Showpiece Homes and Luxury Living… Río Real
It is sometimes easy to forget that the Costa del Sol’s history as a prime residential-tourism destination is still relatively short, at least in a global context. Fifty years ago, even holiday tourism was still something of a novelty, with top hotels scarce, many of today’s main resort towns still undergoing a gradual transformation from former fishing or agriculture villages, and very few foreigners actually setting up permanent homes.
One residential area that was a pioneer in this respect is Río Real. Its story actually began 53 years ago, when Salamanca businessman Ignacio Coca opened the Los Monteros Hotel. Shortly after, he commissioned renowned Spanish golf architect Javier Arana to design a golf course, Río Real, which opened in 1965.
Luis Figuerola, the Count of Quintanilla, purchased the golf course and surrounding land in 1983, the property’s formal link with the Los Monteros Hotel was severed, and in 2001 the Río Real boutique hotel was opened.
In addition to the golf course, which meanders to the beach in the midst of a verdant pine tree setting, and the hotel (decorated in exquisite style by home interiors architect Pasca Ortega), the Río Real complex includes a Mediterranean-style restaurant, a wellness centre and paddle and tennis courts. Also planned to be inaugurated in spring 2016 is a luxurious beach club, next to the fourth green and Trocadero Arena.
Over the years the presence of these luxury resort amenities, and the area’s close proximity to Marbella city centre, has led to the development of a select residential urbanisation. International celebrities and aristocrats, including actress Deborah Kerr and her husband, screenwriter Peter Viertel (who lived in a house beside the golf course), have made Río Real their home, and Antonio Banderas has a villa across the highway a few hundred kilometres from the golf club.
The residents have always maintained a cloak of discretion and privacy, helped in great part by the residential development’s privileged natural surroundings and low-density construction. And, if there is one property that encapsulates that whole august essence of Río Real, it could certainly be the palatial mansion featured here.
Set on a 8,100 square metre plot, highlighted by an automatically illuminated and irrigated tropical garden with an ornamental lake, cascade and two swimming pools, the villa offers rare uninterrupted panoramic views of the Río Real golf course, Sierra Blanca mountains and Mediterranean coastline.
Its 2,650 square metres of built area includes (hold your breath!) 10 bedrooms, an Arabesque-Andalucian-inspired open central patio featuring a marble fountain and barbeque, a tropical summer room with bar and curved glass roof, a professionally equipped kitchen, a cinema room, a gymnasium, a large conference room with adjacent main office (which can also be used as a formal dining room to comfortably accommodate 14 guests), a secretary’s office and staff apartment, a hidden explosion-proof shelter (bunker), a wine cellar accommodating approximately 3,500 bottles with a spacious tasting area, a two-storey guest villa, and a secluded Arabesque-designed pavilion with interior jacuzzi, outdoor sauna and private solarium.
Special Selections
We appreciate your taking the time to read about this exceptional property, but perhaps it’s not exactly right for you? If not, we invite you to have a look at our other special selections for:
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Blancpain[/caption]
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Omega[/caption]
The Baselworld exhibition, which continues until 26 March in Switzerland, also has a venerable past. Its origins date to 1917 and the first "Schweizer Mustermesse Basel", with a special section for watches and jewellery. In 1973 it became the European Watch and Jewellery Show, in 1984 exhibitors from outside Europe were admitted for the first time, and 12 years ago it was rebranded as Baselworld.
This year the show is once again a glittering microcosm of the watch and jewellery industry, a focal point where the who’s who of the industry showcase their creations and innovations.
Here we feature two models, for him and her, that particularly caught our eye: Omega’s evocative interpretation of the Constellation Pluma with a light coral-coloured dial that is reminiscent of the warm sunshine on a summer day; and the limited edition Ocean Commitment Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback from Blancpain, with the price including a donation for various oceanic environmental causes.
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Blancpain[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2927" align="alignright" width="150"]
Omega[/caption]
The Baselworld exhibition, which continues until 26 March in Switzerland, also has a venerable past. Its origins date to 1917 and the first "Schweizer Mustermesse Basel", with a special section for watches and jewellery. In 1973 it became the European Watch and Jewellery Show, in 1984 exhibitors from outside Europe were admitted for the first time, and 12 years ago it was rebranded as Baselworld.
This year the show is once again a glittering microcosm of the watch and jewellery industry, a focal point where the who’s who of the industry showcase their creations and innovations.
Here we feature two models, for him and her, that particularly caught our eye: Omega’s evocative interpretation of the Constellation Pluma with a light coral-coloured dial that is reminiscent of the warm sunshine on a summer day; and the limited edition Ocean Commitment Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback from Blancpain, with the price including a donation for various oceanic environmental causes.