A Swedish Reflection on Swedish Television about our Sotogrande

Sotogrande on Swedish TV! Our dear friend and client Ola Wenstrom, a recognised journalist on the Swedish TV, shared a reflection about our lovely resort of Sotogrande on this beautiful video, and Noll Sotogrande Real Estate appears as one of the most professional property agencies of Sotogrande.

A special program with exclusive insight into the still undiscovered part of the sunny coast: Sotogrande. 

Ola Wenström mentions that this video is a “special program with exclusive insight into the still undiscovered part of the sunny coast, at least among Swedes. Here, golf and the lifestyle attract more and more people to visit, live part-time and move permanently. Come along to the part of the Costa del Sol that is something else. More relaxed, a bit greener, better golf.” For more info and details about the area and the housing market for Swedes, contact: lotta@wenstrom.tv

Below we share the transcript by Ola Wenström about the main points of this YouTube video:

“The south of Spain. Swedes’ most popular destination. Through all charter times and still in the present. Exploited, well-visited, over-touristed and – completely, completely undiscovered. In this special program, you are welcome to a gem that has long been the center of elite golf in Europe, but which for some reason has not really caught on in terms of breadth and quantity. We use this as the basis for this YouTube channel – and thought that we would like to tell more about – and share with us SOTOGRANDE – THE SECRET OF THE GOLF COAST.”

Costa del Sol, yes you certainly know how it looks and feels around Malaga and towards Marbella – this is a little further away. Follow ten miles west, almost to the Rocks of Gibraltar. Here, in Sotogrande the coast and the feeling are different. After more than 50 years of intensive tourism, this area is still quite unexploited, somewhat undiscovered. This is an impact in a part of the Sunshine Coast that is different: here in Sotogrande the population density is lower, the nature is greener and the golf courses are better…

It is Peter Hanson who enjoys and reflects. As a coach for the Swedish junior national team, as a part-time resident of the Marbella area – and as a former European Tour winner right here, in Sotogrande. A region that has largely been driven by elite golf… I think it means a lot…all the pieces of the game.

If the sunny coast around Marbella is teeming with courses, this area is full of gems – and, no, it’s not just for competitive golfers. Here there are plenty of opportunities for premium golf, a bit away from the crowds, a step up in challenge… all that attracts more and more to occasional visits…

“But it is the lifestyle that, with an ever-increasing appeal, makes people move to Sotogrande, little by little then – or forever…” highlights Ola Wenström.

We Swedes have long landed in Malaga as tourists and mostly stayed around Fuengirola and Marbella. We were part of setting a whole region in motion and now we are driving the next Andalusian boom to the highest degree; it is no longer just occasional weeks for sun, swimming and golf that apply. After the pandemic, there is currently a blue-yellow migration wave to southern Spain to live, work and go to school. In six or seven years, the number of Swedes on the sun coast has increased from 40 to 100,000. Most of them quite close to each other…not very many have come here to find something of their own.

Yes, the sport of polo has a very special attachment here with a match over several arenas pretty much every day during the summer… but here in Sotogrande we probably still use golf as a starting point… how about a quick overview from here on the balcony?

Where we can have the tip of the rock of Gibraltar is a given starting point in the far south…and point out the course closest to the sea, over there is where there has been a lot of betting recently and it is high class on the 36 holes , in the training area and in the restaurant, down in the oldest part of Sotogrande is THE REAL CLUB OF SOTOGRANDE – by far the toughest of all, and hard to spot greens – an annual test for Europe’s best junior amateurs… here names like Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have signed up as winners in their teens – recently also Albert Hansson from Skaftö – guess he didn’t really have time or focus for the houses that line this course, the bottom part of Sotogrande is sharp in many ways… it’s extreme in different ways, extremely squishy on the side and clearly tricky too hard.

From here San Roque is fantastically inviting, even though we have one of Almenara’s three nine-hole loops closest… this is the course that is at the top and has the sharpest views. From the top of the design hotel with three restaurants and a spa, there are mountains, sea and Africa to keep an eye on – apart from the ball… and yes, there are shacks to check out here too.

You just have to check off lane after lane, in the area just a few kilometers away more Spanish and popular – here it is actually not at all unusual to hear a little Swedish, even if there is a lot of Spanish, this is a club with a wonderfully intensive junior activity. Right next to it: much more of a venture capital facility, here it is house design that drives the development. The track, yes the whole facility is top class – here is a prestige building that pulls quite a lot: a beach club around an artificial lake with a beach and everything to that… here you can also run into a well-known and meritorious ambassador, maybe even get a little game with RC winner Manuel Pinero.

Oh, it’s actually only a few hundred meters to the greatest jewel of all gems… the course which for many years was the grand finale of the European Tour and which, with Seve Ballesteros as captain, became a catalyst for the entire Ryder Cup rivalry.

Yes, here Seve Ballesteros has a given premium place – but among all the clubs and jewels there is also some Swedish representation, among club champions lately for example. And on the photo wall, a photo memory from the Ryder Cup in 1997. Jesper Parnevik paired with Per-Ulrik Johansson was a successful combination when Europe won.

Yes, it is PU who remembers – what he did and how Seve took his place…

It felt like there was… in front and criticizing

There’s something about the eyes… even as a captain I can say this has been an epicenter for Europe’s elite golf, thanks in large part to Ballesteros and the European Tour Finals at Valderrama… now this summer the controversial LIV Tour steps in and takes its place. In a place that would like more people to both move here and take part in a lifestyle… with golf as the center.

Special but not fancy, elegant yet relaxed – that feels like a fair description of this part of the sunny coast like Sotogrande. Here the boats are used for something more than simply being shown off. And there are real estate market opportunities to find gigantic or smaller, brand new or to renovate.

Fifty years ago, we Swedes joined and landed as the first tourists. There is still more to discover. Ten miles to the west, almost next to the Rock of Gibraltar, the Costa del Sol is simply something else… 

 

Thank you for watching! If you need more information about the Sotogrande lifestyle, or the property market, please contact us.