What is the best part of Marbella to stay in? The Old Town, for a first visit. It’s walkable, it has the best independent restaurants in town, and it’s the only area that feels like a Spanish town rather than a resort.
The other three are each right for one kind of trip. The Golden Mile for a resort holiday, Puerto Banús for nightlife, San Pedro de Alcántara for a local feel at lower prices. I’ve stayed in three of them and the difference is bigger than most guides let on.
This page is about which part, not which hotel. For rooms, prices and the full area-by-area breakdown, that’s my guide to where to stay in Marbella.
Old Town
Pick the Old Town if you want to arrive, park once and not think about transport again. It’s compact and whitewashed, the Plaza de los Naranjos is the centre of everything, and the beach is five minutes on foot. It’s also the only part of Marbella you can genuinely get around without a car.
The trade-off is noise. On summer weekends the bars around the plaza stay open late and some of the streets echo. I’d still pick it over anywhere else for a short trip.
Golden Mile
Pick the Golden Mile if the resort is the holiday. It runs two kilometres between the Old Town and Puerto Banús, and it’s where the Marbella Club, the Puente Romano and Don Carlos sit, with a wider beach than in town.
It’s the expensive answer, and it only makes sense if you intend to use the hotel. Everything else is a walk along the coast road or a taxi, and the villas between the hotels are gated, so there’s no neighbourhood to wander into.
Stay here for the pool, the spa and the beach club. Don’t stay here expecting to stroll to dinner.
Puerto Banús
Pick Puerto Banús only if the nightlife is the reason for the trip. It’s the marina district, with bars, clubs, designer shops and a lot of noise after dark.
It quiets down during the day and the beaches nearby are fine. I wouldn’t stay here for a relaxing holiday, and most people who do are surprised by how little else there is.
The other thing to check before you book is the distance. Puerto Banús is 7 kilometres from the Old Town, so everything historic about Marbella is a taxi ride away from your room.
San Pedro de Alcántara
Pick San Pedro de Alcántara if you’d rather be in a working Spanish town than a resort. It sits 10 kilometres west of the Old Town, with its own pedestrianised centre, a boulevard of outdoor cafés and noticeably lower prices.
The beach is long, flat and uncrowded. If you want the Marbella coastline without the Marbella price tag, San Pedro is the answer, and it’s the one I’d send most people to on a second visit.
The rest of the questions people ask about Marbella are answered in facts about Marbella.
