“Eco” comes up again and again at Fairmont La Hacienda Costa del Sol on the Andalusian coast, 75 minutes west of Málaga–Costa del Sol Airport. The resort is eco because it is eco-aware; it’s so spacious it seems to stretch, without impediment, for ever, from you down to the Mediterranean. Gibraltar, a mere 23 kilometres to your south, more or less marks the end of the Med; the waters then become Atlantic.
You really feel overwhelmed by nature here, near a confluence of oceans. Look out at a blanket of manicured grass—the resort’s Kurtis Bowman-designed Links golf course. The envisioned picture all started with some people at an investment company called Odyssey who similarly looked out at the same eight hectares of rolling green land, rolling down to the beach and the coast.
The word “rolling” is important because as a result of the slopes, everything is angled. The golf course cascades down like a waterfall. Wide concrete streets that have been specially poured to link the 311 rooms and villas are decidedly origami-like. Up a bit, down a bit, round a bit, resulting in a really cracking shape. Also, the villas are futuristic in a Japanese kind of way. All-wall windows allow panoramas across the golf course to a working lighthouse beyond. Inside, rooms are sleek and simple, with some highly advanced gizmos. Wall art is blobs of colour, producing a sunset through a modernist, quasi-Tokyo eye.
Because of the layout, there’s exercise the whole time. Not only golf, but also walking up to some of the restaurants and bars in the main, seven-floor block. There are plenty of buggies but if you walk up, you’re using up paella calories at a highly satisfying rate. There’s an all-day restaurant, Faro, up there. Inside, a distressed brick ceiling blends with terracotta lampshades hanging over banquettes—or brace yourself for the perennially windy outside terrace with sail-like covers that hint of braving the Strait of Gibraltar.
For tastes with celeb pizzazz, head for Dalmar, run by hands-on charismatic culinarian Benito Gómez, who has two Michelin stars for his main restaurant, Bardal, in Ronda, 89 kilometres to the north. Dalmar’s menu is simply shown. A4-size white sheets on a wooden clipboard promise Cuisine, Fire, and Products. Dishes are called by their ingredients. Anchovies, say, or red tuna seasoned with oxygarum—a modern take on fermented fish sauce and sherry vinegar—and wasabi. Wagyu tartare goes brilliantly with French fries in extra-virgin olive oil. Don’t miss the breads which come from Daniel Ramos’s La Cremita bakery. Don’t miss desserts, particularly a creamy pannacotta with little strawberry bits. And don’t miss an outstanding Pintia from Toro, 2020.
One thing that’s well worth saying is that the people working here are all absolutely charming. General manager Juan Losada is a people person. OK, we know that most hoteliers say that. But this time it’s true. He and his team go overboard. Losada even came personally to meet one arriving guest from her pick-up point.
If you have time, go for a 111Skin facial in the spa, which is next to a fitness centre with absolutely the newest Technogym equipment. If there’s more time and you’re not already taken up with a round on the golf course, ask the concierge team to introduce you to a ronqueo session: to watch the cutting of a gigantic tuna, possibly all 120 kilos of it. And if there’s still time over, get the conciergerie again to work. Ask them to arrange a pick-up from El Corte Inglés in Puerta Banus, an hour away—the largest department store chain in Spain put on a shopping spectacular like no other. A uniformed chauffeur picks you up, gives you a personal shopper, and treats you as royalty—in the hope, of course, that you will buy a new wardrobe. But you feel completely new anyway, after even a short stay at Fairmont La Hacienda Costa del Sol.
All images courtesy of Fairmont La Hacienda Costa del Sol.
