Villa rental in Río Real

What staying here is actually like

Río Real is the compromise when half the group wants town and half wants calm. It is residential and green, built around the golf, and close enough to the old town that dinner there is not an expedition.

People who have stayed on the Banús side and found it loud, and in the hills and found it remote, tend to end up here on the next trip.

The house we have here

One. Villa Alma is four bedrooms sleeping nine, 210 square metres built, with a saltwater infinity pool and a view across the sea and the mountains. It is the smallest house on our list and one of the best value, starting from €572 a night in low season.

For a family or two couples who want Marbella rather than a resort, it does the job better than houses costing twice as much.

Who it suits

Smaller groups. Golfers. Anyone who wants the old town close and the house quiet.

If you need beds for more than nine, look at Los Monteros or the Golden Mile. If the beach matters more than the town, Elviria is the better side of the coast.

Other areas worth comparing

• Los MonterosEast of Marbella town, between the sand and the hills.
• ElviriaMarbella East, past Los Monteros.
• Golden MileThe stretch between Marbella old town and Puerto Banús, and the address most people mean when they say they want to be central.