Sotogrande is the largest privately owned residential development in

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Originally a gated community, it is located in the municipality of San Roque and is composed of a 25-square-kilometre stretch from the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

25 km east of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, back into the foothills of Sierra Almenara, providing contrasting views of sea,

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

s, cork

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s and green fairways, including the Rock of Gibraltar and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

History

To build a city similar to

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

in southern Europe, Sotogrande was developed by the industrialist couple from the Philippines, Joseph McMicking and Mercedes Zóbel, with support from their nephews Jaime Zóbel and Enrique Zóbel. The McMickings, having seen the idyllic coasts in 1962, acquired five neighboring farms with the idea of creating a luxurious residential development by the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. In May 2006, Sotogrande was featured in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' as having the most expensive homes in Europe. There are a number of artificial lakes and five golf courses, including the Valderrama Golf Club created by Jaime Ortiz-Patiño and the San Roque course. The port was established in 1988.

Architecture

Sotogrande is well known as an architectural showcase on the Costa del Sol, with styles varying from the traditional Andalucian to mid-century modern, to more modern and unusual designs, including moorish/

mudéjar Mudéjar ( , also , , ca, mudèjar , ; from ar, مدجن, mudajjan, subjugated; tamed; domesticated) refers to the group of Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period despite the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for ...

style homes and a

Swiss chalet Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internationa ...

. In 2008, the local government declared three buildings as of cultural interest, protecting them from reform or demolition. These included the Biddle House by Francisco Javier Carvajal, the Zóbel house by José Antonio Coderch, and the Real Club de Golf by Luis Gutierrez Soto. A specially built man-made lagoon is part of the newest developments in Sotogrande within the La Reserva gated residential community in the hills of Sotogrande.

Sport

Sotogrande has varied sporting facilities. It has five

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

courses, including Valderrama Golf Club, which was host to the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...

's Volvo Masters and the 1997 Ryder Cup. It also has two tennis and

padel Padel ( es, Pádel) is a racket sport typically played in doubles on an enclosed court slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court. Scoring is the same as normal tennis, and the balls used are similar but with a little less pressure. The main ...

clubs, a rugby club, and two beach clubs, a kayak/

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

club, the famous Santa Maria Polo Club, riding stables, and a marina. Valderrama Retro Golf scorecard

Nature

River Guadiaro and

Estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

, Sotogrande, a natural area of 27 hectares and the only

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

land on this part of the

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

, has been designated as an Andalusian national park, wildlife and

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. The reserve often hosts migratory birds on their route to and from Africa.

Economy

Sotogrande seems to have kept its head above the crisis. ''Finanzas'', a Spanish finance publication, says that whilst prices in other areas of the Costa del Sol have taken a fall to the tune of -11.4% in Torremolinos, -10.99% in Fuengirola, -7.4% in Manilva, -5-5% in Casares and -3.4% in Mijas Costa. In Sotogrande average property prices have remained the same or increased, in some cases up to 45%. This phenomenon is attributed to the financial status of the residents of the urbanization.

Residents

Some of the richest and most powerful families of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

reside in Sotogrande. Current and past regulars and inhabitants of Sotogrande include

Peter Caruana Sir Peter Richard Caruana, (born 15 October 1956) is a Gibraltarian former politician who served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 1996 to 2011 and Leader of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) from 1991 to 2013. Caruana is a barrister by pr ...

, former Chief Minister of Gibraltar,

Fabian Picardo Fabian Raymond Picardo (born 18 February 1972) is a Gibraltarian politician and barrister serving as Chief Minister of Gibraltar and Leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party since 2011. At the 2015 and 2019 Gibraltar general elections, P ...

, current Chief Minister of Gibraltar,

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

Emilio Botín Emilio Botín-Sanz de Sautuola García de los Ríos, ''iure uxoris'' Marquess of O'Shea (1 October 1934 – 10 September 2014) was a Spanish banker.Ana Rosa Quintana, Royal Shakespeare Company actor Mike Gwilym,

Vladimir Gusinsky Vladimir Aleksandrovich Gusinsky (russian: Владимир Александрович Гусинский, ; born 6 October 1952) is a Russian media tycoon. He founded the Media-Most holding company that included the NTV free-to-air channel, ...

, Boris Berezovsky, as well as Prince

Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou Louis Alphonse de BourbonHis name is given as "Prince Louis Alphonse of Bourbon and Martínez-Bordiú, Duke of Anjou" by Olga S. Opfell in ''Royalty who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe'' (2001), p. 11. ( es, Luis Alfonso ...

, the legitimist pretender to the throne of France.

Scandal

Recorded by Spanish secret services,

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

illegally entered Spain at Sotogrande by private boat via plane flights from London to Gibraltar several times while he was head of Russia's FSB during the 1990s. Spanish police arrested several Russian mafia with residences at Sotogrande during Operation Troika.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Sotogrande SA official websiteSotogrande Guide
San Roque, Cádiz Populated places established in 1964 Resorts in Spain Buildings and structures in Andalusia Tourist attractions in Andalusia