Emare, Estepona: a buyer’s guide to the New Golden Mile’s most contemporary beachfront address

The New Golden Mile is best known for its mature, terracotta, Andalusian beachfront communities, the Cabo Bermejo and Torre Bermeja generation, all tiled roofs and tropical gardens grown in over twenty years. Emare is the opposite argument. It is what happens when someone takes one of the last frontline beach plots on this coast and builds something uncompromisingly modern on it: 28 large, sea facing homes of glass, stone and clean lines, wrapped around a heated infinity pool that seems to spill into the Mediterranean, with the kind of technology and privacy usually reserved for a private villa. For the buyer who wants brand new contemporary architecture rather than lived in character, it is the reference point on the New Golden Mile.

This guide is for anyone weighing a purchase at Emare, or using it as a benchmark for the newest end of the New Golden Mile market. It sets out what the development actually is, the concept behind it, the homes and their signature private basements, the views and the technology, what it is like to live here, how it compares with the Andalusian classics next door and with the wider coast, the running costs, current prices and the honest trade offs of buying a very new, very exclusive beachfront home. If you finish it and decide Emare is not the one, that is a useful result too.

Emare is a gated, frontline beach development on the New Golden Mile in Estepona, set directly on the sand between the town of Estepona and Puerto Banús. It is deliberately, almost radically, low density: just 28 homes spread across six small contemporary buildings on a plot of nearly 20,000 m², which works out at a great deal of garden, space and privacy per residence. The grounds are modern Mediterranean gardens that roll down towards the shore, where an outdoor heated saltwater infinity pool is designed to appear to merge with the sea, and the beach itself is reached through private access controlled by biometric fingerprint readers. Security runs around the clock, with a concierge, video surveillance and separate gated entrances for people and cars.

The homes are large 3 and 4 bedroom apartments and penthouses, generously proportioned enough that the developer and agents describe them as more houses than apartments. The architecture is contemporary and pared back: large glass fronts, sliding windows that disappear into the walls, huge terraces and an emphasis on the sea view from almost every room. Inside, the finish is high specification and highly serviced: open plan living, designer kitchens, underfloor heating, and a level of home automation, lighting, climate, blinds and sound, that runs through the whole home. What defines Emare is the combination of that contemporary, technology led design with a genuinely frontline beach position and villa scale privacy, on a coast where new homes this close to the water have become very rare.

Emare sits on the central New Golden Mile, close to the Laguna Village beach side commercial and dining destination, and surrounded by the services, restaurants, beach clubs, schools and golf that define this stretch. It is one of the newest of the area's landmark frontline communities, completed at the start of the 2020s, and it reads as the modern counterpoint to the older Andalusian estates along the same shore.

Emare lies on the beachside of the A7 coast road, in the municipality of Estepona, roughly midway between the town of Estepona and Puerto Banús. In practical terms it sits at the heart of the New Golden Mile, close enough to Marbella and Puerto Banús to share their services and nightlife, and far enough to keep the calm, the privacy and the direct beach access that define the address.

Approximate drive times, worth checking yourself on different days:

• Estepona town centre, about 10 minutes
• San Pedro de Alcántara, about 10 minutes
• Puerto Banús, about 15 minutes
• Marbella centre, about 20 minutes
• Villa Padierna and the Los Flamingos golf resort, about 10 minutes
• Málaga airport, around 40 to 45 minutes via the AP7
• Gibraltar airport, around 45 minutes to the west

Emare sits frontline on the sand on Estepona's New Golden Mile, roughly midway between Estepona and Puerto Banús, with the beach at its door and Laguna Village a short walk away. Schematic map · not to scale.

You need a car here for anything beyond the immediate seafront, but the essentials are close: Laguna Village, with its restaurants, beach club and boutiques, is a short walk or drive away, a small supermarket, bars and public transport are nearby, and the coastal path lets you walk or cycle along the shore. The five star hotels of this stretch, Las Dunas and Ikos Andalusia, are close by, and with both Málaga and Gibraltar airports inside an hour, the development is very well connected for somewhere this private.

The idea that sets Emare apart is best summed up in a phrase its own marketing uses: it bridges the gap between a villa and an apartment. The homes are designed to give the space, privacy and specification of a villa, with the security and the lock and leave ease of a gated apartment community, and two features in particular deliver that.

The first is the private lift. Each home has its own lift that runs from the underground garage, past a private, climate controlled storeroom, directly up into the apartment, so you arrive home without touching a communal corridor. The second, and more unusual, is the private basement. Most homes include a large lower level with natural light and ventilation, reached from within the home by that same private lift and finished to exactly the same standard as the living space above. Owners use these basements as a wellness suite, gym, cinema, home office or extra living space, and they add a whole dimension that a normal apartment simply does not have. Add the biometric fingerprint access to the garage and the beach, and Emare feels far more like a private residence than a flat, which is precisely the point.

Where the Andalusian classics of the New Golden Mile are all tiled roofs and rounded arches, Emare is deliberately modern. The six buildings are low rise and contemporary, with clean horizontal lines, large stone and rendered surfaces, and vast expanses of glass oriented to the sea. The signature move is the sliding glazing that opens right back into the walls, dissolving the line between the living room and the terrace so that the interior and the sea view become one space. Terraces are large, some of the penthouse terraces exceed 200 m², and every home is turned frontally towards the water.

The gardens are modern in design but keep a Mediterranean essence, mature planting, lawns and stone, laid out to roll gently down towards the beach. At the centre is the heated saltwater infinity pool, positioned and levelled so that its far edge appears to merge with the Mediterranean beyond, one of the most photographed features of the development. It is a very different aesthetic from the tropical, waterfall filled gardens of Cabo Bermejo and Torre Bermeja: cooler, cleaner and more architectural, in keeping with the homes it serves.

Emare is a collection of just 28 homes, and they are large. Most are 3 and 4 bedroom apartments and penthouses, and some are configured with additional bedrooms or a guest suite, with several homes exceeding 300 m² of interior space before you count the basement, the terraces and the private gardens. Ground floor homes come with private gardens that open onto the communal grounds, function almost as beachfront houses, and are among the most sought after. Middle floor homes trade the garden for elevation and cleaner sea views, and all of them share the same high specification: open plan living and dining, designer kitchens with islands, en suite bedrooms, underfloor heating, double glazing with solar control, and full home automation.

The private basement is the feature that most distinguishes an Emare home from a conventional apartment. Because it has natural light and ventilation and is finished to the same standard as the main home, it is genuinely usable space rather than storage, and how it is fitted out, gym, spa, cinema, office or additional bedrooms, varies from home to home and is worth looking at closely, since it materially affects both the usable size and the value.

The penthouses are Emare's showpiece homes. They pair the same contemporary interiors with enormous south facing terraces, some exceeding 200 m², and in the best cases private rooftop space, offering uninterrupted panoramas along the coast, out to the Mediterranean and, on the clearest days, to Gibraltar and the mountains of the African coast beyond. With the space and outdoor living of a villa, the sea view of a frontline position and the security and ease of a gated community, they are the homes that command the highest prices at Emare, and they reach up towards the top of the New Golden Mile apartment market.

Views are central to Emare, and here the whole development is built around them: every home is oriented frontally to the sea, so unlike the older estates, where aspect varies a great deal from unit to unit, almost every Emare home enjoys a direct Mediterranean outlook. The main orientation is south and east, over the gardens, the pool and the beach, which brings morning and midday sun onto the terraces and frames the widest sweep of sea and coast. On clear days the view stretches to Gibraltar and across to the African coast.

Because the plot is frontline and the buildings are low and stepped, the sea views are unusually well protected, and the large glazing and deep terraces are designed to make the most of them. As always, the exact outlook still varies with the specific home, its floor and its position within the six buildings, so it is worth confirming in person what a particular terrace sees, and at the time of day you will use it, but the baseline here is higher than at almost any older community on the coast.

Emare was designed as a private, contemporary retreat by the sea, and much of what you are buying is the lifestyle around the home. Here is what daily life actually looks like.

Amenities and daily life

The communal offer is elegant rather than extensive, in keeping with a community of only 28 homes: beautifully landscaped modern gardens, the heated saltwater infinity pool overlooking the sea, and direct, private, fingerprint controlled access to the beach. The low density is itself the amenity, with so few homes across nearly 20,000 m², the grounds feel calm, private and uncrowded, and the beach in front rarely feels busy. Much of the wellness and leisure space that a larger resort puts in shared facilities, a gym or spa, is instead built into each individual home in the private basement, which suits buyers who value privacy over communal bustle. For everyday life, Laguna Village and the shops, bars and restaurants of the New Golden Mile are minutes away.

Technology and security

This is where Emare goes furthest beyond its neighbours. The homes are built around a fully programmable home automation system controlling lighting, climate, blinds and sound, with energy efficient systems and high insulation standards throughout. Security and privacy are equally advanced: the development is fully gated with a concierge, around the clock security and video surveillance, and access to both the garage and the beach is controlled by biometric fingerprint readers. Combined with the private lift into each home, it gives a level of security and seclusion closer to a private villa than a typical apartment, which is a large part of the appeal for high end and international buyers.

Restaurants, beach clubs and hotels

You are well placed for food and hotels. Laguna Village, the beachside destination with its restaurants, beach club, boutiques and Sunday market, is on the doorstep. Two of the coast's most talked about five star hotels, the Grand Hotel Las Dunas and the all inclusive Ikos Andalusia, are close by along the shore, with their restaurants, spas and beach clubs, and the Tikitano by Divot beach restaurant is a short drive along the coast. The restaurants, marina and revitalised old town of Estepona are about ten minutes one way, and Puerto Banús about fifteen the other.

Golf

For golfers the position is excellent, with the New Golden Mile sitting in one of the densest golf belts in Europe. The Villa Padierna resort at Los Flamingos, with three courses and the Anantara Villa Padierna hotel and spa, is roughly ten minutes inland, and El Paraíso, Atalaya, Los Arqueros, El Campanario, Guadalmina and Estepona Golf all fall within about a fifteen minute radius, with the courses of Benahavís and Marbella close behind. Few beachfront addresses put this many quality courses so close.

Health, wellness and family life

The address suits families and anyone who values wellness, and Emare answers much of that at home: the private basements are frequently fitted out as gyms and spa suites. Beyond the gates, the Healthouse Las Dunas, one of Spain's leading health and wellness retreats, is close by, and Estepona has invested heavily in recent years, adding a new hospital, sports facilities, parks and public art that have earned it the nickname the Garden of the Costa del Sol. Several respected international schools serve the area, and for how the region's public and private healthcare actually works for international residents, see our Marbella healthcare guide. For younger families, the Selwo Aventura wildlife park and miles of safe, gently shelving beach are close at hand.

Buying at Emare means joining a small, modern community of owners that funds and runs the gardens, the pool, the security, the technology and the upkeep. Day to day, the community is run by its owners, the comunidad de propietarios, through an appointed managing agent, an administrador de fincas, and, as with the other beachfront communities on this shore, some shared coastal infrastructure and common areas can be maintained collectively through an urban conservation entity, so it is worth confirming how the specific arrangements work.

A small community of only 28 homes maintaining landscaped gardens, an infinity pool, extensive technology and full security means the fixed costs are shared among relatively few owners, so the community fees are meaningful, and it is worth understanding them before you commit. Before you buy, make the accounts essential reading. Ask, in writing, for the current fee on the specific home, the last year or two of accounts and minutes, any planned special levy, the derrama that funds larger works, and a certificate that the seller's own fees are fully paid, since unpaid community debt can pass to the buyer. Because Emare is a technology rich, recently built development, it is also worth asking about the maintenance and warranties on the home automation, the pool and the building systems, and having an independent lawyer review the community's paperwork as a matter of course.

To understand Emare you have to understand the stretch of coast it sits on.

Beachside and golfside

The New Golden Mile is the shoreline running west from San Pedro de Alcántara towards the town of Estepona, named in the early 2000s to borrow some of the prestige of Marbella's original Golden Mile, but it has grown into something with its own character. Where central Marbella is dense and built up, the New Golden Mile has been shaped by Estepona's deliberate planning: low rise, low density and green, with tall building held back so that the sea and mountain views are protected. It divides into two worlds. The beachside, south of the A7, is where the frontline communities sit, Emare among the newest, alongside the older Cabo Bermejo and Torre Bermeja, with direct beach access and the coastal path linking them along the shore. The golfside, north of the A7, climbs inland towards Benahavís through the belt of golf courses and villa communities. Emare sits firmly on the beachside, on the central New Golden Mile.

The towns, and getting around

You live between two towns and borrow from both. Estepona, about ten minutes west, has quietly become one of the most attractive towns on the coast, with a flower filled old quarter, a working marina, a new hospital and a growing restaurant scene. Puerto Banús and central Marbella are about fifteen and twenty minutes east for the marina, the shopping and the nightlife, and San Pedro de Alcántara sits between. Málaga airport is around forty to forty five minutes via the AP7, and Gibraltar airport around forty five minutes to the west, so two airports sit within an easy hour. The wider appeal is simple: brand new, frontline beach living with genuine space and privacy, within twenty minutes of Marbella, at a level of calm the busier coast to the east no longer offers.

Almost everyone looking at Emare is also weighing the alternatives, so it helps to place it. The most instructive comparison is with its older neighbours on the same shore, Cabo Bermejo and Torre Bermeja. Those two are the mature, Andalusian, terracotta classics, built around twenty years ago, with tropical gardens grown in over decades, a warm traditional character and a deep resale market at somewhat more accessible entry prices. Emare is their modern opposite: brand new, contemporary architecture, far fewer and larger homes, cutting edge technology, villa scale privacy with private basements and lifts, and a higher price point. Where the Bermeja pair offer lived in character and value, Emare offers the newest design, the highest specification and the greatest exclusivity. Which you prefer comes down to taste as much as budget, traditional Andalusian charm against contemporary architectural luxury, and it is well worth viewing both styles before deciding.

Against Marbella's original Golden Mile, and addresses like the Marina Puente Romano estate, Emare offers something those cannot: a genuinely new, frontline, contemporary home, since almost nothing of this kind and this position is still being built. What it gives up is the established prestige, the walkability to Puerto Banús and the mature setting of the older addresses. Against the wave of newer developments further along the coast, Emare's advantages are its rare frontline plot, its villa scale homes and its very low density, few new schemes combine all three. What none of the alternatives quite matches is Emare's specific combination of a new build, frontline position, only 28 homes and villa in an apartment concept. Which way that trade falls depends entirely on the buyer.

Emare sits at the very top of the New Golden Mile apartment market, above the older Bermeja communities, as its newness, scale and specification warrant, with a range driven by size, floor, terrace, the fit out of the basement and, above all, position. As a guide to current levels, and every home is different:

• Three bedroom apartments broadly from around 2.7 million euros
• Four bedroom apartments broadly from around 3.4 million euros
• Penthouses broadly from around 4 million euros, rising to around 8 million for the best frontline sea penthouses

Where a specific home falls depends heavily on its floor and outlook, the size and finish of its terraces and private basement, whether it is a ground floor home with a garden or a penthouse with a rooftop, and its exact position within the six buildings. Because values move with the market and every home is different, the most reliable guide is always the live listings, where you can see current asking prices at any time. Most purchases now are resales, taxed at the standard Andalusian transfer tax, ITP, of 7 %, plus roughly 1 to 2 % in notary, registry and legal fees, so budget around 8 to 9 % on top of the price; any remaining first transfer from the developer would instead carry 10 % VAT plus 1.2 % stamp duty, AJD, so confirm the treatment for the specific home with your lawyer.

Two things define this market. The first is extreme scarcity: Emare is one of very few genuinely new, frontline, contemporary beachfront developments on the coast, and with only 28 homes in total, resales come up rarely and are keenly watched. New frontline beach plots on the New Golden Mile are effectively finished, so a modern home in this position cannot really be replaced, which underpins values. The second is that Emare appeals to a specific, and growing, buyer: the international purchaser who wants brand new contemporary architecture, the latest technology and villa like privacy, and will pay a premium for all three in a frontline setting. That demand has held up strongly at the top of the market.

On the wider picture, the New Golden Mile has been one of the stronger performing parts of the coast in recent years, lifted by the arrival of five star hotels such as Ikos Andalusia and Las Dunas, the completion of the coastal path, and the steady drift of buyers priced out of central Marbella looking west for space and value. As the newest landmark address on the stretch, Emare sits at the premium end of that trend. It behaves like a buy and hold, live in it market for buyers who want the best new home in the best position, rather than a place to trade quickly. For the wider context, see our Marbella property market report.

A frontline, contemporary beach home at Emare has strong appeal at the very top of the luxury rental market, where a small number of tenants pay well for privacy, design and a beachfront position, and the homes, gardens and pool make it easy to let to a discerning tenant in season. Longer lets to international residents are realistic too, given the year round climate and the walkable seafront. As always in Andalucía, short term tourist letting requires the regional tourist licence, the VFT registration, and may be restricted by the community's own statutes, so both need to be confirmed for the specific home before you rely on rental income in your plans.

As an investment more broadly, Emare rewards buyers who value the home itself. The case rests on genuine scarcity, a new frontline home that cannot be recreated, very low density, villa scale space and a level of design and technology that dates slowly. The buyers who do best treat it as somewhere to live first, and let occasionally, and buy the best position and the best fitted home rather than the headline number.

• The specific home and its basement. Emare homes vary in size, layout and, especially, how the private basement is finished. Look closely at the actual home, since the usable space and value depend heavily on that lower level and its fit out.
• The view and orientation. Almost every home is sea facing, but confirm what the specific terrace sees today, at the time of day you will use it, and check the floor and position within the six buildings.
• The community accounts. With only 28 owners sharing the costs, understand the current fee, recent accounts and minutes, any planned special levy, and proof the seller's fees are paid.
• The technology and warranties. Ask about the maintenance, servicing and any remaining warranties on the home automation, the pool and the building systems, given how technology rich the development is.
• The legal detail. Have an independent lawyer confirm the licences, the paperwork and the correct purchase tax treatment, especially on any home still on its first transfer.

Where exactly is Emare?

On the beachside of the New Golden Mile in Estepona, directly on the sand roughly midway between the town of Estepona and Puerto Banús, close to Laguna Village. Estepona centre and San Pedro de Alcántara are each about ten minutes by car, Puerto Banús around fifteen and Marbella about twenty.

What kind of homes does Emare have?

Just 28 large, contemporary, sea facing homes across six low rise buildings: 3 and 4 bedroom apartments and penthouses, most with a private lift, underground parking and a large private basement with natural light finished to the same standard as the home. Ground floor homes have private gardens; penthouses have very large terraces.

How is Emare different from Cabo Bermejo and Torre Bermeja?

They are all frontline beach communities on the same stretch, but Emare is the modern one. Cabo Bermejo and Torre Bermeja are mature, Andalusian, terracotta estates from around twenty years ago with tropical gardens and traditional character. Emare is brand new and contemporary, with far fewer and larger homes, cutting edge technology, private basements and lifts, and a higher price point. It comes down to traditional charm against contemporary luxury.

How much does a home at Emare cost?

Broadly from around 2.7 million euros for a three bedroom apartment, through around 3.4 million for four bedroom homes, to around 4 million and up for penthouses, with the best frontline sea penthouses reaching around 8 million. Floor, terrace size, the basement fit out and position drive the range.

Is Emare frontline beach?

Yes. It is a genuine frontline beach development with direct, private, fingerprint controlled access to the sand, and almost every home is oriented frontally to the sea.

Is Emare a good investment?

It has strong fundamentals: a rare new frontline position, very low density, villa scale homes and a design and technology level that dates slowly. It suits a buy and hold, live in it approach at the top of the market more than short term trading, and any rental plans should be checked against the tourist licence rules and community statutes.

Emare is the home you buy when you want new. Where the Bermeja estates next door win you over with grown in gardens and Andalusian warmth, Emare wins you over the moment the glass wall slides into the pocket and the living room becomes the terrace becomes the sea. The private basement and lift genuinely change how the home feels to live in, and the low density means the beach in front rarely feels shared. If we have one piece of advice, it is to buy the home for its specific position and the way its basement and terraces are finished, not just for the address, because at Emare the difference between a good home and a great one is about floor, aspect and fit out rather than condition. Get that right, and you own one of the few genuinely new frontline homes on the whole coast.

Emare is easy to fall for and worth understanding clearly. It is the most contemporary and most exclusive of the New Golden Mile's frontline addresses, a low density enclave of just 28 villa scale homes, with cutting edge design, remarkable technology, private basements and lifts, real privacy and an infinity pool that seems to pour into the sea. For buyers who want brand new beachfront living with space, privacy and design, within reach of Marbella but out of its crush, there is very little on this coast in the same class.

What it asks in return is a clear eye and a bigger budget. This is a premium, technology rich, new build community, so the home matters as much as the address: the floor, the orientation, the terraces, the basement fit out and the community accounts are what separate a great purchase from an ordinary one. Get those right, and Emare offers something genuinely rare, a brand new, frontline beach home at the very top of its class, on a stretch of coast that helped define what luxury living west of Marbella could be.

If you are considering Emare seriously, the best place to start is a conversation. We know the development, and the New Golden Mile around it, home by home and position by position: which of the 28 residences are truly sea facing, which ground floor homes have the best gardens, how the basements and terraces differ, and which come to the market quietly before they reach a portal. Get in touch and tell us what you are actually looking for, and we will help you find the home that matches.