Marbella's BlueBay to add two 5-star Hotels to their Chain

Marbella-based BlueBay Hotels are about to invest 100 million euros in opening two new 5-star hotels on the Costa del Sol. One will be located in the Marbella Marina Mall, the other in Estepona. The global hotel chain made the announcement at this year's Fitur tourism fair. Good news for those seeking employment in the tourism industry, but also an indication that there has been a shift in the type of tourism Andalusia attracts.

Although there will always be room for package holidays, over the last couple of years some of Spain's most popular tourist destinations have begun to turn their backs on this type of tourism. Mallorca for example has seen a veritable revolution in the tourism sector, with dozens of 4- and 5-star hotels opening and 2- and 3-star rated accommodation closing down all over the island.

Estepona and new Marbella Marina Project to benefit

BlueBay counts 54 hotels located in 28 countries their own and already operate a luxury resort hotel in Marbella's Puerto Banús. Now the hotel group wants to expand its Costa del Sol base with two further hotels.

The Estepona-based hotel will be situated in the Bulevar de Estepona complex and will have 16 floors with 120 luxurious rooms, including 22 suites. The contemporary styled Estepona hotel will have an auditorium with a capacity for 400 people, several spacious meeting rooms, a gymnasium, spa, a swimming pool and restaurant. The hotel is scheduled to open next year.

BlueBay plans to make the new Marbella-based hotel one of their most exclusive hotels to-date. It will open under the "Grand Luxury-Blue Diamond" label, the most exclusive brand the hotel chain offers.

Located in the Marbella Marina Mall complex, the hotel is scheduled for completion in 2018, provided the Sheik Al-Thani lead Marina development does not run into further problems.

BlueBay's latest ambitious project will have 24 floors and 200 rooms. The hotel will boast a ground-breaking design with a state-of-the-art spa that will offer the latest in therapies and treatments. BlueBay promised the new Marbella-based hotel would "be one of the most luxurious in Europe with world famous iconic status".

While the group's Hotel BlueBay Banús was designed to resemble a traditional Andalusia village with cobbled streets, a chapel and pretty courtyards, the new hotels will boast a contemporary, cutting-edge design, a clear move away from the type of holiday accommodation the Costas have provided since the 1960s, when tour operators first offered affordable package holidays and kick-started mass tourism.

Changing Times in the Tourism Sector

Hotel BlueBay Banús is popular with families, for it has extensive grounds with landscaped gardens, amazing swimming pools for all ages and close proximity to the beach. Travellers have become far more demanding over the last few years and the world-wide economic crisis forced hoteliers to deliver far more than they had done previously. A "value-for-money" attitude among tourists lead many old-fashioned guesthouses and B&Bs and providers of 2- and 3-star accommodation to be left behind the times. The trend toward boutique hotels in Mallorca is ample prove of this shift in buying behaviour. Today's Costa del Sol travellers expect to find a touch of luxury, when they arrive at their holiday accommodation.

Just as poorly designed, badly constructed new homes have been left unsold on the property market, badly equipment and out-dated hotels were shunned by tourists who could no longer afford two holidays in a 12-month period and decided to make the most of the one holiday they could afford.

Tourism boards have also learned that this new type of holidaymaker brings far more money into local economies - affluent visitors often decide after holidaying a couple of times in a destination that buying a holiday home would meet their future needs. Residential tourism, ignored in official statistics until fairly recently, accounts for a considerable chunk of local revenue.

Last year showed that the value of newly build properties in Spain has decreased at a much slower rate than before, a clear indicator that the enormous housing stock of unsold new Costa del Sol homes is gradually diminishing. The opening of a luxury hotel in the city's marina will eventually bring a fresh set of property buyers to Marbella's prime property market.