La Bajadilla Port Project to include new luxury Blue Bay Hotel

Multinational hotel chain Blue Bay, which already operates a luxury 4-star hotel in Puerto Banus, some 9 km distance from central Marbella, has confirmed that the group plans to develop a brand new 5-star hotel in the La Bajadilla port upgrade project. The Marbella-based group owns more than 30 high-end hotels across the globe and is part of the Satli syndicate belonging to the Satli-Iglesias family.

La Bajadilla is finally making Progress

For holidaymakers with a keen eye out for luxury accommodation and high-end shopping, this represents excellent news, but the confirmation of this project is also welcome news for Marbella's residents, for its means future job opportunities.

The multinational hotel chain has signed an agreement with Naas Marbella, the company responsible for the port's upgrade and development. Initially formed b Sheikh Al-Thani, the Naas Marbella company ran into difficulty and delays, when funds from investors weren't as forthcoming as originally envisaged. Now, it seems, the La Bajadilla project is finally back on track.  

Accommodation fit for Marbella's most affluent Visitors

Blue Bay owns hotels in Cuba, Dubai, the Dominican Republic, Portugal, Mexico and Spain. The group was purchased four years ago by Satli. The group plans to develop the new 5-star luxury hotel as a 24-story high-rise with 200 rooms and a stunning architectural design that will make it stand out as a landmark building in La Bajadilla. Its location will be in the heart of the planned commercial district, which will be called Marbella Marina Mall.

Owners Satli have confirmed that the new hotel will be one of Europe's most luxurious hotels and will focus on the wellness and high-end spa sector of the tourism market.

Catering for a very different Tourist

At the centre of its current operations in Marbella is the 4-star Blue Bay Banús, a hotel complex occupying some 28,000 square meters of lovely subtropical gardens with ponds and swimming pools with a ten minute walking distance of Puerto Banus itself.

Designed like an Andalusian village, the resort hotel comes complete with cobbled streets and courtyards, a small chapel, children's playground, gourmet restaurant, snack bar, bar by the pool and 315 luxurious rooms with terraces and balconies. Happily situated within a 30 minute drive of more than 30 golf courses and right by the seafront, the hotel aims to attract families with children and offers various entertainments for adults and their offspring throughout the summer months.

The new 5-star development at La Bajadilla will therefore address a different market segment than the existing hotel, reflecting Marbella's need to accommodate the affluent traveller in the style they have become accustomed to at other resorts. But it will also be travellers who don't necessarily choose to come during the summer months, for wellness and spa hotels tend to attract business throughout the year.

Good news for Marbella Residents


And it's not just holidaymakers with a large budget that will be keen to stay in such a hotel. The rich and famous, who flock to Marbella to be seen, need somewhere glamorous to stay while they are looking for their dream villa in La Zagaleta or El Madronal, the one they want to purchase with as much publicity as possible and then live in with all the exclusivity and privacy money can buy.

Although official figures show unemployment in Spain rose in September, various large scale developments, La Bajadilla in Marbella at the Costa del Sol among them, show that the economy is nonetheless moving into the right direction.

With the announcement that Gibraltar plans to radically develop some of its shores into a world-class marina complex that could give Monaco a serious bout of envy, there are certainly more job opportunities on the horizon than there were just 12 months ago.

For those who are still wavering whether to buy a property in Marbella for relocation purposes, it may be now or never, for as soon as more jobs become available in Spain, house prices will increase.