The Ultimate Homes Blog

Ferrán Adrià’s restaurant called El Bulli near Girona has been rated as the best restaurant in the world for the second year running according to Restaurant, a prestigious food magazine. El Bulli received a majority vote from the 651 judges who participated in the survey. This means that once again El Bulli is at the top of the list of the best 50 restaurants in the world, which includes another 5 Spanish restaurants. In fact El Bulli has not dropped lower than third place over the last 6 years and has now been at the top of the list 3 times in 2001, 2006 and this year. Mugarit Restaurant in Rentería, Guipuzcoa rated 7th, Arzak Restaurant in San Sebastian, El Celler de Can Roca in Girona rated 10th, Can Fabes, de Sant Celoni in Barcelona rated 22nd and Martin Berasategui in Lasarte, Guipúzcoa rated 27th are the other Spanish restaurants on the list. The Brazilian restaurant DOM in São Paulo in 38th place is the only Latin American restaurant to get onto the list of the 50 best ...

Following a winter of training and preparing their boats the 11 teams are preparing for their definitive test - their challenge for the right to compete against the Swiss team, the Alinghi, winners of last year’s American Cup in this year’s competition. On Tuesday just gone, the 11 boats were to leave the port of Valencia for the last boat race before the hopefuls compete against each other in the Louis Vuitton cup but light conditions (read no wind) have delayed things so far. The Alinghi team will train alone in preparation for the final later on. Most of the 11 teams will compete in new boats built in accordance with the most recent rules, approved during the winter break. The team from New Zealand, winners of last year’s season are preparing to compete using the latest technology. According to Terry Hutchinson, the strategist for the New Zealand team, the teams which competed in old boats last year but with good teams will have increased their chances of winning considerably.With a...

La Zagaleta Golf and Country Club is one of the most exclusive places to be found in Spain. The wonderful views and incomparable residential facilities speak for themselves. In this tranquil setting, a new way of life lies waiting to be discovered.Impressive villas on plots ranging from 3000m2 to 10,000m2, provide unrivalled privacy for residents. All this is set amidst a sea of greenery which is home to deer and mountain sheep. A protected habitat where animals can enjoy nature in its virgin state. This residential complex is to be found on the Costa del Sol, close to Marbella and 60km from Malaga. The almost 900 hectares sit comfortably in the foothills of the Serranía de Ronda, ensuring visitors and residents alike enjoy breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea, the Gibraltar Straits and the coast of Africa. La Zagaleta is a project in tune with the values that define Polaris World. For this reason, Polaris World has decided to form a part of the project, building properties in t...

THE largest purpose built tourist resort in Europe is to be constructed on unspoilt coastline in Murcia, Spain. Politicians from the region’s ruling Partido Popular party have declassified 11,000 hectares of once protected, virgin coastline to accommodate plans for a huge scale project that will see homes for 60,000 people built. Central Government, environmentalists and worried local residents are appealing to courts to stop work on the development that will also see five golf courses and 22,000 hotel beds built in the Cabo de Cope-Puntas de Calnegre Regional Park, near the border with Andalusia. However, judges in Murcia have warned the project will go ahead even if opponents to the project are successful in their appeal as Cope has lost its Natural Park status. The Government of Murcia has been studying plans to declassify the land since 2001, when the regional Land Law was passed. Critics of this law claim an amendment was added at the eleventh hour that changed the status of thous...

A few recent articles in the British press over the Easter brought to my attention the fact that London based real estate agents are using SMS texts to put property in front of potential buyers, all as part of the service to help buyers find a home. Will that mean that the days of leafing through portfolios of property listings and/or spending weekends looking in windows will disappear? Maybe. I understand that in the current market, buyers in London have to move like lightning to snap up their ideal home. Here in Spain, things as you are well aware do move a bit slower but watch this space as we at Ultimate Homes plan to go mobile too ..... soon;)