Appartement en rez-de-chaussée à Nagüeles, Costa del Sol

Fully furnished, recently renovated four-bedroom, four-bathroom ground-floor apartment in Montebello Hills, a gated development at the foot of the Sierra Blanca in Nagüeles, on Marbella's Golden Mile. It offers 280 square metres of built space and a 25-square-metre terrace, with an underground garage space and a storage room, in a 2004 complex of mature palm gardens and two communal pools. Available to rent at 7,000 euros per month on a long-term basis, ready to move into with designer furniture already in place.

The home is built around a generous living and dining room with a marble fireplace, coffered and cove-lit ceilings and cream marble floors edged with a dark marble border that runs through all the day areas. The living room opens onto the terrace through a floor-to-ceiling sliding door and is furnished with an oversized sofa in natural fabric, solid timber coffee tables and a sculptural light fitting. The separate dining room seats eight at a veined white marble table with bouclé chairs and connects to the hall through a rounded archway, the gesture that repeats throughout the apartment.

The kitchen is separate and fully fitted, laid out along two runs in handleless mink-toned units with a veined white marble worktop and splashback. It has a built-in oven and microwave in a tall unit, an induction hob with integrated extractor, an American fridge-freezer, an undermount sink with a tall-spout tap and a washing machine integrated into the same run. Floors are large-format Carrara-effect porcelain, and natural light comes in through two arched windows facing the gardens.

All four bedrooms are doubles and each has its own en-suite bathroom, an unusual configuration that makes the apartment a natural fit for families, for two couples sharing, or for anyone who needs a study and a guest room without giving anything up. The main bedroom is a large suite with a buttoned headboard, pendant lights either side of the bed and direct access to the terrace; its bathroom is clad in travertine, with a bath, a separate walk-in shower with a glass screen and a double vanity unit under a framed mirror. The other three are furnished with upholstered headboards and sand-toned textiles, and have fitted wardrobes and full bathrooms in beige marble with an Emperador border.

The 25-square-metre covered terrace is what defines daily life here. It is arcaded on columns and paved in a terracotta-and-marble chequerboard, with a lounge area of wicker sofa and armchairs and an outdoor dining area for eight under rattan pendants. From it you look over the development's palm and banana gardens to the pool and, above the tiled roofs of the neighbouring blocks, to the outline of La Concha. It is a terrace you use all year, sheltered from the midday sun and from the northerly wind by the mountain itself.

Montebello Hills is a quiet gated complex with controlled gate access, mature gardens of palms, banana plants and lawn, two communal pools and a lift. Nagüeles was one of the first residential neighbourhoods developed on the Golden Mile and sits a few minutes from both Marbella's old town and Puerto Banús, linked by the seafront promenade, which can be walked or cycled end to end. Immediately above lies the Pinar de Nagüeles, a large natural park with trails, barbecue areas and a children's playground. Swans International School is in the immediate vicinity; the British International School of Marbella, Aloha College and Les Roches are a short drive away. Las Brisas and Los Naranjos, in the Golf Valley, are around five minutes away. The Puente Romano Beach Resort, with Nobu, Cipriani and La Plaza, together with the Marbella Club boutiques, is the social hub ‌of ‌the ‌area ‌and a ‌short ‌walk ‌from ‌the door. ‌Hospital ‌Costa del Sol ‌is ten minutes ‌away ‌and Málaga airport a ‌little ‌under ‌an ‌hour ‌by ‌the ‌AP-7.