Apartment for sale in Puerto de Sotogrande

Home to the exclusive Sotogrande resort - all crisp white villas, gleaming supercars and healthy, tennis-court-tanned skin - and a wealthy port, San Roque's immunity to local economic pressures is a result of the bottomless pit of money continuously brought in to Sotogrande from overseas. It's a haven for the holiday home, and draws moneyed Brits, Germans, Swedes, Danes and the Dutch all year round.

As a result, San Roque's makeup is distinctly gentrified; it's a town that boasts pristine streets, avenues, lanes and squares; huge hillside villas grabbing the best views of the coast and the Rock of Gibraltar in the distance, and an imported population making little effort to integrate into Spanish society, but content to live their own life while enjoying Spain's famous natural attractions.

Continue reading: Reality

In actual fact, San Roque is perhaps one of Southern Spain's best examples that appearances can be deceptive. Despite the chic sheen that settles across the town at dusk; despite the air of entitlement and expat attitude that you might whiff on occasion; despite the aforementioned grandeur of Sotogrande... San Roque is a happy amalgamation of indigenous and expatriate. The wealthy 'guiris' bring in bucketfuls of cash, propping up the economy and making the area one of relatively high employment.

What's more, the attraction of San Roque is its easy juxtaposition of traditional and sophisticated. A gentle stroll around the narrow cobbled streets of the village reveals a classic Andalusian settlement, complete with pre-requisite whitewashed houses, cute Juliet balconies and colourful flower all set beneath a searing sun. The little square, the dusty bodegas and the chalk-written tapas boards are all evident, as are the yachts and swish restaurants of the port, the golf courses of the hills inland and the polo set enjoying pitchside champers. San Roque marries both cultures, and does so expertly.

Continue reading: By Day

Freshly squeezed orange juice, aromatic filtered coffee and lightly buttered croissants spilling feathery flakes onto your brightly coloured swimming shorts - that's breakfast. Sheer morning sunlight reflecting off the distant Mediterranean flooding the horizon in a stream of white-ish light, like a benign atomic explosion where the fallout is nothing harsher than bronzing UV rays - that's the weather. And terracotta tiling underfoot, a private patio with swimming pool overlooking the hills that tumble down to the sea - that's the setting. Nothing but sunbathing and sipping cold sangrias - that's the daily agenda.

Of course, that's also the weekend. Unless you're retiring here or wealthy enough not to work, San Roque is inevitably a place for working and living, too. It's perfect for commuters; there's an easy drive south to Gibraltar or north to Marbella and Málaga, and the views either side are spectacular. But enough of work, there's the six nearby golf courses to consider, lunch down by the port to be had, an afternoon stroll in the stunning Pinar del Rey forest to be enjoyed and endless bronzing to be done either down on the beach or around your pool...

Continue reading: By Night

San Roque offers two distinct choices for night owls: the Spanish way or the expat way. Go the Spanish way and expect family-focused chatter, tapas, beers and wine until the early hours, sat around rickety old tables in the square, serenaded by traditional music and the background shrieks of children playing, teenagers flirting and young adults discussing everything from politics to the latest fallout from El Clásico. It's great, and a far cry from the alcohol-fuelled pursuits of many a town in the UK on a Friday or Saturday night.

Then there's the Sotogrande port, which delivers what is best described as 'sophistication' in that the restaurants are exclusive and impressive, the bars are impossibly chic and frighteningly pricey and the atmosphere is one of bubbling-under enjoyment, poised to burst into full-on, Banús-style decadence any minute. It never does though; those prone to that type of thing hop into a taxi and head to Puerto Banús, leaving San Roque yours to enjoy for a few hours longer.

By journalist, editor and former Costa del Sol resident, Ian Clover.