THE ABBEY HOTEL, GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB

From the championship pegs, Steel's creation measures a shade under 6,700 yards, making it a genuine test of ball-striking ability, but with hotel visitors in mind, there are tees to suit golfers of all abilities. The main obstacles en route to a good score are the mature trees that line the fairways, and the lakes which are all too ready to welcome wayward golf balls.

The course is generally set up to welcome resort golfers, with relatively generous fairways and rough making it a pleasure for all visiting The Abbey on a golf break.

The 7^th is the best hole on the course, a par-3 which demands a long iron shot to a green guarded on three sides by the River Arrow.

The 175-acre estate that hosts the golf hotel was once the property of the now ruined local abbey. With superb access to Birmingham and the towns to its South, there are many advantages to a golf break at the Abbey.

Following a £2 million investment scheme, the 100 guest bedrooms are stylishly decorated and well appointed. These rooms range from standard and superior right through to the executive rooms, which can be combined to form the penthouse suites, which have unrivalled views across the golf course.

Even the standard units have superb features like high-speed internet access, while the upgraded rooms are more spacious, and have luxurious touches like plasma screen televisions. The excellent facilities and great standards of service underline the Abbey's quality, and explain why so many choose it for a golf break.

The newly established leisure club has outstanding facilities, including a 15-metre deck level swimming pool, spa bath, steam room and a state-of-the-art air-conditioned fitness centre with a video gym television system. The beauty salon offers a range of treatments from therapeutic body massages to facials, manicures and pedicures.

The 7^th is the best hole on the course, a par-3 which demands a long iron shot to a green guarded on three sides by the River Arrow.