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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

We first met Juan Ruiz and Marla Marquez in 2012 when we bought a villa in Almunecar via their then agency Cumbre Villas. We were impressed by their professionalism and the ease with which they made buying a property in a foreign country.

In 2017 we decided to move to La Herradura and again Juan and Marla helped to make our dream villa come true when we purchased the amazing Sundara, it’s just the style we were looking for. As much as we loved the villa, when the garden became too much to manage we turned to Juan and Marla to find a new home with minimal maintenance. It was now the summer of 2021 and the new development of Valdemar was in its early stages with 5 houses under construction. This was the perfect solution. A brand new villa with amazing views and no garden! At this stage it was possible to add our own choice of kitchen and paint colours etc.

Since we moved in just before Christmas in December 2021 we have thoroughly enjoyed the comforts of the villa and the wonderful views and sunsets. The quality of the workmanship and materials are excellent and the house is very energy efficient.

Before and after sales service is exemplary, nothing is too much trouble. With over 10 years experience with Juan and Marla we have no hesitation in recommending Mar Delux properties. You will not be disappointed.

Kate Millington – UK
April 2023

When we decided to buy a holiday home in Spain, La Herradura was recommended by a Spanish friend who described it as an authentic Spanish coastal town, unspoilt by tourism, with skiing just over an hour away.
Over several years we viewed numerous properties and eventually decided to buy one of the new houses being built by Juan Ruiz and his team. The position of the development is superb – magnificent views of the bay and sunsets and an easy walk into town. Our house has been finished to a very high standard and Juan has responded very rapidly and efficiently during construction and afterwards to any requests from us. The finished product is a superb luxurious home.
All the legals and financial considerations were handled by Marla Maquez in a very friendly, efficient and professional manner.
Our overall experience of buying through Mar Delux has been a very positive one. Both Juan and Marla have been very responsive and helpful to any requests and we are delighted with the finished product. It’s a beautiful contemporary house in a very special part of Spain.

Tricia W. – UK
March 2023

We bought a beautiful house in the Valdemar urbanization in La Herradura from Marla and Juan in 2024 – and it was the best decision! From the very beginning, we felt well looked after. Marla and Juan are not only extremely professional, but also warm and dedicated. The urbanization is in a fantastic location, very well maintained, and offers a fantastic quality of life. If you’re looking for a special home in Spain, this is the place for you. Highly recommended!

Best regards from Germany 🍀💚 Oliver & Sandra

Oliver Kadziolka – Germany
September 2025

Bought our dream home from Juan and Marla 5 years ago (in 2018)! Everything went very professionally and correctly. The assistance in buying a property in Spain for us as foreigners was very serious.

Markus & Ulla – Austria
March 2023

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

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