Banus
| Puerto Banús | |
|---|---|
| Town and marina | |
 |
|
 Puerto Banús
|
|
| Coordinates: 36°29′15″N 4°57′09″W / 36.48750°N 4.95250°WCoordinates: 36°29′15″N 4°57′09″W / 36.48750°N 4.95250°W | |
| Country |
 Spain
|
| Autonomous community |
 Andalusia
|
| Province | Málaga |
| Comarca | Costa del Sol Occidental |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-council |
| • Body | Ayuntamiento de Marbella |
| • Mayor | María Ángeles Muñoz Uriol (PP) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Puerto José Banús, more commonly known simply as Puerto Banús, is a marina located in the area of Nueva Andalucía, to the southwest of Marbella, Spain on the Costa del Sol. It was built in May 1970 by José Banús, a local property developer, as a luxury marina and shopping complex. It has since become one of the largest entertainment centres in the Costa del Sol, with 5 million annual visitors, and is popular with international celebrities. Developed around a coastal village in the Mediterranean architectural style, Puerto Banús contains expensive shopping malls, restaurants and bars around the marina. It is also scene to many exotic cars that are owned by international celebrities and wealthy owners that also own large yachts. Luxury cars like Rolls Royces and high end sports cars like Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Mercedes Benz are a common sight in the summer months around Marbella and Puerto Banus. These cars are brought to the eye of the public via huge showrooms and dealerships showcasing the latest supercars.
The architect Noldi Schreck, who participated in the design and construction of Beverly Hills, was visited in 1966 by Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe to ask him to work on the Hotel Marbella Club. Schreck's first job was to meet José Banús (a close friend of Francisco Franco), and convince him that Puerto Banús was not a suitable place to build huge skyscrapers that would house thousands of wealthy families. He proposed a sophisticated Andalusian village and marina, the first port made by a single architect. José Banús became the largest developer of residential tourism complexes on the Costa del Sol. The port took his name and he became famous with the epithet "the regime’s builder."
The lavish opening of the complex in May 1970 was attended by, amongst others, the Aga Khan, film director Roman Polanski, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, Dr. Christiaan Barnard (pioneer of the heart transplant), and Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco. A young Julio Iglesias was hired to sing for the guests for the sum of 125,000 pesetas. Three hundred waiters from Seville served 22 kilos of beluga caviar to 1700 guests.
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Wikipedia