The complete area guide for Villamartin, Orihuela Costa

One of the local area's most established urbanisations, Villamartin is among the more prestigious municipalities, famous for its first class golf course that's been contributing to a rich scenic backdrop for the better part of the last half-century.

The Villamartin community is comprised of several individual urbanisations including Villacosta, Eagles Nest, Montegolf, Las Filipinas, El Presidente, Los Valencias, El Galan, and Blue Lagoon; all built around a central plaza and golf-course leisure complex.

The area is popular year-round as a holiday destination for domestic and international tourists, attracted by the close proximity to the Orihuela Costa's fine sandy beaches and the abundance of quality leisure facilities located within the community.

The majority of the population consists of mostly English-speaking and Northern European expatriates who have settled in the locale, virtually transforming what was a sleepy Spanish village into a modern and cosmopolitan town.

LOCATION

One of the only locales to boast its own Wikipedia entry, Villamartin is located approximately 4.0 km inland from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in the southernmost quarter of the Alicante province, and 12 km southwest of the coastal city of Torrevieja.

The town is bordered by Los Almendros and La Florida immediately to the east, Los Dolses to the south, Real Club de Golf Campoamor resort to the west, and open fields and countryside to the north.

Villamartin falls under the jurisdiction of Orihuela Town Hall, and two main roads link the town with the Mediterranean urbanisations of La Zenia and Cabo Roig, providing easy access to both the N-332 and AP-7 coastal highways.

Corvera-Murcia airport and Alicante-Elche airport are practically equidistant, with each international transport hub reached in less than one hour.

HISTORY

The 18-hole championship golf course began construction in 1970 under the watchful eye of Californian golf course architect Robert Dean Putman.

The veteran course designer, known stateside as simply Bob Putman, fashioned nine golf courses in the USA during the 1960s, and was responsible for the layout of the north and south greens at La Manga Club Resort somewhat further south in neighbouring Murcia.

Villamartin golf course opened in 1972 and with a rich history extending almost a half-century, the course's hallowed greens have been played by golf royalty including Severiano Ballesteros, José María Olazabal, Ian Woosnam, and Sam Torrance.

The four-storey central plaza opened shortly afterwards in 1975, providing much-needed amenities to the developing town. Villamartin Plaza underwent a thorough programme of modernisation and renovation in 2001 and provides year-round services and facilities to residents and visitors.

The golf club hosted the Mediterranean Open in 1994 and continues to attract prestigious competitions year after year. Part of the Golf Quara family, today Villamartin Golf course joins a portfolio of estates that encompasses neighbouring Las Ramblas, and La Finca Golf Resort in Algorfa.

GEOGRAPHY

Not to be confused with the Villamartín municipality in the Andalucian province of Cádiz, Villamartin's geography is moderately undulating with low-flowing hills and gentle slopes throughout the area.

Villamartin benefits from a healthy Mediterranean micro-climate, characterised by relatively low annual rainfall, and an average of 320 days of sunshine each year with a median annual temperature of 19.8°c.

Somewhat warmer than coastal areas in the summer due to its slight inland location, it is also less prone to the effects of strong offshore winds that can affect seafront locations.

Long warm summers and short dry winters are emblematic of this part of the Costa Blanca, and visitors to the area from June through to September can expect temperatures to vary between 25°c at night to 35°c during the day.

FACILITIES

Villamartin has experienced nearly five decades of consistent and seemingly perpetual development, and what was once a small inland enclave has metamorphosed into a bustling high-quality Mediterranean resort-style community.

Amenities are provided centrally along Villamartin's main high street and throughout the individual communities arranged into commercial centres such as La Fuente Centro Commercial.

The locale provides a wide variety of high-quality eateries and brasserie-style restaurants catering to every possible individual taste, and the established 6.277 m round and 72-par golf course offers players a game of the highest quality naturally enhanced by the lush vegetation and surrounding fauna.

The course enjoys an array of mature indigenous trees and shrubs and is home to a surprising variety of wildlife including rabbits, red squirrels, hedgehogs, amphibious frogs and toads, and a wide range of European and African birdlife.

And there can be little doubt that the social scene gravitates around Villamartin Plaza, which hosts shops, services, fine-dining restaurants, and a live music calendar that attracts talented artists and visitors from all four corners of the world.

in 2018, Villamartin Plaza's summer live-music programme culminated with a one-night-only performance from the legendary British singer-songwriter Leo Sayer making an unofficial stop on his global "Good Times" tour that started in Australia. Just one of many famous names to have graced this popular venue.

Locally known simply as "The Plaza", the centre is constructed around an open mosaic-tiled square that contains palm trees permanently inhabited by a number of African Ring-Necked Parrots.

Local scheduled bus services connect Villamartin to the beachfront towns of Dehesa de Campoamor, Cabo Roig, La Zenia, and Playa Flamenca, with onward services to the city of Torrevieja.

Property owners in Villamartin can benefit from high-speed internet connections. Locally, Olé Comunicación in La Zenia offers competitive packages whilst NoLimitNet in Los Dolses offers data connections via WiMax or fibre-optic up to 1,000Mb with prices from just 25€ per month, with a range of landline and television packages for English, German, Scandinavian, and Russian TV viewers.

PROPERTIES

An abundance of building land has led to the development of a wide variety of properties providing a wealth of choice for prospective property buyers in Villamartin.

Whilst the Villamartin property market traditionally tended to favour buyers of larger properties, newer developments cater to the financial abilities of a wider segment of buyers looking for affordable holiday homes in this part of the Orihuela Costa.

Detached villas outnumber all other types of accommodation in the area, and prices for a detached property typically start around 200.000 €.

Apartments and townhouses provide cheaper options for overseas property buyers, and a modest apartment within easy reach of local amenities can be found for as little as 100.000 €.

Unusually, cluster housing such as the quad-villas popularised throughout most of the Costa Blanca is hard to find in Villamartin and usually reserved for newer areas of development such as Pau-8 and Pau-26.

With a few notable exceptions, Villamartin's skyline is typically low-rise and mostly limited to two-storey properties. Newer-style apartment complexes constructed in open spaces are limited to a maximum of four storeys.

Villamartin remains in a state of constant development, and with substantial plots of undeveloped open land towards the periphery of the town, the area has virtually unlimited potential for northern and eastward future expansion and new build construction.

SUMMARY

Villamartin is very popular with tourists all year round and has a large population of full-time residents from a variety of cultural nationalities – this means that the shops, bars, and restaurants are full of life no matter if it is summer or mid-winter.

Whilst by no means the cheapest location to buy a property locally, the sheer variety of properties on offer and the spectrum of price points (from wildly extravagant to wholly affordable), means that Villamartin really does have something to offer everyone.

The town is a family-friendly year-round holiday destination that will suit property buyers looking to enjoy a suite of first-class facilities, a historically safe environment with a low recorded crime rate, and a central location that sports relatively close proximity to a choice of airports whilst remaining free of regular flight traffic.

Put simply, Villamartin will appeal to overseas property buyers who value a high-quality location and are willing to trade immediate access to Blue Flag beaches for abundant Blue Ribbon facilities.

Start looking for your perfect home in Spain, click here to see all properties available in Villamartin right now.

Data included in the graphics are correct at the date of publication. Price per square metre is for illustration only, and calculated from the prices of resale properties available on our website at that time. For official market data, please contact us.