Eleven pools and hundreds of private courtyards make this Spanish island resort one of my proudest achievements.

The philosophy of this 5 star resort was to create a harmonious balance between the resort and its highly arid surrounding environment.

The plant selection emphasised this with mature cacti and succulents used extensively throughout the landscape and daybeds, to catch the ocean views, were inter-planted with 600-year-old olive trees from an old farm in Madrid.

Water is an all-pervading presence within this landscape, with the dramatic wet edge pools subtly linking the desert with the endless views of the sea.