Journal

Amidst a busy schedule I managed to get out of the country for four days with a few friends. Our destination was Puerto Banus in Marbella, Spain. After booking a flight with Ryan Air which on thr surface seems inexpensive but in reality is not (handling, luggage, and taxes) works out fairly much the same as other UK carriers.

Park Plaza Suites Hotel

After a forty minute taxi drive to Marbella (careful you do not leave your mobile phone in the taxi - you will not get it back) we arrived at the Park Plaza Suites Hotel in Puerto Banus a hotel/apartments though the hotel generally ranks as fairly expensive between 160.00 to 250.00 per night, there was ten of us split between two very large apartments that has several rooms in each. The price was lowered considerable by a special deal that worked out for three nights at £160.00 each.

Walkway to Park Plaza

Our apartment at the Plaza Suites in Marbella was fairly clean and spacious, it included large lounge and balcony, fully equipped kitchen, three bathrooms, and a bar (not fully stocked). If you are lucky enough to face the beach as I did then the view is great, my room overlooked the bay with pristine sandy beaches with palm trees

view from Park Plaza

The Park Plaza Suites address is:

Marítimo de Benabolá,
29660 Puerto Banús,
Marbella,
Tel: +34 952 909000

Jacks Restaurant, Puerto Banus

With a friend I decided to take a walk on the Puerto Banus marina and search for something to eat - we were a bit early as restaurants had not quite opened for dinner but did managed to find an American chain restaurant Jacks located approx half way down the Front Line of the Marina.

Jacks restaurant in Marbella serves typical American mainstream food and is considered the poor man’s TGI Friday - while we were not overtly impressed with Jacks it was alright and as they say - ‘any port in a storm’ - we found it better than TGI Friday - at least better than the one located in Bournemouth - maybe a combination of being hungry and the weather being so good added to this belief.

We ordered randomly from the menu and had a plate of starters to share that consisted of onion rings, breaded cheese sticks, and ribs.

For our main course we had a bowl of chili and I had the cheeseburger and give it credit where its due was not too bad. I am told that the chilli was fairly good - and by all accounts looked the part.

Tibu Nightclub, Marbella

In the evening we had the VIP area booked at Club Tibu which boasts the largest outside terrace in Marbella. Unfortunately Tibu is a bit of a blur in my memory for me, but what I do remember was good. The music is an eclectic fusion of upbeat dance and chilled styled Ibiza circa late 90’s.

Our seating was located at the far end of the nightclub, I am not sure if it was the warmth of the evening air or the 17 year old bottle of Ballantine’s Scotch I was busy consuming in that I suddenly realized there was no roof and I was actually on the terrace, it’s interesting as your surrounded by walls that give the appearance you are in a nightclub and looking up at a black ceiling - until you notice a twinkling star and just as your blaming it on the scotch you suddenly feel a faint evening breeze - pretty neat. There is plenty to see at the club ranging from Palm trees to fountains and lots of hideaway areas for privacy - well recommended for a good evening out.

Marbella beach

The next day after a quick breakfast at Alexandro’s located right around the corner from the Plaza suites - you will get a good cappuccino and Eggs Benedict there - we headed for the beach which is just a few steps from the front door of the Plaza Suites. This is what Marbella is truly known for its pristine sandy beaches - and blue warm sea. We spent the whole day at the beach and rented a super large King size rubber mattress that you can lounge on while staff serve you drinks there.

morning view Marbella

beach scene, Puerto Banus

Marbella

At one time during the 70’s and into the mid 80’s Puerta Banus, Marbella was a playground for the rich and famous - this has all changed now and it is more frequented by well heeled vacationers from all over Europe. It lacks the romanticism and the villa architecture of Cannes, the Cote d’azur, Saint Tropez and other similar European destinations - the marina on Puerto Banus is still used to moor boats and super Yachts owned by the world’s wealthiest individuals.

Dolce & Gabbana Marbella

Strolling along the Marina Front line you will find the usual cheap souvenir shops mixed in with high end fashion boutiques such as Dolce & Gabbana, Gianfranco Free, Jimmy Choo, and Gucci.

Further back in Marbella itself there are plenty of shops and restaurants including the El Cortes Ingles which boast three large floors that near enough everything can be purchased from clothing to household goods.

In recent years Marbella has been struck by the invasion of the chain restaurant which I am told has pushed out of business some of the more smaller Spanish cafes and restaurants only to be replaced with MacDonald’s, Burger King, Tony Roma’s and other similar junk food chains.

Yacht moored in Marbella

Marbella itself also has a high percent of prostitution with many of its girls coming from Eastern Europe and Brazil to work - apparently being legal in that part of Spain.

Lebanese food at Marrush

Marrush Restaurant, Puerto Banus

I was lucky enough to find the Marrush Lebanese restaurant - in which I dined there twice. There are a few requirements that make a good meal - the food, atmosphere, wine menu, and dinner companion. While the Marrush scored high on reasonable priced good food, the wine menu was limited, I was fortunate enough to be joined by Raphael Beckett an adventurer of sorts who kept the conversation flowing with stories how his candle factory burnt down along with the neighbours 1200 Marijuana plants, how some shady carpet merchants tried to drug him India while he beat a hasty retreat through a crowded market that broke into pandemonium, this all made for vibrant conversation and a good feast.

The Marrush also offers outdoor seating witha pleasant small-town atmosphere, we ordered a number of dishes (as one should when eating Middle Eastern food) that included sambusek, hummus, fattush, tabuleh, cheese arayes, and Mshawi (nafta, chicken, and lamb cubes).

We were pleasantly pleased with everything we ate and the grilled lamb and chicken were subtly spiced with local herbs that perfectly tender.

I would recommend this restaurant for value for money in a city that is in some cases bordering on the ridiculously overpriced. We were told that this summer had been quite hard economically as it had the lowest number of tourist and the ones who did come were spending less, the local business owners blamed it on the credit crunch, I think a combination of both the credit crunch and the high prices of Marbella has put many off from spending money on restaurants and bars that overcharge n the belief that it will attract the wealthy back to Marbella. One such place we went is Pangaea Sky Lounge in Puerto Banus, it was empty and besides one couple we were the only group of people there. The drinks were highly overpriced and the staff seemed sullen - it would not have been too bad if there was some energy to the venue, it lacked this and we soon left.

Dinner at Marrush, Marbella

As mentioned previously Marbella is not quite the party capital it once was - but sure it’s a nice vacation spot and well recommended for a holiday, nestled between mountains it is beautiful, the sea and beaches make up for the price easily, the weather is predominately warm all year round except for a short sporadic rainy season, and the nightlife is wel worth checking out if you take the time to find the right places.

Lookout for Georgia while you are on the beach she is usually located in one of the large Tiki huts she’ll give a great massage and put your sun lotion on for you. Also check out her anti aging clinic in Neuva Alcantara, San Pedro a five minute taxi ride from Marbella.

Marrush is located at:

Complejo Cine Gran Marbella
Puerto Banús
Tel.: + 34 952 814 819

We were also told that Puerto Banus is a well known destination for stag and hen parties, this was quite evident in the nightclubs, bars and beaches - it was a case of out-of-country and out-of-sight which gave full permission for a weekend of non-stop hedonism - we saw a group of woman riding a giant inflatable phallus on the waves - a group of guys walked around with women’s high heels and thongs, and on a friday there were many casualties from the UK booze culture - the area had the same effect on the Romans - maybe it’s something in the water…