A nostalgic journey back to the 1970s when the love affair with Nerja, Spain, began.
Based on the true story of the Edwards family.
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 polÃtico y los elevados impuestos del gobierno socialista de la época, para emprender una nueva vida en España. Con un espÃritu 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 polÃtica y bajo el régimen fascista, se enfrentarÃa con el desconocimiento lingüÃstico y a la ineptitud en cuanto a la inexperiencia en la hostelerÃa. 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 podrÃa 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 armonÃa 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.
Bradley, Paul S. S.: - Londoner Paul S Bradley has lived and worked in Nerja, Spain, for over thirty years, writing and publishing lifestyle magazines, guidebooks, and travelogues in English, German, and Spanish. On retirement, he self-published his first book of five of the Andalusian Mystery Series on Amazon. More recently, Reinventing the Wheel, a biography of America's first mobility-impaired female judge, was published by Rand Smith on June 17th, 2024. The book was officially launched at a large gathering at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, on June 25th. It was attended by Senator Tom Harkin, retired author of the American Disabilities Act, who wrote the foreword for the book.
Edwards, Robert H. H.: - Robert initially ran the Fontainebleau bar and restaurant but took over the management when his parents retired. After forty years in Real Estate and other businesses in and around Nerja and Málaga, Robert, now retired, continues a lifelong hobby of providing real estate photography services. He now lives in the neighbouring town of Torrox.
