Finca Cortesín

Finca Cortesín opened in 2009 on a 215 hectare estate in the hills of Casares, west of Estepona, and it looks older than it is. White walls, terracotta roofs and open courtyards with fountains follow the Andalusian cortijo, and the decorator Duarte Pinto Coelho furnished the shared rooms with stone floors and old wooden doors from Spanish and Portuguese monasteries. There are only 67 suites, most with ceilings of four metres, plus private residences for larger groups, so the size of the estate never turns into a crowd.

Cabell B. Robinson laid out the course among olive trees with views to the sea, and it has carried serious tournaments: the Volvo World Match Play in 2009, 2011 and 2012, then the 2023 Solheim Cup, the first staged in Spain, which ended level at 14 points each after Carlota Ciganda holed the decisive putt on the 17th. The green fee includes a buggy with GPS and range balls, and the Nicklaus Academy looks after lessons.

Non-golfers are well provided for. The spa covers 2,200 square metres, with thermal baths, a heated saltwater pool and a Thai spa where four rooms are kept for traditional massage. A shuttle runs to the beach club on the bay of Casares, with its 35 metre infinity pool, and the restaurants range from Lutz Bösing's Spanish cooking at El Jardín de Lutz to the Asian and Mediterranean menu at REI. In summer there are open air concerts in the evenings.