Here at ovimapsexplorer we know we’ll never be jet set playboys, but on the odd occasion after a particularly grueling week, we like to dream. When these moments of self delusion take hold and we think of the places where we’d like to live out these fantasies, Marbella Club Spain often comes to mind.

Amongst the well heeled and well moneyed, the Marbella Club has become one of the best known resorts in the world.

Ignore the name, which conjures up images of the worst type of English Club 18-30 type holiday, and picture this.

Aristocratic retreat

It’s 1948, and Prince Maximilian von Hohenlohe heads to the South of Spain to visit his cousin, Ricardo Soriano, Marques de Ivanrey. He finds this dapper powerboat racer and seducer living a very fine life next to a pretty fishing village called Marbella.

A few years later his son, Prince Alfonso, founds an aristocratic retreat, the Marbella Club. Since then, amongst the well heeled and well moneyed, this resort has become one of the best known in the world, with the chic resorts of Porto Cerro, St. Tropez and Capris all vying for jet set euros.

Roguish charm

In a part of Europe that attracts the wealthy as effectively as a sugar coated honey pot attracts bees, the Marbella Club Spain stands out. It has a roguish charm, which makes it easy to imagine Bond sipping Martinis while gazing at the Atlas mountains sometimes visible across the Med.

Diamonds on display

With a dinner-at-midnight-and-breakfast-at-1pm type of attitude, you have plenty of time to live the day your way. And if chillin’ in style gets too much or you get blinged out by the diamonds on display, you can always check out the madness of Puerto Banus. Here you’ll find a mix of bars, restaurants and shops as well as a club scene that will having you shaking your thang from 3 to 8am.

Back in the real world

Once all this luxury becomes a bore or you max out your credit card on playboying (not difficult when room prices start at 200 euros a night), you can always go back to the real Spain. Just 15 minutes drive away, you’ll find villages of white washed houses, stray cats and old geezers playing cards. After  a few days playing out your fantasies, you might be surprised how satisfying it is to grow up and hang out with real people doing real things again.