A New Michelin Star and Another Loss for the Province of Málaga: La Fonda Hotel Joins the Club

One loss and one new entry for the province of Málaga, sums up the Michelin Guide's update regarding its Michelin Keys 2025. Málaga, predominantly Marbella, maintains its six Michelin Keys distributed across five luxury and excellence hotels. La Fonda Heritage Hotel, Relais & Châteaux, in Marbella, is the major new entry in this list, taking the place left by Nobu Marbella, which lost its Key. Marbella Club remains a benchmark with two Michelin Keys and La Zambra Resort, Anantara Villa Padierna Palace Benahavís Marbella Resort, and Finca Cortesin each retain one.

La Fonda is one of the hotels worldwide to have received this hotel accolade, an update that has taken the Michelin Guide to 100 new countries around the world. Spain continues to be one of the European countries with the highest presence of Keys and hotels, with a total of 109 establishments, only surpassed by France, leading in this respect with a total of 203 hotels with Keys, followed by Italy (188), Germany (130), and United Kingdom (124). Spain ranks fifth in the number of hotels with Keys.

Marbella Club is one of the 572 hotels worldwide that has the honor of receiving recognition of two Michelin Keys. In fact, in Spain, there are only 13 hotels in total with this award, with only five boasting three. With two Michelin Keys, Mallorca leads with hotels such as Can Ferrereta, La Residencia, Cap Rocat, and Can Cera. Madrid follows with two: Rosewood Villa Magna and Four Seasons. Other locations include Hotel Pepe Vieira (Pontevedra), Casa Beatnik Hotel (La Coruña), Akelarre (San Sebastián), Mas de Torrent Hotel & Spa (Gerona), Mandarin Oriental Barcelona (Barcelona), and Canfranc Estación, a Royal Hideaway Hotel (Huesca).

Marbella Club (Two Michelin Keys)

• Location: Av. Bulevar Príncipe Alfonso de Hohenlohe, s/n, 29602 Marbella, Málaga
• Rooms from 808 euros

What does the Michelin Guide say about the hotel?: "Marbella is one of the destinations on the Costa del Sol from which many anecdotes and myths emerge, and Marbella Club is the emblematic resort of the area, inaugurated by Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe in 1954, and since then it has been the hotel of choice for European aristocrats and celebrities. The town of Marbella has grown significantly since then, but Marbella Club has barely changed".

La Zambra Resort (One Michelin Key)

• Location: Av. de Louison Bobet, 9, 29650 Málaga
• Rooms from 361 euros

What does the Michelin Guide say about the hotel?: "After a deep renovation, the legendary Byblos hotel – a refuge in the 80s and 90s for figures such as Diana of Wales or the Rolling Stones – is reborn under the name of La Zambra Resort. Behind this allusion to the flamenco style born among the gypsies of Granada lies an establishment that, although with the unmistakable stamp of the Hyatt chain, breathes an atmosphere of sun and spirit of freedom that connects it with the hotel of its origins. Upon crossing its doors, one enters a cloister-shaped enclosure with spacious and immaculate courtyards, elegant arches, bubbling fountains, and majestic palm and cypress trees".

Anantara Villa Padierna Palace Benahavís Marbella Resort (One Michelin Key)

• Location: Urbanizacion Villa Padierna Golf Resort, Carr. de Cadiz, km166, 29679 Marbella, Málaga
• Rooms from 394 euros

What does the Michelin Guide say about the hotel?: "When one thinks of the Costa del Sol, they likely imagine their hotel right in front of the beach. However, Anantara Villa Padierna Palace Benahavís Marbella Resort is located ten minutes inland, which makes a huge difference. Well, that and several style divergences. Instead of the typical white facades of Andalusia, Padierna Palace is identical to a Tuscan villa. Not only that, but it also recalls the houses of the English countryside in its ultra-luxurious interiors. Without fear of being wrong, we believe it is unique in its kind, and it has a stellar guest book to prove it".

Finca Cortesin (One Michelin Key)

• Location: Carretera Casares, km2, 29690 Casares, Málaga
• Rooms from 2114 euros

What does the Michelin Guide say about the hotel?: "Southern Spain is blessed with a multiplicity of natural gifts: not only sun, sand, and sea, but also the climate and landscapes ideal for playing golf. And, although golf resorts around the world are conservative, Spanish hotels have been more agile in modernization: beneath their traditional red clay roofs, Finca Cortesín is a brand-new luxury complex of the new generation".

La Fonda Heritage Hotel, Relais & Châteaux (One Michelin Key)

• Location: Pl. Santo Cristo, 9 & 10, 29601 Marbella, Málaga
• Rooms from 540 euros

What does the Michelin Guide say about the hotel?: "The hotel La Fonda Heritage, ideally located in one of the prettiest squares of Marbella's old town, is a gem inside and out. Born from the union of three 16th-century buildings that have served various functions throughout their history – church, school, private residence – the hotel retains majestic columns, stone arches, frescoed ceilings, and tiled courtyards that give it a very characteristic charm, even though its interiors have been renovated in a refined classic-contemporary style".