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As mentioned on the main page, we decided to stay in the Marbella area on our first night, because I had a business associate who lived in Marbella, and I did not want to have to travel far after a business meeting. As it turned out, we stayed in Puerto Banus, which is very close, by car, to Marbella.
Marabella is another concrete jungle, built on the Costa del Sol. It doesn't have the flashy nightlife of Puerto Banus, but it does have a number of good reasonably priced restaurants and bars. We wandered around Parque de la Constitucion and then up and down the beach (Playa de la Fountanilla).
Our friends in Marbella recommended a good restaurant for Tapas bing the Bodega la Venencia, and we stopped by there and confirmed their assessment to be correct, enjoying my first Spanish "Tinto Verono" which is a sort of refreshing mix of red wine and a soft drink. It went over quite nice on a hot summer day.
"Puerto Banus is the flashiest marina on the Costa del So, often a port of call for huge floating gin palaces that moor in Monte Carlo at other times of the year. ... [snipped] ... Puerto Banus is also a nightlife center, although prices are high."
"The marina is skirted by glam shops and not-so-glam restaurants, though some have a dash of clash. Bars are crammed with dolled-up women trying to score gold-bejewelled yachtsmen. Most settle for golfers instead."
The night life district of Puerto Banus was a good place to look, but not "buy". We purchased one drink each in a simple sidewalk cafe, and the total cost was 17 euros (before tip). Definitely NOT cheap. The restaurants and night clubs are located either on the street that is located either on the water front of the marina, or ½ a city block inland of the marina water front (running parallel to the water front before one reaches Avda Julio Iglesias), where there is a narrow alley full of shops and bars. As you can see from the map below, Hotel Pyr, where we stayed, is quite close to the marina.
