When we asked in our last reader survey if international buyers wanted to be in a resort community or out among the locals, it was roughly a 50:50 split. If you’re undecided, read the pros or cons of buying on a resort or among the local people.

Lifestyle properties aimed at holiday homeowners and resident expats are often built within purpose-built communities, which come in all shapes and sizes. It’s a format that’s new to many first-time buyers, many of whom assume they’ll be living amongst the local community. We look at the options and evaluate resort-style home ownership.

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The horizon along southern Europe’s balmy coastlines has changed hugely since the 1960s when mass tourism began to take off in places like the Costal del Sol and Costa Blanca in Spain and Portugal’s Algarve. Let’s not even talk about Dubai…

Resort living, Dubai style. The Palm Jumeirah

Owning a home in one of these destinations got especially popular around the turn of the Millennium, thanks to the marriage of fledgling low-cost carriers and the internet. What followed was a boom in purpose-built lifestyle communities geared towards foreign owners.

In 2025, new developments continue to come on stream all the time. Tastes and styles have evolved, building standards and sustainability have improved massively and regulations have changed. The general concept of grouping together homes for foreign residents or second homeowners and providing shared amenities remains the same though.

The European resort model

The types and style of properties serving today’s foreign real estate market is extensive, as are the terms describing them. Most appropriate though is ‘community’. This describes any collection of properties within a recognised boundary that have shared amenities, are built typically by the same developer(s) and are similar in style. All owners in a community automatically become a member of the ‘community of property-owners’ (‘homeowners’ association’ in the US) and part-owner of all communal infrastructure and space. Every community has its own set of internal rules (voted on by its members), which govern how the properties and common areas are used and maintained.

The model of a community can be applied to a single apartment block, small complex of apartments, townhouses or villas, or larger urbanised areas. In Spain, you’ll see the term urbanisation interchanged with community. In fact, an urbanisation is an administrative term used by town halls to mark specific residential areas.

Urbanisations in and around resorts, such as those in Orihuela Costa in Spain, are typically purpose built for foreign homeowners and can be all sizes. They’ll often have a mix of property types as well as individual communities or complexes with their own shared pools. In Portugal, areas like this include Vilamoura in the Algarve’s ‘golden triangle’, one of Europe’s largest tourist residential communities.

The Florida way

The USA is an old hand at leisure-oriented lifestyle communities, having pioneered the country club concept more than a century ago. No surprises Florida has been a trailblazer in vacation property, especially in the tourist hot spots of Orlando and along its seaboards. Notably, Naples on the Gulf Coast is world famous for its plentiful upmarket golf communities.

In the US, the term resort tends to describe a gated development or community, packed with fully managed tourist amenities and offering an all-inclusive vacation experience. While traditional communities tend to less ‘amenitized’ (as they say) and greener, perhaps with a clubhouse and parks, with a more residential feel and often without gated access.

Landmark holiday-style resorts near Disney include The Grove Resort & Spa next to Lake Austin, where facilities include a water park and surf simulator. Another mega resort is Margarita Village, centred around a hotel, lake with beach area, water park and commercial outlets, the site includes a mix of vacation homes, timeshare units and residential apartments. Balmoral at Waters Edge is built around a series of navigable lakes and themed garden areas and also has its own water park and Ronaldo soccer academy!

Golf and leisure resorts

Active types might want more than just access to a communal pool and easy stroll to a beachfront. Cue leisure and golf resorts, which refer to an urbanisation centred around a collection of leisure amenities and or golf course.

Since the acclaimed La Manga and Sotogrande resorts in Spain and Vale do Lobo and Vilamoura in Portugal’s Algarve set the benchmark 60-odd years ago, these two countries have become two of Europe’s most desirable lifestyle resort destinations.

A golf resort, with pools and clubhouse

Golf resorts classified as urbanisations will often have a collection of small communities or complexes around their course(s). The Costa del Sol, with a reported 70-plus courses, is a go-to for golf resort homes. Typical of the current market, developer Taylor Wimpey España has recently launched its Meadows complex within the La Cala Golf Resort urbanisation. The 26-unit gated development with communal pools and gardens is scheduled for completion in October 2026. Taylor Wimpey has other completed complexes within the resort and around the Costa del Sol.

In Florida, large golf communities like Reunion, ChampionsGate and Providence have a choice of small golf resorts. Or pick a more traditional, country-club golf type community, such as Mystic Dunes, Southern Dunes or Highlands Reserve.

The pros of gated communities

Excited by the above? So let’s consider the key benefits of owning a home within a community (or golf resort). For starters, depending on your community, you get access to leisure amenities – usually a pool, gym, parking and gardens at the very least. Many of these are things you might not be able to afford if buying an individual property somewhere. Even better, they’ll all be maintained for you and the other owners, by whichever maintenance firm the community appoints.

The communal areas make it easy to mix and socialise with other homeowners, who are often multinational. If there is a clubhouse or bar/restaurant, even better! Being within a community, especially one with gated entry and reception area gives an added layer of security, which brings peace of mind especially if your property is a lock-up-and-leave which you don’t visit often. It also creates a safe, low-traffic environment for children.

The community environment and the amenities can make your property more appealing as a holiday let. Owners of properties within golf resorts often get discounts and members’ rates for golf and other amenities. They also tend to benefit from a long rental season as guests coming for the golf play as much during the low season as the hot summer season.

 Potential downsides of resort living

You’ll have an extra bill to pay. Communities all come with community fees, used to cover the cost of running and maintaining the communal areas. Check what these are before buying somewhere. Fees vary significantly depending on the size of the common areas and the range and quality of amenities. Generally, fees are charged by the square metre, so larger properties will have higher fees than smaller ones within the same community.

Maybe you would be happier out with the local people?

Restrictions on what is allowed and not allowed within a community should checked thoroughly too. This is especially relevant when it comes to rentals. In many countries the law makes provision for an individual community, more specifically the people who own property there, to vote for a ban on holiday rentals and incorporate this as a condition into its rules. It’s happening increasingly in Europe.

Finally, if you’re someone who enjoys peace and values their privacy, choose your community carefully, or steer away from them and buy an individual property outside of a community.