Europe is an exceptional place for a golf holiday, with top-notch championship courses to test your swing in every corner of the continent and a largely temperate climate that makes for a lengthy playing season. You’ll find everything from long-standing, prestigious names that have hosted numerous tour events to new, professionally designed courses, not to mention a formidable line-up of luxury golf hotels. The fact is, even the most joyful 18 holiday holes are nothing without a superb place to lay your head afterwards — and there’s a good chance you’ve got a non-golfer or two travelling with you as well. Fortunately, Europe has some of the best golf hotels in the world. There are swimming pools you’ll be itching to leap into, spas you won’t be able to resist and beaches that might just tempt you to skip tomorrow’s round. Unless specified, all of these destinations have accessible rooms, so gather together your golfing gang, or bring the family along for the ride, and check out our pick of the best golf hotels in Europe.
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1. Terre Blanche, France
£££ | SPA | TWO COURSES | Best for French flair
Replete with water hazards and sizeable bunkers, the 6,616-metre Le Château course at Terre Blanche may be demanding but it sure is a beauty, spread across rolling Provençal parkland just back from the Côte d’Azur. You’ll also find the shorter Le Riou course (pictured) here — a 6,005-metre challenge that incorporates steep fairways and manicured greens — as well as a superb hotel, its gorgeous suites arranged like a village among mature oak woodland. The spa is extensive too, and there are several upscale restaurants (try the southern French cuisine at Le Faventia).
2. Anantara Villa Padierna Palace Benahavis Marbella Resort, Spain
£££ | SPA | THREE COURSES | Best for views of the Med
One of Marbella’s most opulent hotels is also one of the region’s best for golfers, delivering three 18-hole courses and a driving range on site. Start with a round on Tramores, a fast executive course just 3,468 metres in length; make time for Flamingos’ slender fairways and generous greens; then tackle Alferini, the most challenging of the three with long fairways and a variety of hazards. All have glorious Mediterranean views, while the hotel provides a spa with hammam and Roman baths, seven bars and restaurants and private villas (although no accessible rooms).
3. Camiral Golf & Wellness, Spain
££ | SPA | TWO COURSES | Best for glamorous golfers
Formerly PGA Catalunya, this resort provides one of the toughest courses in Spain, the Stadium Course, which challenges golfers with its numerous lakes and testing bunkers. You’ll also find the shorter Tour Course, a striking 18-hole parkland course lined with pine trees, where wide fairways offer a path away from the water hazards. Book a suite for a five-star golf holiday and you’ll get golf-course views backed by the Pyrenees, plus access to the wellness centre, with its hydrotherapy pools and sports massages.
4. Finca Cortesin, Spain
£££ | SPA | ONE COURSE | Best for all-out luxury
The 18-hole championship course at Finca Cortesin may not have been around all that long but it’s already one of the biggest names in European golf and hosted the Solheim Cup in 2023. The greens and fairways are so lush that you’ll hardly believe you’re in southern Spain, and there’s a country club feel to the resort, with its extensive gardens, four swimming pools and large racquet club. Luxury golf resorts don’t come more picturesque and inviting than this.
5. Sensatori Atlantica Aphrodite Hills, Cyprus
££ | SPA | ONE COURSE | Best for five-star swimming
With Mediterranean sea views and a line-up of lush fairways and generous greens, the 18 holes at Aphrodite Hills are a joy to play — and from the course you can see the spot where Aphrodite, the goddess of love, is said to have emerged from the sea. The hotel resort here has spacious rooms with private swimming pools (the family suites sleep five), a tennis academy and a spa with a gorgeous infinity pool. The Clubhouse is a wonderful place to relax after a round; an elegant restaurant serves the cuisine of Cyprus.
6. Maxx Royal Belek Golf Resort, Turkey
£££ | SPA | ONE COURSE | Best for bringing the kids
The superb Montgomerie Maxx Royal golf course, designed by Colin Montgomerie, undulates across sandy ridges and through emerald pine forest, making the most of the Mediterranean coastline of Turkey. The hotel is designed to maximise the sea view, its suites facing out to the water, and also has its own 300m beach with a beach bar and canopied pavilions for lounging. Golf resorts in Europe don’t come much more child-friendly — there are kids’ clubs for all ages from tot to teen, and a playground with a pirate ship and an aqua park.
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7. SO/ Sotogrande, Spain
££ | SPA | THREE COURSES | Best for golfing variety
The first time the Ryder Cup was played in continental Europe, the chosen venue was the Real Club Valderrama, a glorious course that’s always in tip-top condition and poses a real challenge to even the lowest handicappers. Book into the nearby SO/ Sotogrande and they can arrange a tee time (though you’ll need to reserve well in advance); there’s also golf on site at Almenara with its three circuits of nine holes arranged around lakes and cork trees. Numerous other championship golf courses are nearby (the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande is a highlight) and the hotel has stylish rooms with bags of space, plus a serene spa.
8. Anantara Vilamoura, Portugal
£ | SPA | ONE COURSE (NEXT DOOR) | Best for easy access to a week’s worth of golf
For a golf break with plenty of variety, Vilamoura is hard to beat. Check in to the Anantara hotel and you can wake up to views of the Dom Pedro Victoria course, host of the Portugal Masters. A round here is a challenge, with fast greens, threatening bunkers and numerous water hazards, and there are four more courses in the same group, all close by. Back at the hotel your room comes with a daybed on the balcony and has five swimming pools to choose from, so settle in and start planning tomorrow’s round — the hotel offers private transfers to all Vilamoura golf courses, making golf travel here a breeze.
9. The K Club, Ireland
££ | SPA | TWO COURSES | Best for old-school glamour
Elegant and opulent, the K Club is all formal gardens and handsome drawing rooms, not to mention some of the best golf in Ireland. There are two courses here, both designed by Arnold Palmer, and both offering unique challenges, from the 18th at Palmer South with its island green, to the double dogleg 16th at Palmer North. The hotel is a leading light in Irish hospitality and you’ll find super-luxe rooms stacked with antiques, fine dining in the restaurant and old-school service throughout. Don’t miss a cocktail in the Blue Martini bar, with its terrace overlooking the gardens.
10. The Magnolia Hotel, Quinta do Lago, Portugal
£ | SPA | THREE COURSES | Best for an easy breezy golf break
Quinta do Lago is one of the biggest names in Portuguese golf, and with three superb courses on site it’s easy to see why. Tee off at the South Course for glorious views of the Ria Formosa Natural Park and strategically located hazards to test every golfer. Alternatively, try the rolling Laranjal course, which runs through orange groves, or the challenging North Course, with its undulating greens and tricky bunkers, all often accompanied by a stiff breeze. The boutiquey Magnolia hotel is colourful and comfortable, with chic rooms and cabins, a bright poolside restaurant and the sort of easy elegance that makes you feel instantly at home.
11. Verdura Resort, Sicily, Italy
£££ | SPA | THREE COURSES | Best for sea views and sunsets
The golf club isn’t the main attraction here — that has to be the view, straight out into the Med and westwards into the sunset. All three courses (two 18-hole, one nine-hole) make the most of the coastal scenery of Sicily and you’ll find yourself dodging the water on several holes — both the ocean and the well-placed lakes. The hotel is part of the Rocco Forte collection and brims with style from its fireplaces to its plunge pools. The spa is glorious and the outdoor pool may tempt you to abandon your clubs, at least for one day.
12. Adare Manor, Ireland
£££ | SPA | ONE COURSE | Best for combining golf and spa
Seeking a luxurious golf resort spa as well as top-class golf? Look no further than Adare Manor, where the spa provides dreamy treatments and its own pool. The course here has been picked to host the 2027 Ryder Cup and is as well manicured and maintained as they come, with lush, rolling fairways and fast, true greens. The practice facilities are excellent here too, with a large chipping area and practice bunker as well as a driving range. The hotel itself is prestigious without being stuffy — think whisky by the fire and good old-fashioned Irish hospitality.
adaremanor.com
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