Hotel Camiral, Girona, Spain

At the newly opened Camiral, an actual game of golf strikes us as being something of an afterthought.

The 149-room resort is the first salvo in the PGA Catalunya Resort’s three-year plan to create a sprawling enclave that, when complete, will include a new vineyard, sports facilities, equestrian centre, pantry garden, deli and man-made lake. You have to wonder, though, just how much will be left in the kitty for it all, given that the Camiral’s construction soaked up €33m of the €53m development budget; but, from the looks of things, it’s been money well-spent. 

Barcelona-based designer Lazaro Rosa-Violán capitalised on the views provided by the 300-hectare resort, which includes two championship golf courses – views look out over either the garden or driving range, while the executive suite is set-off by three terraces that face the courses. 

The distractions – of which there are many – are perfectly pitched at even the lowest boredom threshold. If cultural tours of nearby Girona or Barcelona don’t excite, then perhaps a spot of fishing, scuba diving, horse riding or orienteering might. 

And in this part of the world, the cuisine is expectedly first-rate. In-house restaurant 1477 showcases a Catalan-tinged European menu, while the PGA Clubhouse Bar & Grill makes up for its pedestrian moniker with charred chunks of meat and a view of the Pyrenees.