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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 took possession of our house in Urbanisation Valdemar July 1st, 2025. We had previously owned an apartment on Costa del sol. And what a difference! In buying from Marla and Juan we didn’t only get a beautiful, high quality home with great views in the charming La Herradura. We also got nonstop help and service from them and from their whole team of pleasant and competent colleagues, We and our children are confidently looking forward to enjoying this wonderful place for many years. Thanks to Marla and Juan. Nellie and Jes, Denmark

Nellie & Jes – Denmark
September 2025

In 2019 we bought a villa constructed by the company now named Mar Delux, represented by Juan Ruiz and Marla Marquez. We bought the villa “turn key”, while it was still under construction. The sales process was clear and transparent and we were impressed by their thorough legal approach and know-how of all applicable rules and procedures. Our wishes for some changes of the plan were quickly honoured for fair prices and all high quality machinery was installed according to plan. The construction team under management of Jose Ruiz was very professional which contributed to a quality product without shortcomings. We are very happy with the result and are grateful to live in such a fine house.

Michiel & Yolanda Goedkoop – The Netherlands
March 2023

In 2017, I bought two houses through Mar Delux. For the first property, they acted as developer/constructor/vendor and for the second as real estate agents. Not only were their offers exactly what I was looking for, but they were extremely helpful throughout the whole acquisition process, which was a bit more complicated as usual, as I was buying for my 4 children. I did not go for the assistance of other consultants (e.g. lawyer) and did not regret it in any way. The whole team is excellent and pleasant to deal with and they got me into contact with other valuable people for the management of rentals, garden, pool etc. I have recommended them to my friends and would not hesitate to do so to anybody else.

Reinhard van der Does – Germany
December 2017

My wife and I bought a villa in the spring 2024 in La Herradura from Mar Delux. It has been a very good experience with the villa exceeding our expectations in terms of finish and quality. In addition, we have gotten tremendous help through the process from Marla & Juan who are the owners of Mar Delux ranging from getting the villa operational to local support. We can highly recommend Mar Delux.

Frederik Kier – Denmark
September 2025

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

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