While they have become more modern in nature, such places have retained their magic allure, and expanded from the small original base at the seaside to also include luxurious residential areas and golf clubs in the first range of coastal hills overlooking both sea and the green interior. El Madroñal is just such a place. Comparable to the finest hillside residences in California or Southern France, it flanks the beginnings of the road that leaves the coast and winds its way up the increasingly mighty sierra to the lovely country town of Ronda, some 60 kilometres away.

Originally a collection of large private domains that covered acres of lush Mediterranean hillside orientated towards the sea, a part of today’s El Madroñal was once famously owned by the colourful Adnan Kashoggi. It is said that wild animals roamed on his expansive estate, host to many a glamorous 70s and 80s party, yet since then the area has become one of the most prominent and exclusive residential areas in Marbella.

As you follow the road upwards, leaving San Pedro Alcántara, a little town on the periphery of Marbella, a series of urbanisations greet you at the base of the hills. Among these are Los Arqueros, a golf and country club developed and managed by Taylor Woodrow, and the charming cluster of townhouses inspired by a traditional Andalusian village that is La Heredia. After these the greenery intensifies and the views become more panoramic. The luxurious villas set on large private grounds that characterise this area together form the exclusive residential zone known as El Madroñal. Next up is the luxurious gated community of La Zagaleta, and then nature takes over in a beautiful and unchallenged display of mountains, valleys and waterfalls.

The styles and sizes of the properties vary, though most typically they are substantial private homes designed in a modern interpretation of a classic Spanish rustic home. The natural surroundings seem to inspire people to seek a country style, albeit with every conceivable modern amenity. A saddle in the hills gives many of the properties a dual view of Marbella on the left and the open Mediterranean on the right side of a rising hillock. Various golf courses snake through the valleys in the area, whilst the higher ground is still largely dominated by olive groves, Mediterranean scrub and the walking and hiking trails that this natural scenery attracts.

El Madroñal provides Marbella with a classic hillside lifestyle where the best of seaside Riviera and mountain nature come together within ten minutes of each other.

Constructed in the year 2000, the property has been designed and built to enhance family life, while also allowing staff to live in. The introduction to this gracious lifestyle is effected by an imposing entrance hall and reception room, measuring 85m, which offers a hint at the lifestyle to be enjoyed. The ground floor also includes a formal dining room that leads off the kitchen and affords excellent views of the rolling hills of the La Zagaleta resort. On the other side a spacious living room is perfect for lively family evenings in.

The kitchen area itself contains another dining area, a utility room and also offers access to the garage and staff quarters. Outside is a covered terrace, the perfect place to dine during the warmest months of the year. The master living room contains a fireplace, while a secondary living room is large enough to make it the ideal place to entertain guests. Also on this level are two sumptuous bedroom suites that share a private reading room, as well as a further room with en-suite bathroom that has been used as a study.

Upstairs the 120m2 bedroom suite incorporates a large walk-in dressing area and an extensive covered terrace, which is shared with the guest suite next door. The lower floor is equipped with an enticing world of home entertainment possibilities, including a heated indoor pool, gymnasium and sauna, not to mention a private cinema with a complete set of facilities. Naturally such a home should count on having its own wine cellar, and in typical fashion this villa delivers in style.

A separate house that can be entered via the entrance courtyard could be used as comfortable staff quarters or could just as easily accommodate guests who prefer a level of autonomy; it contains a lounge, kitchen and bedroom with pre-instalment of a bathroom. A stylish multi-car garage completes the facilities, together with covered guest parking at the main entrance, under floor heating throughout, a climate control system, security and state-of-the-art technical utilities.

This important home finds itself embraced by the verdant tones of a manicured private garden, a stylish panoramic pool area and the grounds themselves enveloped by the meticulously maintained La Zagaleta complex. Though set in the foothills of a pine-clad mountain range, the villa is only a 20-minute drive from Puerto Banús and Marbella town. It is within this environment that the property enjoys access to La Zagaleta’s two 18-hole golf courses, an equestrian centre and the other sporting facilities designed to provide residents with a truly five-star lifestyle.

Since it is such a new addition to Los Monteros, the villa has been designed and constructed to include all the features typical of contemporary luxury homes.

The expansive split-level living room leads off the entrance hall and permits access to the formal dining room beyond. This part of the house is a superb entertaining area since, apart from the generous scale of the living and dining rooms, both lead on to an expansive covered terrace, complete with external fireplace. It offers a cosy place to relax in the evening, but comes into its own during the day, as the garden, infinity pool and beach also lead off the terrace.

On the other side of the entrance hall a large family kitchen has been fully fitted with Silestone work surfaces and equipped with Bosch appliances. The attractive central island is ideal for food preparation. This part of the house also features a laundry area and a staff bedroom complete with bathroom, which can be accessed independently. A guest toilet and three bedroom suites – one of which is connected to the terrace – complete the ground floor. The design of this extraordinary villa incorporates interior gardens that ensure the home is flooded with light throughout the day.

The first floor contains a further two bedrooms; a guest suite and the en-suite master bedroom with its own dressing area. These bedrooms lead to a terrace overlooking the pool and the Mediterranean Sea beyond.

Two catchwords of this home are ‘light’ and ‘space’, much of which is provided by the use of sliding doors that lead into the internal patios. A great deal of attention has been paid to the small details that elevate the villa to a category of its own. The gardens have, for example, been planted with Bermuda grass, while the infinity pool features internal waterfalls and is imaginatively lit, creating a very pleasing nocturnal feature. There is underfloor heating throughout the house, provided by hot water, except in the bathrooms where electricity is used. There are Lutron lighting fittings, electric shutters and automatic lights with sensors in the guest toilet and on the staircase. The property has been designed as an ‘intelligent home’ with a state-of-the-art domestic automation.

Outside there is a carport for two. To protect this magnificent five-bedroom villa there is also an excellent alarm system.

Los Monteros has maintained its reputation for exclusivity and quality over the years, so properties within the urbanisation are prized and this imaginative new build villa will, deservedly, attract a lot of attention.

It became home for many of local and international dignitaries and celebrities. The most famous of these is the grand estate of the Saudi Prince Salman, which covers almost 20 hectares.

This area is so centrally located that the golf club of Dama de Noche, the town of Marbella, the Puente Romano and Marbella Club Hotels, the beach and Puerto Banus are all within a few minutes drive…

Read more about Las Lomas del Marbella Club

The hotel drew its name from a Roman bridge that is a remnant of immemorial times of the Via Augusta, which connected Cadiz with Rome.

The hotel’s history began in 1974 by the hand of Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe with the opening of a luxurious complex of Andalusian style apartments surrounded by lush subtropical gardens that gradually became a favourite haunt of celebrities and wealthy clients.

Those few lucky enough to own a property in the immediate surroundings of the Puente Romano belong to a select group in what is effectively Marbella’s Millionaire’s Row.

If you want to know more about Puente Romano, read here

Read more about Sierra Blanca.

At about a 7min drive into Marbella town centre, El Rosario enjoys a hilly terrain which gives most of its properties lovely coastal views. Some of Marbella’s most beautiful beaches are located within less than 5 minutes driving time and sporting facilities such as the renowned El Casco Tennis and Paddle Tennis Club or golf courses such as Marbella Golf & Country Club, Santa Clara golf or Rio Real golf are found within less than 7min driving time.

The estate has a security post at the entrance and a night time security patrol. Its direct connection with the N-340 road, which then connects with the A-7 highway, means Puerto Banus can be reached in 15min, the Costa del Sol Hospital in 2min and Spanish and International schools in just a few minutes’ drive. Additionally there are also some shopping facilities which include a bank, a German bakery and cafeteria, a supermarket and restaurants.

Below you will find a selection of villas for sale in El Rosario. Should you require additional information on other properties for sale in El Rosario or would like to organize a viewing, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The famous La Concha Mountain that so iconically surveys Marbella from its 1300-metre perch is in fact a part of the Sierra Blanca range, and the mountain that the luxurious Sierra Blanca residential area backs on to. Perhaps not one of the oldest parts of Marbella, but already well established as a super-luxurious one, Sierra Blanca is characterised by imposing villas and mansions set on large private domains that populate the gentle but steady gradient on the lower foothills of La Concha.

Though the private grounds are usually meticulously landscaped in the formal park style or with lush sub-tropical species, the streets and other public areas of Sierra Blanca are covered with the beautiful umbrella pines that naturally occupy this spot and are still untouched in the protected sections of Sierra Blanca. Nicknamed the ‘lungs of Marbella’ this green belt stretches out just above the residential area as if to soften the transition from man’s environment to the natural landscape of heath and rock that makes up the lower reaches of the mountain.

A good address
The Sierra Blanca address is one of the very best to have, and though there are still individual plots left within the urbanisation it is a largely consolidated area with limited scope for lateral expansion. This means, in effect, that Sierra Blanca is an established area where good demand combined with limited supply produces a much lower degree of price elasticity than may be seen in many other areas. It also means that property in this sought-after area forms a pretty solid investment within a market segment that is in itself pretty recession-proof.

Properties vary from luxurious mid-sized villas with a discreet sprinkling of ultra-luxurious apartment complexes to real estate that can best be described as significant mansions set on expansive estates. Marbella’s beaches, town centre and also Puerto Banús are all within a 10-minute radius, yet from here you have the sense that you are looking down on the town and its surroundings, spotting beaches, golf courses and the curve of the coast all the way to its famous conclusion at Gibraltar. These magnificent views are an important feature of life in Sierra Blanca, and indeed of its appeal among A-list property buyers. Not surprisingly, the design of most homes here is geared towards making the most of the panoramic vistas as seen and enjoyed from living rooms, terraces, pools, bedrooms and even bathrooms, gyms and entrance halls.

While there is no golf course twisting through the homes here, Sierra Blanca has at least three within a few minutes’ drive, as well as a racket club, health and beauty spa, shops, restaurants and cafés. Residents of Sierra Blanca enjoy their privacy and will either seek out their entertainment or have it delivered to their doorstep, with a whole range of services from hair and beauty stylists to private cordon bleu catering and party organisers offering bespoke services chez vous. It’s what you might call the Sierra Blanca lifestyle.

The emphasis on technology and the challenge to meet eco- friendly goals is creating a new kind of architecture and the movement back towards sleek white homes with large window frontage and irregular forms is creating exteriors that finally match the cool designer kitchens, bathrooms and living spaces of the interior realm.

We are delighted to offer you below a selection of modern villas for sale in Marbella.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information or to arrange a viewing.

That a Swiss and a Mexican architect would create an enduring Andalusian landmark is a salient detail, but over the next few decades after the completion of Puerto Banús in 1970 many more designs would flow from the drawing table of the young Marcos Sainz that would ultimately shape large parts of Marbella. We’re not speaking of the urban structure of the town, which may have benefited from his passion for town planning and his intuitive feeling for aesthetics and proportion, but about the many villas, luxury apartments and public buildings either created or inspired by him.

Drive through the leafy suburbs of Marbella, in places such as the Golden Mile, Nueva Andalucía, La Zagaleta and Guadalmina, and many of the fine homes you see will have been styled by him. “When I first arrived the traditional Andalusian style, with its Romano-Moorish roots emboldened by Baroque influences, was still entrenched,” says Marcos Sainz. “Gradually, as the number of foreign residents increased, the typical construction methods and rustic designs were replaced by a more international style that was in fact a contemporary interpretation of Andalusian architecture as seen through foreign eyes.”

This process gave rise to what has been dubbed a ‘Marbella style’, characterised by smoothly plastered walls, Mediterranean roof and floor tiles, wooden beams and expansive covered terraces that serve the outdoor lifestyles of summer. Marcos Sainz contributed greatly to the evolution of the stylishly proportioned signature villa – most typically in sand or tan hues – that married traditional rustic Andalusian design elements to modern standards of comfort and oversaw the transformation of the finca style house to a more sophisticated luxurious villa.

Shaping a Riviera
For all this he does not have a very easily identifiable trademark style. “Perhaps it is because we have been fortunate to work on a wide variety of projects, from villas and apartments to offices, clubhouses and master plans for entire resorts,” says Marcos. “Perhaps it’s also because we work not around one person, but as a team. This is MS Design, not Marcos Sainz, so the input from my son Maurice and daughter Monique, among all the other members of our team, is not only important but it has helped to keep our ideas fresh and the inspiration flowing.”

For inspiration Marcos and his team draw on the examples of the great masters as well as the latest developments in technology and architecture, citing also travel and cross-discipline interests as forces that kindle creativity and ideas. “Today we are returning to white, because it is the colour of Andalucía and coincidentally also the one that lends itself to clean, modern designs. White has a freshness that suits the Marbella climate and the interplay of greenery and blue skies, but we temper the starkness of modern lines with references to the softer, more rounded forms that are traditionally a part of this region. The combination is fresh and modern, yet remains accessible and welcoming.”

Architecture that defines a place
When I ask him what it feels like to have created one of the enduring landmarks of Marbella and one on the scale of Puerto Banús he disarmingly shrugs his shoulders and says: “Naturally I am proud of what we have done here and the significance this port went on to have both locally and abroad, but as an architect you learn to think in relative terms. I mean, our original plans were even more elaborate, with canals to conjure up a small Mediterranean Venice, but they were never realised. Compromise is as much a part of architecture as is good design. Some of the most impressive designs are those left on your draft board, untainted by actual construction, and when you have been in a position to create something special your mind drifts to whether you could have done even better.”

Is it this search for new horizons and inspired creation that drives a good designer? “Yes,” answers Marcos, “although it should never allow the architect to forget that the projects he undertakes are not for his own glory, but designed on behalf of the client and for those people who will ultimately use it. This is why I shun abstract experimental designs that have little practical value and little or no link to their end-users and surroundings. I believe architecture should be grounded in reality, a reality that looks beyond the immediate building to what is around it and how it will be used. A good architect should always have a built-in sense of town planning, a feeling for the local culture and heritage, as well as an understanding of the commercial and technical realties of the landscape he finds himself working in.”

An exciting new era
Those with an impressive past always look to the future, and Marcos Sainz is a great example of this. “Marbella has been through various phases and on the path lost its way once or twice, but it is a place of rare beauty and has a great capacity to attract and enchant people. I played my part in the evolution of Marbella from a small resort to a seaside town that is cosmopolitan in the true sense of the word, but I believe that Marbella is on the threshold of a very exciting new phase that will be shaped by a new generation. These are people of diverse backgrounds who have grown up here, travelled around the world to study and work, and are now coming back to Marbella. It is they, people like Maurice and Monique, who will oversee the next phase in the story of Marbella, and have the opportunity to ensure that this wonderful town on the Mediterranean is every bit as beautiful and desirable as it can be.”

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