9 Jun, 2010 @ 10:55
1 min read
2

Spain’s finest snuffed out

THE five-star hotel which once hosted Lady Diana, Chris Evans and Mick Jagger has closed its doors for good.

The Byblos hotel in Mijas Costa – once one of the Costa del Sol’s most exclusive haunts – will no longer take bookings.

It comes just days after a mystery blaze destroyed the protected Casa Harnden – built in 1959 by American architect Peter Harnden.

Staff at the Byblos hotel had not been paid for 13 months, digital TV wasn’t installed and the chef was forced to buy yoghurt from Mercadona to serve up for breakfast.

The financial situation for the Aifos-run hotel was so dire that Mijas council was forced to repossess the building.

Aifos has blamed the Bank of Scotland for the job losses and the hotel’s deterioration. The bank was slammed for ‘failing to complete on a loan contract’ worth 35m euros.

“It’s a real shame to see how they have neglected a hotel that Julio Iglesias used to come to by helicopter from his estate in Ojen,” explained former employee Jose Luis Flores.

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Alhaurin has quickly quashed any rumours that listed building, the Casa Harnden, was deliberately torched.

Accusations were rife that it had been burnt down to make way for a new building complex on the site.

However, Joaquin Villanova, refuted the claims. “It is completely untrue that anything will be constructed in this sector,” he insisted.

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Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)

Jon Clarke is a Londoner who worked at the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday as an investigative journalist before moving to Spain in 2003 where he helped set up the Olive Press.

After studying Geography at Manchester University he fell in love with Spain during a two-year stint teaching English in Madrid.

On returning to London, he studied journalism and landed his first job at the weekly Informer newspaper in Teddington, covering hundreds of stories in areas including Hounslow, Richmond and Harrow.

This led on to work at the Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Mirror, Standard and even the Sun, before he landed his first full time job at the Daily Mail.

After a year on the Newsdesk he worked as a Showbiz correspondent covering mostly music, including the rise of the Spice Girls, the rivalry between Oasis and Blur and interviewed many famous musicians such as Joe Strummer and Ray Manzarak, as well as Peter Gabriel and Bjorn from Abba on his own private island.

After a year as the News Editor at the UK’s largest-selling magazine Now, he returned to work as an investigative journalist in Features at the Mail on Sunday.

As well as tracking down Jimi Hendrix’ sole living heir in Sweden, while there he also helped lead the initial investigation into Prince Andrew’s seedy links to Jeffrey Epstein during three trips to America.

He had dozens of exclusive stories, while his travel writing took him to Jamaica, Brazil and Belarus.

He is the author of three books; Costa Killer, Dining Secrets of Andalucia and My Search for Madeleine.

Contact jon@theolivepress.es

2 Comments

  1. Here we go again the good mayor of Alhaurins name is brought up again, Does it suprise anyone, certainly not. Just keep reading the olive press I am sure they will advise us.

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