Murcia has never really been on my to visit destination in Spain. It so happens that we had a wedding to attend in Murcia that I found the wonderful Hotel Principe Filipe at La Manga Club.
Hotel Principe Filipe (image via Championship Tennis Holidays)
We were really impressed as soon as we arrived. All the staff had very good English and were very friendly. La Manga Club is a large resort that felt to us like a town on its own with all facilities available on location. There were supermarkets, shops, spa, restaurants and all sorts of sports facilities (golf, tennis, football, netball, diving and more) available. As it is so big, the hotel provides complimentary minibus to make getting from one place to another a breeze.
Hotel lobby
The view from our room
What to do at La Manga Club?
Depending on the purpose of your visit, La Manga Club definitely fills many requirements. There's swimming pool, spa, golf, tennis, football, netball, hiking trails, biking, diving and lots more. There are also beaches nearby but I suggest to take the complimentary mini bus ride to the La Cala beach.
Please do not make the same mistake as us. We opted to walk to the beach which we thought does not sound too far at all. It was not a smart choice to do upon arrival and not knowing our bearings yet. We were walking in the sun at about 30 degrees Celsius towards where we thought was suppose to be the beach, which was not a problem at all. Unfortunately we got lost in the mountains and had to hike up and down on the dangerous rocky path less taken that was also filled with thorny plants. Some section of the hike was so steep, a missed step would send us tumbling down. Worse yet, I was dressed to go to the beach, so not sneakers!
We got to this point alright and is still the correct route. We went straight down to instead of turning right.
Oh yes, this looks so near but nope, there is no beach down there. Only a cliff!
10 minutes into it and still thinking it was an adventure; so we were enjoying the view and got carried snapping away.
This was when it got real
Yes, we were mostly on the tip and sometimes in the middle but no where near the beach cause we didn't know where it was! No connection either so having a cellphone was useless then.
Yes, I look happy here but was actually exhausted from the hike. This was when we thought we were near the hotel. A little more walk but almost there.
We were lucky we found our way back after 3 hours of hiking and getting lost! Good thing we were out early and were still bright and sunny when we found our way back to the hotel. We even had time for a swim in a pool, a nice bath and then tapas at La Bodega for dinner.
Tapas at La Bodega
A couple of pictures from the Spanish wedding we were at. Crazy fun wedding, as expected. Congratulations, my dear Naza.
At the wedding
Had a dance with the Bride's father. He's such a fun dad.
Tennis Club
When we were not at the wedding, we managed to squeeze in a tennis match on the clay court, which was first for us but real fun. After years of not playing tennis, it was nice to start again. It felt even better knowing that Andre Agassi used to train here.
Look who was here! Andre Agassi and Sir Cliff Richard!
Lots of cactus
Does this remind you of something? ;)
At the tennis club, there are 28 courts of which are 20 Clay Courts, 4 Hard Courts and 4 artificial Grass Courts. It is a large space with all the facilities you need on location. On the grounds of the tennis club were also manicured bowling greens for Boules, Squash courts and Gymnasium. Mini Golf is also available at a short walk away next to the car park.
The Leadbetter Golf Academy
On our last day, we managed to bump into David Haye, the professional heavyweight boxer at breakfast.
See the man sat outside in the sun? That's David Haye ;) And this, the luscious holiday breakfast.
View from the restaurant Terrace
With my instructor, Juan. He was great and had lots of experience.
La Cala Beach
On our last day, we managed to spend some time at the La Cala Beach we intended to go to on the first day. This time, we took the minibus instead and got there with no drama.
Do you see a Polar Bear rock?
CARTAGENA
If you are not much of a sports person, or that you need a change, there's Cartagena only 20 minutes drive away. More about Cartagena will be posted next.
Four days at La Manga and I still think we have more to do here. I would actually love to be back here again and maybe next time, I can play proper golf on the greens and not just the driving range. And also, the next tennis match with P will not be a tie again but a WIN.
Hotel Principe Filipe @ La Manga Club
La Manga CLubMurcia, Spain
Tel: +34 968 331234
**If you would like to read more, do follow me on twitter, facebook or instagram for more updates.
0 comments :
Post a Comment