Romance and Leisure in Marbella

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In the heart of Marbella's city center, La Villa Marbella has refurbished hundred-year old houses into rooms and suites individually ornamented with beautiful Asian decor. This group of buildings are all very close to one another, and within a short walk to the beach and the marina. Locations include the Villa with four suites, the Cottage with three rooms, the Lodge with two suites, the Duplex, and the Courtyard, which has a private pool, solarium, and fireplace. Depending on each client's needs and reason for visiting, the accommodating staff can help choose the correct room, whether it be a large suite for a family or a romantically designed room well-suited to honeymooners.  Most of the buildings have terraces, patios, and a living room, and free wi-fi and internet access is available. La Villa Marbella creates a peaceful, comfortable ambience with its hospitality, high quality standards, and client privacy, and guests will appreciate the babysitter service and airport transfers.

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This posh beach club is among the number of luxurious spots that cater to the jet-setters basking in leisure at the nearby Puerto Banus Marina. Buddha Beach is a lavish beachfront club with services that encourage its clients to indulge in the bliss of the Mediterranean summer. Guests can rent one of various "beds," including over 100 hammocks and sun beds on the beach as well as VIP jacuzzis and private cabanas on its raised, wooden pool deck that enjoys views of the Mediterranean. Its design is inspired by the tranquility of Eastern luxury, and the Oriental spa offers treatments in private rooms, including facials, full body wraps, and detox. Menus for its restaurant and three bars feature a selection of fresh sushi, wraps, cocktails, and numerous bottles of Champagne. Buddha Beach's beachfront property and chic style makes this a nice place for private parties and other special occasions. Opens April 20th, 2011 until the beginning of October. Mon-Sun 11am-7pm, open for dinner July and August evenings.

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This lovely park full of greenery, with shade trees for passers-by, jasmines and bougeanvilleas, is half-way between the Paseo Maritimo boardwalk and the old part of the city. In the middle of the 18th century they stopped planting botanical species. At that time, it took up around 20,000 square metres and stretched as far as the old castle walls. Land was gradually lost as it was needed for new buildings. The park has been revamped several times becoming what is now known as Avenida del Mar, with half a dozen sculptures by Salvador Dali. In the centre, there's a large ceramic fountain, surrounded by ceramic benches. This is where the very old get together and retell their old love stories between the branches of the trees.

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The moment you walk in to Messina, you'll feel welcome in an environment that perfectly combines a trendy dining experience with friendly, professional service and a contemporary energy. Chef Mauricio Giovanini uses seasonal ingredients to create a menu that incorporates flavors from his hometown of Córdoba, Argentina and includes Mediterranean, French, Spanish, and Asian cuisine. Relax as you enjoy your dining experience in comfortable, plush red armchairs and smooth, electronic music that characterize Messina's avant-garde design and upbeat feel. Innovative dishes include creamy crayfish and goat cheese rice and tuna with papaya salad and octopus. A praline with chocolate and almond cream and yogurt brulée is telling of their scrumptious dessert selection. Whether you choose the tasting menu or order a la carte, prices are reasonable for food and service of this quality.

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Love To Eat is exactly what you will be doing once you step inside this gourmet restaurant which serves up the choicest delicacies that can be chosen from the glass cabinets. This place is so famous that guests from nearby hotels choose to stop by here for their breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. Chicken breast, noodles with shrimp and feta cheese are some must haves. Call for open hours.

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Marbella Bay is a great place to discover the joy of sailing. If you don't know how, sign up for a course at this school. You can choose from beginners courses, regatta sailing, safety and life-saving, first-aid and electronic and night navigation courses. Once you have completed the course of your choice and passed, you will qualify for a masters certificate in basic navigation, recreational boating or yachting. All the courses and seminars include hands-on training in safety and navigation techniques. The school recognizes existing certificates, if you happen to have one. There are also daily excursions round the bay for landlubbers.

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The town's prettiest square retains its original Renaissance-style fountain, 15th-century chapel, stately mansions and, of course, the orange trees that give it its name. Plaza de los Naranjos was the centre of commercial and political life in Marbella for centuries. It has had many names: Main Square, Constitution Square, and Isabel II Square. What's now the Town Hall was a prison during the 19th century. Fortunately, it has been carefully preserved and restored and offers a wonderful environment in which to relax.

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Restaurante Cervantes is a charming restaurant in the Old Town with a romantic setting and inventive dishes. This elegant, yet comfortable restaurant is located in Marbella's famous Orange Square, or Plaza de los Naranjos, and retains the authentic feel of an Andalusian mansion from the 17th century. Chef Raul Gomes uses local ingredients to elaborate a creative, reasonably priced menu that separate Cervantes from other restaurants with a traditional ambience. A selection of fresh, delicious dishes includes the terrine of slow cooked lamb shoulder on a bed of mashed sweet potatoes and goat cheese emulsion. Portions are modest yet satisfying, and you'll want to save room for dessert anyway. We suggest the mouth-watering French pudding with wild fruits, balsamic vinegar, and parmesan ice cream. If you don't see a tasting menu listed, just ask the accommodating staff—the chef will be happy to prepare something special for you.

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This is the city's main artery and the shopping area par excellence. The man who gave his name to this popular avenue was originally from Salamanca but he soon earned the nickname "the Marbellan" and the title of the city's "adopted son," granted by the town hall in 1952. He was responsible for bringing private investment and the tourism industry to Marbella in the 1940s and 1950s. Real-estate investor and promotor of the city, he built residential zones, an ususual thing to do at that time. He may have been forgotten over time, but the avenue that bears his name still represents the best of the city. Wide and seemingly endless, especially if you're seeing it on foot, it's lined with shops, fashion boutiques, restaurants, and cafés.

Our Local Expert Says:

Just to the west of the city, Villa Tiberio has beautiful dimly lit gardens that provide for a peaceful, romantic dining experience.

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Villa Tiberio's proximity to the upscale Marbella Club (a 5-min. walk away) ensures a flow of visitors from that elite hotel. In what was originally built as a private villa during the 1960s, it serves the most innovative Italian food in the region, and attracts the many north European expatriates living nearby. Appetizers include thinly sliced smoked beef with fresh avocados and oil-and-lemon dressing, and fungi fantasía (a large wild mushroom stuffed with seafood and lobster sauce). Especially tempting is the pappardelle alla Sandro -- large flat noodles studded with chunks of lobster, tomato, and garlic. Other versions come with cream, caviar, and smoked salmon. Main dishes include sea bass with cherry tomatoes, basil, and black truffle oil; duck baked with orange and Curaçao liqueur; and osso buco (braised veal shanks).

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Following the usual canons in all of his designs, famed architect Robert Trent Jones designed this long course (6500m) filled with small and not so small obstacles that will thrill the more experienced golfers. Though also apt for an amateur golfer, the course really has some difficult holes. There are lakes and vegetation - mostly natural - everywhere, making it especially challenging. Among other facilities are the Casa Club, a restaurant, gym, jacuzzi, shop, and apartments. True temptation for a vacation.

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With a highly mystic atmosphere, this establishment boasts a decoration of brick and wood that will make you feel as if you were inside a small temple. Located in the city's old town, the establishment is frequented by employees from nearby banks and businesses for the pre-lunch aperitif, filling the silent interior with noise and movement. They offer a large list of tapas, fried fish on weekends, paella, and lots more. You can order a single racion (larger-sized tapa). The best thing here are the wines in their excellent wine cellar, where you'll never be without a Malaga Virgen or Pedro Ximenez, 100% Malaguenos-native. They also serve sherry wines and amontillados and, of course, draft beer.

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This magnificent museum is located in the old Bazan Hospital, a 16th century building that still conserves its tower with typical roof tiles and whitewashed walls. It has been renovated to hold important works by Tapies, Miro, Picasso, and Chillida in its two floors. There is also a library, where more than a thousand works on the last two centuries of Spanish Graphic Art are held. The museum organizes and holds temporary exhibitions, as well as grants the National Etching Prize every year. Currently, the construction of a workshop-school is underway in a side building. Visitors can enjoy guided tours both morning and afternoon Tuesday through Friday.

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If it's not the most sophisticated restaurant along the Costa del Sol, La Meridiana certainly is the most romantic -- with its garden terrace -- and arguably serves the best cuisine as well. A sweep of a glass-enclosed porch has been added to the original restaurant. La Notte, a nightclub, is on a nearby terrace and is a hot spot along the coast for late-night revelers. The menu of Italian and Andalusian specialties changes four times yearly. Some of the most tantalizing items likely to be featured on the menu include wild sea bass seasoned with thyme and served with a prawn sauce, or roast monkfish with a red-pepper preserve on a bed of onion purée. You might also order the house specialty: roast duck flambé in Calvados with truffles, fried onions, dates, and dried figs.

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Started in 2002, the MC Café is a favorite rendezvous point for both people residing in the charming Marbella Club Hotel and outsiders alike. The café set up in elegant, contemporary design has a warm, inviting ambiance. It specializes in European and Asian fusion cooking and low calorie meals. Whether you are in for a scrumptious breakfast, a light meal or elaborate dinner, you sure won't be let down at this charming place.

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There aren't many wine superstores in the province, although there are plenty of good bodegas in the region as a whole. This one is excellent, decorated in wood with more than one thousand bottles, offering customers their own tasting room, to try out and choose wines properly before purchase. There are top quality wines from La Rioja, Galicia, Andalusia, Navarra, Castile and other Spanish wine regions, plus a good choice of French, Italian and some Californian wines. There are also Greek wines, which are very strong and aromatic, and vinho verde (white wines with a green tinge) from neighbouring Portugal. Their prices are unbeatable.

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The menu offer ranges from fresh calamari salad to grilled lobsters and fabulous cheeseburger plates. Healthy options include a great range of salads, fresh smoothies, health drinks and fruit plates. Seafood is the other natural choice befitting Purobeach's location. The menu and dishes are simple, casual and fresh. We invite you to come and seat on low white colored sofas with pearl colored pillows facing the sea, Gibraltar and the Moroccan mountains.

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La Hacienda remains impressively polished while managing to achieve trendiness and create a comfortable ambience. This internationally recognized restaurant was the first in Andalucía to receive a Michelin star. Founded in 1969 by Paul Shiff, La Hacienda is now run by his daughter, Cati. The tasting menu for 45€ is an outstanding value, and perfectly-sized portions of traditional Spanish and Mediterranean gastronomy is presented in the most professional fashion. Restaurants as prestigious as this sometimes sacrifice a relaxed environment as their reputation grows, but La Hacienda still knows how to have fun. If you're feeling spontaneous, try the "Menu with Surprise," a selection in which the client chooses between fish or meat for the main dish and the chef prepares a phenomenal four-course meal. There's even a couple of choices for the kids. Enjoy mountain views from an elegant outdoor patio, or cozy up to the fireplace on a cool winter night.