Property for sale in Nueva Andalucía

Living in Nueva Andalucía

The valley takes its name from a tourist development approved for José Banús in 1964, on land that had been the El Ángel estates. In the nineteenth century El Ángel had an ironworks and later a sugar cane colony. Today it is the part of the district around Aloha College, and the old name survives in the streets and neighbourhoods there.

Daily life is spread across the valley rather than gathered in one centre. The lower end, around Avenida Manolete and the former bullring, has the Centro Plaza with its cafés and restaurants and the Saturday market. Further up, the land rises through the golf courses towards the hills, and the homes get larger and the streets quieter. The bullring, opened in 1968, was renamed Marbella Arena in 2019 and is now used for concerts, events and summer cinema.

Communities and homes

Most of the district is low-rise: villas and apartments built in traditional Andalusian style, set among the three courses. Around Aloha College and Aloha Golf are El Ángel, Los Olivos and the Aloha Pueblo development. La Campana sits towards the western side of the district, near San Pedro Alcántara, and Aldea Blanca around the Centro Plaza and Marbella Arena at the lower end.

The valley also has villa estates such as La Cerquilla, Parcelas del Golf and Aloha Hill, set among the courses. Some estates in the valley are gated with their own security and community rules, others are open streets, so it is worth asking about each one.

Schools

Aloha College is inside the district, in El Ángel. Founded in 1982, it is a non-profit school for ages 3 to 18 teaching the UK national curriculum with the International Primary Curriculum, IGCSEs, and then a choice of the IB Diploma or international A levels in the sixth form.

Laude San Pedro International College, on Avenida de San Sebastián in San Pedro Alcántara, is about 6 minutes' drive from the lower valley. It follows the British system from EYFS to Year 13, for ages 3 to 18, and offers the Spanish ESO and Bachillerato as an alternative from age 12. Swans International School has its primary campus at El Capricho in Marbella, about 9 minutes away, and a secondary campus on Calle Lago de los Cisnes. It teaches GCSEs and then the IB in the sixth form.

Spanish state schools teach in Spanish, and places are allocated by the Junta de Andalucía on a points system that takes into account how close you live to the school and whether siblings already attend.

Golf, beaches and the outdoors

Real Club de Golf Las Brisas was designed by Robert Trent Jones and founded by José Banús in 1968 as the Club de Golf Nueva Andalucía. It has 18 holes with ten artificial lakes in play, became a members' club in 1981 and hosted the World Cup in 1973 and 1989. Los Naranjos, also by Robert Trent Jones, opened in 1977 just north of Las Brisas and is a shareholders' club that also takes visiting golfers. Aloha Golf Club was Javier Arana's last design, opened in 1975 and hosted the European Tour's Open de Andalucía in 2007, 2008 and 2012. La Quinta and Dama de Noche are also in the valley.

The nearest beaches are either side of the marina at Puerto Banús, a few minutes' drive from the lower valley. Las Brisas is about 4 minutes from the Marbella Arena by car, Aloha College about 6.

Eating out, shopping and everyday life

The Centro Plaza, at the bottom of the valley, is the local meeting point, with restaurants and cafés around it and parking underneath. On Saturdays from 9am to 2pm a market of more than 120 stalls sets up on Avenida Manolete beside Marbella Arena, selling food, spices, crafts, furniture, textiles and antiques.

For everyday shopping there are Mercadona supermarkets on Calle del Califa and in El Ángel. El Corte Inglés, a five-floor department store, is in Puerto Banús, a couple of minutes' drive from the lower valley, and La Cañada shopping centre, on the Ojén road at Marbella, is about 12 minutes away.

Healthcare

The public Consultorio La Campana on Avenida Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer is the district's own health centre, and there is a public Centro de Salud in San Pedro Alcántara. The public hospital is the Hospital Universitario Costa del Sol on the A-7 east of Marbella, about 15 minutes' drive.

Of the private hospitals, HC Marbella International Hospital is on Calle Ventura del Mar near Puerto Banús, and Hospital Quirónsalud Marbella, on Avenida Severo Ochoa, runs a 24-hour emergency service for adults, children and obstetrics and is about 11 minutes away.

Getting around

The A-7 coast road runs along the bottom of the valley, with the AP-7 toll motorway as the faster route east and west. Málaga airport is about 60 km away, about 45 to 50 minutes by car without traffic, and Gibraltar airport about 57 minutes, with the border crossing at La Línea on top. Marbella old town is about 13 minutes' drive and Puerto Banús two or three.

There is no railway in Marbella: the Cercanías line from Málaga airport ends at Fuengirola. Most residents drive, and a car is close to essential in the upper valley.

Worth knowing before you buy

If you plan to let the property to holidaymakers, it must be registered in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía, and short lets now also need a national registration number issued through the Land Registry. Since 3 April 2025, a new holiday let in a building or estate run as a community of owners needs the approval of three fifths of the owners, and the community can limit or ban the activity by the same majority. Marbella has also banned converting ground-floor and commercial premises into tourist flats. Your lawyer should confirm the position for the specific property before you commit.

In gated estates, ask for the community fees, the last two years of minutes and any approved works. On frontline golf plots, check which way the fairway plays and how close the tees are. Higher up the valley, drive the access road at the times you would use it. For any villa, ask your lawyer to check that the building and any later extensions match the licences and the Land Registry description, and that a first-occupation licence is in place for newer homes.