Browse Costa Sunsets homes for sale across Marbella and the wider Costa del Sol.
Las Colinas de Marbella, Benahavis
This luxurious duplex, located in the prestigious Las Colinas de Marbella in Benahavis, Malaga, encapsulates the unique quality of lifestyle cherished on the C…
Eagles Village, Benahavis
Presenting a beautifully refurbished duplex situated in the exclusive Eagles Village, Benahavis, Malaga, this property exemplifies luxury living on the iconic…
We're Bianca and Omèr, and we know the homes across this stretch of the Costa del Sol inside out. Benahavís is where we send buyers who want green hills and privacy without losing the coast. We'll walk you through every urbanisation, and we'll always tell you which homes are over-priced and why.
“They found us a frontline villa that wasn't even on the open market. Smooth, honest.”
“Three viewings, no pressure, sound advice on schools. Best agency on the coast.”
“Bianca speaks Dutch, knew our notary, and introduced us to other Dutch families nearby.”
In Benahavis a duplex usually means one of two things. Most often it's a duplex penthouse on the golf urbanisations — Los Arqueros, La Quinta, Los Flamingos — where the top two floors of a low-rise Andalusian block fold together: living space and one or two bedrooms downstairs, a master suite opening onto a private solarium up top, with the mountains behind and the sea ahead. The other kind is the split-level townhouse, particularly in the pueblo-style enclaves like La Heredia, where rooms step down the hillside over two or three storeys rather than spreading across one floor.
They suit people who want the volume and the roof terrace of a house with the lock-up-and-leave ease of an apartment — second-home owners, golfers, downsizers who still want to host. Two and three bedrooms are the common shape, often 150 to 250 sq m built with a generous terrace. As a rule of thumb a two-bed duplex penthouse on Los Arqueros generally runs in the high three-hundreds to around half a million euros, while three-bed duplexes in La Quinta or a finished split-level in La Heredia typically sit closer to a million and above. The stairs are the trade-off worth naming — wonderful for the solarium, less so if step-free living matters to you, and we'll always say so before you fall for the view.
Sitting in the hills between Marbella and Estepona in Málaga province, Benahavís is the inland counterpart to the coast rather than a beach town in its own right. The old village clings to the gorge of the Guadalmina river, all narrow lanes and tapas terraces, while the municipality spreads up into the Serranía de Ronda foothills and down towards the sea. It is consistently one of the wealthiest municipalities per head in Andalucía, and that shows in the calibre of the homes more than in any flash. What you get here is space, greenery, security and views — and a short hop back down to San Pedro, Puerto Banús and Estepona whenever you want the coast.
It's an international crowd — roughly six in ten residents come from abroad, with strong British, Scandinavian, Northern European and Russian-speaking contingents alongside Spanish families from the village itself. Broadly there are two Benahavís populations. Up in the gated estates you'll find privacy-minded buyers: business owners, sports and entertainment names, and families who want a guarded address and a heliport down the road. Around the golf and around the village it's more everyday — retirees, remote workers, and families chasing the international schools and the calmer pace. Plenty are second-home owners, but a good number live here year-round, which is why the village restaurants stay open through winter rather than shuttering in October.
Villas are the heart of the Benahavís market, and they come in every register — from contemporary glass-and-concrete builds in La Quinta and Los Flamingos to the vast private compounds of La Zagaleta and El Madroñal. Around them sits a healthy run of apartments, ground-floor garden apartments and penthouses, especially in the golf developments, plus duplex and duplex-penthouse layouts in the country-club resorts. You'll also find townhouses and the odd semi-detached villa or house in the more village-scaled pockets like La Heredia, and building plots for those who want to design from scratch — La Zagaleta in particular is sold largely as land for bespoke villas. The signature styles are two: crisp modern villas built for the valley views, and the traditional Andalucian whitewashed look around the old town. The named addresses worth knowing are La Zagaleta and El Madroñal at the very top, the Marbella Club Golf Resort, Los Flamingos with its Villa Padierna resort, the golf-centred La Quinta, and the friendlier La Heredia, La Alquería and El Paraíso lower down.
Benahavís spans a very wide band, so it pays to know where you're aiming. Apartments and ground-floor homes around the golf typically open from the high-three-hundred-thousands to around half a million euros, with penthouses and larger duplexes running into seven figures. Townhouses and semi-detached homes generally sit in the mid-hundreds-of-thousands to low millions. Villas are where the range really stretches: a comfortable family villa in La Quinta or near the village usually starts around the one-million mark, while the gated estates of La Zagaleta and El Madroñal trade firmly in the multi-million bracket and run up into the tens of millions for the trophy homes. Plots are priced on their plot size, position and, above all, the view they command. Those are typical ranges, not a today's-market quote — values swing with finish, plot and outlook, and our standing promise is to tell you honestly when an asking price doesn't match the home behind it.
Benahavís earns its nickname as the dining room of the Costa del Sol — the Rincón Gastronómico — with a village square packed with tapas bars and restaurants well out of proportion to its size, mountain game and grilled meats alongside fresh coast seafood. Golf is the other anchor: the municipality is laced with courses, including Los Flamingos, La Quinta, Atalaya and El Paraíso, more than a dozen across the area. For families, the international schools cluster just down the hill — Atalaya in the valley below, plus Laude San Pedro, St George's and Mayfair within a short drive in San Pedro and Estepona. The beaches aren't on your doorstep but they're close: San Pedro de Alcántara and the Guadalmina coast are roughly fifteen minutes down the A-7, with Puerto Banús, Marbella and Estepona all within easy reach. Málaga airport is about 50 minutes to an hour away via the AP-7 toll motorway. The one honest caveat is that this is hill living — you will drive for almost everything, and the steeper, more remote estates ask for a comfortable car and a head for winding roads.
We treat Benahavís as several distinct markets under one name, and we match you to the right one rather than the prettiest listing. A buyer who wants the guarded gates and total seclusion of La Zagaleta wants something very different from a family after a sunny La Quinta villa near the school run, or a couple after a lock-up-and-leave penthouse by the golf. We'll tell you which orientations catch the afternoon breeze and which bake, which views are protected by green-belt land and which could be built out, and which homes have been sitting because they're simply over-priced. We know the agents, the developers and the back-stories on most of these urbanisations. If you're weighing Benahavís against the coast, or trying to choose between estates, drop us a line.
A duplex is a home arranged over two connected floors within a single building. In Benahavis the most common version is a duplex penthouse: the top two levels of a low-rise golf-urbanisation block, with living areas and bedrooms below and a master suite plus private solarium above. A standard penthouse occupies one top floor; a duplex penthouse adds the second, upper level and the roof terrace. There are also split-level duplex townhouses in village-style enclaves such as La Heredia, where the floors step down the hillside.
Duplex penthouses cluster on the golf urbanisations — Los Arqueros, La Quinta and Los Flamingos — while split-level duplex townhouses are a feature of the pueblo-style developments like La Heredia. Most have two or three bedrooms and run roughly 150 to 250 sq m built with a sizeable terrace or solarium. A two-bedroom duplex penthouse on Los Arqueros typically falls in the high three-hundred-thousands to around half a million euros; three-bedroom duplexes in La Quinta or finished split-levels in La Heredia generally start near a million and rise from there with view, finish and plot.
Typically second-home owners and golfers who want the space and roof terrace of a house with the security and low upkeep of an apartment, plus downsizers leaving larger villas who still want room to host family. The duplex layout gives sleeping quarters on one floor and a private solarium for sun and sea views on the other, inside a gated, garden-and-pool community a short drive from Marbella, Puerto Banus and Estepona. The one caveat we always flag is the internal staircase, which is worth weighing if step-free, single-level living is a priority.
Benahavís is a hillside village in Málaga province, about 8km inland between Marbella and Estepona on the Costa del Sol. It isn't a beach town itself, but the coast is close: San Pedro de Alcántara and the Guadalmina beaches are roughly a 15-minute drive down the A-7, with Puerto Banús, Marbella and Estepona all within easy reach. Málaga airport is about 50 minutes to an hour away via the AP-7.
Villas dominate the Benahavís market, from contemporary family homes in La Quinta and Los Flamingos to the vast gated estates of La Zagaleta and El Madroñal. Alongside them you'll find apartments, ground-floor garden apartments, penthouses and duplex penthouses around the golf resorts, plus townhouses, the occasional semi-detached villa or house in village-scaled areas like La Heredia, and building plots for those who want to design their own home.
It's a wide range. Golf-area apartments and ground-floor homes typically open from the high-three-hundred-thousands to around half a million euros, with penthouses and large duplexes into seven figures. Townhouses generally run from the mid-hundreds-of-thousands to low millions. Villas start around one million for a comfortable family home and climb into the multi-million and tens-of-millions bracket in estates like La Zagaleta and El Madroñal. These are typical bands; finish, plot and view move them considerably.
At the top end are the gated estates La Zagaleta and El Madroñal, known for privacy, large plots and panoramic views, along with the Marbella Club Golf Resort. Los Flamingos, home to the Villa Padierna resort, and the golf-centred La Quinta offer a country-club mix of villas, apartments and townhouses. Lower down and closer to the village, La Heredia, La Alquería and El Paraíso have a more relaxed, traditional Andalucian character.
Yes, it's popular with families for its safety, green surroundings and proximity to schools. The international schools cluster just down the hill — Atalaya in the valley below Benahavís, plus Laude San Pedro, St George's and Mayfair within a short drive in San Pedro de Alcántara and Estepona. The trade-off is that Benahavís is hill living, so you'll rely on the car for the school run, shops and the beach rather than walking to them.
