3 Nights, 2 Rounds
The Costa del Sol is stacked with quality golf, and The Alto Club Golf & Academy (formerly Almenara) is a cracking shout if you're basing yourselves in Sotogrande. You're in one of Spain's most upmarket corners here and it's handily placed for Gibraltar Airport, so it works well for long weekends and week-long trips alike.
On site you've got two full-length 18-hole courses, Los Pinos and Los Lagos, plus the Alcornoques 9-hole par-3 and the Alto Academy for practice and tuition. The original design is by Dave Thomas (The Brabazon at The Belfry), with more recent updates overseen by Manuel Piñero, a Ryder Cup name and one of Spain's best-known golf figures. Either way, it's a proper pedigree and it shows in how the holes ask you to think rather than simply lash driver all day.
The setting is classic Sotogrande, gently rolling terrain, smart surroundings and enough elevation change to keep things interesting without turning it into a slog on foot. The best bit for a golf holiday group is the flexibility. You can dial the challenge up or down depending on the tees and which loop you play, so higher handicappers won't feel beaten up while better players still get plenty of decision-making off the tee and into the greens.
When it's on song, you can expect tidy presentation and true-rolling greens, especially in peak season. If you want a high-quality base with variety on one property, The Alto is well worth including in your Sotogrande itinerary.
Who is this for?
Groups heading to Sotogrande who want two proper 18-hole options on one site, plus a par-3 and an academy for a tune-up.
Who is it best for?
Mixed-ability trips and societies, especially if you like strategic holes more than brute-force golf and you want a smart, resort-style base without any stuffiness.
3 Nights, 2 Rounds
We’ve got it all covered!
We have included everything that you need for a perfect golf trip.
3 Nights, 2 Rounds
3 Nights, 2 Rounds
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7 Nights, 5 Rounds
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Made up of three incredible loops of 9, that together offer three different par-72 combinations, providing the sort of variety you rarely find in one resort. The gently undulating fairways meander through a striking landscape around the lakes and are bordered by pine, cork and oak trees. Set in the higher area of Sotogrande, the course is less than 500 metres from the legendary Valderrama golf course, host of the Ryder Cup and Volvo Masters.
The Alto Club is a fantastic resort course, providing a genuine challenge for highly skilled players, but Thomas' considerate design and the multitude of tee boxes ensure that the average golfer will not be overwhelmed.
| Par | 36 |
|---|---|
| Designed by | Dave Thomas |
| Opened for play | 1998 |
| White | 3,398 yards |
|---|---|
| Yellow | 3,144 yards |
| Red | 2,760 yards |
| Par | 36 |
|---|---|
| Designed by | Dave Thomas |
| Opened for play | 1998 |
| White | 3,221 yards |
|---|---|
| Yellow | 3,034 yards |
| Red | 2,508 yards |
| Par | 36 |
|---|---|
| Designed by | Dave Thomas |
| Opened for play | 1998 |
| White | 3,465 yards |
|---|---|
| Yellow | 3,196 yards |
| Red | 2,652 yards |
Led by Solheim Cup-winning Captain, two-time Major Champion and YGT Brand Ambassador Suzann Pettersen, The Alto Club Academy combines elite coaching with world-class golfing expertise.
Facilities include a natural grass tee line, a covered tee line with private coaching area, Toptracer technology, custom fitting centre, multiple chipping and putting areas, and night-time practice options.
Nik
✓14 Sep 2026
Once again YGT get the order right and finished with this gem of a course. Fantastic condition and absolutely stunning. It has narrow tree lined fairways (think Vilamoura old course but better). This will make you work for your points on the many par 4 and 5s. Not easy but what an experience. Staff and facilities are great. This course is great - well worth a visit.
Pete
✓1 Jun 2026
Fantastic facility
Wayne
✓22 May 2026
Brian
✓16 Mar 2026
Quite a tough course and was a reasonable condition given that the flood damage had been horrible the greens were still quite good we enjoyed the course shame about the flood stuff but but ok given that
Simon
✓18 Nov 2025
Good, well maintained course. Our experience was spoiled by having to play the course with many junior golfers, many as a young as 8-9 yrs, who were practicing for a large, international competition later in the week. They were accompanied by parents, coaches etc and were v slow, often not playing from main tees and hence disrupting players behind. Our tee time was double-booked and we were then paired with 2 young children, accompanied by parents in 3 buggies. We declined to play with them, partly because of the overbearing attitude of one of the parents as we stood on the first tee. The Caddy Master could see our concerns and managed to squeeze us into a tee off on the back 9, but we had to miss 2 of the holes in order to fit in amongst other pairings. We then had to complete the first 9 holes later in the day, after a 4 hour break, as one of the last tee off times. Luckily, by that time, most of the kids had finished, but we were rushing to finish before dusk. It would have been helpful if YGT had been aware of this junior competition at the time of our booking - we would not have played the course if we had known. and our experience spoiled our stay at Sotogrande, which was otherwise very good.
Anthony
✓29 Oct 2025
Scruffy and poorly sign posted, it looked as it it was being remodelled, long distances from greens to next tee.
Kevin
✓13 Oct 2025
Nice course
Jordan
✓18 Jun 2025
John
✓20 Apr 2025
Andrew
✓9 Apr 2025
Tees were very poor. Layout too awkward with many narrow tunnel like fairways. Staff in the restaurant were excellent.
