Golfers unfamiliar with the Maremma, the lesser-known southern corner of Tuscany, have a treat in store. Inaugurated in 2008, Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort features a 6,218m course that hosted the 2025 Italian Open, a 73-key hotel five minutes from the beach, outstanding restaurants with a Soho House vibe, and a PGA National Academy.

Brand new, up on the hill overlooking the Lagoon of Orbetello on one side and the Mediterranean, polo club and golf course on the other, 22 very contemporary villas are being built. They range in size from three to eight bedrooms, all with full access to the resort, spa, daily housekeeping and 24-hour concierge service.

A number of new owners from France, Brazil, the USA, Italy, Russia and Sweden are already taking advantage of the managed rental programme to generate income. The surrounding neighbourhood, taking in the marina at Porto Santo Stefano, Porto Ercole and the beaches of Monte Argentario, has long been favoured by Romans (the capital and its international airport are a 90-minute drive to the north). Once a locale for a quiet Roman holiday, Argentario is now firmly on the international radar.

Camiral (Photo: D. Pellegrini)

Formerly PGA Catalunya, Camiral was recently selected to host the 2031 Ryder Cup, only the second Spanish club to have that honour. In Costa Brava, an hour north of Barcelona, the 36-hole European Tour Destination is implementing a €5.5 million upgrade to the Stadium and Tour courses, due for completion by October this year.

Set around the resort, there are 400 high-end homes, villas and apartments with the accent on low-density, contemporary design. The last planned development on the 250ha site is La Ginesta, a collection of 20 villas with, at the time of print, just three left for sale overlooking the Stadium Course’s 15th hole and the rugged Montseny mountain range in the distance.

Farther south, Sotogrande, on the Costa del Sol, has been drawing the rich and famous since the 1960s. Four 18-holers, including Valderrama, a busy marina, numerous restaurants and hotels, tennis and padel, a polo club and excellent wellness facilities, all on a 20sq km site, just 23 kilometres from Gibraltar airport, are an attractive proposition.

© Sotogrande

The latest and possibly best plots of land ever presented for sale are at La Gran Reserva. The Seven and The 15 are respectively seven one-hectare plots at the top of the hill with imperious views over Los Alcornocales Natural Park, the La Reserva course and the sea, and 15 half-hectare lots slightly lower down, combining to make a truly private gated community with excellent security. With currently nine units left to sell, contemporary villas are being erected by lifestyle buyers from the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, France and Saudi Arabia.

Next door in Portugal, The Residences Vale do Lobo are the first homes to be built at the storied Algarve resort in 20 years. Forty-four apartments, linked villas and townhouses, with a mix of private and communal swimming pools positioned along the fairways of the Royal Course, the development is the latest phase of improvements instigated by the resort’s new Iberian owner, Kronos Homes.

New facilities also include an enhanced tennis academy with 12 tennis and eight padel courts, a new fitness centre, heated swimming pool and pro shop, as well as a string of recently opened restaurants. But, of course, the heart of the 450ha club with two kilometres of stunning beachfront remains the two outstanding championship courses.

© Argentario GC

Staying in the Algarve, Kronos is also selling Marriott- and Westin-branded residences next to the Salgados course. Elsewhere in Europe, multicourse venues Costa Navarino in the Peloponnese and Verdura on Sicily continue to make waves with elegant new residential opportunities. 

Over in the Caribbean, the Nevis Peak Residences being built along the eighth fairways of the pristine Robert Trent Jones Jr course at Four Seasons Resort Nevis comprise one-, two- and three-bedroom penthouse apartments. Four Seasons Resort Puerto Rico is also building 30 new apartments in three blocks facing the sea and golf course, as well as launching 14 lots on Atlantic Drive Estates featuring two-storey beachfront homes with modernist architectural lines designed by 10SB, and serene interiors by Hirsch Bedner Associates.

Thanks to exclusive amenities, generous landscaping and tight security, linkside living is still very much in vogue.

Header image: © Vale de Lobo