El Madronal Villas

El Madroñal, elegant country living 7 minutes from Puerto Banús

Follow the road inland from the Marbella coastline to an exclusive country club environment surrounded by nature and magnificent views.

The finest of the luxurious residential areas that ensconced in between greenery here can be found a little higher up, at El Madroñal and La Zagaleta. The latter is a gated, no-entry country club favoured by those who seek security and seclusion no matter what the price. El Madroñal, on the other hand, is a chic gated community of villas on sizeable plots with 24-hour security and stunning views across Marbella and the coastal plain to Gibraltar and North Africa on the far side of the straits that mark the entrance to the Mediterranean.

It is the ideal setting in Marbella – and one of the very best in Europe – for people who wish to enjoy an elegant country lifestyle surrounded by nature and marked by space, privacy and open views – all of this, combined with quick and easy access to all services and amenities. The shops, restaurants, café society, schools and entertainment of Marbella, Puerto Banús and San Pedro, not to mention the many golf clubs and tennis centres in the area, are all within a few minutes. Even closer by are the shops and facilities of a small commercial centre in Monte Halcones, as well as the traditional Dutch baker, butcher and bistro restaurants ensconced within the charming urbanisation of La Heredia.

An irreplaceable location
But El Madroñal is noted for more than its privileged setting alone, for this is also one of the most stylish residential addresses in Marbella. Created by kindred spirits out of a large estate once owned by the well- known Parladé family and later sold on to the likes of Thierry Roussel – father of Athina Onassis and erstwhile neighbour of Adnan Kashoggi, who owned what is today La Zagaleta – El Madroñal is a little bit of paradise in the foothills just above Marbella. They handpicked this beautiful spot surrounded by forests and close to the pretty gastronomic village of Benahavis to create an environment, which sense reflects many of the finest qualities that first drew people to California and the Côte d’Azur.

Free of garish architecture, El Madroñal is a place where beautiful homes lie tucked in between the olive trees, cork oaks, mimosa and pine groves of their grounds. Gated and secure, it is an area with a sense of community where you feel neither isolated nor crowded, and can look upon the lights of Marbella at night. Hillside plots of between 2,500 and 20,000m2 are typical at El Madroñal, where owners have surrounded their stylish contemporary rustic villas with lush subtropical gardens bordered with Mediterranean groves and stands of trees that require little or no maintenance.

Indeed, though many feature rustic Spanish-Andalusian traits, the properties at El Madroñal have a strong Provençal flair about them in which refined tastes and the latest comforts and technologies combine to create truly enviable living environments that attract homeowners from across Europe and beyond. This is a market for people with a rather sophisticated palate, where the villas frequently feature traditional central courtyards, spas, tennis courts, independent guest cottages and resplendent gardens and pool areas endowed with magnificent vistas. Many are frequently featured in International lifestyle magazines.

Though more accessible than La Zagaleta, the setting, views, microclimate and properties of El Madroñal create conditions that cannot be replicated anywhere else on the Costa del Sol – making this not just a prized location, but an irreplaceable one.