Los Monteros: Golf, Sea, Sun and Mountain Views

It may sound like the strapline for an exclusive holiday to Tahiti but the above is actually an accurate description of the Los Monteros residential area on the eastside of Marbella. At still just a few kilometres from the town centre and the famous playground of Puerto Banús and its picturesque marina, Los Monteros offers an environment focused around space, big views and proximity to the best beaches in Marbella.

Here villas and luxurious apartments are wrapped in greenery that undulates gently from the foothills of inland mountain ranges to the sandy dunes and beaches of an area known as Bahía de Marbella. Strewn with little informal beach cafés and trendy beach clubs, it offers impressive views back across the curve of a gentle bay towards Marbella.

Big blue skies, distant mountain ranges and the sea are never far away, even from your own living room or terrace. Most properties in the area look out over the Mediterranean, typically between a few kilometres and a few metres distant. Mixed in with all these varying shades of blue are the many green tones of golf courses snaking their way through the winding hills and residential zones.

Straddling the coastal road and running right up to the sea is Rio Real Golf, one of the prettiest courses on the Costa del Sol. Its gorgeously manicured fairways fringed with exotic trees form a true distraction for motorists passing by, as well as a beautiful focal point for the mostly exclusive apartment urbanisations surrounding it.

The very established feel of this area and its parkland style landscape contrasts with the more open aspect of two neighbouring courses, Santa Clara Golf and Marbella Golf and Country Club. Popular with Spanish socialites, Santa Clara has a very distinguished air about it, as well as excellent facilities and a challenging course that climbs upwards towards the scenic main motorway. This is rather a new area, with large villas and mid- to high end urbanisations built mostly in the past fifteen years. Spacious and offering expansive views, there are also some great buys to be found in the area.

By contrast, the Marbella Golf and Country Club flows downhill, and is generally rated as perhaps the best downhill course on the coast. It actually starts amid open nature in the foothills on the far side of the main motorway, before ‘cascading’ down towards the sea. Not surprisingly, the accompanying views are quite stunning, and the very chic clubhouse with its fine restaurant and scenic terrace café is popular among those residing in nearby villa suburbs such as El Rosario.

By the time you reach the Santa Maria Golf and Country Club, just a little further to the east, you’ll find yourself within Elviria, a very attractive residential area set amid the sheltered canopy of protected coastal umbrella pine groves. The residential area is centred around a lively open-air commercial centre complete with great restaurants and cafés, not to mention a trendy beach club on the seaside, but also flowing through the villas and apartments are the green fingers of Santa Maria Golf itself.

Set primarily within a green incised valley, it provides a popular course for visitors and beginners, as well as a wonderful backdrop for the properties overlooking it. In and around Marbella, the visual beauty of a golf course and the social hub of its clubhouse are every bit as much a part of living near a golf club as is the actual sport itself.

Pia Arrieta, 05 Nov 2013 - Lifestyle