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Our Story

Mar Delux is a real estate company founded by Marla Marquez and Juan Ruiz in 2001. Marla hails from Florida and lived and worked for many years in Asia. Juan is from Granada, and he lived and worked in Mallorca. Inspired by their backgrounds, travels and the beauty of Spain´s Costa Tropical of Granada, the two combined their love for real estate, design and innovation and Juan´s talent for creating things and began developing, unique and luxurious villas in Almuñecar and Salobreña, two delightful towns on the Costa Tropical.

After developing several villas, they decided to keep some to offer as luxurious, holiday rental villas. The couple once again differentiated themselves by offering amenities that weren't customary at the time, combined with unrivalled customer service. This was the beginning of their foray into the vacation rental market.

Then in 2007, they launched a real estate agency specialising in the sale of luxury properties, and for 15 years they ran the most successful real estate agency on Spain's Costa Tropical, which was renown not only for its sales volume, but for its professionalism.

All along, they continued to develop extraordinary villas with magnificent sea views. In July 2021, they decided to focus exclusively on their real passion of development so that they could dedicate all of their energy into the boutique urbanisation of designer, modern villas they are currently building in La Herradura, Spain, called Urb. Valdemar, which is raising the bar for contemporary design in the area. They have exciting plans to continue developing modern style properties on the Costa Tropical of Spain to be able to offer more clients their ideal of "Luxury Living by the Sea."

Our Mission

Our Mission

To create quality homes with stunning designs which are luxurious, functional and environmentally friendly,

to delight our clients and exceed their expectations with our one-of-a-kind villas,

to deliver unrivalled service, with efficiency, quality and integrity, and last but not least,

to offer our clients "Luxury Living by the Sea."

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Years Experience

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Developments

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Properties Sold

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Happy Clients

What Our Client's Say

In summer of 2019 we rented a villa in Salobreña and fell in love with the community of Monte de los Almendros, and we decided that we wanted to see what was available. We met Juan Ruiz and Marla Marquez who showed us a plot of land with a proposed luxury villa design. We liked the plan and bought it in construction (off plan) and followed the whole construction process. Whatever uncertainty we had – making a big investment in a country we never had bought any property in, didn´t know the language and hadn´t heard about the company before – was cleared when Juan Ruiz and Marla Marquez helped us through the process with great professionalism. They even finished the villa in the promised time. I can highly recommend their company if you are looking for a trustworthy and professional team to build your villa.

Frank Svandal – Sweden
March 2023

We were looking for a second home in Spain and toured Andalusia. A friend of us told us that the Costa Tropical was very nice so through the real estate agent we connected with Juan and Marla. We really loved the town of La Herradura and the location where the house was going to be built. The whole process of the construction of the house, the transfer of ownership and after sales has been absolutely great. The house is beautiful and whenever it appears that certain things had to be fixed/improved Juan and his team dealt with it immediately. All in all, it has been a great experience. Thanks for that Marla & Juan!

Jan Schouten – The Netherlands
June 2025

In the summer of 2023, we bought the house of our dreams, a villa from Mar Delux represented by Juan and Marla in the new urbanization Valdemar. It felt safe like a wedding and was an easy process from start to finish. They had everything in order. Juan and Marla really did everything in their power to allow us to move into the house as soon as possible. There were a few changes we wanted to have done, and they had them done in no time better than we thought possible.

By now we know, nothing is a problem for Marla and Juan. If you have an issue and ask them, they will come back with a solution. I’m actually a bit surprised by their amazing interest in the aftermarket, they really have taken care of us even after purchase which feels safe when buying a house in a new country. We can truly recommend Mar Delux.

Ann-Sofie Lindh – Sweden
February 2024

We rented a villa through Mar Delux in 2015, and we ended up buying a brand new, modern villa of our own that we are now renting! Mar Delux built the beautiful villa we purchased. After searching on the Costa del Sol, Costa Tropical became our favourite place. You get more house and better views for the money spent. Buying our villa through Mar Delux is the best thing we did. They made the process hassle-free and supported us beyond our expectations!

Malin & Mathias – Sweden
May 2016

We visited Frigiliana for a week´s vacation in 2019 and fell in love with the area particularly La Herradura. We drove around and looked extensively at possible properties to purchase which had a view of the beach / bay. We spotted an area above La Herradura which had been allocated for a future development and thought this would be ideal for a new home in Spain. Our plans were halted by Covid in 2020 however in 2021 we noticed on the internet this particular project was being marketed. We made enquiries through an agency and details were sent over for us to consider. We then decided to purchase a 5 bed house from plan, which was on the largest plot, as it was in an ideal location with wonderful views. Whilst buying a property abroad is always quite daunting and stressful the whole process from start to finish was made easy by the owners of the Development Company Mar Delux. They were honest, reliable and truly professional throughout and a pleasure to deal with, nothing was a problem. We are absolutely delighted with our new luxury house and the quality of finish is exemplary. We are looking forward to spending quality time in our home in Urbanisation Valdemar in La Herradura. We would have no hesitation in recommending Mar Delux to anyone who is thinking of buying a property on the same development.

Jeff & Debra – UK
March 2023

I met Juan and Marla and from the first moment, they provided me a great service with the purchase. Also the quality of the house is very good and they are responsible for the construction + help with any additional needs. I am very glad, that I had a chance to meet them and can enjoy a house from them with my family. Thank you a lot!!! Pavel

Pavel Kříž – Czech Republic
September 2025