Malaga, jewel of the Costa del Sol, is home to a sparkling array of unique venues, running the gamut from lavishly restored Moorish palaces to hyper-modern architectural triumphs. One the area’s proverbial trump-cards is the beautiful Hacienda Nadales.

This really is the consummate venue, boasting a stunning Neo-classical palace complete with an exceptional collection of Roman artefacts, expertly restored former stables built in authentic Andalusian style, and extensive luscious gardens featuring a glorious 19th century greenhouse – truly the estate’s pièce de résistance!

The majestic neo-classical palace, with its delicately balanced Italianate façade, stylistically pays sincere homage to the Renaissance, bringing to mind the exquisite Palladian palaces of the 16th century. A fantastic feature of the palace is its large, impossibly elegant balustraded terrace, commanding panoramic views of the idyllic gardens and beyond.

The luxuriant 25,000m2 of gardens were largely created towards the end of the 19th century, incorporating an abundance of aesthetic features that were very much en vogue at the time, such as numerous tropical plants, benches decorated with intricate, authentic tile-work, fountains, statues, artificial grottos and the sublime antique greenhouse, redolent of heady summer nights past and thick with the scent of the lemon and olive groves that elegantly surround the property. The greenhouse is not only idyllic, but also superb for its sheer size and the antique nature of its appearance, gracefully heightening its already exquisite ambiance.

Ultimately, the inestimably idyllic Hacienda de Nadales, with its sheer variety of beautifully distinct spaces provides the utmost in elegance, exclusivity and ease, undoubtedly banishing any preconceptions one may have of Malaga.