Sontagrande

The first golf course built in the area, designed byarchitect Robert Trent Jones, led to the development of housing for its users.In subsequent years an infrastructure would be built that made it moreattractive to development. Thus, the Polo Club and the La Playa HotelSotogrande Tennis were built, both in 1965.

The movement to Sotogrande of citizens from many differentcountries gradually increased population and, with it, the needs of more equipmentarose. In 1987 the port of Sotogrande opened a branch of the Port Authority ofAlgeciras Bay that specializes in luxury boats and is on the right bank of theriver next to Guadiaro Natural Estuary River.

Sotogrande is a parish of the Andalusian town of San Roque in the regionof Campo de Gibraltar. The many sports facilities and hotels in the area haveprompted the consideration of major luxury residential areas of the Costa del Sol.

The beginning of the urbanization of Sotogrande occurred in1964, when the industrialist Joseph McMicking decided to build a golf club onland near the mouth of the Guadiaro River.

This request was refused by Decree 312/1996 from theDirectorate General of Local Administration and Justice in the absence ofdemonstrated majority support of the population involved in the process to theproposal.

Today Sotogrande has five major golf courses, among which includesGolf Valderrama, venue of the Ryder Cup in 1997 and considered to be one of thebest courses in Europe, also housing a wide range of hotels.

The construction of the port resulted in the disappearanceof the dune system and Torreguadiaro beach, which altered the dynamics of thedelta. In 1995, at the request of several citizens of this parish and othersnearby, was the completion of the formalities required by law for the segregation of Sotogrande, Guadiaro, Guadiaro of Pueblo Nuevo, San Enrique deGuadiaro Torreguadiaro, and the town of San Roque as a new town called Valley Guadiaro.