The Past, Present And Future Of A Marbella Where All Worlds Coexist

The first edition of the Webster Guide Expert Table.

Three experts in Marbella's real estate landscape take a seat at the table: Pablo Villarroel, son of Melvin Villarroel —who created Puente Romano and transformed Marbella towards luxury— continuing his legacy as one of Marbella's finest architects. John Brendmoe, founder of Forum Marbella and ANTIMA GROUP —who remodelled Nueva Andalucía and are driving Marbella's rise in value— and Alberto Webster, CEO of Webster&Co —the real estate agency leading one of the fastest market growths in recent times–.

Marbella. Are we building it to live in or to invest?

JB: In recent years, Marbella has become a secondary home. You can still find apartments at €250,000. That exists alongside villas at €40,000,000. If it were only wealthy developments, Marbella would be boring. Marbella is for living and for investing, regardless of your socioeconomic level.

PV: These days, even if a client only wants to live in Marbella, I always encourage them to think about investing. If you build, build a five-bedroom villa. Do you only need three? That's fine, but build it with five. Because otherwise, the value of the property will decrease.

AW: We are building a Marbella for both. We have many investors and end-users, and the beauty is the union of both.

Is mass tourism and foreign investment pricing locals out of Marbella for good?

PV: No, not at all. The foundation of all this working and growing is having people from all economic levels who can provide the services that others invest in and pay for so that a city can grow. There will always be a place for the people who have always been from here, it is their place. But this international client brings investment to those small businesses that keeps them going. People come to feel recognised by the cashier at a small supermarket, to feel at home, and that is why they keep buying and recommending it to their friends. All of this adds up, and that small business stays afloat because of foreign investment. It all goes hand in hand.

AW: Marbella has always been a village. With small businesses and with the locals of Marbella. And all of this today, despite prices having risen and Marbella dressing itself in luxury, that same luxury is what benefits Marbella.

What does Marbella still need to compete more internationally?

JB: I think Marbella is doing the best it can, and I cannot see what more it needs to do to improve. We do have a challenge: infrastructure, hospitals, roads, schools... But that is because there are more and more people everyday.

PV: True. In terms of variety of services and interesting things to do, there is nothing more to add. On the Costa we can go everywhere, in the Canary Islands, for example, you cannot do that. In Mallorca either. But the challenge, as John says, is infrastructure.

AW: If we look at the balance around gastronomy, lifestyle, business relations — Marbella is becoming a top-tier destination and it keeps getting better. There is nothing more to ask for.

Has modern architecture killed the Andalusian character?

PV: It's a difficult question. When modern architecture began here, it started as a replica of what was European or from elsewhere, the LA style and so on. Back then, no one thought about functionality; it didn't work. Now we are trying to integrate modern architecture with Andalusian tradition. It's not killing it. You have to know how to combine them to build homes and preserve the essence.

JB: We are creating homes for the next generation. If you go to Ralph Lauren's Instagram, since 1954 they have never changed their style. It is always Ralph Lauren. We do the same. Forum was built in a style that feels back in the 60s, trying to give the feeling that we have always been there. Like Puente Romano — there are only new changes in the establishments, but everything is practically the same as when it was first built, just much newer. Always with that Andalusian essence.

AW: This past month I see it more than ever; over 20 deals closed, starting the year with results of over €75M, and what are people buying the most? Traditional Andalusian styles. The most ultra-modern is the hardest to sell. Nothing has died. The Andalusian character will never die. People come to live here because of it, and it will always be respected, with the new touches that make it more functional and modern, but it will always be Andalusia.

Will we see branded cities the way we see branded residences today?

JB: I don't think so. People are individualistic. What I see from the very, very high-end clients is this: they go to Puente Romano and they see D&G Beach. They go to Los Angeles and they see D&G Beach. They go to Mallorca and again they see D&G Beach. Will the client want that in their home? I don't think so. Forum Marbella could have had major watch and fashion brands, but we wanted to aim for brands that no one had seen before. People want something unique. I have never seen Pablo Villarroel advertised anywhere, but if you truly know the industry, you know who he is. That is the point.

AW: Speaking of Pablo, you are absolutely right. A developer recently came to present me a project to sell off-plan, and when I asked for more information, he told me it was a product by Pablo Villarroel. And that was when I said yes. That is the kind of branding we are looking for the name behind a product whose quality is what defines the brand.

Sustainability, luxury and wellbeing; genuine argument or pure marketing?

PV: It's marketing. It has always been marketing. I go to five-star hotels in London and when I go to take a shower, the water flow has been reduced with attachments that the hotel adds to the showerheads. As an architect, I remove the showerhead and tell them, "Here, I'm giving this back to you, because this is stopping me from having a proper shower." I don't want that water reduction if I'm paying €1,250 a night. Where is the luxury then? In my studio, we are working on Altezza Suites, what we are doing with water is building it in a way that after showers, that water can be reused for the gardens. That is sustainability! Not what hotels are selling!

JB: On social media there is a lot of bullshit. Everything offered today as sustainability measures is all bullshit and it all comes from the government. They talk a great deal about sustainability but in their own buildings they don't even use materials that reduce consumption. It is the private companies that are actually doing it: we build walls well beyond the regulations, 3cm is the norm, and we make them 7 centimetres so they keep the cool in summer and the warmth in winter. That is real sustainability. And now on Instagram they sell themselves as eco-friendly and it has absolutely nothing to do with it....

And that's only part of it. The rest of the table it's all in the full video, where you will see:

• The real reason Scandinavians leave everything behind for Marbella.
• How the buyer changed so fast that a villa that was impossible at €2M ten years ago now sells at €5M.
• The one piece of advice all three give anyone planning to move to Marbella in 2026.

Click here to see the video.