DEPARTURES TRAVEL ON
DEPARTURES TRAVEL ON THE GROUND 18 ON THIS SATURDAY evening in August, it seems like everyone in town has shown up for polo at Los Pinos, one of four world-class pitches in the 20sq km resort town on the southern coast of Andalusia. The temperature is creeping its way down from the high 30s but a divine wind from the Mediterranean, just a few kilometres east, cools onlookers as they follow the match, one of the final face-offs in the International Polo Tournament, which has taken place here each year since 1971. Afterwards, everyone shuffles to the pitch-side afterparty. The dress code: comfortable casualwear paired with an après-golf tan. There’s no real noise, though the scene is palpably convivial. It is a microcosm of the largely residential town as a whole. Unhurried, unfussy and quiet: the hallmarks of a lifestyle many here refer to as “silent luxury”. The carefree mood is hardly an accident, The 18th hole at La Reserva, and its Clubhouse beyond MODERN PALACE A planned villa of epic proportions, the €22.5m NIWA is a study in balance. but the natural evolution of a project realised by late Filippino-American real-estate mogul Joseph McMicking back in 1964. Inspired by exclusive communities like California’s Pebble Beach and Forbes Park in Manila, he wanted to carve out an enclave for well-heeled sunseekers in the fastgrowing region. “Sooner or later the Costa del Sol is going to be mobbed,” McMicking told Sports Illustrated in 1967, “but Sotogrande will be an island of order in the chaos.” So far, so true, and despite substantial expansion in the past 60 years, the tone set by McMicking remains. Sotogrande has now grown from the initial development, known as Costa, to include a further three districts: Marina, Alto and La Reserva, which together host Sotogrande’s swelling coterie of summer – and increasingly full-time – residents drawn by the privacy, picturesque scenery and, more often than not, the world-class golf. Set in the foothills of Sotogrande’s northwest reaches, the flurry of The sheer scale of the project – a 4,231sq m build area across a plot of more than one hectare – offered a welcome challenge for ARK Architects founder Manuel Ruiz Moriche, whose forthcoming magnum opus is named for its inspiration: the peaceful, contemplative gardens of Japan. Ruiz also drew from Mediterranean and Greco-Roman architectural practices to create what he refers to as a “modern palace with echoes of the past”. The estate – whose hilltop perch enjoys truly jawdropping views of the azure Mediterranean and the mighty Rock of Gibraltar beyond – comprises nine bedrooms, an indoor and outdoor pool, a spa and several reception areas, all of which enjoy plenty of natural light, bringing the beauty of the great outdoors into the villa. “NIWA has been designed so that the impact on the land is minimal,” notes Ruiz. “The house will be completely integrated into the plot, almost as if it was trying to disappear into the landscape. The protagonist is the location and its nature.” A love of nature extends to the planned building materials: the entire house will be sheathed in carefully selected organic stones and woods, eschewing plastics entirely (this includes the paints used throughout the house). “We put a lot of thought into these minor details – because, in the end, when you live in a house you breathe [in] everything,” says Ruiz, who adds that the size of the plot allowed for the rarest of opportunities: to build a sea-view property spread across one level. A “dream come true” for the architect – and a truly rare prospect for potential buyers. sotogrande.com – CW FROM TOP: © LA RESERVA, © ARK ARCHITECTS (2)
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: © SO/SOTOGRANDE, © LA RESERVA, RICARDO MOTRAN & MARIA ADELA RETES Clockwise from above: a cosy alfresco lounge at SO/ Sotogrande resort; the sun sets over La Reserva’s links; a match at the Santa María Polo Club real-estate offerings in La Reserva comprise some of the newest and most tempting prospects for buyers. Housing developments include Village Verde, a hillside complex with 121 apartments – each with generous panoramic terraces and sleek, openplan interiors – not to mention two pools and a sand pool complete with its own waterfall; and The Seven, an exclusive clutch of truly breathtaking villas set among lush greenery. The ambitious project now includes NIWA, a just-announced turnkey project set to occupy an entire hectare on a magnificent clifftop plot (see page 18). Life in La Reserva is centred on the club. Aside from its 18-hole championship course, there’s the Racquet Centre, home to a roster of stellar instructors, four clay tennis courts and glass-walled courts for padel, the doubles-only (and significantly less demanding) Mexican sport favoured by more casual players. The real showstopper, though, is The Beach. A little temple to the good life, an easygoing vibe proliferates around its two electric-blue manmade lagoons (one for watersports, from jet skiing to stand-up paddleboarding; one for swimming); there’s also a stellar restaurant and series of several little alfresco lounges. Those looking to get a little taste of the Sotogrande way of life can check into SO/ Sotogrande (so-hotels. com), which arrived as the town’s best – and only – real luxury resort in 2021. Here, spacious, contemporary rooms, which all boast a pretty terrace or balcony, extend across a vast labyrinth of casita-style houses – a spread which encourages the relaxed (and whisper-quiet) atmosphere that reigns across the property. Next to a 2,800sq m spa, there is a trio of destination restaurants: the casual Marxa Chiringuito, for drawn-out seafood lunches next to the hotel’s three pools; Cortijo Santa Maria 1962, a destination eatery for Andalusian haute cuisine (and late-night live music on the terrace); and the Society, a charming breakfast (and all-daydining) spot overlooking a golf course and ocean beyond. There are few better ways to lower the blood pressure – and cast away any lingering stress – than to sit here over a coffee with friends and soak in Sotogrande’s refined relaxation. sotogrande.com TEEING OFF A quartet of courses ensures that this southern Spanish retreat remains at the top of its game. When he was commissioned by Sotogrande’s founder to create his first-ever course in Europe, the lauded American golf architect Robert Trent Jones Sr couldn’t have envisaged what the resulting lotus land would morph into for professionals and amateurs alike. Indeed, Real Cwlub de Golf Sotogrande (golfsotogrande. com) is a testament to the great man’s skills, and the layout, complete with its large and elevated greens, which are both quick and heavily contoured, remains one of the most coveted courses in continental Europe some 60 years later, with a 2016 renovation only having enhanced its quality. Today, it is complemented by the even more rarefied and lauded Real Valderrama (valderrama.com), which offers 18 holes of pure golfing heaven that first etched itself into the global golfing psyche following its hosting of the 1997 Ryder Cup, when Seve Ballesteros led Europe to a memorable victory over the US in what was the first Ryder Cup to be held in mainland Europe. But while Real Sotogrande and Valderrama understandably enjoy top golfing billing, Sotogrande’s two other courses, La Reserva and Almenara, are very capable co-stars. La Reserva (lareservaclubsotogrande.com), which opened in 2003, is a stunning Cabell B Robinson design that enjoys a gloriously elevated location and is arranged around a Y-shaped valley featuring generous fairways and large greens to the tune of 7,053 metres in length. Over at Almenara (almenaragolfsotogrande.com), golfers are treated to 27 holes spread across the three nine-hole loops of Lagos (the Lakes), Pinos (the Pines) and Alcornoques (the Cork Oaks) – all of which were the original handiwork of the late Dave Thomas, and, as you’d expect from their names, offer contrasting challenges to keep 36-a-day duffers as transfixed as single-digit handicaps. – Farhad Heydari 19 DEPARTURES
