Olivia Valere

A dance floor palace built in seventy-two days

On the night of July 25, 1997, with Naomi Campbell as godmother, Marbella premiered a venue that its founder wanted as a monument to the night. Olivia Valère, a businesswoman born in Meknes and based on the Costa del Sol since 1984, had the club that bears her name built in just 72 days, on an empty lot next to the Istán road, in the heart of the Golden Mile. She herself summarized the ambition of the place with a phrase that stuck to the brand: going to Marbella and not stopping by Olivia Valere was, she said, like going to Rome and not seeing the Vatican.

Nasrid architecture for luxury clubbing

The building was conceived as an Arab-inspired palace, with echoes of the Mosque and the Alhambra: brick arches, courtyards, stained glass, and a dance floor designed to see and be seen. It was not an anonymous container, but the physical stage of Marbella glamour, halfway between the urban center and Puerto Banús. Inside, the main dance floor, a VIP area with views of the dance, several bars, and a more secluded lounge coexisted. Outside, a terrace and the annex that the following summer was consolidated as Palacio de Babilonia: a palace courtyard illuminated with hundreds of candles and tables for about 350 diners, later converted into the dinner show LOV.

Jet set, DJ booth, and concept nights

For almost three decades, the club was a stop for the international jet set. In its reserved areas, Mariah Carey, Mick Jagger, Bruce Willis, Luis Miguel, Eva Longoria, or Prince Albert of Monaco were seen. In the DJ booth, Prince—famous here for drinking Vega Sicilia with a straw—and Paris Hilton, who included the venue on her tour as a DJ, played. In recent years, the programming moved closer to dance floor electronics, with nights of its own concept like Jungle, Cirque, or Pueblo Loco, and sessions by artists like Peggy Gou. The access code—elegant, with a mandatory shirt for men and tracksuits, flip-flops, or hats banned—was part of the ritual as much as the VIP table.

The 2026 blackout

After the death of Olivia Valère in June 2022, the nightclub remained in the hands of the family, with Xavier Valere at the helm, until the end of the summer of 2025. In April 2026, the club turned off its name: the nightclub space was leased for ten years to the Mexican group Mandala, which reopened it as Bonbonniere Marbella. The family retained ownership of the complex and the annex restaurant next to the same Istán road. The physical temple is still standing; the nightclub brand that baptized it closed a cycle of almost thirty years in the Marbella night.