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Casual elegance
Laurence Dollimore finds a down-to-earth welcome in the high society paradise of Sotogrande
TRANQUIL: Picturesque Sotogrande beach with Rock of Gibraltar visible in the distance
IT’S an absolute privilege to live here,” enthuses 29-yearold Georgina Taylor, welcoming me to her eponymous chiringuito Gigi’s. “It’s such a beautiful, elegant paradise.” This is Sotogrande, Andalucia’s largest privately-owned residential super-estate. And super it most certainly is. Sometimes described as Spain’s ‘millionaire’s playground’, the enclave was purpose-built for a wealthy cosmopolitan crowd with the added bonuses of 24-hour security, designer boutiques and quality restaurants My first introduction to this LA-like loca-
tion came via a lifelong Soto resident who loured enclave of luxury apartments, villas struggled to end a sentence in anything and mansions. other than ‘dahling’, ‘sweet“There’s a lot of wealth here ie’ or ‘fabulous’. but it’s not vulgar or ostentaYou could have mistaken her tious,” says Georgina a.k.a. “There’s a lot of ‘Gigi’, who grew up here,. for being too posh to pass the time of day. But within wealth here but “My clients may be million30 seconds of meeting her, aires but they are happy to it’s not vulgar or walk around in flip flops and preconceptions melt away. And it’s the same with Sotoeat chiringuito-style.” ostentatious,” grande, an uber chic urbanSotogrande is where the says Gigi isation in the municipality of wealthy come to relax in San Roque. peace, they’re not here to The bluer-than-blue marina, show off or be seen. stacked with gin palace yachts and sailing Perhaps this helps explain why the resort’s boats galore, is the backdrop to a multi-co- economy has consistently outperformed
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its Costa neighbours. Throughout the last crisis, while areas like Fuengirola saw property prices plummet by as much as 11%, in Sotogrande they remained stable and even increased, some well into the double figures. And with huge new exclusive developments planned in La Reserva, where homes are expected to go for around the €13 million mark, that looks only set to continue. And while the grapevine may have you believe the area is full of snooty money-makers, scratch beneath the tranquil opulence and you will find a down-to-earth, sporty community ready to welcome visitors with open arms. “There’s such a community spirit here,” confirms new resiDesigned by Web Express Guide dent Sue Davies, 51, who relocated with husband Wayne last August. “There’s a great mix of nationalities and everyone is so supportive of each other, it makes it a wonderful place to live.” “There’s just so much to do here too - golf, tennis, padel tennis, sailing or the beach,” she adds. “You have everything in one place and that is ultimately why we love it. It’s a one-stop paradise.” While sailing has long been an obvious pastime for residents, the sports scene has always been ahead of the curve. Padel tennis, Europe’s fastestgrowing sport, has been a Soto Individual and favourite for years. It is also group sessions polo’s most southerly Europeincluding home visits an home. from Marbella to Gibraltar The big summer tournament at
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