Why golf lovers, investors and serial escape artists are quietly buying into this part of southern Spain.
Finca Cortesín isn’t chasing the spotlight—it lets quality do the talking. Despite hosting the 2023 Solheim Cup, it remains deliberately low-profile, attracting elite golfers and celebrities who value privacy over fanfare.
There’s something about Casares that resists the brochure. You don’t move here because of a pitch. You move here because one morning, in London or Oslo or Berlin, you wake up and realise you’ve had enough. Enough of the grey. Enough of noise that never stops. Enough of the cold. So you go looking.
And if you’re lucky—or a bit obsessive—you end up finding this: a hillside village with white houses stacked like sugar cubes, where people still say good morning to each other and you can smell the sea and rosemary in the same breath. This is not Marbella. It’s quieter than that. But don’t mistake quiet for dull. Casares has Finca Cortesín.
Finca Cortesín isn’t some faux-Mediterranean fantasy pumped out by developers. It’s the real thing. Built slow, with care. The golf course is the crown jewel: 18 holes cut with precision and a kind of reverence, always respectful of the wild landscape it slices through. Host of the 2023 Solheim Cup, it’s got pedigree without shouting about it. You play here and feel like someone thought deeply about what makes golf satisfying, not flashy.
And then you realise—people are buying here. Not for show. For the long haul.
What Kind of Homes Are We Talking About?
This part of the Costa del Sol doesn’t deal in cookie-cutter. The homes have been built for grown-ups—people who know what they want and are tired of being sold what they don’t. Inside the Finca Cortesín estate, you’ll find modern villas with a grounded kind of elegance: nothing gaudy, just stone, light, wood, and space to exhale.
Outside the gates, Casares unfolds into hillside plots with views of the Mediterranean, apartments that don’t all look the same, and townhouses built like someone actually plans to live in them. Some have private golf access. Some have olive groves nearby. All have the promise of peace.
Zoom out, and the Costa del Sol keeps on giving.
- Marbella: Still the playground it’s always been—but if you stay north in Sierra Blanca or the east side of town, you can avoid the nonsense.
- Benahavís: Quiet, tucked into the hills, but close enough to Marbella that you’re never far from a good dinner or a gallery opening.
- Estepona: Where everyone used to go “before they knew better”—now the smart ones are back, because it’s still real and still good value.
What Do You Do All Day?
Short answer: whatever you like.
You can start with golf—there are over 70 courses in the Costa del Sol, which means you’ll run out of excuses before you run out of greens. Beyond Finca Cortesín, there’s Valderrama (where the pros sweat), La Reserva (elegant, disciplined), and Los Naranjos (bit more social, still serious golf).
Not into golf every day? Walk into the hills behind Casares and you’ll hit cork forests and eagles overhead. Ten minutes to the coast, and there’s sea bass on a wood fire at a beach shack that’s been there since Franco. Or drive out to Sotogrande, where there’s polo and sailing and people who never ask “what do you do?” at dinner.
Add in some things you didn’t expect: a string quartet playing in an old chapel in Málaga, yoga in the middle of a lemon grove, or your neighbour turning out to be a retired opera singer from Milan. Life here has layers. You don’t see them all at once. They reveal themselves.
With just a limited number of rounds allowed daily, Finca Cortesín protects its turf—literally. This policy ensures immaculate playing conditions year-round, and offers a rare sense of calm and exclusivity not found in more commercial clubs.
The Investment Bit (Keep Your Glasses On)
The numbers make sense. Andalucía saw an 11% jump in foreign property purchases last year alone. The buyers are changing: more northern Europeans, more early retirees, more people working remotely who just decided they’d rather log in with the sea behind them.
There’s also Spain’s Golden Visa programme—spend €500,000 or more and you get residency, a door into Europe, and access to one of the best healthcare systems in the world. Not bad.
And if you’re not moving in full-time? Golf tourism is steady, rental returns are solid, and summer season now stretches from April to October. The demand is there.
Why People Come to Us
At Ultimate-Lifestyles.com, we’re not going to give you the hard sell. What we offer is taste. Access. Homes that fit your life now—not the life you had ten years ago.
We handpick properties around Finca Cortesín, Casares, Marbella, Benahavís, Estepona and Sotogrande. We don’t list everything. Just what matters. We know the developers. We know who builds properly. And we’re honest when something’s not right.
If you want legal support, mortgage advice, help moving your art collection—we can do that too. But first: come see for yourself. Walk the land. Hit a few balls. Have lunch on the terrace. You’ll know soon enough if this is the move.
Your Next Step
If something in you is ready to leave the old behind and do it properly—quietly, with style—then we’d like to talk.
Explore the current listings at www.ultimate-lifestyles.com or get in touch directly. No pressure. Just the first step.
📞 Phone: +34 951 12 07 12
📧 Email: [email protected]