basketball court, the superyacht is the 14th largest in the world. The ship is also known for its annual celebrity-studded parties hosted at Cannes film festival, where Allen and his band play for guests.

A two-day coffee-making championship, with the 17 best baristas from Spain battling it out to be crowned the nation’s finest. Each contestant had 16 minutes to prepare two pairs of coffees, one pair of cappuccinos, one non-alcoholic combination and one alcoholic combination. With over a 300-strong audience watching the entire process. 200 professionals competed in nationwide events to earn a place at this final, held in the impressive Palacio de Congresos, so they have a right to be annoyed if the music’s too loud. “Last year’s winner, who came from Asturias, was sent to Uganda on holiday to learn how they produce coffee beans. This year the prize is a week in Colombia.” The judges are all experts from around Spain, many of whom have previously competed in the event.

A consortium involving a Chinese investment fund, the Spanish construction company Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) and the holding company Credit Suisse have presented an offer for the licence for Puerto Banús, according to SUR. The proposed  offer of 200 million has been linked to the possible expansion of the area and according to sources consulted by SUR the deal could be made by the end of the year. Puerto Banus was built in 1970 by José Banús, a local property developer, as a luxury shopping complex and marina. It has since become one of the world’s most famous marinas attracting over 5 million visitors a year and becoming a local haunt for celebrities and the well heeled. The marina has 870 berths and is one of the most expensive marinas in the Mediterranean; the current king of Saudi Arabia, Salman, moors one of his boats permanently there. Puerto Banus is highly ranked alongside some of Italy’s most luxury Marinas such as Marina Grande in Ca...

       H ollywood actor Kevin Bacon has recently taken a short break on the Costa del Sol. The Apollo 13 star found a luxury Mijas villa to bring together his family from around the world. The Bacon family arrived for two weeks of sunshine in a luxury Villa in El Chaparral , costing around €20,000 per week. The 56-year-old father-of-two and his stunning actress wife Kyra Sedgwick, 49, managed to keep a low profile throughout the entire trip, staying in most of the time due to Bacon’s father-in-law being unwell. The Villa has been used by other celebrities, including Jermaine Jackson, earlier this year.

Spain is home to the second most UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserves. It has some truly exceptional natural resources and you will find lots of natural attractions including lakes, mountains, valleys and forests. Spain has many national parks which are each distinctive in their own way, many of which are in Andalucía. El Torcal Park Nature Reserve is known for its strange natural limestone rock formations and is located 30km north of Malaga near Antequera, near the village of Villanueva de la Concepcion. The formations are easily accessible by car and it is possible to drive right into the heart of the park, some 1.100m above sea level. As well as the rock formations, there are also wildlife, flora and fauna in abundance, with over 30 varieties of orchids growing in the park. For those that want to explore the park by foot there are three routes, all marked out with different coloured arrows; green for the shortest route being 1.5km, yellow which...

With roads, airports and housing set for a billion-euro makeover. Up 23% on the previous year’s investment, Minister for infrastructure, transport and housing, Julio Gomez-Pomar, has identified Andalucia as an integral cog in the country’s economic recovery. “Andalucian construction companies are to stay tuned,” he said. “They must contribute to economic growth in Spain, it is integral to the nationwide recovery. “Andalucia is one of the places where most investment has been undertaken in quantitative terms and in relative terms of growth, we have made a strong investment.” A total of €456 million will be used for road works, €730 million on rail and €239 million on airports. Meanwhile €111 million will be allocated to housing in the region.

Budget airlines see a big increase on the number of passengers heading to Spain for 2015. Many are British holidaymakers cashing in on the strong pound in their pockets to grab some cut-price sun. In the first quarter of 2015, low cost airlines transported over 8.6 million passengers to Spanish airports. April saw 2.85 million Brits descending on Spain via low cost airlines, this represents a massive 33% year-on-year increase. And with the pound standing strong, UK visitors are especially keen to reap the benefits. They account for the largest proportion of the budget airline bonanza. Ryanair, Easyjet and Vueling make up 71% of all budget airline voyages to Spain. British airline Easyjet recently announced that it would be slashing the price of 7,000 tickets to Spain to under €40 over the summer.

    For the first time, Fuengirola’s beaches have been awarded Q for Quality flags by the ICTE Spanish Touristic Quality Institute.   The flags were raised on Friday 8, in a special ceremony on San Francisco beach, attended by the Mayor Ana Mula Athas.   Well-known swimmer David Mecca and local swimmers Pablo Mira, Maria de Valdes and Salvador Cano will be diving from a yacht 200 metres out to sea and swimming to shore with the flags, which have been awarded for the 7.5 kilometres of beaches between the Castle and Carvajal.   Colour was provided at the event by 200 local school children wearing special t-shirts and carrying banners, who were brought to the beach on the tourist train.   The mayor explained that this was the first time the town had applied for the prestigious flags and expressed her pride that the strict tests had been passed.   “I’d like to stress the hard work put in...

Lord Alan Sugar cashing in on the upturn of the Marbella property market. He has just sold his villa in Marbella for 11 million euros which was put on the market earlier this year for 12 million. The Apprentice star – who has an estimated wealth of more than £1 billion, according to the Sunday Times rich list – is set to double his money. He has owned the property for the past 15 years and once the sale completes he is expected to make a profit of around 5 million euros. It is understood that he is looking to downsize to a penthouse possibly in Spain or the U S. The three-story villa includes a 200m2 underground car park, pool and gymnasium. There is also access to the beach and one of Marbella’s top tennis clubs. Lord Sugar sits 101st in the Sunday Times list of wealthiest Brits, announced last month. If you are looking for a luxury property on the Costa del Sol then click here to go to the One Marbella website which has thousands of proper...

New 12 episode series on Marbella Living ITV has announced that “Life on Marbs”, a brand new reality series will be aired this summer on ITVBe. The show will follow the glamorous lives of some of Marbella’s most fabulous residents. Characters will include Club’ owners to designer-clad housewives, from millionaire bachelors to entrepreneurs; ITV says Life on Marbs will reveal what life is really like living in Marbella – Europe’s most luxurious resort. It is being produced by Lime Picture’s who have had previous shows in and around Marbella which have been extremely successful including “The only way is marbs” part of the TOWIE series. Head of Non-Scripted, Derek McLean said: “Having just skimmed the surface of the luxury life that exists in Marbs for previous shows, Lime are delighted finally to be able to dive right into the incredible world of wealth and aspiration that exists in this millionaires playground. Marbella is an unmissable destinat...

The Fair in Marbella, will be held at a new location this year. There are promises that they will have more attractions, more space for horses and concerts and a free bus, which will be held on 100,000 square metres of land in the La Cañada area. This will only be a temporary site until the new one which is under construction is finished in La Serrania, which will be used in 2016. Starting at the  beginning  of June  with a week long fair. The Marbella féria includes all the traditional elements of an Andalusian fair: food, drink, dancing, entertainment and of course, the trademark “casetas” that are set up just for the fair. The fairs new site is due to the many complaints from local neighbours who are fed up with the noise. The plans for the new site include more space for casetas, separated into those aimed at youths and those for families, more space for horses and riders and more attractions, including two Ferris wh...

After the huge success of his previous appearance at last year’s event in which he performed to packed audiences he will be returning on August 13 th . Other stars performing at the festival will include Lionel Richie, Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, Lenny Kravitz and Laura Pausini to name a few. The festival performances start from the 18 th July through to the 22 nd August 2015. Also there will be parades, exhibitions and gastronomy. There will be a gala night held on 9 th August with Antonio Banderas hosting, raising money for various charities.  

In spite of the fall in UK visitors to the Costa del Sol there has been a marked increase from Asian visitors. The number of visits to the Costa del Sol has risen quicker than anywhere else in Spain. This is according to March’s figures which have just been released by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. More than 500,000 foreign tourists came to Andalucía last month – up 14 per cent of all those who came to Spain. This is close to the pre-crisis level recorded in February 2008. The rise in foreign visitors to the region is up 12 per cent compared to the national average rise of 5.8 per cent, even though the number of British tourists has fallen. This has been compensated for by a rise in visitor numbers from Asia, Germany, France and Scandinavia. Figures from Turismo Costa del Sol show that three international tourist markets have risen by 20 per cent or more - Belgium, Italy and Sweden . Additionally Spain announced a record high ...