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Torremolinos has come a long way since the Monty Python’s Flying Circus “Travel Agent” sketch. First broadcast in 1972, the comedy routine was an uproarious reference to Torremolinos and its British package holiday tourists. At the time, the town was popularly considered to be essentially a “bucket and spade” resort, although its tourist origins are considerably more celebrated than the old travel brochures – and derision – might suggest.
A one-time mill town and a small fishing village until the end of the 1950s, it became a pioneer of tourism in Spain, with visitors including Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Marlon Brando, Ava Gardner and Orson Welles. It was also home to the Costa del Sol’s first luxury hotel, the Pez Espada, opened in 1959. 
In more recent decades, other major coastal municipalities such as Benalmádena, Mijas and Estepona have shared the limelight – while Marbella has become the area’s glittering international hotspot. Now, Torremolinos is recapturing some of the spotlight. This week the town hall approved a new General Urban Ordinance Plan (Spanish acronym PGOU) that gives the green light for a €650 million project to develop Andalucía’s largest commercial and leisure centre. The project is earmarked for a prime 195,000 square metre plot on the outskirts of Torremolinos between the congress centre and main highway. The regional minister for tourism, Francisco Javier Fernández, was in town this week to announce that Torremolinos would also be the host venue at the end of March for celebrations to mark the 10th anniversary of the creation of Andalucía’s official brand. Fernández highlighted Torremolinos’s vanguard past and said it had been chosen for the commemoration – a weekend of activities for both industry professionals and residents and visitors – “to show that the town forms part of Andalucía’s future and tourist innovation”. He added that it was important for Torremolinos to regain its position as “the main gateway to the Costa del Sol”, just a short drive from Málaga international airport, a process which is already underway with a transformation of its urban area and plans for a central boulevard. 
Of course, for many visitors to the Coast, this gateway leads inexorably to the more glamorous attractions of Marbella, which has also been active lately revamping its amenities and showcasing its appeal as a luxury hub. Leading local authorities, including the mayor, José Bernal, made an official visit to Puerto Banús this past week to view progress on a major remodelling of the Antonio Banderas Plaza, including the installation of a central wooden pergola. Meanwhile, just down the road, Porsche presented its new turbo 911 Carrera at the Gran Meliá Don Pepe Hotel – the seventh generation of an iconic model that dates to 1963. Many of the potential buyers invited to the presentation would also have had the opportunity to view Marbella’s magnificent real estate options, like the Golden Mile villa featured here, the perfect place to park a shiny new Porsche – and priced at an incomparable €1,890,000. 
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