PROPERTY G U I D E Currencies Direct • Let’s talk currency
The Costa WHERE HAPPY MEMORIES LIVE ON
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super-rich and famous alike. But the accolades that led the area to become Number One with many global celebrities have not been won overnight, rather the foundations have been strengthened over many decades. It began in the 1940s with Spanish aristocrat Ricardo Soriano, Marquis of Ivanrey, who opened the hotel El Rodeo in Marbella in 1945, before his nephew Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe, whose godfather was King Alfonso XIII of Spain, built the prestigious Marbella Club Hotel, the Costa’s first luxury lodging, in 1954. The area became fashionable with the world’s jet-set and many celebrities continue to buy property here today.
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1 Ringo Starr
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2 Julio Iglesias • 3 Liza Minelli
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4 Omar Shariff
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5 Salvador Dalí
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6 Sean Conner y
PEDRO JAÉN/COUNT RUDI VON SCHÖNBURG/PANORAMA PROPERTIES
HE Costa del Sol is synonymous with luxury living in the sunshine. It has increasingly become the most favoured location in Spain for foreigners seeking the perfect climate, topping the Spanish ranking with around 3,000 hours of sun per year. The mild weather combined with a plethora of amenities and property ranging from townhouses in Mijas to the sprawling La Zagaleta in Benahavis, arguably the most exclusive housing estate in Spain, have together set the region in stone as a target for expatriates chasing the dream plus the
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