Yes the port is nice by day but the port at night is defiantly a no go area for families, it has turned into a seen from dawn till dusk with prostitutes in every corner even in the nice bars, they must know whats going on and probably charge them for being there.

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El Rosario Villas, Sales, Rentals and Apartments
http://www.ElRosarioVillas.com

Exactly my thoughts, by day its a great place! Nice shops, beautiful people, fantastic boats etc but at midnight it seems to transform into this seedy, sleezy place

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had another top night out in Puerto Banus last night.  Loads of people about having a good time too by the look of it.  Didn't see any seediness or sleeze.  I think its being treated a little unfairly in this thread. Try staying away from the kebab shop on the corner, this is the only place you'll see girls touting for business in the street.  Most cities have a red light area.  If you don't like it, just swerve it.  On the whole PB is class and beats most places in the UK hands down for a night out.

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I just come in from Puerto Banus its only 145am, I made a point of going tonight over this matter and its just the same, this time we was approched again by a pro quoting €600 for 2 hrs, I said no then she was trying to sell me coke (not the liquid type)

Im sorry Rich I can cope with the stag and hen parties but its the prostitutes looking for business I dont like and to quote "Most cities have a red light area" Puerto Banus is not a city and the prostitutes are everyware not just the bars on the port

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El Rosario Villas, Sales, Rentals and Apartments
http://www.ElRosarioVillas.com

thats my point exactly!  If a window salesman comes to your door, you don't get a quote then show him the way home.  You just say u're not interested.  Same in banus, just walk on and ignore it.  Wherever there's concentrated wealth you'll find this going on.  On holiday in Dubai last year my friend and I walked into a trendy bar in Emirates towers with our girlfriends.  The place was full of them!  We left after our first drink... We were also at a business event in Portugal a couple of years ago. We stayed in a 5 star hotel, and by the pool it was the same thing.

Its the world we live in that offends you, not so much Puerto Banus.  I've travelled a lot and seen much worse places than Puerto Banus. I'd just stick to the front line if I were you and forget about it.

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I love the port and I've never had any problems. Being a woman pro's aren't going to approach me but my husband told me that they are agressive. I think at this stage between the different debates everyone is in agreement about the problem. I don't think it serves much purpose everyone writing in about their experiences. I was thinking of writing a letter to the new mayor of Marbella and raising this issue and asking her what she intends to do about it. I've been told that already premises at the port (Sinatra's for one) are not allowed to play music loud on the outside anymore. Also on the back street (as I call it) some places have had to get sound proofing in. So obviously some sort of clean up operation is being started.

Would anyone else be interested in putting their names to a letter or would they mind if I mention that I am not alone in my concerns about the port's reputation?

 just throwing this out for opinions!

 

Considering the money that flows into the Port the state of it is disgraceful. The Port is run by the Port Authority as a private concern and so there's little the local council can do. The Port Authority take in millions of euros per year in mooring fees (the biggest boats pay up to 3/4 million per year to moor) and spend nothing back on the Port. The streets are dirty and cracked and the paint on the buildings is peeling off. The only solution they've come up within is the old CCTV option - but as we know from the UK the pictures they give are too grainy to be used in court and even where they're used crime reduction is minimal. After all, how many drunken violent yobs check that the camera is there before lashing out.

Instead we have "Pizza at 2 euro a slice" "restaurants" opening up - hardly the way to recreate the glamour days! So when you're walking down the street eating your pizza, being hassled by prostitutes and drug dealers remember - this is Puerto Banus. No investment and no vision - in a few years time the Russians visitors will have taken over so it will be a dead issue for most Brits. That's why the big brands are moving in - to capture the daytime rouble trade rather than because they think the Port's upmarket!

I think its a beast which is dieing bit by bit, been going out there for years now and i've seen a definate decline of the crowd and standards in the last 5 years, year by year, unless something is done about it, im sorry but, i'll give it 3-4 years max and it'll be over. Needs a few new bars and clubs to help it along, aswell as a definate refurb of the streets, its supposedly upmarket but is far worse off looking at the moment than most of the other main night spots along the coast.

Just had a look back through this post and it seems the state of Puerto Banus is creating a lot of concern for you guys and girls.

I have to say that I am a big fan of Puerto Banus and have been for over 6 years now. I don't have a business there and I don't have any vested interest.

I agree that there are a few seedy issues that need to be cleared up and there are a few bars that wouldn't be out of place on a back street in Kavos or Ayia Napa, but whilst ever there is a market for them they will always be there.

When I look at the back street you now have it dominated by Linekers Group owning 4 bars, which is a multi national organisation offering a variety of bars to revellers and relaxed drinkers alike, I regularly drink in all of their venues and can honestly say I have never been offered any type of illegal activity. You then have Seven, which is designed and decorated so well it wouldn't be out of place in London's West End or any other major city around the world.

You then have live Music in Piano Man which is a great bar where I have drunk many times with friends and family, I have never been approached by a prositute or a drug dealer here either.

I may be mistaken, as I have usually had a few drinks by the end of the evening, but whether it be in Singapore, Hong Kong, London's West End or even Hollywood, there are always late night takeaways in my experience and Banus is no different.

The thing about the back street is that you can avoid it if you want, you don't have to go through it. You can get to Seven through the rear entrance, all Linekers bars via the rear steps and you can get to the taxi rank via the Sinatra's entrance to the port.

This said, I do have some issues with Banus. For example take the 'Port Police', those little men on bikes wearing grey outfits on silly mopeds and their friends in the Policia Local who drive around in their police cars, often stopping for a nice cold drink outside the Navy or in any other Spanish owned establishment.

Why do the port police spend their time telling the owners of million euro boats to turn down their music when they should actually be standing on the end of the port stopping the PR Leeches dragging in hoards of barely conscious fancy dress clad revellers on to the front line of the port (surely not the idea of an exclusive shopping and leisure marina filled with Euope's elite that was sold to Msrs Cartier and Gucci when they were persuaded to pay millions for their retail space).

These same designer retailers also need extra assitance in removing Jonny Gucci, Jimmy Fendi and Billly Bvlgari from offering counterfeit versions of their products outside their stores, and taking breaks sat against our cars. Come on Banus Inc, we pay overinflated prices for parking permits and the retailers pay a kings ransom for the prime space, show them a bit more respect!.

Why don't the port guards stand on the entrance of the port telling the PR's not to attack everyone with an arsenal of cheap flyers and politely advise Gary and Barry from Blighty to cover up their chests and union jack shorts whilst they sip their beer in Sinatra's. Make people feel like they are somewhere nice, with rules, and they may just behave a little bit better!. There is always one guard stood at the end of the port, who depending on his mood may give you the courtesy of offering to put your pass in the machine for you, that's about as much thanks as you get from Banus Inc for spending your hard earned there!.

At any point on a weekend evening, there is always at least 4 police officers in the port, so why are they chilling in the bars or sat puffing on a Marlboro Red in their Renault Megane Scenic rather than going to Kebab Corner and threatening to deport all the prostitutes standing there, I am sure they would run as fast Usain Bolt when asked for papers!. Being approached by prostitutes on the back street has never been something that has happened to me either aggressively or frequently, maybe they just don't fancy me!.

I have partied up and down the coast as far as Puro Beach at Estepona and Nikki Beach In Elviria and by 12-1am I always find myself edging back towards the port, because when all is said and done it is a great place!.

Anyone fancy a beer in Sinatra's?

Cheers

Christian

 

 

Well yea chris I can see where your coming from and those couple of newly refurbed bars actually look quite good, and they I think are starting to bring a bit of class back in to the back streets, and yea I also agree on the union jack shorts aswell, why would people wan to pay so much to go out and see the same cheap package holliday revelers which you would catch down the west end in ibiza, I think with a few more classy bars it would be able to revive itself, aswell as keeping a few of the other bars like linekars etc to keep the lighter side to the nightlife.