ARCHIVED - La Manga Club sold to leading Spanish hotel group

Hesperia aim to consolidate La Manga Club as the finest of its kind in southern Europe

A majority share in the 560-hectare resort of La Manga Club, which has won multiple awards in recent decades, has been acquired by the Hesperia Investment Group, based in Catalunya, meaning a change of ownership at the premium establishment of its kind in south-eastern Spain.

Among the features of the resort which will now be owned by Hesperia are the five-star hotel, 200 apartments, more than 15 bars and restaurants, a cove overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and a 2,000-square-metre Wellness Centre, with the attractions for sports and leisure fans also including three 18-hole championship golf courses, the 28-court tennis centre, eight FIFA-size football pitches and the European Cricket Performance Centre where the first “Champions League” of cricket ended on 31^st July, the same day as the announcement of the acquisition.

Until recently the complex belonged to Inmogolf, a company linked to Arum Group, and Hesperia have announced their intention to invest in the improvement of the complex in order to create the best leisure and sports resort in southern Europe. The management of the real estate business at La Manga Club will continue to be the responsibility of Inmogolf, with a great development potential due to the appeal of the location.

Since its opening in 1972, La Manga Club has gone through different development stages on the way to becoming one of the most renowned leisure and sports resorts in Europe, and for Hesperia the acquisition represents a strategic move by which the group will boost its activity in the premium resort arena take its expansion plans a step further.

The group’s catalogue of leisure and sports facilities has so far been focused on the Canary and Balearic Islands, where it owns four resorts, three of them in a strategic alliance with Apple Leisure Group (ALG). In this sense, Hesperia is considering the option of closing a commercial deal with an international operator for some of the hotels at La Manga Club, explaining that “our strategy consists of always looking for the best alternative for each hotel.”

La Manga Club’s 5-star Hotel Príncipe Felipe boasts 192 rooms with magnificent views over the North and South golf courses, as well as an outdoor pool, restaurants, bars and several meeting, conference and events rooms. There are also 200 four-star apartments on the resort (Las Lomas Village) especially designed for families and sports teams, with common areas which include two pools as well as leisure zones and restaurants. Within Las Lomas Village is the Wellness Centre with 13 treatment rooms, saunas, steam rooms, Jacuzzis, a High Performance Sports Centre, gym and a 25-metre indoor pool.

Also on the resort are a golf academy, pitch and putt facility, a junior club and play area and a wide range of bars and restaurants which the guests of the Hotel Príncipe Felipe, Las Lomas Village and resort owners and residents all have access to, without forgetting the beautiful cove called La Cala on the Mediterranean side of the resort.

The championship golf courses at La Manga Club were designed by Robert Dean Putman, Arnold Palmer and Dave Thomas, while the academy and a pitch and putt were designed by golf legend Severiano Ballesteros. In 2017, the golf club received the proud honour of being granted royal status from the Spanish royal household, being renamed “Real Golf La Manga Club”.

As for the outstanding tennis centre which, with as many as 28 courts including 20 clay courts, is one of the premier outdoor tennis facilities in Europe, it has hosted some of the most important events on the tennis calendar including the Davis Cup, Fed Cup and several ATP tournaments, while the football centre has hosted many of the world’s best teams including Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray, Ajax, Liverpool, Spain and England’s national teams, Newcastle United and RSC Anderlecht.

The European Cricket Performance Centre contains 23 natural grass nets, two natural grass squares and six artificial grass nets, while La Manga Club is also the perfect venue for other sports such as cycling, rugby and triathlon.

Interesting facts about La Manga Club

La Manga Club hosted five Spanish Golf Opens from 1973 to 1977.

South African legend Gary Player, winner of 9 Major titles including golf’s Grand Slam, was the resort’s first director of golf, and was the golf touring professional at La Manga Club between 1973 and 1977.

The award-winning venue was the first golf resort in the world from which all 36 holes could be seen from the clubhouse terrace.

In 1972, La Manga Club hosted the "International Maritime Cup" or "Pro-Am of the Famous" featuring film and sporting icons including legends like Sean Connery and Manuel Santana.

La Manga Club’s tennis centre has hosted many prestigious tournaments including the Davis Cup in 1991 and Fed Cup in 1995 and 2018. Four-time Grand Slam winner Manolo Santana was the first director of the resort’s tennis centre.

The "Miradores" apartments in La Manga Club were used to film part of the movie Dracula, where Christopher Lee appears in the lead role, and members of the hotel staff acted as extras.

Victor Garcia, father of one of the best Spanish golfers of all time, Sergio Garcia, taught golf at La Manga Club in the early 1970s. It was here that he met his wife and mother of Sergio, Consuelo, who worked at that time in the golf shop.

In 1975 American legend Arnold Palmer struck his drive on the 18th hole into the final lake on the South Course. Without thinking twice, he walked into the lake up to his knees and hit a miraculous shot onto the green before holing his putt for an eagle, thus winning the tournament. Since then, the lake has been called "Great Lake Palmer."

The late, great Severiano Ballesteros was La Manga Club’s golf touring professional from 1980 to 1985, carrying the resort’s logo on his golf bag.

To officially open the Bellaluz residential, Severiano Ballesteros struck three golf balls, which came to land in the Bellaluz pool. Many people were smartly dressed for the occasion but that didn’t stop them from jumping into the water to grab the balls as a souvenir.

On 25^th August 1978 the King and Queen of Spain made a surprise visit to la Manga Club after a visit to Cartagena to attend the launch of a ship in the harbour. The resort’s hotel staff received little warning but hotel staff still managed to serve dinner to the King and 19 other guests, including Prince Rainier of Monaco.

In 1985, La Manga Club’s tennis centre was renamed the David Lloyd Racquet Centre due to good relationship between the resort and David Lloyd Leisure.

Celebrities to stay at the resort include Juliet Binoche, John Malkovich, Salma Hayek, Matt Damon, Rudolph Nureyev, Gloria Estefan, David Beckham, Henry Cooper, Gloria Gaynor, Simply Red, UB40, Brian Ferry, Madness, Sir Cliff Richard, Vonda Shepard, Robbie Williams, Simple Minds, Jamiroquai, Deep Purple, Jose María Olazábal, Jack Nicklaus and the King of Malaysia.

Former world number one Luke Donald learned to play golf at La Manga Club at the age of nine. His parents owned a villa in La Quinta Club.

When the founder of La Manga Club, Gregory Peters, brought his wife to the resort for the first time, he asked her if she missed any facility. Mrs Peters said she wanted to swim in the sea, so he literally blasted out a road to La Cala so she could swim in the Mediterranean!

German Otto Bucher entered the Guinness Book of World Records at La Manga Club on June 13, 1985, when he managed a hole in one on the South Course’s 110-metre 12th hole at the age of 99.

Current villa owners at the resort include Kenny Dalglish, Nigel Mansell and Gordon Strachan.

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