La Quinta Guide
Golf Valley Living in Benahavís
What is La Quinta?
La Quinta is an exclusive residential and golf community in the municipality of Benahavís, sitting just inland of Nueva Andalucía’s Golf Valley. Built around La Quinta Golf & Country Club, it combines private villas, high-spec apartments and townhouses with quiet, hillside surroundings just minutes from Puerto Banús.
It marks the point where Benahavís municipality begins, offering a more secluded, golf-and-nature lifestyle than the busier coastal districts while remaining close to Marbella’s beaches and marina life.
History of La Quinta
La Quinta’s story began in the late 1980s, when Tomás Pascual, founder of Corporación Pascual, acquired land in the area for the construction of a golf course and a series of residential developments. La Quinta Golf & Country Club opened in 1989, designed by Manuel Piñero and Antonio Garrido, with Grupo Inmobiliario La Quinta founded in 1992 to manage the growing urbanisation directly.
The golf course was built as three distinctive nine-hole loops — San Pedro, Ronda and Guadaiza — that can be combined into several different 18-hole rounds, and the complex later added the five-star Westin La Quinta Golf Resort & Spa alongside its own golf academy, founded in 1990.
In recent years, the area has expanded further with Real de La Quinta, a large-scale new extension of more than 200 hectares bringing off-plan villas and apartments to the hillside above the original urbanisation.
Where is La Quinta?
La Quinta sits in the municipality of Benahavís, just north of the AP-7 motorway, bordering Nueva Andalucía’s Golf Valley to the south and east. Open countryside and the Sierra de las Nieves natural park lie to the north, with the Río Guadaiza valley marking its western edge.
The urbanisation occupies a hillside position overlooking Nueva Andalucía, giving many properties elevated views over the Golf Valley towards the coast, while still keeping Puerto Banús and the beach within a short drive.
| Destination | Distance | Drive time |
|---|---|---|
| Nueva Andalucía (Golf Valley) | ~1–2 km | ~5 min |
| Puerto Banús | ~6 km | ~10 min |
| Marbella city centre | ~10 km | ~15 min |
| Golden Mile beaches | ~8 km | ~15 min |
| Málaga Airport | ~52 km | ~42–45 min |
| Gibraltar Airport | ~65 km | ~50–55 min |
What does La Quinta offer?
La Quinta is built around its own golf course rather than the beach, so life here revolves around fairways, hillside views and a quieter, more residential pace than Marbella’s coastal districts, while still being minutes from Puerto Banús’s restaurants and marina.
| Sub-area | Character |
|---|---|
| El Herrojo | Gated villa enclave close to the golf clubhouse |
| Los Arcos | Established villas with mature gardens |
| Los Balcones | Elevated position with views over the Golf Valley |
| El Mirador | Hillside villas and townhouses with panoramic views |
| La Quinta Hills / La Quinta Greens | Villas and apartments closer to the fairways |
| Real de La Quinta | Large-scale new extension of off-plan villas and apartments set around a lake, still under construction |
Browse current listings across the district on our La Quinta properties page.
What style of homes can you find in La Quinta?
La Quinta’s housing stock is dominated by detached villas, many built on generous plots with sweeping golf and mountain views, alongside high-spec apartments and townhouses within gated complexes such as El Herrojo and La Quinta Hills. Architectural styles range from established 1990s Andalusian villas to more contemporary designs in the newer Real de La Quinta extension.
What do properties cost in La Quinta?
| Property type | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Villas (established La Quinta urbanisation) | From ~€940,000, averaging around €2.8 million, with prime new-builds exceeding €15,000,000 |
| Real de La Quinta (new-build extension) | Off-plan villas and apartments, still under construction — pricing available on request |
La Quinta’s average built size is around 415 m² on plots averaging roughly 845 m², reflecting its focus on spacious villas rather than dense apartment living, though established complexes also offer more accessible townhouse and apartment options.
What is there to do in La Quinta?
Golf
Golf is the reason La Quinta exists as a district. La Quinta Golf & Country Club offers three nine-hole loops — San Pedro, Ronda and Guadaiza — that combine into several 18-hole rounds, designed by Manuel Piñero and Antonio Garrido to reward accuracy over long hitting.
The complex includes its own golf academy, founded in 1990 as one of the first on the Costa del Sol, alongside dozens of other courses within a short drive across the wider Golf Valley.
The Westin’s tennis courts and fitness centre add further options for residents who split their time between golf and other sport.
Dining & hotel amenities
The five-star Westin La Quinta Golf Resort & Spa anchors the area’s dining and leisure scene, with a spa offering thermal circuits and treatment rooms, fitness facilities and a kids’ club, alongside restaurants open to non-guests.
Guests and residents can also book the Westin’s fine-dining restaurants directly, making it a natural spot for a golf-course lunch or evening meal without leaving the urbanisation.
The resort’s Sunsa restaurant serves Andalusian-leaning Mediterranean dishes such as red tuna toast and roasted seabass, while the Clubhouse restaurant’s terrace overlooks the course for all-day dining; El Mirador and Hoyo 19 round out the resort’s poolside and golf bars for a casual drink between rounds.
Nature & outdoor activity
Beyond the fairways, La Quinta’s hillside setting backs onto open countryside and the Sierra de las Nieves natural park, with hiking, mountain biking and horse riding routes including trails along the Guadalmina river and the road up to Benahavís village.
Guided horse-riding and mountain-biking excursions into the Sierra de las Nieves foothills can be arranged through operators based in nearby Benahavís village.
Shopping & Entertaining
La Quinta itself is quiet in the evenings, with residents typically heading the short distance to Puerto Banús or Nueva Andalucía’s Centro Plaza for shopping, restaurants and nightlife.
With little in the way of shops or bars inside the urbanisation itself, La Quinta residents typically drive the short distance to Puerto Banús or Nueva Andalucía‘s Centro Plaza for shopping and a night out — or entertain at home instead, with many of the community’s villas built around a private pool, terrace and outdoor kitchen well suited to hosting rather than going out.
Compare La Quinta with the wider Golf Valley in our full area guides, including Nueva Andalucía and Benahavís.
What is life like for kids in La Quinta?
La Quinta is popular with international families thanks to its quiet, secure setting and proximity to several well-regarded international schools, with many households favouring La Quinta specifically for its short commute to Aloha College.
The area’s golf, hiking and outdoor lifestyle also appeals to active families, while the Westin resort’s kids’ club offers additional activities on-site.
Schools near La Quinta
| School | Location | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Aloha College | Nueva Andalucía | ~5–10 min drive |
| Atalaya International College | New Golden Mile, near Benahavís | ~15–20 min drive |
| Laude San Pedro International College | San Pedro de Alcántara | ~15–20 min drive |
| Swans International School | El Capricho / Sierra Blanca, Marbella | ~15–20 min drive |
See our full guide to Nueva Andalucía for more on international schools near Marbella.
La Quinta vs. Nueva Andalucía and Benahavís
La Quinta sits between Nueva Andalucía’s busier, beach-adjacent Golf Valley and the quieter, more rural village of Benahavís itself: it offers a similar golf-course lifestyle to Nueva Andalucía but with a more secluded, hillside feel, while remaining far closer to Puerto Banús and the coast than Benahavís pueblo.
Fun facts about La Quinta
- La Quinta Golf & Country Club opened in 1989, designed by Manuel Piñero and Antonio Garrido, and its founder Tomás Pascual also built the Pascual food corporation.
- The golf complex is made up of three nine-hole loops — San Pedro, Ronda and Guadaiza — that combine into several different 18-hole rounds.
- La Quinta hosted the Benahavís Senior Masters from 2009 to 2012 and has also staged the Spanish Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour.
- La Quinta Golf Academy, founded in 1990, was one of the pioneering golf academies on the Costa del Sol.
- La Quinta marks the point where the municipality of Benahavís begins, right at the edge of Nueva Andalucía’s Golf Valley.
- The area is expanding with Real de La Quinta, a new extension of more than 200 hectares built around a central lake.
Frequently Asked Questions
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