The iconic luxury hotel, originally opened in 1962 on Spain’s Costa del Sol, was enlarged on three occasions and became a mainstay of celebrities like Queen Ingrid of Denmark, Michael Jackson, Julio Iglesias, Camilo José Cela, Baroness Von Thyssen, Lola Flores, Sean Connery, Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith and Carlos Herrera. Its restaurant, El Corzo, was the first hotel restaurant to receive a Michelin star in Spain. Other firsts included a golf course (now Marbella is a walhalla for golf) and a beach club in 1965.

The property, which has been closed since late 2022, will undergo a full refurbishment to transform into the Kimpton Los Monteros Marbella, the third Spanish signing for IHG Hotels & Resorts Luxury & Lifestyle brand, following Kimpton Vividora Barcelona and Kimpton Aysla Mallorca. Kimpton Los Monteros Marbella will feature 178 rooms and suites, four restaurants and bars and a wide range of leisure activities including two swimming pools, a gym, tennis courts and a spa. The hotel is situated just 500m from the beach in a quiet, exclusive area of Marbella which is easily accessible by car and 3.5 kilometres (seven-minute drive) from the city centre. It is also ideally located for Malaga Airport, which is 45km away (40-minute drive), and Gibraltar Airport, also comfortably reached in under an hour.