A controversial luxury hotel project on one of Marbella’s best-known beaches has finally taken another step forward almost a decade after it was first announced.
Marbella town hall on Tuesday approved the urbanisation licence for the huge ‘Las Dunas Club’ development at Real de Zaragoza beach in Las Chapas, paving the way for infrastructure works on the long-delayed site.
The project, which was originally unveiled back in 2016 with promises of a €300 million investment, has become embroiled in years of complicated and often chaotic urban planning procedures.
The 160,000sqm beachfront plot was purchased by Hong Kong-based Platinum Estates, led by Indian magnate Harry Mohinani, with plans to create a luxury resort under Marriott International’s prestigious W Hotel brand.
At the time, developers claimed the hotel would open by summer 2019, in a target later pushed back to 2021 before the scheme became bogged down in legal and planning issues.
Marbella mayor Angeles Muñoz announced the latest approval with enthusiasm on Tuesday, confirming that the licence now allows work to begin on roads, public services, drainage systems and environmental protections across the site.
The urbanisation phase will also include dune regeneration projects, conservation of existing trees and biodiversity measures aimed at protecting the sensitive coastal environment around the famous dunes of Las Chapas.
Plans also include sustainable flood prevention works and improvements to water drainage around the nearby Arroyo Real de Zaragoza.
Investors are expected to spend €23.5 million purely on preparing and urbanising the land before hotel construction itself begins.
The project has faced repeated setbacks since the PP-led council began handling the development in 2017.
In 2020, the Junta de Andalucía attempted to accelerate the scheme by including it within its fast-track programme for strategic investments.
However, Marbella City Hall was later forced to modify parts of the city’s ageing 1986 urban plan to make the development legally viable.
In October 2023, Andalucia’s Consultative Council issued an unfavourable report identifying multiple planning deficiencies.
Among the key concerns were failures to justify why the development should be exempt from rules requiring 30% of residential buildability to be reserved for protected housing.
The Junta subsequently froze proceedings, demanding several rounds of corrections and additional documentation throughout 2024 before finally granting definitive approval last October.
The latest licence now clears the way for visible works to begin on the long-awaited luxury development.
The hotel itself is expected to be built at a later stage, although no official opening date has yet been confirmed.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
