La Manga Club – the resort at a glance

La Manga Club is one of the most extraordinary leisure destinations in the world: a self-contained resort of 1,400 acres – almost six square kilometres – set on a sun-drenched hillside between the Mediterranean and the Mar Menor lagoon on Spain’s Costa Cálida, in the region of Murcia. It has been voted Spain’s and Europe’s leading sports resort multiple times, including at the World Travel Awards 2024, and for good reason: nowhere else on the continent combines this quality and breadth of world-class sporting facilities with a five-star hotel, a genuine spa, outstanding gastronomy, a mild climate and direct access to some of the finest beaches in southern Europe.

The resort was founded in the 1970s and has evolved over five decades into a multi-faceted destination that serves elite professional athletes, families on holiday, corporate groups, golf enthusiasts, tennis professionals and wellness travellers equally well – and usually simultaneously. Its list of distinguished guests reads like a who’s who of world sport: the England and Spain national football teams have trained here, as have Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Galatasaray. Golf legends Severiano Ballesteros, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player have played its fairways. Tennis champions Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Andy Murray and Juan Carlos Ferrero have practised on its courts.

At the heart of everything stands the Grand Hyatt La Manga Club Golf and Spa, the resort’s five-star hotel, which opened in its current form in May 2023 following a comprehensive renovation by owner Grupo Inversor Hesperia. The 192-room property is the first Grand Hyatt in Spain and the operational anchor of the entire resort – the place where football managers hold their pre-dinner briefings, where tennis coaches review match footage, and where spa guests float in the hydrotherapy pool in complete seclusion from all of the above.

Professional football training at La Manga Club

The La Manga Club Football Centre is one of the finest professional training facilities in Europe and the reason why the world’s biggest clubs and national teams return here year after year. It is the official training ground of FC Cartagena, the Murcia-based professional club – and it has hosted squads of a calibre that few clubs in the world can match.

The Football Centre facilities

The Football Centre provides eight natural grass, FIFA-standard pitches of full professional dimensions, giving even the largest squads the space to train in full-pitch sessions simultaneously. The pitches are maintained to match-play standard throughout the season. A 750-capacity stadium allows for competitive fixtures, coaching presentations and live audience scenarios that replicate the conditions of professional match play.

Supporting infrastructure includes full changing rooms, a press room, parking and direct access to the sports and wellness facilities of the Grand Hyatt. The resort’s culinary team provides full dietary catering for professional squads, tailored to the nutritional requirements specified by club nutritionists and dietitians. Recovery services – physiotherapy, sports massage, hydrotherapy, sauna and the hotel’s wellness centre – are all available as part of training camp packages.

The Racquets Club – tennis, padel and pickleball

The Racquets Club at La Manga Club is widely regarded as one of the finest tennis facilities in Europe and is, for many guests, the primary reason they travel here. It is the resort within the resort: a complete tennis and racquet sports world with 26 tennis courts, 7 floodlit padel courts, a pickleball court and a coaching team of the highest quality – all within a single, perfectly organised complex.

The courts offer a variety of surfaces to suit every game and training objective. All courts are floodlit, enabling play until late in the evening during warmer months. The facility hosts regular exhibition matches with top-level players every Friday, and a new-guest orientation on Sundays that introduces coaching staff and available programmes. Tournaments at all levels – from club-level round robins to serious competitive events – take place throughout the year.

The coaching academy operates year-round, with programmes for players of all ages and abilities: beginner and improver clinics, intensive adult training weeks, children’s academies, group sessions and one-to-one professional coaching. The combination of world-class facilities, a year-round mild climate guaranteeing outdoor play in virtually every month, and a residential hotel of five-star quality makes La Manga Club the closest thing to a professional tennis base available to amateur players anywhere in Europe.

All other sports and activities

La Manga Club’s sporting offer extends far beyond football and tennis. The resort has been designed to support an extraordinary range of athletic pursuits – and the Mediterranean climate means that the season for outdoor sport is effectively 12 months long.

Grand Hyatt La Manga Club Golf and Spa – the five-star hotel

The Grand Hyatt La Manga Club Golf and Spa is the first Grand Hyatt hotel in Spain and, since its opening in May 2023, the benchmark for luxury sports resort hotels in southern Europe. It stands at the physical and operational centre of La Manga Club, surrounded by the North golf course and looking out across the fairways towards the Mediterranean and the Mar Menor. Its 192 rooms and suites are elegantly appointed with golf course or pool views; its 11 distinct dining outlets cover everything from Mediterranean to Asian and Italian cuisine; and its 18,000-square-foot Wellness Centre is one of the finest spa facilities in the country.

The hotel’s architecture reflects the Arabic and Moorish heritage of the Murcia region: sun-warmed stone, arched colonnades, cascading water features and an aesthetic that feels simultaneously contemporary and deeply rooted in the landscape. The grand adult-only infinity pool looks out across the golf courses towards the coast; the family pool is lively and generously proportioned.

Wellness and spa – the Arabian-inspired sanctuary

The Grand Hyatt Wellness Centre at La Manga Club is a 18,298-square-foot (approximately 1,700 square metres) facility that draws on the Arabic and Moorish heritage of the Murcia region for its aesthetic while offering entirely contemporary therapeutic services. It is the counterpoint to every athletic effort made on the resort’s pitches, courts and fairways – the place where recovery happens at the same level of excellence as the training itself.

All skincare treatments use Natura Bissé products – the Barcelona-based luxury skincare brand used in leading spa facilities worldwide. Six private treatment rooms offer a full menu of body treatments, facial treatments, beauty therapies, sports massage and physiotherapy. The sports-specific recovery treatments are particularly well calibrated to the needs of guests who have spent the day training at professional intensity: deep tissue massage, cryotherapy-assisted recovery, lymphatic drainage and personalised physiotherapy sessions.

The spa is available to hotel guests and can be incorporated into sports team packages, MICE programmes and standalone wellness breaks. The combination of professional-level athletic training in the morning and high-quality spa recovery in the afternoon is the defining rhythm of a La Manga Club stay for a growing number of guests who refuse to choose between performance and recovery.

MICE – where business meets sport and sunshine

La Manga Club has long been one of the most sought-after MICE destinations in Spain, and the opening of the Grand Hyatt has elevated that proposition significantly. The combination of world-class sporting facilities, a five-star hotel, outstanding F and B, a private resort setting and year-round sunshine creates an event environment that simply cannot be replicated in a conventional conference hotel.

The hotel offers eight flexible meeting rooms across a total of 13,863 square feet (approximately 1,290 square metres) of dedicated event space, combining state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment with remarkable backdrops and full event support. Maximum capacity for a single event is 400 guests. Entire hotel buyout – giving a single group exclusive use of all 192 rooms plus all common areas, dining venues, pools, spa and event spaces – is available and has been used for major corporate events, incentive programmes and brand activations.

The sea, the beaches and the Mar Menor

La Manga Club’s sporting and hotel excellence would be remarkable in any location. The fact that it sits on a hillside between two of the most beautiful bodies of water in Europe makes it extraordinary. The resort looks directly out over the Mar Menor to the west and the Mediterranean to the east – and both are accessible within a short drive or shuttle ride.

The Mar Menor – Europe’s largest saltwater lagoon, separated from the open Mediterranean by the narrow La Manga strip – is one of the calmest and safest bodies of water on the Spanish coast. Its shallow, warm, mineral-rich water (noticeably saltier than the open sea, with documented therapeutic properties for rheumatism and skin conditions) makes it ideal for sailing, windsurfing, paddleboarding and safe bathing for all ages. The Mar Menor’s beaches slope extremely gently into the water – perfect for children and non-swimmers.

The Mediterranean coast offers something entirely different: wild, dramatic beaches along the La Manga strip and at Cabo de Palos, the internationally renowned marine reserve and diving site where crystal-clear water meets a rich underwater landscape. The resort has its own private cove – accessible by shuttle bus – providing a secluded Mediterranean beach experience for hotel guests. Sunset sailing excursions on the Mar Menor, boat trips to the Isla Mayor and diving tours at Cabo de Palos can all be arranged through the resort concierge.

Dining and gastronomy

The Grand Hyatt La Manga Club operates 11 distinct dining venues within the hotel, covering the full range from casual poolside snacking to serious Mediterranean dining. The culinary philosophy is rooted in local and seasonal produce from the Murcia region – one of the most fertile agricultural areas in Spain, known for its exceptional vegetables, citrus, seafood from the Mar Menor and outstanding local wines.

The main restaurant offers elevated Mediterranean cuisine drawing on the best of local Spanish ingredients, with particular attention to the seafood traditions of the Costa Cálida. An Asian restaurant, an Italian concept and lighter international options complete the in-hotel offer. The Si! Bar and Restaurant broadcasts major sporting events on multiple screens, making it the natural gathering point for guests during tournament weekends and match evenings. The Last Drop – the resort’s iconic bar with live music throughout the year – remains the social heart of the resort after dark.

Outside the hotel, the wider La Manga Club resort has further cafés, bars and restaurants in its various mini-villages. The town of Cartagena, 40 minutes by road, offers excellent restaurant options ranging from traditional Spanish tapas bars to contemporary restaurants specialising in the seafood and rice dishes characteristic of the Murcia coast. The nearby village of Cabo de Palos is particularly well regarded for its fish restaurants overlooking the harbour.

Getting to La Manga Club

La Manga Club is situated in the municipality of Cartagena in the Region of Murcia, south-eastern Spain. It lies between the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean, close to the village of Los Belones, approximately 30 kilometres from the city of Cartagena and 70 kilometres from Murcia. The resort is accessible by air from across Europe year-round, and by road from both the Murcia and Alicante airports.

By air – airport options

UK departure airports – direct and easy-connect routes

Direct flights to Murcia Corvera (RMU) operate from London Stansted, Birmingham and Manchester with Ryanair, and from Leeds Bradford, East Midlands, Glasgow and Belfast with Jet2 on a seasonal basis. Year-round options to Alicante (ALC) are available from London Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol and Belfast – making Alicante the most flexible gateway for UK travellers. Flight time from London to Alicante is approximately 2 hours 30 minutes; to Murcia approximately 2 hours 45 minutes.

By car from the airports

From both Murcia Corvera and Alicante airports, the resort is reached via the AP-7 motorway (the main coastal motorway of eastern Spain). From Alicante, take the AP-7 south towards Cartagena and Murcia. Approximately 11 kilometres past the junction for Cartagena, take exit 8 for RM-314 towards Los Belones/Nietos/Portman. Follow signs for La Manga Club Resort – the entrance is clearly signed from the RM-314. Car hire is available at both airports from all major providers; it is strongly recommended for groups and for flexibility during the stay. The resort’s internal shuttle service connects all areas of the 1,400-acre property.

Transfers

Private chauffeur transfers from both Murcia Corvera and Alicante airports can be arranged through the Grand Hyatt concierge or independent transfer operators. For professional sports teams and large corporate groups, dedicated coach transfers with luggage handling are routinely arranged as part of the overall resort package. Transfer time from Murcia Corvera is typically 35–40 minutes; from Alicante approximately 60–70 minutes depending on traffic.