To freshen up its Los Monteros hotel in Marbella and bring back the character of its 1970s heyday, Kimpton enlisted Cristina Carulla Studio and El Equipo Creativo. But the Barcelona-based interior designer went one better. With fine wood accents, bespoke razzle-dazzle rugs and locally crafted accessories in sunset colours, she brought a pricey, polished look to the vintage building, a few minutes from Los Monteros beach. As a result, it looks hotter than ever.

The motel-style courtyard building is stuffed with retro touchstones. Guests enter through perforated accent doors past the stark white exterior and navigate ship-inspired deco corridors to sun-lit rooms cooled by rattan ceiling fans. The natural wood backdrops — Carulla calls her materials ‘noble’ — pop with vibrant geometric furnishings and contemporary woven rugs. There are 195 rooms, each with original art, contemporary textiles and views over the property.

Wild tilework, funky mirrors and vanities with upholstered seating in summer palettes recall the Golden Age of the Costa del Sol. The property has a refreshed rooftop bar and checkerboard pool deck with original furnishings and views to the sea. Along with the beach, Marbella’s golf courses are five minutes away.

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