Seven reasons to move to Marbella

Guest post by Michelle Rebecca

Spain has always fascinated North Americans. The combination of temperate weather, Old World history and cosmopolitan culture is a heady mix. Marbella, situated on the southern coast of the country, contains everything that makes Spain appealing. There are plenty of reasons to move to Marbella, whether you dream of an old-fashioned Spanish villa or a two-bedroom apartment overlooking the Mediterranean.

Sea and Mountain Vistas

Marbella lies on the shore of the Mediterranean, roughly midway between the Gibraltar Strait and the larger city of Málaga. Marbella stretches along the Mediterranean coastline like a languid cat, with over 27 km (almost 17 miles) of coastline and 24 beaches within the town limits.

Looking inland, the Sierra Blanca foothills border Marbella. Wherever you are in town, you can be assured of either an ocean or mountain view.

Temperate Climate, Sunny Disposition

Marbella boasts an average annual temperature of 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit), with summer temperatures reaching the high twenties (80s in Fahrenheit). In winter, the temperature rarely drops below a balmy 16 Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit).

During the winter, you may see snow on the highest peaks of the Sierra Blanca, which usually melts within days. And with over 300 days of sunshine a year, Marbella provides plenty of opportunity for sun worshippers and beachgoers.

Jetsetters and Andalusian Lifestyles

Marbella has long attracted Europe’s wealthy and famous. The town is known for its jet-setting visitors, from aristocrats and royalty to celebrities. During the summer months, the city’s population swells to 500,000 as the cream of European society flocks to Marbella beaches and festivals.

At the same time, the 136,000 permanent residents of Marbella retain their Andulusian heritage with flamenco dancing and a complex seafood-based cuisine.

Local Festivals

Marbella offers some of the best festivals in Europe, with most celebrations taking place between June and October. Music lovers flock to both the Marbella Opera Festival and the city’s Reggae and Jazz festivals. The Marbella also International Film Festival draws a great deal of attention.

History

Marbella may date back as far as the 7th century BC, when Phoenician merchants established a base on what would become the town. Later ruins attest to a time when the region lay within the grip of the Roman Empire.

During the Middle Ages, the region’s culture and architecture was heavily influenced by Spanish Moors, and as a result the city includes a well-preserved Moorish Fort. Museums and architecture from multiple periods dot the city, making Marbella a history-lover’s paradise.

Convenience and Comfort

Marbella is perfect for those who prefer to experience the exotic without giving up on the comforts of home. Unlike some destinations, Marbella offers all the conveniences of modern life, whether you want to see the latest shows, order 1999 Mustang Parts or simply enjoy an evening out at an excellent restaurant.

While Spanish is the primary language of Marbella, the cosmopolitan nature of the town makes it easy to find people who speak English. Many full-time residents of Marbella come from the United Kingdom and the USA, and many local papers and magazines have English editions.

Author bio: Michelle is an aspiring writer with a passion for blogging. She enjoys writing about a vast variety of topics and loves that blogging gives her the opportunity to publicly voice her thoughts and share advice with an unlimited audience.

The Luxurious Costa del Sol

Guest post by Heather Reid.

Whilst the Costa del Sol may conjure up images of mass tourism, many visitors are surprised to find that this region also boasts a wealth of exclusive and luxurious destinations. Spoil yourself with a luxurious road trip along the 100-mile coastline of the Costa Del Sol and enjoy a landscape that includes spectacular mountain scenery, views of the Rock of Gibraltar, the coast of Northern Africa and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  Whether you drive along the coast or head inland, amongst the natural beauty and traditional villages, you will find luxurious resorts, fine dining, golf courses and some serious fun.

Luxurious Puerto Banus

First of all, head to Puerto Banus, a luxurious resort built in 1970, just 6km from the town of Marbella, 64km south of Malaga.  Starting out as a luxury marina and shopping centre, today it is a major destination and a magnet for the super rich, with seemingly endless mega-yachts docked at the marina and streets chock-a-block with luxury cars.  Set against a dramatic mountain backdrop, you can’t help but be impressed by the glitz and glamour of this town.  Puerto Banus is always bustling and full of upmarket bars and restaurants, boutiques including D&G and Dior and a casino.  This is a prime party location, attracting a young, sophisticated and rich clientele whose main aim is to be seen.  There are some great restaurants, including the meat lovers’ delight, Tango or the celebrity hangout of the Red Pepper and some even better nightclubs such as the hugely popular and pricey Olivia Valere.

A few miles away from Puerto Banus is the exclusive town of Marbella.  A luxurious destination for rich European tourists, it successfully combines history and culture with flashy marinas, restaurants and beaches. Those who enjoy a bit of culture should try to get to a performance at the amphitheatre or enjoy an afternoon stroll through the historic old town, a charming place with cobbled streets, whitewashed buildings and outdoor cafes.  If however you prefer a day of pampering and partying, a visit to the exclusive Nikki Beach resort will be a highlight.  One of the most glamorous destinations in Marbella and a great way to enjoy the beach in style, try to make it for one of Nikki Beach’s ‘Amazing Sundays’ with DJ’s, live music, great cocktails and oodles of beautiful people.

If partying is not quite your thing, a short drive will bring you to Nueva Andalucia, also known as the ‘golf valley’.  With warm weather all year round, this region is perfect for golf and the exclusive Aloha Golf course should be at the top of your list.  Designed by Javier Arana, it is one of the best courses to play on in Spain.  Set within beautiful surroundings that have been lovingly landscaped, this is a well maintained golf course that most golfers will find an enjoyable challenge, whilst the terrace has amazing views and is a wonderful place to sit and enjoy a leisurely lunch.

And if it is natural beauty that you are looking for, you can’t go wrong with a trip to Benalmadena. The town is located around 20km from Malaga and boasts spectacular views across the coast from the top of the Calamorro Mountain. There is a cable car from the town that lifts you slowly up the side of the mountain, allowing you to enjoy breathtaking views as you rise 800 metres to the summit.  On a clear day you can see Gibraltar and the coast of Africa.

There are some truly luxurious options for accommodation on the Costa del Sol, including the hotel resorts of Gran Melia Don Pepe, just a few kilometres from Marbella or the Don Carlos Leisure Resort, right next door to Nikki Beach.  For something a little different there are a good selection of boutique hotels, including Hotel Claude, a charming 17^th century townhouse in Marbella that has been refitted to combine exclusive modern design with the original features and the fashionable Marbella Heights Boutique Hotel, located on a hill above Marbella with stunning sea views and glorious surroundings.

With well-maintained roads, fast highways connecting the cities and major towns and plenty of wonderful scenic routes to travel, exploring the Costa del Sol by car is great fun and with companies now offering extremely competitive prices for car rental in Malaga and locations across the Costa del Sol, driving a luxury car is much more affordable.  With cars designed for extreme comfort and fitted with all the latest entertainment systems and safety features, it is likely that you enjoy the drive as much as the destination.

Heather Reid is marketing manager for Bingo Car Rental, specialists in low cost and luxury car rental in locations across Spain and Europe.

Huge wildfire raging towards Marbella

Raging along the coast

I’ve been too busy to write anything over the last few days but I had to pop on quickly to tell you about the fire.

I looked out of my bedroom window last night and saw the sky glowing red. Although the fire started in La Cala, about 15 km from my house, I could clearly see the flames whipping around in the wind. The sky was filled with smoke, bright red smoke.

It spread quickly because there was quite a wind last night. thousands of people have been evacuated and one old man was killed. Rescuers are searching for his wife.

The main toll road was closed for a while as the flames licked the hard-shoulder. Over 30 aircraft have been dropping water on it all day but it’s still going. It’s going to take a few days to get it under control because it’s still windy and it’s been so dry this year, and we’ve had a very hot summer.

It’s not the first wildfire this year, and it wont be the last. It happens often on the Costa del Sol because of the long, dry summers and the large areas of woodland and open fields, full of dead, dry grass. It only takes on cigarette butt or one spark from a camp-fire and it goes up in seconds.

A huge area has been destroyed

You can see some of the devastation in the picture. I dread to think how much wildlife was killed just in the area pictured. I know someone who runs a kennel for rescue dogs and they were frantically calling people last night trying to get help moving the animals to a safe place.

Many of the evacuees spent the night in La Cañada, a shopping centre in Marbella. Some people were allowed back to there homes this morning but some are still waiting to hear when they will be able to return and inspect the damage.

It’s going to be a while until everything is back to normal, but for some people it never will. People have lost homes, cars, pets and personal belongings.

A few friends of mine were evacuated from Santa Clara, a nice development of townhouses close to Elviria, and others were told to be on standby.

It’s nasty and it’s not over yet.

Aventura Amazonia – A tree top theme park

Guest post by Amanda Nicholson

The park has plenty to keep kids busy

Aventura Amazonia is a great new nature inspired adventure park in Marbella, especially for kids, young and old! Come to the ecological park where tree climbing is not just allowed, it’s positively encouraged!

The adventure park is based in the tree tops near Elviria, just east of Marbella, and approximately 30 minutes drive away from Malaga Airport. There’s plenty of parking and it’s easy to find. The park is located near to the Elviria commercial centre and Santa Maria golf course so there are lots of shops, supermarkets, restaurants and bars nearby, as well as the beach of course!

This is something really different to hit the Costa del Sol. It’s the perfect place for children of all ages to let off some steam. The main activities at Aventura Amazonia are suitable for kids from 6 years old (minimum height 1.15 m) to grown ups who are children at heart! But there’s also a mini kids circuit for smaller children aged between 4 and 6 so no-one misses out.

The 83 different challenges and 20 incredible zip lines at Aventura Amazonia will thrill even the most hardy adventure park aficionado. It is home to the longest zip line in Andalucia at an amazing 240 m in whizzing length! You can direct your own fun by taking part in the challenges that inspire you, while working at one with nature and the environment.

Each challenge is graded in terms of its difficulty and clearly marked. You choose which ones you want to attempt according to your agility, ability and courage: green, blue, red and black – just like skiing! There are climbing challenges, speed adventures, bridges to cross, jumps to leap and zip lines to negotiate. The choice is yours and you have up to three hours in which to exercise your body and mind.

Safety is of utmost importance at Aventura Amazonia. All adventurers are provided with the necessary harness and safety equipment, and given a 30 minute instruction session on how to use everything and enjoy themselves in safety.

The kids will love it and so will the adults. Aventura Amazonia is a great alternative for birthday parties, stag dos, hen parties and company team building events.

To find the Aventura Amazonia adventure park, take the A7/N340 from your Malaga Airport car hire collection point, direction Algeciras, Marbella and Cadiz. Exit at kilometre192 on the north (mountain) side and follow the signs. For more information check out www.aventura-amazonia.com.

Amanda Nicholson has lived in Marbella for over 20 years and is currently writing area guides for the Malaga airport travel website which provides a wealth of information for passengers travelling through the airport.

Roca’s lawyer calls case to be dropped

At the center of the case – Juan Antonio Roca

As Spain’s long running Malaya corruption case continues the legal team representing the man at the center of the case, former municipal real estate assessor Juan Antonio Roca, have called on the judge to drop the case.

Roca’s legal team claim that there had been a parallel case due to the television coverage the case received. They also said that archives from Maras Asesores should not be admitted as evidence. Of course they would say that because they showed the secret accounting of Roca and form the basis of the prosecutions evidence against Roca.

The prosecutor in the case, Juan Carlos López Caballero, has demanded an “exemplary” sentence to send a clear message that this behaviour will not be accepted.

“We cannot allow this behaviour to be repeated”, he said

“This was the first time in Spain, since democracy, that a Town Hall has had to be dissolved for the repeated abuse of legality and the state of law,” he added.

The Malaya case opened in September 2010 to investigate corruption in Marbella Town Hall. The prosecution presented their final report on Monday at the close of the 181^st session of the case.

Reduction in property tax in Marbella

A welcome tax reduction for Marbella 

The Marbella town hall has approved a subsidy for the IBI tax for property owners registered with the town hall as part of efforts to revitalise the ailing property market.

The subsidy in property tax will be between 1.5% and 10% of the tax due based on the assessed value of the property.

For example, a family registered in the town hall with a property that has an assessed value below 100,000€ will receive a 10% reduction in the property tax.

Marbella Mayor, Angeles Muñoz, said that this means “they [property owners] will hardly notice the increase in the IBI tax.”

Owners with properties valued between 100.000€ and 200.000€ will receive a 5% discount, while those with properties valued between 200.000€ and 300.000€ will be given a discount of 3%.

Owners whose properties are valued over 300.000€ will be given a 1.5% discount in their IBI.

Assessed property values will be revised every ten years.

“In our opinion, the plan taken is fairer than reducing the tax of every owner equally. This would mean that families with more resources would obtain bigger reductions. It is necessary to benefit families with fewer resources” Muñoz said.

The town hall have also approved a 60% reduction (the maximum allowed by Spanish Law) on the Plusvalía tax. Plusvalía is the tax you pay on any profit made when selling a property. If you buy a property for 100,000€ and sell it for 150,000€ then plusvalía will be due on 50,000€.

By making these changes the mayor hopes the property market “will be revived”.

Muñoz added that Marbella is leading the recovery of the real-estate market in the Malaga province.

Connery on the run

Shaken, and stirred!

Ok, he’s not actually on the run but the former James Bond, Sean Connery, is wanted in Spain to answer questions over an alleged money laundering operation.

The 80 year old actor has been summonsed by the courts in Marbella who have been waiting for 18 months to put their questions to Mr Connery who claimed ill health when ordered to court in October 2010.

The case relates to the sale of the Connery’s Marbella villa ‘Malibu’ and the participation of companies linked to them and to the sale, following a complaint submitted to the anti-corruption prosecutor in 2006.

Marbella Town Hall claims to have lost out on 2.7 million euros from the deal which allegedly generated profits of 53 million euros after 72 luxury apartments were constructed on the site where the villa stood.

It is alleged that the actor and his wife, who will also be required to attend court, transferred up to 37 million euros abroad thus avoiding tax obligations in Spain.

Communication was sent to the Connery’s home in the Bahamas saying that “all legal measures, both in national and international legislation would be used” to force them to give evidence in court, El Pais reported.

Next stop – no stop in Malaga!

After announcing that the high speed rail link would pass through Malaga, EU officials have now scuppered the plans by refusing to pay for the extra link.

The plans for the new high-speed rail line were originally to bypass Malaga and head inland. However, Mariano Rajoy’s Partido Popular revised the plans to include an airport stop at Málaga and then continue along the coastline for almost the entire journey to the north-east. Most visitors to Málaga airport are amazed that they can only go as far as Fuengirola by train and the plans would have greatly improved public transport in Andalucía, one of the countries main tourist destinations. It could also have included Marbella – the only town in Spain with a population over 100,000 without a train station.

Officials from the EU have accepted the plans to take the line via Antequera, but rejected the link up with Málaga airport, which will now be excluded from the plans which must be underway by 2030.

Having seen both the original and the revised plans, EU transport ministers opted for the original plan deciding to take both the passenger and freight lines past Marbella.

“Both a freight and passenger line are vital for the Costa del Sol,” said Margarita del Cid, president of the Mancomunidad de Municipios of the western Costa del Sol. She added that extending the rail-line west was important for commuters as well as tourists.

Spain does not plan on leaving it there and further discussion and negotiation is planned. So, next stop… more confusion!

Russian Meeting Point gets under way

The “Russian Meeting Point” opened yesterday in a bid to boost the sale of Spanish coastal property to Russian investors.

This years event is being held at the Hotel Villa Padierna and so far has attracted large numbers of investors and property agents, all here to find investment opportunities on the Costa del Sol. The main focus of the group is the so-called “Golden Triangle” which includes Marbella, Estepona and Benahavis. However, other areas are also being marketed at the event including the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Alicante and Andalucía. The three-day event will close tomorrow (Friday).

Ángeles Muñoz, Mayor of Marbella, visited the event on Thursday morning accompanied by Enrique Lacalle, the president of the organizing committee, and the President of the Andalusian Federation of Developers and Residential Tourism, Ricardo Arranz.

Muñoz attended the event to see first-hand the level of interest from various investors and property agents for the Spanish property market and, more specifically, that of the Costa del Sol.

Many of the exhibitors have already expressed their satisfaction with the volume of contacts made at the exclusive real-estate forum.

Sr. Lacalle thanked the exhibitors for their attendance and is convinced that the event will prove to be profitable for all involved.

David Scheffler, Director of Expansion of Engel & Völkers, said “This initiative is a great opportunity for the Spanish real estate sector in general and particularly for us, so we could not pass up this opportunity. At The Russian Meeting Point we are presenting over 6,000 real estate properties to potential buyers from Russia. “

The event also included talks presented by some of Spain’s business leaders. One such talk, entitled ”What the Russians want to know before buying a property: How to get a mortgage in Spain.” was given by Alberto Pulido, Director of Business Mortgages in Spain’s Banco Santander.

There will be further talks on Friday including ”Managing visas and residence permits” which will be presented by the National Association of Developers.

This is the second edition of the Meeting Point and will be followed by a third which will take place in Barcelona in October at the Fira de Barcelona.

Queues for IBI reduction

A few months ago the local authority announced that it would subsidise between 1.5 and 10 percent of the Impuesto de Bienes Inmuebles (IBI) to relieve the effects of an increase resulting from the central governments revision of the cadastral values. These values, used to calculate the IBI had not been updated for more than 20 years.

Last week, despite having two months to apply for the subsidy it seemed that most of Marbella decided to turn up at the town hall on the same day.

Queues snaked around the office as people waited to apply for a discount on this years IBI bill.

“I’ve no idea when the deadline is but this morning I heard the town hall was going to subsidise the IBI bill and I came straight here”, said one property owner.

Under the new urban development plan (PGOU) a house valued under 100,000 will be eligible for a discount of 10%. A property valued over 300,000 would receive a smaller reduction of 1.5%. The only requirement for home owners to receive the subsidy is that they must be registered on the local population register (padrñon) which the town hall hopes will encourage more people to register. This will mean the town will be entitled to more funding from central government.

Municipal workers were surprised to see so many people arriving in the town hall. “People have found out by word of mouth and that is why the majority don’t know they have two months to apply”, said one member of staff.

Residents have until March 31st to apply for the subsidy and can apply at offices in Marbella or San Pedro, which are open in the morning and the afternoon.