DESTINATIONS — SPAIN

���t travelweekly.co.uk — 22 March 2012

travelweekly.co.uk/destinations

Jeannine Williamson takes a look at how the Costa Blanca has blossomed

The Barcelo Asia Gardens Hotel

& Thai Spa is a tranquil retreat

Big, brash and bawdy – or at least that was

Benidorm’s reputation. A destination that

developed from the first sun, sand and sangria

packages in the 1950s, the British love affair with

the Costa Blanca – the ‘white coast’ halfway along

Spain’s eastern shoreline – continues today.

With good weather, a wide choice of flights, varied

accommodation, reasonable prices and more than

60 miles of sandy beaches, it has lost none of its

original appeal, and about 40% of visitors are Brits.

And while many of the small fishing villages that

spawned the tourism boom are unrecognisable today

– most noticeably Benidorm – clients can also discover

a very different side to the Costa Blanca.

Rural villas, five-star hotels, Michelin-starred

restaurants, golf courses and spas are all within easy

reach of the airline gateway Alicante. An increase in

purse-friendly all-inclusive hotels has also prompted

some operators to return to the region.

Patricia Birmingham, Shearings Europe and

worldwide holidays manager, says: “The increasing

SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW... BENIDORM

SPAIN

Earn commission on the cabaret

show at Benidorm Palace

DESTINATIONS — XXXXX XXXX

22 March 2012 — USBWFMXFFLMZ�DP�VL�t���

popularity of all-inclusive holidays

led Shearings to revive its

programme to Benidorm in 2010.”

O�BENIDORM

It’s still easy to find all-day

British breakfasts and chips

with everything, but with about

400 restaurants Benidorm has

something to cater for all tastes,

and not just as far as food is

concerned.

According to client surveys

carried out by operators,

Benidorm has some of the best

three-star hotels in the Med,

and they continue to be a

great option for families.

Thomson sells one of the

most famous of them all,

Sol Pelicanos/Ocas – the

backdrop for the ITV

comedy series Benidorm.

But the last decade has

also provided the resort

with top-end accommodation

and attractions, something

that may come as a surprise

to first-time clients or repeat

visitors who haven’t been

back for a few years.

A 10-minute drive from

the 5,000 sunbeds that line

Levante beach in the height of the

season brings visitors to a clutch

of luxury properties. The Barcelo

Asia Gardens & Thai Spa is a

tranquil eastern-inspired retreat

with top-notch dining. Melia

Hotels International has added

the nearby Villaitana resort (main

picture), consisting of a four and a

five-star hotel, to its portfolio. With

25 separate buildings creating the

feel of a Mediterranean Village,

there are 455 rooms alongside

a church, a main square, 12

restaurants and bars, tennis

courts, a spa and two 18-

hole golf courses designed

by Jack Nicklaus.

“Benidorm has been a

favourite holiday destination

for almost 50 years, since

holidaymakers first started

to arrive, but do people really

know what’s on offer – or do

they think they know?,” says

Yolanda Pickett, director of

Visit Benidorm. “Benidorm

keeps updating itself. We have

more four and five-star hotels,

and most hotels have been

refurbished, so we can be

The port city of Denia

is a popular place to

stay and is overlooked

by an 11th-century castle

Xxxxx

The infinity

pool at the SHA

Wellness Clinic

This winter the all-inclusive

four-star Sandos Monaco

became the latest Benidorm

hotel to offer adult-only

holidays and has revised its spa

and entertainment programme

to cater for this market.

Shearings, which revived its

Benidorm programme in 2010,

is offering two all-inclusive

hotels in 2012: the three-star

Regent, a few minutes from the

beach and shops; and four-star

Palm Beach, 750 metres from

Levante beach.

The luxury SHA Wellness

Clinic in the resort of Albir,

between Benidorm and Altea,

has received a string of awards

since it opened in 2008, and

recently unveiled new facilities

including a larger spa, more

treatment rooms and a new

gym and fitness room.

COSTA BLANCA

NEWS

PIC

TU

RE: R

EX

FEA

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Thomson sells Sol Pelicanos/Ocas, where

popular ITV show Benidorm is filmed

���t travelweekly.co.uk — 22 March 2012

News from across Spain

O�� Melia Hotels International

has started work on a major

project in Magaluf, with the

first phase ready to open in

June. Calvia Beach Resort

by Sol Hotels will integrate

four different hotels: the Sol

Antillas and Sol Barbados, and

the two hotels added in 2011

through a joint venture with

partner Evert: the Royal Beach

and Majorca Beach. Two new

wave pools and three bars

will be added to Royal Beach

Hotel, where guest rooms

and public areas will also be

upgraded. The Majorca Beach

Hotel, which will change its

name to Beach House Hotel by

Sol, will add a Nikki Beach club,

sister to the entertainment

venues in Miami, Marbella,

Saint Tropez and Marrakech.

solmelia.com

O���Insight Vacations has a

new tour in northern Spain.

The 11-day itinerary starts

from £1,785 and includes

VIP door-to-door transfers,

accommodation and some

meals. The trip visits the green

hills of Galicia and Asturias,

laid-back Basque beach resorts

and the cities of Oviedo and

Santiago de Compostela.

insightvacations.com/uk

O���Converted medieval abbey

Abadia Retuerta La

Domaine, a boutique hotel

with 22 rooms and suites

opens this week. It sits on

the banks of the Duero River

near Valladolid in an estate

slightly larger than the size

of Gibraltar. The restaurant

serves the Abbey’s own wines.

ledomaine.es

O�� Cosmos Holidays and

Avro Flights have added

an additional departure

from Manchester to Ibiza this

summer, bringing the weekly

total to six including two

flights on Mondays. Flight only

prices lead in at £90 return.

avroagents.co.uk

proud of the quality and value for

money they provide.

“The newly-built promenade,

a spectacular design imitating

the waves of the sea, has won

numerous awards and we have

five theme parks. How many

resorts can boast that amount?

There are plenty of walking and

cycling routes nearby, including

the protected nature park of Serra

Thomas Cook Holidays with

Style offers seven nights’

B&B at the 25-room five-star

Villa Venecia Hotel Boutique,

Benidorm, from £558 for

travel in May, including flights

from Gatwick.

thomascookworld.com

0871 230 2399

Thomson has seven nights’

full board at Benidorm’s

four-star Hotel Flamingo Oasis

from £755 per adult with the

first child place free, subject

to availability, and second

child from £505 based on the

family sharing for travel in July,

including flights from Gatwick.

thomson.co.uk

0871 200 7799

Design Holidays has 280

properties to rent at La Manga

Club resort in the southernmost

part of the Costa Blanca. A

two-bedroom pool villa starts

at £899 per week and a six-

bedroom pool villa overlooking

the golf course from £4,500 for

travel in spring, excluding flights.

designholidays.co.uk

01444 872200

SAMPLE PACKAGES

The award-winning new

promenade has been

designed to imitate waves

Customers can rent a La Manga Club Villa for a bit more privacy

Terra Mitica – one of five

theme parks in Benidorm

Gelada, and in the Old Town,

visitors can try the tapas route and

the gastronomy on offer.”

A wide range of excursions are

available from Benidorm. Culture

vultures will be interested in the

city of Elche, with its Moorish

architecture, while families

will want to take the plunge

at the Aqualandia water park.

Commissionable excursions sold

TOP TIP Benidorm has two main bays. Levante means sunrise, and Poniente, sunset

Insight Vacations visits

Asturias in northern Spain

22 March 2012 — USBWFMXFFLMZ�DP�VL�t���

DESTINATIONS — SPAIN

SHA Wellness Clinic offers

a range of massages and

therapies from around the world

by Attraction World include the

spectacular Vegas-style variety

show that’s on nightly at the

Benidorm Palace, the Terra Mitica

theme park, one of the largest in

Spain, which takes visitors on a

thrilling ride around five ancient

civilisations, and a Segway tour

through Benidorm’s famous sights

and hidden corners.

O�THE COAST

Away from the big resorts there’s

a contrasting side to the Costa

Blanca with medieval towns,

Moorish villages, orange and olive

groves and uncrowded beaches.

Suited to couples looking for a

quieter holiday and mature clients

in search of sun and culture,

properties lean towards smaller

four-star hotels and villas sold

through operators including First

Choice and Thomson,

and specialists such as

Villas4You, which is

due to launch to

the trade in the

next month.

Set against a

backdrop of

mountains

the

southern

coastline has wide beaches

flanked by palm trees with rugged

cliffs and hidden coves further

north.

Places to stay include the port

city of Denia, overlooked by

an 11th-century castle, where

clients can take a ferry to Ibiza

and Majorca. Javea is a small

historic town free from high-rise

buildings and Moraira is an old

fishing town, which has also been

sympathetically developed.

David Aledo, promotions

executive from the Valencia

Region Tourist Board, which covers

the Costa Blanca, says: “The Costa

Blanca has an ever increasing offer

of luxury holidays and visitors can

pamper themselves in spas, enjoy

exclusive accommodation

in old palatial houses or

charming country retreats,

dinner in Michelin-starred

restaurants and

shopping in the

best boutiques. El

Poblet, in Denia,

is the only

restaurant in

the region

with two

Michelin

stars.” TW

Altea and its Parochial Church is just

four miles northeast of Benidorm