Sotogrande

At the western end of the Costa del Sol you will find Sotogrande. Sotogrande is not a municipality of its own but actually within the municipality of San Roque in Cadiz Province. Sotogrande is one of the most luxurious sports and residential developments in Europe. It is also the largest privately owned residential development in Andalusia. Originally a gated community and it is composed of a 20 square kilometres stretch from the Mediterranean Sea 25 km east of Gibraltar, back into the foothills of Sierra Almenara, providing contrasting views of sea, hills, cork forests and green fairways, including the Rock of Gibraltar and Morocco.

Some of the richest and most powerful families of Spain and Gibraltar have summer homes in Sotogrande.

In Sotogrande there are Polo Clubs, Golf courses, beach clubs, a world class marina and incredible bars and restaurants. All this make Sotogrande a unique experience for residents and visitors alike.

Off resort shops are located in the nearby villages of Pueblo Nuevo and Torreguadiaro and historic village of San Roque where the town hall is located.

History

Sotogrande was established by the couple Joseph Rafael McMicking y Ynchausti and Mercedes Zobel de Ayala y Roxas, both are Spanish Filipino.

The Zobels, having seen the idyllic coasts in 1962 bought five neighbouring farms, with the idea of creating a luxurious residential development by the Mediterranean. McMicking succeeded in creating what has become one of the most luxurious urbanizations in Europe, in May 2006 it was featured in The Times as having the most expensive homes in Europe. The jet set appeal of Sotogrande lies in the natural beauty of the site, enhanced by the early landscaping, planting of avenues of palm and conifer trees, underground infrastructure and wide, two-lane roads. There are a number of artificial lakes and 5 golf courses, including the world-famous Valderrama, created by Jaime Ortiz-Patiño and the San Roque course.

Sport

Today, Sotogrande is renowned for its varied sporting facilities. It has five golf courses; Valderrama Golf Club, the Real Club de Golf, Almenara, La Reserva, La Cañada and a Golf Academy. There are 6 world-famous Polo fields owned by the Santa María Polo Club; two Tennis and Padel Tennis Clubs and the SotoTennis Academy; the Raquet Centre which specializes in padel tennis and the Octogono which specializes in tennis, a rugby club and two Beach Clubs (Cucurucho and Octogono); a Kayak / Sailing Club, Riding stables and a busy marina.

The Sotogrande Marina has a mixture of retail units and restaurants as well as some apartments. The Sotogrande Marina has a taxi boat service during the summer season.