El Chaparral: Golf, Pines & Everything Nearby

Sitting quietly behind the busy coastal road, right between La Cala de Mijas and Fuengirola, with a hidden golf course, pine forests, and a great variety of new and old properties — this is El Chaparral.

The Golf Course & Setting

The area grew around El Chaparral Golf Club, an 18-hole course designed by Pepe Gancedo that opened in 1991. The location was chosen because of the pine forest here — a very unique feature for this stretch of the coast — and it's one of the things that's made the course so well known among golfers. Playing surrounded by the forest right in the middle of the residential area, rather than traditional open landscapes you find normally on Costa del Sol, gives it a completely different golf experience.

Beaches Nearby

Moving on, El Chaparral also has its own beach, though it's not the most charming one on the coast — it sits right below the A7 coastal road, so you will get some road noise, and there's no parking right there, so you need to cross the bridge to get down to it. That said, you're only 5 minutes from La Cala de Mijas, which has a really nice beach, and the old town there is very cozy and a great place to spend time. And in the other direction, you're about 10 minutes from Fuengirola, which for many is home to the best "traditional" beaches on the coast — long, wide, and with a promenade running for kilometers.

So while the best beach is not right on your doorstep, you're never more than a few minutes' drive away from a great variety of excellent beaches.

Location & Everyday Life

One of the big ups for El Chaparral is exactly that — its location. For day-to-day life, La Cala de Mijas is right next door and covers it all: supermarkets, all types of restaurants, and plenty of different stores for shopping. It's all a short drive, or even a walk from some parts of El Chaparral. And then in Fuengirola you've got the Miramar shopping center, along with everything else that comes with a bigger coastal city — more shopping and services, and a livelier restaurant and bar scene if that's what you're after.

So you get the best of both — the quiet, residential feel of El Chaparral itself, with everything else just minutes away in either direction.

Properties in El Chaparral

Now let's talk about properties. On the new-build side, you've got that minimalist architectural style that's become the standard here — clean lines, flat roofs, often floor-to-ceiling windows, and open-plan layouts. Some of the newer residential complexes take it further, building in their own tennis courts and gyms as part of the development, so you're not just buying an apartment, you're buying into a lifestyle package.

Then you've got the older stock — most of El Chaparral was built through the 80s and 90s, so you're looking at more traditional single-floor Andalusian-style villas and townhouses. Almost all resale buyers for the older properties end up doing a near-complete interior renovation, keeping the Andalusian charm while modernizing the interior, and sometimes even the layouts. Done right, you end up with the best of both worlds: a home with real character that still functions like a new build.

Downsides to Consider

Now let's talk about the tradeoffs. Like most areas here on the coast, you likely do need a car living here. And price-wise, the new-build here isn't cheap — you're paying for a really high quality build, its great location, and on-site amenities such as pools and gyms. While the older stock is more accessible price-wise, you still need to factor in renovation costs, as it's often not a move-in-ready situation for many buyers.

Is El Chaparral Right for You?

Golf, pine forest, quiet living, and with everything else just down the road — that's El Chaparral. If that sounds like the kind of balance you're after, get in touch — I represent buyers only, so my job is to work for you, not the seller.