Marina del Este

Marina del Este occupies one of the peninsula's finest natural balconies: the ridge of Punta Ballena, where the cliffs drop toward the bay of Portezuelo and the sun sets over the water every day of the year. The complex combines residences and low-rise buildings within a gated community with permanent access control, at a scale that respects the landscape and avoids towers. The unit types range from lofts to three-bedroom units, and communal life is organized around the outdoor pool, the gym, the tennis court and a full spa with sauna, jacuzzi and massage room. With housekeeping service and spaces for kids, it works as well as a permanent residence as it does a seasonal retreat. It is, quite rightly, one of Punta Ballena's contemporary classics.

Designed by architect Carlos Dines, Marina del Este took the opposite path from the towers: a gated community that combines residences and low-rise buildings along the ridge of Punta Ballena, at a scale that never competes with the landscape around it. The unit types span an unusually wide range — from the compact loft to four-bedroom residences of over 500 m² — giving the community a genuine mix of real life: the couple who summers here, the family living year-round, and the owner who rents it out all coexist. The volumes are laid out across the property so that each unit captures the view of Portezuelo bay, and the restrained, horizontal-lined materiality has aged with dignity: decades after it was built, the complex still looks contemporary.

The site is one of those that don't come around twice: the whale's-back cliffs, where the peninsula drops toward Portezuelo bay and the sun sets over the water 365 days a year. That west-facing orientation, a rarity on the Uruguayan coast, made Marina del Este synonymous with sunsets and one of the most iconic developments in Punta Ballena. Below lie the calm beaches of Portezuelo and Solanas; above, the Ruta Panorámica and Casapueblo; fifteen minutes away, all of Punta del Este. The neighborhood works as a world of its own — permanent access control, quiet internal streets, mature vegetation — but without the closed-in feel of large-scale gated communities: here the boundary is set by the cliff, not by a fence.

Communal life is organized around a service package that few complexes on the peninsula can match: an outdoor pool with the sea in the background, a gym, a tennis court and a full spa with sauna, jacuzzi and massage room. The maid service and children's recreational areas round out the profile: a complex that works equally well as a permanent residence, summer home or high-end rental unit. Security 24 hours a day and professional management — with years of experience behind it — give owners an operational peace of mind that new projects still have to build. For anyone looking to buy something proven in Punta Ballena, with a track record of appreciation and an established community, Marina del Este remains the must-have reference in the area.

• Perched on the cliffs with one of the best views of Portezuelo bay
• Gated community combining houses and low-rise buildings
• Full spa with sauna, jacuzzi and massage room
• Sunsets over the sea all year round
• One of the most representative developments on the peninsula
• Established complex on the hill of Punta Ballena with views of Portezuelo bay
• Units available for sale