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
TU
RES/IT
V
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
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