Brits voted Marbella their favourite luxury Holiday Destination

According to a survey conducted by Hello! Magazine, British travellers think Marbella comes top with regard to luxury holiday resorts. Beating off competition from Barcelona, Barbados, Ibiza, Los Angeles, Miami and Saint Tropez, Marbella is the preferred holiday destination for affluent British travellers. For those with their own holiday home at the Costa del Sol, renting out their property for part of the year easily pays for maintenance, running costs and management fees, even with the new regulations on holiday lettings.

June saw visitor numbers surge by 9.35% compared to the same month a year ago. Celebrities just love to be seen in Marbella: global supermodels Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell recently visited the town, following in the footsteps of the First Lady Michelle Obama and some of the world’s most successful football stars.

Marbella boasts some of the world’s best golf courses, most luxurious hotels, fabulous beach and night clubs, excellent restaurants and several miles of sandy golden beach. Its marina complex at Puerto Banus offers great luxury apartments and penthouses which, thanks to the property crash in Spain, have become that much more affordable.

In the eastern neighbourhoods of Marbella, beachside districts like Marbesa and Carib Playa, which fall between the perhaps better known neighbourhoods of Elivira and Cabopino, offer great value for money holiday accommodation as well as affordable property prices for buyers looking for a semi permanent or permanent home. House prices start at around EUR 300,000 for smaller properties, rising to ca. EUR 2.5 million for larger homes. Plot sizes begin at 400 sqm, with larger villas sitting in plots of at least 2,000 sqm plus.

Marbesa homes usually boast sea or garden views and is an area occupied by owners the year round. Reknown for its well maintained, clean streets and communal areas, open green spaces and efficiently run communities in apartment complexes, Marbesa and Carib Playa are good places to start looking for a Spanish property at the Costa del Sol. Every home is within walking distance of the beach and as the whole neighbourhood is situated on a rather flat landscape, cycling is not too taxing and rather fun.

Both areas boast plenty of excellent restaurants where traditional seafood and meat dishes are served alongside international menus. A small shopping complex with a supermarket, cafes and a camping site located to the west of Marbesa complete the picture. Nearby Hacienda las Chapas and Elivira also offer supermarkets that are open all year round.

The closest 18-hole golf courses are located at Santa Maria, Santa Clara and Rio Real, while the best water sports can be enjoyed at nearby Cabopino, where the nearest marina is located and at Don Carlos/Nikki Beach. All of these amenities are within a 10 minute drive of Marbesa and Carib Playa. As this part of Marbella is affluent, local hotels cater for more discerning holidaymakers. The Don Carlos Hotel and Vime Resort simply ooze with luxury and comfort.

Gaining access to Spanish mortgage finance is still a problem though. Just like Miami in Florida, which has attracted a large number of cash buyers over the past two years, notaries and land registries in Spain and Portugal are also recording more and more cash transactions. One of Portugal’s leading property real estate groups, ERA Imobiliária, stated recently that two-thirds of home sold through its branches were bought by cash buyers in the first six months of this year.

It seems Marbella attracts not just affluent holidaymakers but also savvy cash buyers who are taking advantage of the price decline in Spanish residential real estate. Where else in Europe could one buy a small well appointed villa with swimming pool and sea views for EUR 300,000 and let it out to holidaymakers for around £500 per week or more?

Real estate appraisal company Tinsa recorded an average price decline of 9.6% for July compared to the same period in 2012, which means Spanish house prices have fallen cumulatively by 37.6% since the property boom came to a dramatic end at the start of 2008.

If you’re looking for serious luxury in the sunny Mediterranean but don’t want to pay Saint Tropez prices, try “Marbs” at the Costa del Sol!