Celebs on the Costa del Sol

"No carbs before Marbs" - the TOWIE mantra

After a summer of unprecedented sporting success for Team GB at London 2012, the nation’s papers were awash with opinion pieces decrying (more in hope than expectation) a watershed moment for British culture. Here were humble, hardworking, talented and modest athletes talking with eloquence and pride about their achievements to an enrapt audience. The country was smitten and the moment had arrived for Brits to cast off their celeb-shackles, switch off the TV and get down to their local sports centre in pursuit of their own personal goals. Fame for fame’s sake was now passé, the talentless had become the hopeless, and reality TV was dying a quick and barely audible death.

Well, that was the rhetoric. The reality was fleeting, and the celeb-worshipping snuck back on to our screens at the first flash of a faked X Factor audition. ‘Twas ever thus, though.

The insta-fame game has had numerous protagonists over the past decade, but one backdrop has stayed true and steady – Marbella…

From the gone-but-not-forgotten Marbella Belles to the ‘no carbs before Marbs’ war-cry of the whimsical and the witless, Marbella has been drawing celebs for longer than a Heat Magazine cartoonist.

Sean Connery formed an instant 'Bond' with Marbella

Even before the region entered the zeitgeist as the gold-tinged go-to for aggrieved gadabouts, Marbella was always a fine choice for the rich and famous to while away their summer. Sean Connery was an early pace-setter, the resort’s excellent golf courses helping him form an instant Bond (sorry) with the region. Not long after, Prince followed suit, snapping up a secluded villa and turning it into a paean of purple. His reign didn’t last too long, however, as he descended into the world’s lengthiest identity crisis and fled Spain for the comforting embrace of Montana.

Over the decades, Marbella has cast itself as the sparkly, glam-tastic sister of St Tropez and the brasher brother of Monaco; an ostensibly classy resort in which a famous face is potentially always around the corner.

A few years ago it was all about James Hewitt and his restaurant, the death of former Eastender Mike Reed, and the summer-long onslaught of Jade Goody and her shrieking entourage tearing around Puerto Banús every evening.

First Lady, Michelle Obama and younger daughter Sasha on holiday in Marbella in 2010

Today, however, Marbella attracts a brilliantly eclectic celeb crowd. For every fake-tanned TOWIE (The Only Way is Essex, for those of you whose antennae isn’t attuned to ‘idiot’) character embarrassing themselves with their antics, Marbella is often treated to a bonafide biggie in the form of Michelle Obama (who enjoyed a ‘lavish’ holiday at Marbella’s awesome Villa Padierna Hotel a couple of years back) or The Blairs, who were spotted attending a Sunday service in San Pedro de Alcántara in August after enjoying a spot of lunch in Benahavís (surprisingly good choices for a man who waged war on the say-so of Dubya).

If that lot represent the two extreme ends of the ‘Important People Spectrum’, Marbella happily fills the middle, too. With the Premier League season now back in full swing, there won’t be too many football stars in Marbella just now, but in the height of summer you can barely move without bumping into one of the league’s overpaid prima donnas (and even if you don’t recognise them at first, their rolling around on the floor in front of you while clutching their knee and pleading with the nearest person dressed in black to have you reprimanded should set off that light bulb above your head). Clubs choose Marbella for its warmth and world-class football facilities; the players, on the other hand, are usually more interested in the nightclubs, the supercars and the surgically enhanced dilettantes pouting and tottering their way along Banus’ frontline. Who knows, if one of these nobodies bags themselves a footballer, they too could become a future famous face of Marbella’s gilded streets. Because that’s how it works, folks. That’s how it works.

Sting rocked the Golden Mile's Puente Romano Hotel in typically ebullient fashion

Sport aside, the world of music tends to give Marbella a wide berth. The resort has very few genuine concert venues, and those it does boast tend to attract acts that wouldn’t look out of place as headline acts for the Mersey Car Ferry entertainment roster. But very occasionally Marbella draws a big name or two, most recently Sting, who rocked the Golden Mile’s Puente Romano Hotel in typically ebullient fashion.

Yep, Marbella has most definitely become something of a celeb hangout. Its dazzling warmth, array of luxury hotels, world-class nightlife and fine restaurants make it an obvious choice for anyone with plenty of money to burn and a desire to enjoy life. Hundreds of famous faces visit every week, so it would be impossible to list them all (well not quite, but rather dull), but suffice to say, if you fancy a spot of celeb-spotting and don’t fancy the air fare to Hollywood or the room rates of a typical Monaco Hotel, get yourself down to Marbella to indulge in one of the resort’s increasingly popular pastimes – rubbing elbows with the rich and the famous.

Oh yeah, and the TOWIE lot…