Soak it up in style in Sotogrande

The Kempinski Hotel Bahia is a great place and base to discover the on and off-course delights of Spain’s stunning Sotogrande region.

The five star hotel is ideally located just outside Estepona – it overlooks the Mediterranean and is a short drive from the area’s many world-class courses, including the likes of Valderrama, San Roque, La Reserva, Finca Cortesin and Sotogrande.

The multi award-winning Kempinski has 128 spacious rooms and 17 luxury suites, all having terraces and balconies with gorgeous views of the lush subtropical gardens and the sea.

Predictably the facilities are top drawer too and include four restaurants and two bars, large outdoor pools and a sumptuous, recently renovated Spa. It has a touch of history too and features an Arabic lookout tower dating back to 1500.

But the real good news for golfers is that it boasts its own Golf Desk located in the hotel’s reception area and can arrange tailor-made packages as well as discounted individual green fee rates at over 20 nearby courses.

During TG’s short-but-sweet stay we played Valderrama (pictured), following in the footsteps of Seve’s 2007 Ryder Cup heroes, and Finca Cortesin (pictured), recent home of the World Match Play Championship. Talk about chalk and cheese: Valderrama fully lived up to expectations but you’ve got to keep it straight and out of the cork trees lining most fairways otherwise you’re severely punished. You just can’t afford to be offline at Valderrama unlike at Finca Cortesin, a relatively open and exposed rollercoaster of a track with plenty of water features to negotiate. But Finca’s main defence is its devilishly difficult, fast sloping greens. Take my word for it, three putting can be a common and painful occurrence. Fantastic fun though.