
The Fontainebleau
Where the love affair with Nerja, Spain began. Based on a true story.
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About this listen
In 1972, smooth-talking London bookie Jimmy Edwards was horrified by the daunting prospect of a tax-grabbing Socialist Government. With a pioneering British spirit, he sold up and voted with his feet. Seduced by the balmy climate and low costs, he crammed the family into the Rolls Royce and headed for Spain, still under the iron fist of a Fascist regime. Blissfully ignorant of the politics, linguistically inept, and without relevant experience, they purchased a half-finished hostel from a dodgy developer in the quaint fishing village of Nerja on the eastern Costa del Sol.
The bureaucracy was a nightmare, and rip-off builders were laboriously slow. But Jimmy was smart. He appointed a Spanish lawyer in Málaga who spoke English. What could go wrong?
Unsurprisingly, the project was delayed and then delayed. In 1974, well over a year behind schedule, the Fontainebleau opened and was immediately at loggerheads with oddball ex-pats, eccentric guests, demanding tour operators, and the dreaded Guardia Civil. With family harmony falling apart and bankruptcy looming, their only hope was luck and a gritty determination to succeed.
Un nostálgico y apasionante viaje, basado en un hecho real, que tiene lugar en los años 70, cuando la familia Edwards sienten un "amor a primera vista" por el malagueño pueblo de Nerja.
En 1972, un encantador y apuesto corredor de apuestas londinense Jimmy Edwards, decide marcharse tras el desalentador panorama político y los elevados impuestos del gobierno socialista de la época, para emprender una nueva vida en España. Con un espíritu intrépido y pionero, y seducido por el buen clima y el bajo nivel de vida de aquel entonces, llega a Málaga con su familia en el Rolls-Royce desde Reino Unido.
Desconocedor de la política y bajo el régimen fascista, se enfrentaría con el desconocimiento lingüístico y a la ineptitud en cuanto a la inexperiencia en la hostelería. Pero nada de ello impidió la compra de un pequeño hotel en fase de construcción a un promotor de dudosa reputación en la localidad pesquera de Nerja en la Costa del Sol.
Los trámites burocráticos y los constantes contratiempos con los tramposos constructores, obligan a el ingenioso Jimmy a contratar un abogado de habla inglesa en la capital de Málaga. ¿Qué más podría salir mal?
La inauguración se pospuso una y mil veces más, hasta que finalmente en 1974, año y medio más tarde de lo previsto, el Hostal Fontainebleau abrió sus puertas, y pronto se vio envuelto en una disputa entre expatriados y huéspedes excéntricos, turoperadores exigentes, y el temido cuerpo de la guardia civil. Con la armonía familiar desmoronándose y la quiebra al acecho, su única esperanza y propósito era tener un poquito de fortuna o una determinación perseverante para poder triunfar.
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