El Equipo Creativo completes Escondido Rooftop Bar at Kimpton Los Monteros Hotel in Marbella, creating an open-air destination with a clear identity of its own. The project forms part of a broader redesign of the hotel’s public areas. The studio gives the rooftop a character that responds directly to its setting on the Costa del Sol.
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The layout uses a sequence of stepped platforms to divide the rooftop into distinct zones. Each level supports a different pace and atmosphere and maintains a strong visual connection with the rest of the space. The upper terrace contains the main bar, where references to the 1970s meet geometric patterns and a warm terracotta palette. On the lower level, retro hand-glazed ceramic tiles cover a panoramic pool that extends toward views of the Mediterranean.
The rooftop changes character throughout the day. Daylight supports a calm atmosphere around the pool and terraces. Evening light brings a more social energy as guests gather around the bar, lounge areas and dining spaces. El Equipo Creativo uses these changes in light to guide the experience throughout the day.
The design takes inspiration from Marbella during the 1970s, when jet-set leisure helped define the Costa del Sol as a destination for comfort and pleasure. The studio treats this period as a creative reference and extracts the warmth, color and relaxed confidence that shaped the city’s identity. The design translates those qualities into material choices, proportions and spatial organization.
An oversized checkerboard floor gives the rooftop its strongest graphic element. Terracotta and cream ceramic tiles run through the open areas and create a clear visual order between the different platforms. Furniture adds carefully controlled color against this patterned surface. Dusty rose loungers, mustard yellow wire chairs and deep green upholstery create a coherent palette through controlled variation.
Striped and fringed parasols introduce further texture and provide shade throughout the terrace. Their scale and pattern strengthen the rooftop’s retro character and support the open-air setting. Terracotta planters, palms and Mediterranean grasses soften the geometry of the tiled floor and connect the seating areas with the surrounding views.
A timber pergola covers the bar and filters the evening light. Its structure frames views toward Sierra Blanca and the sea, and its warm material tone complements the terracotta surfaces below. The pergola gives the upper level a stronger sense of enclosure. Open sides preserve continuity with the rest of the rooftop.
Every element supports the relationship between architecture, furniture and planting. The stepped layout directs circulation, the checkerboard floor unifies the levels and the color palette gives each zone a recognizable presence. The pool creates a clear focal point, and the bar establishes the social center of the project.
Escondido Rooftop Bar presents a focused interpretation of Marbella through space, material and color. El Equipo Creativo creates a venue that responds to the hotel, the climate and the surrounding views through a distinct identity.
