Introduction
Built on what was one of the most important Country Estates in Murcia, and still retaining the ancient and noble Hacienda at its heart, this Polaris World Golf Resort nestles inland in the rolling hills with a mountain backdrop, yet it is only 10 minutes drive to the sea. This is an apartments only Resort, where the apartment blocks are built around the sides of the Resort all facing into a Jack Nicklaus 18 hole golf course so it is mostly a swimming pools, lakes and greens vista. All of the apartments are complete with over 1,000 already handed over to their owners, and those that remain ALL HAVE FRONT LINE GOLF VIEWS, they are all ready to move into, and only the town centre has yet to be finished.

Our Personal Opinion
This is a typical Polaris World Golf Resort, their 4th completed project, and a good one at that with most apartments already sold. The entire Resort is made up of low rise blocks of 2 bedroom apartments, all built around the perimeter of the Resort facing into the Jack Nicklaus 18 hole golf course so it is mostly a swimming pools, lakes and greens vista. This is a very ‘open’ Resort, with an airy feel of wide open spaces as the landscaping of the gardens has been developed by EDSA and F&M Arquitectos, experts in this subject. The last few ‘Key Ready’ 2 bedroom apartments ALL HAVE FRONT LINE GOLF VIEWS and they are selling fast! 

History
This area was an area of Arabic domination. After the conquest by King Alfonso X the land was shared out amongst his noblemen, and one of the best plots of land was given to the Riquelme family who later built a big farmhouse here, a ‘Caserios’. In the 18th Century the noble families of Gea and Truyols, along with the Riquelme and Peraleja families used to retire here from the hustle and bustle of the summer heat of the city of Murcia. It is the Riquelme family who began the construction of the ‘Hacienda Riquelme’ and this ancient and noble building still stands on the site today.

The area benefited, and still does, from a cool sea breeze which always blows during the otherwise long hot summers, and so it favours the growing of wine and olive groves. The original wine cellars and much of the ancient Hacienda are in a perilous state, but Polaris World is renovating this noble building.

As all of the descendants died out, ownership of the land was transferred to the Catholic Church, under the Order of the Predicadores. During the eventful Spanish 19th Century, a revolutionary decision was taken by Queen Isabel II to expropriate all the Catholic land and houses that had been acquired all over Spain over the centuries. This ‘Desamortizacion’ heralded a new period of splendour for the Haciendas and many were converted into leisure estates for the rich bourgeoisie and nobles alike. Today the Hacienda Riquelme and its listed buildings are testimony to the Spanish historical heritage.

Nowadays the entire building is in a very bad and perilous condition, but Polaris World are renovating this noble building and it will stand proudly as a centre-piece in the new town centre which will also be the setting for a Thai restaurant, a musical restaurant, an Irish bar, a golf-club house with changing rooms and a golf pro-shop, an entire shopping centre with a supermarket and other shops. Polaris World will transform this ancient and noble site, and their theme of “The balance of tradition and modernism” seems a good way to sum up what Polaris World has done to this wonderful place.

Location and communications
• Located  10 minutes drive inland
• New Santomera – San Javier motorway being constructed just a few minutes drive away will speed up journeys both inland and to the coast.
• 15 minutes drive from the regions capital city of Murcia.
• 25 minutes drive from the city of Cartagena.
• 15 minutes drive from the Balsicas railway station with its high speed train links to Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia etc.
• 10 minutes drive from the main north-south AP7 motorway.
• 3 minutes drive from the small Spanish town of Sucina.
• 10 to 15 minutes drive from San Javier (Murcia) airport.
• 45 minutes drive from Alicante airport.

Developer
Polaris World is the most prolific developer in the region of Murcia, with approximately 60 Polaris World properties being sold every day! The are also the leading Golf Resort specialist in Spain and they are mid way through a project to build no less than 7 five star golf resorts with 9 golf courses all in the region of Murcia Spain. All of the inland Resorts overlook one, or more on-site 18 hole Nicklaus Design golf courses. What’s more, buying a property on one Polaris World Golf Resort also gives you access to play golf and use all of the other facilities on any other Polaris World Golf Resort. The President of Polaris World himself lives on a Polaris World Resort (at El Valle) so there is huge faith in the product.

spanish home 4u has been awarded the prestigious Polaris World 'Golden Partner' status for 2009. This is awarded to just a few elite authorized agents. The Golden Partner award recognizes those companies who have achieved excellence and professionalism in their sales experience with Polaris World and whose customer service is of the highest standards. Our close relationship with Polaris World and our Golden Partner status enables spanish home 4u to offer you the client many great benefits and incentives. And whilst most companies in the property market are seeing a decline in customers we are seeing an increase. We are one of the newest partners with Polaris World both in the UK and Spain. We have helped numerous people over the last 2 years find their perfect Polaris World holiday home, retirement or investment property. Five Star Luxury Viewing Trips with FREE accommodation. Book your viewing trip with spanish home 4u and receive 2 nights FREE accommodation including a FREE lunch and dinner for two at the 5 star Intercontinental Hotel on a Polaris World Resort. 

Price range
Over 1,000 properties have already been handed over to their owners and those that remain are priced from just €175,000. All properties here are 2 bedroom apartments.

SENIOR properties available?
Possibly, depending upon which apartments are sold first, as all are already built. But Polaris was one of the first to architect design and build ‘from the ground up’ SENIOR properties and the build here is sensitive to the needs of the less able bodied and those of more mature years, so some apartments here might be well suited anyway.  

Availability 
Key Ready and Resales.

Value for money?
Absolutely for this level of on-site services and an 18 hole Jack Nicklaus golf course on site.

Payment Terms
Key Ready
• Euros 3,000 deposit.
• 25% within 20 days*.
• Balance upon legal Completion*
• * Please note that it is entirely possible that legal Completion might be within 25 to 30 days.
Resales
• Euros 3,000 deposit.
• Balance upon legal Completion.

Size and scale
• A large and open Resort with huge green areas set in the rolling countryside. 
• A low density construction even though there are over 1,000 apartments here.
• All apartments have 2 bedrooms, built in low rise blocks, some with 2 bathrooms, and mostly facing communal swimming pools, lakes and the golf course beyond.
• Most properties have golf and/or mountain views… the last few remaining from Polaris World are ‘Key Ready’ and all of these have golf views.
• Set around a Jack Nicklaus 18 hole golf course.
• Centred on its own town centre with the ancient Hacienda at its heart.
• Town centre being built with shops, cafés, bars and restaurants, and of course a golf club and pro-shop. 
• The open areas have been designed by the American company EDSA and the Spanish company F&M Arquitectos, both experts in this subject. 

Holiday home or permanent residence?
These apartments are most likely to be used as holiday homes.

Gated community?
Yes, absolutely! Security is of the utmost importance with a perimeter wall, 24 hour 7 days a week on-site security, CCTV and control on access. One feels very safe here.

Building site or finished development?
All of the properties are finished, with over 1,000 already handed over to their owners. The ancient Hacienda has yet to be restored and the town centre has yet to be built, but by and large this Resort is mostly finished.

Show apartments
Available.

Specifications
• Contemporary styled.
• Numerous communal swimming pools.
• High specification interiors.
• Double glazed.
• Pre-installation of air conditioning (hot and cold), but some properties come with fully installed air conditioning.
• Kitchen equipped with white goods.

Cafés, bars, restaurants, shops etc.
• Centred on its own town centre (work has yet to start on this) with bars, cafés, restaurants, shops, supermarket, pro-shop and golf club house bar.
• Just a few minutes drive from the small Spanish town of Sucina with its cafés, bars, restaurants, shops, chemists, banks and its Church. It even has an English Supermarket! 
• 15 minutes drive from the regions capital city of Murcia.
• 25 minutes drive from the city of Cartagena.
• 15 minutes drive from the Balsicas railway station with its high speed train links to Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia etc.

Golf
Polaris opted for the best golfer in the World, Jack Nicklaus, to design their courses. There are only 10 Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses in the whole of Europe … and 9 Jack Nicklaus courses are on Polaris World Resorts. The Hacienda Riquelme course is a masterpiece which fits into the overall jigsaw, in that the ‘buy on one, play on all’ concept allows owners and their guests to play on all 9 of the Jack Nicklaus courses on the ‘Nicklaus Golf Trail’. 3 courses are open, 6 more are to be built, 3 of which are ‘Bear’s Best’ courses, and all 9 are within a 25 km radius of El Valle. A Polaris shuttle bus serves them all. Owners secure discounted green fees. The Polaris slogan “Polaris World offers the best golf opportunity in Europe” seems, if anything, to be an understatement.

Beach
The warm inland sea of the Mar Menor is just a 10 minute drive away. For more on Mar Menor select ‘Mar Menor and La Manga’ in the left hand menu under the bullet point ‘Places of Interest’. The beaches of the Mediterranean Sea are 25 minutes drive away. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of buying on this Resort is that Polaris World are going to build a fabulous Beach Club right at the very tip of the magnificent La Manga Strip on the Mar Menor. This fabulous Beach Club will become available to all owners (and their guests) from ALL Polaris World Resorts, and a Polaris World Shuttle Bus will take them there! Hence owning a Polaris World property automatically becomes a ‘Golf AND Beach’ property prospect. For more information see ‘Polaris Beach Club’ in the left menu under the bullet point ‘Resorts & Developments’. 

Festivals
Hacienda Riquelme is so close to Sucina and many other Spanish towns, each of whom holds regular festivals as festivals are so crucial to the Spanish way of life – but the city of Murcia is just a 15 minute drive away and HUGE and famous festivals are held here, open for all to enjoy.

Polaris Rental Club
Polaris World spends millions on TV advertising (€18 million budget for 2008). They are creating the interest. If you buy a Polaris World property and wish to rent it out then tap into the interest that the advertising campaign is creating. To assist you further Polaris World have now launched ‘Vacaciones Polaris World’. They have created a glossy 74 page heavyweight brochure, a DVD, a price structure and lots of ideas, so why not let them try to fill your property with paying guests! For more information and their 2008 rental price lists see ‘Polaris Rental Club’ in the left menu under the ‘General’ bullet point.