El Paraíso Golf Club: the course and homes for sale nearby

El Paraíso fills a valley that opens towards the sea, with La Concha behind it. It is a mature, tree-lined course – palms, pines and the odd cypress – on gently rolling ground with wide fairways. Water and the greens make it harder than it looks: streams cross or run beside several holes, a lake half-surrounds the 3rd green, and several greens have two or three tiers, so the pin position changes the hole.

The par-5 6th climbs a long way to a three-tier green. The club names the 15th its signature hole, a par 5 that doglegs left past water, bunkers and corner pines to a two-tier green, and the round ends on a long par 4 with a stream about 60 metres short of the green. From the forward tees the course measures just under 5,000 metres, from the championship tees just over 6,000.

It suits a broad range of players: the wide fairways forgive a loose drive, while the streams and tiered greens give low handicappers plenty to think about. Reviewers commonly call it an easy walk, with only a couple of steeper holes. Buggies and electric trolleys are for hire, but book a buggy ahead – more than one visitor has found none left. Players often praise the friendly atmosphere and the fairways; the greens draw mixed comments, and slow play on busy days is a recurring complaint.

Owned by its members since 1996, the club has a full competition calendar but welcomes green-fee players every day. There is a driving range, a junior academy, a pro shop and new changing rooms. You can eat inside, on the covered terrace or in the Andalusian patio, and reviewers often single out the food. The club advises booking ahead from October to May; in summer, start early.

The course lies just off the old N-340 coast road east of Estepona; the club puts Estepona town about ten minutes away and Puerto Banús about 25. The El Paraíso urbanisation grew up around it – in the 1980s the builder Wimpey offered buyers of its homes full membership of the club.

Homes for sale near the course, in El Paraíso and Benamara, are a mix of apartments, detached villas and townhouses, with villas well represented. Because we work only for the buyer, we check before any viewing how far a home really is from the course and what it actually looks out on.