Spain , Fairplay Hotel and Spa 2008

Fairplay Golf Hotel and Spa is situated on the edge of the white village of Benalup, a quiet area of southern Spain and the closest town being Jerez.

There were several options on airports in the area and there are Jerez, Seville and Gibraltar. Most of our guests decided on the Gibraltar option because most low cost airlines fly in there but could be a little fiddly getting across the boarder into Spain to collect your hire car or transfer. It is only a short forty minutes drive north to Benalup.

Benalup itself is a lovely village with some very fine restaurants and in here we discovered Fairplay Hotel which is most impressive.

The hotel is a luxurious five star all inclusive suite hotel. It is built in the style of a typical Spanish white village complementing the local area. There are over siixty suites each with a themed courtyard in the style of colonial based on South Africa, Cadiz clean lines, Andalusia influences from North Africa, Japanese and Delvaux of New England.

Each suite has beautifully decorated and comfortable sitting room, bedroom and bathroom. Any two single guests can be accomodated one room each with en suite.

We have stayed in many all inclusive hotels before, but none like this with fine wines and fine dinning which is the order of the day. The all inclusive wine list had some great names but my favourite was the Lan Rioja red and the Marquee de Cazeras Rioja in white.

The hotel has three restaurants of which Le Tablle offers extraordinary French cuisine. You can always opt for cuisine from Far East or Italian delicious pasta and pizzas to be washed down by fine Merlot.

We got out of the Hotel with great reluctance on the Thursday for a tour into Jerez, home of the Andalusia horse school and of course Sherry.

The historic past of the arenas and the beauty of the horses make the viist to Andalusia a must stop on the tourist trail. My knowledge of horsemanship is a little limited, but I was assured by Maggie Cook it was one of the best school she has seen.

A visit after lunch to Tito Pepe sherry house was great fun. They also produce the Croft Original sherry. This was more to my palate then the dry Tito Pepe. Some of guests preferred the dry. I think the trick is to keep sampling until you find the one you like. The tour of the winery was fascinating and no matter how many tasting you have done around the world, one has to marvel at the knowledge and passion each guide has for their wine.

The Benalup golf course is lovely. Marion and I did the inspection visit well over a year ago in a buggy. Although we get an overview we can never really tell how good the course is until it is played. It is only seven years old but looks far more established. Gently undulating and very walking friendly, Benalup is on the top of a plateau which provides spectacular views all around. It is a very fair course from tee to green, but the greens themselves are where the true grit in the course lies. The undulation also gives fast and fun putting, thus keeping your attention until the ball is down the hole.

It was a very close contest in the men's event and the third place went to Roger Burrows who have won over the first two days. Second place went to Mike Cook and the winner was Andrew Walker.

In the ladies competition, third place went to Maggie Cook, second to Jan Rossiter and the winner was Christine Burrows.

A special mention for Jan Rossiter who narrowly missed a hole in one on the 12th hole in the third round playing with yours truly. I jokingly said that if you are going to hole one out then this is the place to do it as its all inclusive. Then low and behold in round four on the very same hole she holed out for a one. I said that maybe we should carry the celebration over until the next holiday but this fell on death ears. Well done Jan.

We have already reserved rooms at Fairplay for the same time next year as this is really an undiscovered gem. Just don't tell anyone otherwise they will all want to come.

CALENDAR 2010
From:		to	Nights	Country & Location:	Price from
02/09	-	09/09	7	Madeira , Casa Velha 5	£1325*	details
02/10	-	09/10	7	Portugal, Western Algarve, Le Meridien Penina 5	£820*	details	GS
01/11	-	14/11	13	USA, Myrtle Beach	£1,995**	details
20/11	-	27/11	7	Portugal, Western Algarve, Le Meridien Penina 5	£795*	details	GS
CALENDAR 2011
8/01	-	24/01	14	Vietnam Escorted Tour, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) & Hoi An	£3,495**	details
31/01	-	13/02	12	South Africa ,The Winelands and Garden Route Escorted Tour. Only 1 remaining place	£3,160**	details
05/03	-	12/03	7	Portugal, Western Algarve, Le Meridien Penina 5	£855*	details	GS
12/03	-	19/03	7	Portugal, Festival of Golf, Penina / San Lorenzo 5	£955*	details
16/04	-	23/04	7	Portugal, Western Algarve, Le Meridien Penina 5	£855*	details	GS
07/05	-	14/05	7	Portugal, Western Algarve, Le Meridien Penina 5	£855*	details	GS
_/05	-	_/05	TBC	Itay , details available soon
10/09	-	17/09	7	Spain, Benalup; Fairplay Hotel and Spa, Luxury All Inclusive 5 £150 single supplement	£1280*	details
15/10	-	22/10	7	Portugal, Western Algarve, Le Meridien Penina 5	£855*	details	GS
__/11	-	__/11	TBC	Dubai, details available soon
				*Prices per person sharing including golf excluding flights **Prices per person sharing including golf & including flights
GS - Golf School     Available Fully Booked