The Evolution of an icon: Marbella Club Celebrates 70 years
A year-long programme will celebrate its legacy, gastronomy, culture, wellbeing and sustainability
The events will travel throughout the hotel and into a newly acquired 50,000 sq m. land sitting adjacent to the main property, known fondly as Finca Ana María, which offers expansive Mediterranean sea views and the majestic Concha Mountain as the backdrop. Formerly the home of the von Bismarck family – frontrunners of Marbella’s jetset scene - Finca Ana María once played host to friends and family, including their neighbours, the Hohenlohes, founders of the Marbella Club. Over the next five years, the land will serve as an interactive platform for holistic wellbeing while the hotel’s sustainable growth expansion plans to annex Finca Ana María are finalised.
Taking centre stage is the hotel’s botanical legacy. In a five-year project to endure Marbella Club founder, Prince Alfonso Hohenlohe’s, original gardens, the hotel has partnered with Louis Albert de Broglie of renowned French institute Deyrolle to protect and seamlessly extend the original gardens into Finca Ana María. From a Kitchen Garden with over 100 heritage tomato varieties to a storytelling tree captivating young minds to a show-and-tell Cabinet of Curiosities, glamping experiences, and a natural maze of Acacias for both young and younger, the garden will not only catalogue and preserve the Marbella Club’s ecosystem, but will also create an inspiring, educational space that celebrates freedom and playfulness over the years to come – key distinctive personality traits of both Deyrolle and the Marbella Club.
The story of the 70th anniversary has been diligently curated by owner, Jennica Arazi, to showcase the evolution of the property, which hails in a new era, whilst still holding heritage and tradition firmly at its core. She shares, ‘This 70-year milestone symbolises the coming of age of the Marbella Club as we are given a unique opportunity to give continuity to the hotel’s true luxury – its rich garden ecosystem.”
Festivities will commence on the weekend of the 25th April with a vibrant weekend-long birthday party celebrating the hotel’s community of guests and heritage with piano bar sing-alongs and live flamenco; guest DJs , a book reading by long-time guest Nicholas Foulkes and a special Heritage Menu in the iconic Clubhouse, the original heart of the hotel. Meanwhile, Assouline pops-up at El Patio with a careful selection of destination-inspired titles curated by Prosper and Martine Assouline in celebration of the launch of the Marbella destination coffee table book.
May will see the unveiling of Finca Ana María with its ‘Garden Games’ including padel tennis and backgammon tournaments around a new Country Club space, and a second day for guests to discover Deyrolle’s headquarters, the Cabinet de Curiosities.
The revered Andalusian festival San Juan will light up Marbella Club once again in June, centred around wellbeing rituals old and new. The occasion will see the unveiling of outdoor wellness facilities and specially crafted soundscape meditations by Chris Connors, who will be joined by a rostra of world-class wellness luminaries set to send positive vibrations through the club, culminating with the magical San Juan beach party at MC Beach, complete with fire jumping, dinner and late-night dancing.
Later this summer expect greenhouses turned into perfumeries, cultural programming and tomato-inspired culinary experiences; a unique collaboration with Spanish heritage brand LOEWE. The summer will end with a seafront open-air classical concert.
Come autumn, the hotel will host a weekend summit for industry colleagues in collaboration with IE’s Sustainability division, which will bring together leaders in sustainability, biodiversity, and culture, like partner Positive Luxury, to inspire collaborative change in hospitality and drive town-hall style discussion.
The hotel will also showcase the region’s age-long history of innovation and creativity of Malaga’s growing art scene with bespoke experiences for guests from the likes of the Picasso Museum, CAC Málaga, the Thyssen Museum and Antonio Banderas’ Soho Theatre.
Yearlong festivities include:
April 26-28: Clubhouse Celebrations
May 17-19: Fun in the Finca, the unveiling of Finca Ana María
June: San Juan Wellbeing Festival
July & August: LOEWE Programming and culinary experiences with Deyrolle
September: Musical concert
October: Sustainability Summit