Simply the Best

Finca Cortesín, the Andalucían golf, boutique hotel and spa resort held its nerve and is now reaping the benefits

First impressions on arrival at Finca Cortesín are inevitably pleasurable

Whilst many golf resorts rely on the economies of scale, being bigger and better than anywhere else, Finca Cortesín’s unique selling point is its reliance on bespoke quality ahead of quantity.

Set in a fraction over 200ha of what was rugged, rolling Andalusian scrubland, the developers, Single Homes had spent a reported US$5m before work in earnest began, a decision to demolish unsightly electricity pylons and bury power cables beneath ground, then a meandering switchback of five-tonne natural stone blocks, retaining wall for the real estate that was ultimately to underwrite what was always going to be an ambitious project.

Rather than opting for a big-name course designer in the mold of Greg Norman, Nick Faldo or Ernie Els, the developers commissioned the understated design values of Cabell B Robinson, an American with considerable experience in Spain – the award-winning Aphrodite Hills in Cyprus is another of his projects – who has chiseled a tough, verdant championship standard golf course into some of the most roughhewn land imaginable.

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