Waldorf Astoria Marbella Resort Signing, Opening 2029

Published on Dec 23, 2025, 1:22 pm CST

6 min read

Key points

Hilton and Higuerón Developments signed Waldorf Astoria Marbella, the first Waldorf Astoria project announced for Spain
The resort is scheduled to open in 2029 with 120 guest rooms and suites plus 120 branded residences
Plans include Peacock Alley, multiple bars and restaurants, and a 750 square metre spa with indoor and outdoor pools
A championship golf course originally designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr in 1994 is set for a redesign led by Robert Trent Jones Jr
The signing ceremony took place in New York on November 5

Impact

Booking Timeline: This is a long range signing, so travelers should not expect reservations until much closer to 2029
Luxury Trip Planning: Marbella bound travelers targeting ultra luxury stays gain a future flagship option, but should book existing inventory for 2026 to 2028 trips
Golf Itinerary Changes: Golf focused trips may see phased course works before 2029, so travelers should verify tee time access and any temporary routing changes
Meetings And Events: Groups considering 2029 Costa del Sol events have a new ballroom scale venue in the pipeline, but should keep alternate venues on hold until construction milestones are confirmed
Air Access: Most visitors will route via Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport (AGP), so ground transfer planning and buffer time still matter more than brand news until the hotel opens

Hilton and Higuerón Developments have signed Waldorf Astoria Marbella in Marbella, Spain, putting the Waldorf Astoria flag on a new ultra luxury resort and residences project scheduled to open in 2029. The announcement matters most for travelers planning high end Costa del Sol trips in 2029 and later, plus golfers and groups who track long lead hotel openings for event blocks. For now, there is nothing to book, so travelers should treat this as pipeline news, watch for an official reservations launch, and keep air plans flexible through Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport (AGP).

The Waldorf Astoria Marbella resort signing, announced December 15, 2025, adds future luxury supply to Malaga Province, Spain, and it mainly changes long range planning rather than near term availability.

Hilton’s release positions the project as a 120 key hotel with 120 branded residences, anchored by Waldorf Astoria’s Personal Concierge service and a design concept intended to reflect Marbella’s Andalusian setting. The development plan calls for multiple dining venues including Peacock Alley, a lobby bar, a signature restaurant, and a pool bar and grill. Wellness is framed as a core pillar, with a 750 square metre spa, four treatment rooms, a gym, and both indoor and outdoor pools with large deck areas. For meetings and celebrations, the plan includes a grand ballroom, flexible function space, connected meeting rooms, and a boardroom, which is a meaningful signal for planners who book Marbella for incentives and private events.

The golf component is also central. Hilton says guests and residence owners will have access to a championship course originally designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1994, and that a transformation is planned with Robert Trent Jones Jr. leading the redesign. Until a construction schedule is published, travelers should assume there could be staged impacts to tee times, practice facilities, and on site routing during portions of the run up to opening, especially if the redesign involves phased closures or rerouted holes.

Who Is Affected

Travelers planning Marbella, Spain trips for 2026 through 2028 are not directly affected, because the hotel is not scheduled to open until 2029, and Hilton has not announced a booking window. For these nearer term trips, the practical takeaway is simply that the Costa del Sol luxury market continues to densify, which can influence how far ahead premium rooms, suites, and villas sell out in peak season.

Luxury travelers and travel advisors planning 2029 stays are the primary audience for this update. The combination of a global luxury flag, a resort scale spa, and a ballroom tends to pull demand from three directions at once, leisure, golf, and groups. If those segments converge on the same peak weeks, it can tighten availability not just at the future property, but also at competing hotels and villas in the area as planners build alternate holds.

Branded residence buyers, and travelers who prefer residence style layouts with hotel services, are another affected segment. The project is explicitly designed to pair private residential comfort with hotel level service, which can appeal to multi generational trips and longer stays that want more space without losing concierge support. For travelers who book hybrid lodging, the key risk is always operational consistency and continuity, so major flag standards and clear service terms matter more than renderings. Related reading that helps frame those tradeoffs is What Sonder's Collapse Means for Apartment Hotels.

What Travelers Should Do

For trips before 2029, treat this as directional market information, not a reason to delay booking. If Marbella is on the calendar for peak summer, major holidays, or tournament weeks, lock in refundable inventory at existing properties, and keep a second option in mind, because high end supply on the Costa del Sol can tighten fast when new flagship projects are announced and groups start penciling in future dates.

For 2029 planning, set a decision threshold around when reservations open. If Hilton launches an official interest list or announces a firm reservations date, that is the moment to compare deposit and cancellation terms against alternatives, rather than waiting for last minute availability. For travelers who need suites, connecting rooms, or accessible layouts, early booking matters more than price shopping, because those room types are usually the first to disappear at new luxury openings.

Over the next 24 to 72 hours, monitor Hilton’s official release page and Higuerón Developments updates for any newly published renderings, a more specific site description, or a timeline for the golf course redesign. Those details, especially any phasing notes for the course, can change whether a golf focused traveler should plan a 2028 preview trip elsewhere, or keep Marbella in the mix while assuming some construction friction.

Background

Hotel signings are not openings. A signing means the brand and the owner have agreed on the flag, the standards, and the development path, but travelers usually will not see a bookable listing until much closer to completion, once construction milestones, licensing, and operating systems are in place. That gap matters in travel planning because it is easy to over index on a headline and assume new inventory will relieve peak season pressure immediately, when in reality it can take years.

Branded residences add another layer to how a resort functions. Because residence owners may have access to dedicated amenities and services, the hotel has to balance guest experience, owner privacy, and shared facility capacity, especially around pools, spa demand, and dining peaks. Those first order choices can ripple outward. When a new ultra luxury flag enters a market, group planners may shift future programs into the destination, which pulls air demand into specific arrival banks, pushes up private transfer demand, and can tighten high end restaurant reservations and villa inventory nearby. Even without a single flight being added, the traveler experience can change through simple capacity and timing pressure at the destination level.

For air access, most travelers will continue to route through Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport (AGP), then transfer by car to Marbella. That makes buffer planning, and flexible arrival windows, more important than brand selection, because congestion and road timing on the Costa del Sol can be the real constraint, especially on weekend changeover days.