Most celebrities who visit Marbella stay at one of two hotels on the Golden Mile: the Marbella Club or the Puente Romano. Both sit on the same two-kilometre strip between the Old Town and Puerto Banús, and between them they’ve hosted everyone from Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn to the Spanish royal family.
The Marbella Club has been the centre of it since 1954, when Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe opened it as a private guesthouse for his circle.
Everything you need to know is below, or you can start with our Marbella where to stay guide.
The Marbella Club
Prince Alfonso built the original hotel as a place for European aristocrats and Hollywood actors to escape to. Cary Grant, Brigitte Bardot, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor all stayed in its early decades. The property still runs on that reputation, with bungalow-style villas set in subtropical gardens rather than a tower block.
Rooms start around €350 a night in summer. The beach club and restaurants are open to non-guests, so you can get a feel for the place without booking a room.
Puente Romano
The Puente Romano opened in the 1970s, built around an actual Roman bridge that sits in the hotel gardens. It’s larger than the Marbella Club and has more of a resort feel: multiple restaurants, a tennis club that has hosted ATP tournaments, and a beach club that draws a crowd on summer weekends.
It attracts a slightly different set. More contemporary, more events, more visible. The suites facing the sea are regularly booked for private events and weddings.
Villa Rentals in Sierra Blanca
Some visitors with bigger budgets skip hotels entirely and rent villas in Sierra Blanca, the hillside neighbourhood above the Golden Mile. Properties here are gated, private, and come with pools, staff, and sea views. Weekly rates during summer start at five figures.
I’ve never stayed in one, but I drove through the neighbourhood. The walls are high, the streets are empty, and the views down to the coast are genuinely impressive.
For the full area guide, see where to stay in Marbella. For what to do once you’re here, see things to do in Marbella.
