NH Collection Marbella

The hotel has 163 rooms and the overall feel is clean and contemporary rather than ultra-resort. All rooms come with air conditioning, free Wi-Fi, minibar and a private terrace, which is ideal for drying kit after a warm afternoon round or grabbing a quiet coffee before the first tee. Room choice is simple. Standard Rooms suit couples or two mates sharing, while Superior Rooms give you extra space and can sleep three, handy if you're squeezing in a junior or you want a bit more breathing room for a longer stay. If you're travelling as a golf group, it's worth requesting twin beds early.

There's an outdoor pool set in landscaped gardens with sunbeds for downtime, plus a summer outdoor cocktail bar that works well as an easy meeting point before heading out for dinner. The gym is open 07:00 to 11:00 and keeps things straightforward, with towels, water and apples provided. It's not a huge facility but it's well equipped if you want to stretch out or get a quick session in before breakfast.

Food-wise, the restaurant covers buffet breakfast and relaxed evening dining. Breakfast is a buffet spread with fresh fruit, pastries, juices and hot dishes cooked to order, so you can fuel up properly before an early tee time. In the evening the menu shifts to international cuisine in a relaxed setting, with a children's menu available for families. The hotel bar serves wines, beers and cocktails, and opens up in the summer months so you can enjoy a drink under the stars. It's a solid, no-fuss setup that does the job without trying to be something it's not.

The hotel is also set up with practical details that matter when you're travelling with clubs. There's storage space for golf equipment, early breakfast is available if you've got a dawn start and taxis to the courses are easy to arrange through reception. Check-in is straightforward and the terrace in each room is genuinely useful for airing out shoes or just sitting with a beer after a long day on the course. If you're doing a longer stay or bringing a group, the Superior Rooms give you enough space to spread out without feeling cramped, and the twin-bed option works well for societies or mates sharing.

Right, so you're based on the Golden Mile with three very different courses within easy reach. Marbella Golf & Country Club is the closest at around 15 minutes by car, Finca Cortesín is about 30 minutes away and Valderrama is roughly 45 to 60 minutes depending on traffic. Between them you've got a Robert Trent Jones classic, a modern resort test and the only course on the European mainland to host a Ryder Cup. That's a proper week's golf without spending half your trip on the road.