Glamour & Gastronomy: Puente Romano Beach Resort, Marbella – Review

Since 1979, the Andalusian-style Puente Romano Beach Resort has been a key part of Marbella’s journey to become one of Spain’s most popular (and unashamedly glamourous) places to see and be seen. Georgie Bentley-Buckle discovers how the famous resort is becoming sustainably minded, without losing its sex appeal. 

Read the C&TH Guide to Responsible Tourism

Review: Puente Romano Beach Resort, Marbella

World-class brands are bees to a honeypot at Puente Romano. A five-star Mediterranean playground, its parade of restaurants includes Nobu, Chiringuito Beach Club, BiBo by Dani Garcia, and the recent arrival of immersive Peruvian dining from COYA and Venetian dining at Cipriani.

As the gastronomy continues to flourish across the resort on Marbella’s Golden Mile, so do the resort’s sustainable credentials. Encouraging guests to make ‘care-free’ memories, looking ahead, consciously minded guests can swim and sleep peacefully knowing that Puente Romano will be spearheading new initiatives. Keeping up with 21st century expectations, this notably includes nurturing an organic farm, ‘Source to Sea’ (beach, river and mountain) clean ups, the installation of a high-tech filtered bottling system (making it the first in Spain) and philanthropic fundraising events for the likes of The Children’s Trust and The Lonely Whale Foundation.

STAY

Rooms are sprawled among a maze of buildings, creating a whitewashed Andalusian village. From Suites and Grand Suites to Villas, each welcome the outdoors in with inspiration taken from the nature of the Mediterranean setting. With a large bed and sweeping sofa, I checked in to one of the Grand Junior Suites. Designed as your own small country home, these Suites are finished with local patterns, colours and textures. There are also Deluxe Two Bedroom Suites, united with a central living space, and Kitchen Suites for those who would prefer to dine in-room. While visited to kick back and enjoy a few cocktails, the Villas, meanwhile, are ideal for larger family groups with younger guests who make use of the activities – from cycling to the professionally approved tennis club.

Beach Deluxe Junior Suite

And it doesn’t stop there. Puente Romano also hides up its sleeve a ‘hotel within a hotel’ concept in the form of Nobu Hotel Marbella. An extension of the brand from the international restaurant group, Puente Romano has transformed a section of its rooms, which are connected to its buzzy bars and restaurants, to cater to the young affluent guests who’d desire the roster of luxurious hospitality options at their fingertips. The Nobu hotel also has its own pool on-site, exclusively reserved for those guests staying in its plush, Japanese inspired rooms.

DO 

The facilities on offer compete with the huge variety of bars and restaurants. With an outdoor wooden jungle gym to the indoor gym (with its very own DJ while you work up a sweat), it’s the Tennis Club that is the biggest draw. Where globally recognised champions train and compete, this is one of the Mediterranean’s hottest tennis clubs, featuring eight clay courts. Beyond the smart, whitewashed walls, guests can also find golf, horse-riding, water sports and cycling facilities; we rode along the beach to Marbella’s Old Town. 

The Six Senses brand is renowned for its well being offering – from Ibiza to Fiji and Istanbul. Puente Romano presents the only Six Senses spa on mainland Spain, with treatments that embody the natural ‘senses’ of its Mediterranean backdrop. Echoing Andalusian architecture with oak timber floors and local stone, treatments use local ingredients from extra virgin olive oil, to healing sea salt and mountain herbs. You can also dive into the hydrotherapy, cold plunge pool and hammam.  

EAT 

The party-pro Peruvian restaurant group COYA has marked a decade of fun with the opening of COYA Marbella at Puente Romano. Adding to the Andalusian resort’s enviable line up of restaurants, the opening (the brand’s first in Spain) adds to the vibrant collection of dining experiences that captivate Puente Romano’s hungry, high-class guests. Each COYA experience takes guests through an ‘immersive’ journey, with Peruvian dishes washed down by pisco sour concoctions. The Pisco Bar is inspired by one of the oldest in Lima, while the brands’ favourite dishes sit alongside new plates inspired by southern Spain.

Carpaccio ‘alla Cipriani’

This year also marks the opening of Cipriani and its Venetian concept. With the original restaurant dating back to 1931, Puente Romano’s incarnation is stylish and timeless. Expect opulent Murano glass chandeliers above a blue and white terrazzo patterned floor. Cipriani’s menu notably includes Carpaccio ‘alla Cipriani’ – a dish made famous by Giuseppe Cipriani himself after he created it from thinly sliced raw beef sirloin.

Beyond these new openings, recline during the day on the seafront at Sea Grill or at the Chiringuito Beach Club, grazing on fresh sardines and sipping jugs of sangria, before dressing up for Japanese dishes at Nobu or the Andalusian favourites at BiBo by Dani Garcia, situated on the resort’s vibrant Plaza. Among others, also dip in and out of the Eastern flavours at Thai Gallery, the gluten-free café Celicioso and the Polynesian adults-only spot, La Concha.

Ceviche Platter at COYA

THE FINAL WORD 

This year, Puente Romano adds to its delicious carousel of dining concepts in a bid to keep the most discerning of guests wanting even more. This sits alongside the resort’s conscious effort to expand its sustainable initiatives, helping to ensure a fruitful future filled with sunshine, sushi and now ceviche.

BOOK IT 

puenteromano.com