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Puente Romano is the setting for the first ever Marbella Masters Tennis Tournament from 17^th to 19^th September. Tennis greats such as Sergi Bruguera, Richard Krajicek and Pat Cash will be playing and the tournament will last 4 nights and is expected to attract about 15,000 fans. There will also be exhibition matches from Martina Hingis and Mansour Bahrami.

Since the tennis club was founded by the famous Swedish tennis player, Bjorn Borg in 1979 many famous tennis legends have graced its courts. There have been many prestigious international tournaments with such legendary stars such as Boris Becker and John McEnroe to name but a few, and the Central court has the capacity to seat more than 2,500 fans.

The Hotel Puente Romano Tennis Club has 10 tennis courts (8 clay, 2 hard). Pros provide lessons and tips for the beginner to the more advanced player. Special hands-on instruction is also available for the junior player.

If you’re a tennis fan, this is an unmissable event! Read more »

Formerly known as The Lorcrimar Hotel & Novelli’s Restaurant it is now rebranded and reborn. After a Multi-Million Euro refurbishment and a change of management in 2010 the Sisu Boutique Hotel Puerto Banus, Marbella has been re-opened. The hotel consists of 54 rooms which have gone through a total re-fit. As well there are 9 totally new Suites (6 Junior & 3 Penthouse Suites) in the new Sisu Boutique Hotel offering you a choice of accommodation full of Funky designs & retro fittings. To compliment its beautiful beaches & vibrant nightlife Hip ‘n’ Chic accommodation has finally arrived in Puerto Banus. From the moment you step into the breathtaking Reception you will realise this is a new Marbella and a new style. Sisu Boutique Hotel Puerto Banus aims at your pleasure, whether on vacation or business. With your Room Key Card you gain VIP access and some unbelievable deals into some of Puerto Banus’ top day & night clubs like Sintillate & Cocoloco in TIBV, Ocean Club, Nikki Beach, Sky Lounge Pangea, Linekers & Port Side and Premier Lap Dancing. The Sisu Boutique Hotel looks like the new hotel for  funky party people in Puerto Banus.

With September, and the start of a new school term just around the corner, what better time could there be for parents to research into private schooling in Marbella?

Two new schools from The British Schools Network are being opened in Spain during the next month, they are “The British School of Marbella” and “The British School of Navarra” The British Schools Network is one of the largest and most famous networks of British International schools in the world.

“What about the economic crisis?” I hear you say. Michael Elms, the Groups Development Manager, implies this is not an issue and was quoted as saying “Despite the current economic crisis, we believe that a quality proposition will eventually succeed in Spain; a market that has all too often been satisfied with schools that merely teach in English”.

“Is it worth sending my child to a private school?” is the question on every parent’s mind. However, unless you’re fabulously wealthy, this is a decision not to be taken lightly. Read more »

When it comes to talking about the Costa del Sol, you’d be forgiven for thinking that tourists only choose to visit in the Summer, as it’s name suggests, the “Coast of the Sun” is famous for its scorching hot weather and chilled out beach bars, or “chiringuitos”. However, this is far from the case – and we will see shortly, in times like these the best plan of action is to promote year round tourism for the country.

The objective for the Head of Tourism in Andalucia, Luciano Alonso is to maintain the province’s position as the most popular destination for visitors from the rest of Spain, and indeed the rest of the world. He has chosen the Wine Museum in Malaga to present the plan to promote tourism in Andalucia for the coming autumn/winter season. In yesterday’s visit to Conil de la Frontera, Cádiz where he came to see the building site of a 4 star hotel by hotel chain “Hipotel” Luciano Alonso declared to the waiting press: “Andalucia needs quality tourism”. Read more »

As per my previous article on bullfighting, the region of Cataluña has recently passed a bill to forbid bullfighting as of 2012, although there were whispers heard afterwards that the decision was based as much on politics and separatism as it was on any concern for the rights of animals and cruelty towards them. On average, the annual revenue accrued from bullfighting is £2.2bn and 13,300 bulls are killed in official bullfights every year (which is the equivalent to 36 bulls every single day) However, the total number killed is estimated to be 3 times as high.

The reaction from the rest of Spain to the historical ban has been completely the opposite to Cataluña, with many regions defending the “fiesta nacional“. However, the true home of bullfighting has always been Andalucia. It is here that much of the industry that surrounds the Spanish tradition is created. Read more »