The Desert Springs Resort, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course in the Almeria region of Andalucía, south-east Spain, has been awarded Best Golf Resort for Groups in Europe by the European Group Travel Awards (EGTA).
The European Group Travel Awards, staged as a partnership between Landor Travel Publications and leading international group specialist, HotelPlanner.com were held on Thursday 10th March 2016 at the prestigious Intercontinental Berlin in Germany.
Leading group travel buyers were asked for their EGTA award nominees with voting for the shortlists for the 21 categories made open to a panel of industry experts as well as the general public to select the finest suppliers in the group travel industry.
Nominated for Best Golf Resort for Groups in Europe, Desert Springs Resort was is in competition with illustrious company that included: – The Celtic Manor Resort, The Belfry, Argentario Golf Resort & Spa, Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort, Evian Resort & Cameron House Loch Lomond.
The EGTA awards ceremony was attended by more than 350 industry executives, travel organizers, and trade publications from across Europe and abroad.
“The European Group Travel Awards shines a spotlight on those who offer the best of the best in the group travel market,” stated Tim Hentschel, CEO of HotelPlanner.com “This event gives us an opportunity to thank these companies and organizations for their support and dedication.”
Desert Springs Golf Club Director of Golf, Simon Coaker was in attendance on award night in Berlin and remarked;
“Being nominated by leading group travel buyers for the category of Best Golf Resort for Groups in Europe provided a true sense of pride for the entire team at Desert Springs Resort. The category was particularly strong with competition from what all-avid golfers will recognise as some very well known resorts throughout Europe.
To have won the title of Best Golf Resort for Groups in Europe is an amazing achievement. The award acts as both recognition of the quality of the resort and the performance of the whole team at Desert Springs, confirming them as exemplary in their field and celebrates what makes group travel memorable.
With the knowledge that votes were made by both a panel of industry experts as well as by our customers, this award confirms a true vote of both recognition and confidence to our business and one that all at Desert Springs Resort are extremely proud to have received.”
The Indiana Course at Desert Springs Resort has been recognised as the 6th Best Golf Course in Spain, based on the reviews of players who rated the course on the Leading Courses website. Out of the 345 courses present on this ranking the Indiana Course at Desert Springs occupies 6th place with a score of 8,8/10, and awards Desert Springs Golf Club with the “Outstanding” badge. This distinction is only given to the best 10 courses in the country.
Opened in 2001, Desert Springs Resort quickly established an international reputation for outstanding quality, attracting discerning golfers, international elite amateur teams and professionals, as well as major international events, including two Spanish Amateur Opens and most latterly the 2015 PGA Europro Tour Championships.
Resort accommodation is provided in the apartments, townhouses and villas available for holidays and short breaks at Desert Springs Resort. Meals are served in the resort’s Croc Restaurant, part of the family-friendly Crocodile Club that is geared up for a wide variety of leisure activities and the award-winning El Torrente Restaurant at the Club House.
Visiting golfers benefit from resort gated security and full management and services that ensure all aspects of a golfer’s stay are taken care of. These include airport transfers, food hamper deliveries, babysitting and both resort and off-resort restaurant reservations.
Desert Springs Resort is easy to reach from all parts of the UK and Europe, thanks to three international airports: Almeria Airport, 40 minutes transfer; Murcia Airport, 80 minutes transfer, and Alicante Airport 1hr 50 minutes transfer.
Already well known as a resort specialising in golf and family holidays, Desert Springs Resort is gaining popularity as a centre for warm-weather training for cricketers and footballers.
For more information on Desert Springs Resort: www.almanzora .com Tel: – +34 950 091 518
NOTE TO EDITORS
About Desert Springs Resort
Facilities already completed and in use at Desert Springs include:
- a par 72 -18-hole USGA Indiana golf course designed by former Great Britain and Ireland Golf Team Captain Peter McEvoy who was inspired by the desert courses of Arizona and California;
- a golf academy whose PGA qualified teaching professionals cater for several international teams, for the women’s elite squads of the Golf Union of Wales and for many of the English County Union’s elite squads; PGA European Tour and LET players.
- two hard tennis courts, two paddle courts, beach volley ball and two football pitches – one is a full-size grass pitch; the other is designed for five-a-side games;
- a Cricket Academy with facilities that comprise; a nineteen bay grass wicket and run up with nets, a two bay artificial wicket with nets, a full length artificial grass wicket, a Professional Bola Bowling Machine with 28 ball feeder, a slip catch cradle and a specific hard standing area, which provides outside space for facilities such as a free weights gym, stretching mats and a medical area
- Spanish colonial style Golf Club House with a lounge, bar, restaurant, locker rooms, TV and reading rooms, and a Ralph Lauren Golf Boutique;
- The Crocodile Club which provides family fun at the heart of the resort with pools, equipped sand play areas, a kid’s battery powered John Deere Gator circuit and a games room as well as a jacuzzi, sun lawns and a pool bar;
- a health and fitness club and spa.
Awards
Desert Springs has been awarded the Daily Mail Best Almeria Award and the Bentley International Property Awards for the Best Spain Development and Best Architecture, as well as the Spanish National Madera Verde Prize for Environmentally Sensitive Development & SICTED award for the distinction of “Commitment to Tourism Quality”. El Torrente Restaurant has received the New Millennium International Gastronomy Award for the Tourist, Hotel and Catering Industry. This award was created by the Trade Leaders Club with the aim of distinguishing companies from all countries, for the outstanding quality of their products or services.
The climate of the Almanzora coastal region
Desert Springs Resort takes it name from the region’s desert microclimate, which is unique in Europe. It has the warmest winter weather on the continent with an annual average of more than nine hours of daily sunshine and maximum daily temperatures of between 16°C (60°F) and 30°C (86°F) throughout the year. Annual rainfall is less than 200 mm. The Almanzora’s coastal waters are among the cleanest and warmest in Europe, attracting both fish and diving enthusiasts.
| Reader enquiries: |
| Simon Coaker
The Almanzora Group Ltd Sales & Marketing Manager The Manor, Boddington, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL51 0TJ Tel: +44 (0) 1242 680116 Email: tag@almanzora.com |
The 15th Hole on The Indiana Course at Desert Springs Resort
Desert Springs rental apartments overlooking The Indiana Course
Spacious fairway frontage villas that allow for an unforgettable stay at Desert Springs Resort
