El Saler Parador

The verdict

Spain has glossier resort golf, but few courses carry the reputation of El Saler. Javier Arana, who never travelled to study golf abroad yet produced a handful of the country's greatest layouts, finished it in 1968 inside the protected Albufera natural park, and for decades it has been ranked among the very best in Continental Europe. It is the rare course that gives you two games in one round: sheltered, strategic holes through tall pines, then a wild, exposed run of true links along the sea.

The links holes are the heart of it. When the breeze comes off the Mediterranean, the dunes, the firm turf and the half-blind tee shots feel transplanted from the Scottish coast, and the course bites hard. Arana defended it with cunning rather than length, so good driving and clever recovery matter more than raw power. El Saler hosted the Spanish Open in 1984, when Bernhard Langer set a then-record winning total, and it remains the obvious centrepiece of a Valencia or Costa de Valencia golf trip.

The holes worth the trip

The round opens in the trees, where Arana threaded a series of handsome, fair parkland holes through the stone pines, asking for position off the tee and a confident long iron into well-guarded greens. It lulls you in gently, and the scoring chances are here, on the holes where the wind cannot reach you.

Then the course turns to the sea. The dune holes are what golfers travel for: tumbling, sandy links country where the fairways run firm, the rough is marram grass and the greens sit in natural hollows among the dunes. Several holes play along or over the dune ridge with the Mediterranean glittering beyond, and a missed line off the tee leaves a brutal recovery. This is golf as it is played on the great British links, transplanted to the Spanish coast.

It is the closing stretch back through the dunes that decides the card. Into a stiffening breeze the par 4s feel a club or two longer than the yardage suggests, and the small, firm greens repel anything but the cleanest strike. El Saler rewards the patient player who keeps the ball low and out of the marram, and it sends you back to the Parador terrace having played one of the most varied and memorable rounds in Spain.

Where to stay nearby

The simplest base is the Parador de El Saler itself, a modern hotel set in the dunes with the first tee a few steps from the door and golf packages that bundle the room with preferential green fees. Waking up beside the course and walking out to play is much of the appeal, and the hotel's pool and beach access make it an easy choice for a couple or a small group.

For a livelier stay, the city of Valencia is around twenty minutes north, with grand hotels, the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, a superb old town and some of Spain's best dining, the home of paella. A Valencia base lets you pair El Saler with the other good courses along the Costa de Valencia for a multi round trip and keeps the evenings free for the city.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near El Saler.