A SECOND SPANISH PROPERTY FOR THE BOTHAMS AS SIR IAN’S DAUGHTER LAUNCHES A NEW RESTAURANT VENTURE IN ALMERIA
Sarah Botham who has bought the Bar Restaurante los Pepes in the village of Vera near Desert Springs in the Almeria region of Spain.
Townhouses of the type which Sir Ian Botham has bought at Desert Springs.
Sir Ian Botham relaxing on the veranda of the first home he bought at Desert Springs.
The Bothams’ new property at Desert Springs has views of the Golf Academy, pictured here.
Former England Test cricketer and golfing enthusiast Sir Ian Botham has bought a second holiday home at Desert Springs, the award-winning luxury family resort and desert golf course in Almeria, south-east Spain.
Sir Ian, who describes his first purchase – a Spanish Colonial style home alongside the seventeenth fairway of Europe’s only championship desert golf course – as “the perfect retreat,” has now bought a three-bedroom townhouse at the resort, as well.
The newest property has become home to Sir Ian’s daughter Sarah (28) who has just fulfilled a long held ambition in Spain.
She said: “After six years working with Sky Sports, and then helping to organise my father’s fundraising walks for Leukaemia Research, I was looking for an opportunity to open a wine bar.
“There were few affordable ones in the area near my home in North Yorkshire but then, during a holiday at Desert Springs, I discovered that the Bar Restaurante los Pepes in the nearby town of Vera was for sale. I didn’t take me long to snap it up!”
Sarah has expanded the restaurant, which serves traditional Spanish dishes and tapas at the bar, so that it now seats 32 diners inside and 50 more outside in the summer.
Vera, which Sarah describes as “a charming and picturesque town with a flavour of Spain as it was,” is just a few minutes by car from Desert Springs where the family’s second second-home is a spacious Modesto style duplex. It has a floor area of 110 sq m, a roof terrace of 37 sq m, and views of both the Desert Springs Golf Academy and the sea.
“Although the price paid by the Bothams has not been disclosed, comparable properties currently are available for around €390,000,” reports Bridget Rosser, sales and marketing manager of The Almanzora Group which promotes the resort properties built by the Anglo-Spanish developer of Desert Springs, The Almanzora Bay Group.
Earlier this year it was reported that Sir Ian had bought an air-conditioned Arizona villa designed to capture the ambience of the region’s old farmhouses, or cortijos.
Set within a walled garden, this property features deep and shady colonnaded verandas with fans, spacious roof terraces and a private infinity pool.
“I love the peaceful atmosphere and the desert microclimate we enjoy in this corner of Spain,” says Sir Ian who was attracted by the region’s reputation for having the warmest and driest winter weather on the continent. “Desert Springs offers such an amazing variety of sports and leisure facilities that, for us, it is a perfect family retreat and a real home from home.”
A passionate golfer, and the first member of the Desert Springs Golf Club to play on its 18-hole golf course, Sir Ian says: “I enjoy meeting and playing with other members and guests of the golf club because they and I are here for the same reasons – to experience and benefit from a quality of lifestyle which, in my view, has no equal in Europe.”
A wide variety of properties at Desert Springs, at prices starting at £250,000 for an apartment, are available from The Almanzora Group which also arranges inspection visits. For more information telephone +44 (0) 1242 680116 or visit the website, www.almanzora.com
IMPORTANT NOTE
To avoid confusion, please note that this document refers to two organisations with names which are similar but different. They are The Almanzora Bay Group [THE DEVELOPER] and The Almanzora Group Ltd [THE AGENT].
- The Almanzora Bay Group, named after the Almanzora region of Eastern Andalucia where it has been active since 1985, is an Anglo-Spanish sister group to the award-winning Cheltenham-based developer, the Robert Hitchins Group. Established in 1958, the Robert Hitchins Group specialises in large-scale strategic land planning and commercial development in the West of England and South Wales.
- The Almanzora Group, which is a subsidiary of the Robert Hitchins Group, acts exclusively for the development companies which comprise the Almanzora Bay Group. The Almanzora Group Ltd is the principal agent in northern Europe, including the UK and Ireland, marketing new properties developed by The Almanzora Bay Group in resort, village and beach locations.
Please note that none of the above have any connection with theSpanish development known as The Almanzora Country Club.
For further information contact: Tim Stanley
E-mail: tim@timstanleypr.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 117 9625658
