Hi Kristina,

Just thought I would drop you a line 

We have just arrived home from our house at Desert Springs and our children are still buzzing about the great time had by all.  The children attended the children’s club provided by the Crocodile Club every day for 2 hours and thoroughly enjoyed their time.  

Nick provided great fun for the children and has a really charming manner with them.   The children are still talking about the fun games and not to mention many hours of football organised by Nick.  Of course, we really appreciated the time too!! 

Nick always had time for the children even when they managed to find him outside his normal working hours!  I know that other parents were also impressed by Nick’s enthusiasm to provide a fun time for the children and am happy that it is continuing and is something to look forward to during our next stay in May.

Thank you and best wishes.

Tracy McKinnes

What a place!!! Jenny and I were so impressed with all we saw, and I think we saw all of Desert Springs plus Villaricos and Playa Marques, thanks to Elvira.

We were met by Maria del Mar who kindly took us to our apartment with a very welcome bottle of bubbly suitable cooled in the fridge, many thanks. Thanks also for the beautiful meal at El Torrente, ably waited on by Ellie, as she also did most mornings at breakfast.

Peter Goodall also came to meet us one morning which I am sure was beyond the call of duty; with each member of staff we met we learned more about Desert Springs. They must all have dreaded the Forrest’s arrival!!

The views are stunning, and we could see in all directions from our apartmnent. I don’t think we did justice to the golf course, but I am sure we did our bit in the Crocodile Club! The Crocodile Club is a most amazing set up, the whole concept, suited to both young and old, from the bar itself to all the African input. Everyone was so friendly, both staff and residents; we played golf one day with Laurie and Betty Meldrum, who we had met previously in the club.

Hopefully we’ll go back to Desert Springs again next year, and maybe even take some friends, as we both so enjoyed the experience. It was good of you to keep in contact with us while we were there.

Many many thanks for everything. We will be your Scottish Ambasadors!!

Love to you both

Robin and Jenny

In the past I was a well travelled European Tour Player of 12 years before becoming a European Tour coach and coach to National Teams for the past 15 seasons.

This is my first visit to Desert Springs and in my opinion if I add together the practice facilities, quality of the golf course, the catering, atmosphere, accommodation, character and friendly manner of the staff I certainly believe it to be the best facility in Spain I have come across and one of the best in the world.

It has been a great experience and I cannot wait to come back with the Welsh Ladies in a few weeks time.

Yours sincerely

Jeremy Bennett

Jeremy Bennett takes one of his pupils through their paces
on the Putting Green at Desert Spring

 

 

Dear Carmen,

On behalf of the Norfolk County Golf Union squad I would like to thank everyone at Desert Springs following our first warm weather training camp.

We found Desert Springs to be a perfect venue as the practise facilities are first class and the Indiana Course is a great test which quickly lets the players and coach see any weaknesses.

One the great things about staying on site was that there were few distractions and we found that the combination of this and the great facilities meant the players were fully focused on their golf.

The Crocodile club and the Club House looked after us very well throughout our stay and our accommodation was perfect and gave the players a bit of space if they wanted it.

We look forward to seeing you again next year when hopefully we will return with a larger group.

Your Sincerely,

Kevin Pratt (County Captain)

 

 

Golf Day

Steve,

Hope you are well, I thought I would drop you a line.  I?ve just returned from Deserts Springs with my wife, having had five fantastic days at the resort, meeting some lovely people, some who live on site permanently.  The golf course was terrific, made even better by the weather; some 75 degrees!

Thanks for the invitation to go out there, I will definitely go back to the resort for a break and would have no hesitation purchasing a property if I was looking to buy, which I may soon.

Again thanks a lot, I hope the charity is going well and hope you keep a slot for me in your golf day in July.

Many Thanks, IAN ATKINS

I am back at Sunderland working, doing all the overseas player recruiting,
it?s fantastic, I just hope they take a few in the window, to survive this season!

Dear Peter,

Potter Raper Partnership – Partners Meeting at the Desert Springs Resort

Thank you to you and all your staff for looking after us so well during our Partners’ weekend at Desert Springs recently.

The excellent facilities and weather made sure that we had a wonderful and productive stay. Having the golf course and the excellent practise facilities ‘on site’ meant we had an easy outlet from our business meetings. It was enjoyed by all and I think most of the Partners would look forward to taking on the challenges of the Indiana Course again.

We hope we will be able to repeat the exercise in the future.

Kind Regards,

S A B Daniels

Dear Carmen,

Loretto School, Edinburgh, Scotland

I would just like to say thank you so much to you and the rest of the staff for the way last weekend went. I had a fantastic time and I know the school did too. They have already said they would like to come back next year.

Your course is superb and I can not speak highly enough of your staff. Please can you thank them all for me. I look forward to meeting you all again in the future and I will be in touch very soon.

Thank you again Carmen

Best regards, Rob Langley

Tour Coordinator, Gullivers Sports Travel

 

 

Dear Simon,

I wish to thank you for all of your help and the collaboration afforded to us during the hosting of the ‘Copa del Rey’ last week. I believe that Desert Springs achieved the highest standards of the great golf clubs in all aspects.

I also want to congratulate you and Anthony, the course superintendent, for the magnificent condition of the golf course and its presentation. All the participants and officials were astonished by the condition and presentation of the course, which has gone on improving over the years.

Furthermore, I want to congratulate you for the superb team of personnel that you have managed to gather together. Both the girls from the Administration Office (Lina, Carmen & Mª del Mar) and the girls from Reception (Silvia, Maria & Dolores) were super and disposed to help with everything that was required. The Bar and Restaurant was also managed in a very professional way. At the caddy master, the driving range and the start, everything was very well organised by Victor and Nick.

In short, I think that the Championship has been a success as well as a good International showcase for Desert Springs, which I hope, will continue to contribute even further to the development of this part of Spain.

Suffice it to say that I look forward to returning soon. I want to reiterate my congratulations as well as my utmost and sincere thanks for all of your collaboration.

Kind Regards,

Ernesto Fernandez de Gamboa
Director Deportivo
Real Federacion Espanola De Golf

Dear Simon,

Apologies for not contacting you sooner to say a HUGE thank you for making us so welcome last week at Desert Springs. I speak on behalf of all of us when I say we had a fantastic few days … just what the doctor ordered as they say!

It’s been the usual madness since returning back to the UK, but just looking back at the pictures reminds us all of the 3 days of peace and tranquillity on the golf course (with the odd stresses that come with golf!)

Many thanks again, hope to get chance to visit with Daley very soon.

Kind Regards,

Steve

 

 

Simon,

Hope you had a succesful trip to Madrid. I am just writing to thank you for everything you did for my family and me during our stay at Desert Springs; we really did have a fantastic time. The villa you sorted out was above and beyond what we expected and I know you had to move a few things around to get us in there so many thanks.

I really enjoyed your golf course; it is something you should be very proud of. It was great to meet you and enjoyed your company on the course although I don’t think you need another black Desert Springs golf shirt!! If there is anything I can do for you or any of your projects please do not hesitate to ask. Once again many thanks.

Nasser

P.S You really have to make the 12th hole a bit harder. If a hacker like Me
can get a 6 iron straight in the hole (on Friday) it must be to easy! My
first ever hole in one and no-one was there to see it

Bournemouth University Golf Squad Winter Training Camp @ Desert Springs

Bournemouth University selected The Desert Springs Resort and Golf Club for the second year running, to host its warm weather winter training Camp from the 6th to the 12th of January 2009 for its first team squad.

Speaking of Desert Springs Bournemouth Golf Coaches, Martin Cummins and Martyn Thompson remarked;

“Can we thank Desert Springs again for an excellent week. The service and facilities were second to none in Spain, and you know that we will be returning!”

 

Bournemouth University selected The Desert Springs Resort and Golf Club for the third consecutive year, to host its warm weather winter training Camp from the 5th to the 12th of January 2010 for its first team squad.

Speaking of Desert Springs Bournemouth Golf Coach, Martin Cummins remarked;

“The training at Desert Springs has been very successful. The players who came last year were looking forward to this trip, and the newcomers were extremely impressed by the quality of the facilities and the conditions of the golf course. The staff have been great to us, helping us with all of our requests. Nothing was too much trouble for Desert Springs. We look forward to returning once again next year!”

Martin Cummins

Reporting on visit of HONEFOSS BK, the Norwegian Premier Division football club for their pre-season training

On Friday 26th February, I met with the manager for an informal meeting on how he thought the trip had gone in order to get as much feedback as possible.

Your first time here. Have you enjoyed your stay at Desert Springs?
“Yes very much everything was perfect.”

Was your accommodation up to standard?
“The apartments were excellent.”

How was your dining experience in both restaurants?
“Very good the food was great.”

Were the staff friendly and helpful in the restaurants?
“The staff were fantastic; you should congratulate everyone from the kitchen to yourself.
They could not have been more helpful.”

Did the football pitch & changing room meet your expectations?
“The pitch was perfect one of the best we have played on.”

How did you find the rest of the Sierra Club sports facilities?
“The players enjoyed having the mountain bikes.”

Did you use any of the other facilities during your stay?
“Not myself.”

Is there anything we could have done to improve your stay at Desert Springs?
“No apart from goalposts with wheels, for easier movement, due to the fact we play a lot of 4 aside on ½ pitches. Also it would have been useful to have an electric pump for the balls.”

Would you return to Desert Springs for future camps?
“Yes definitely.”

Can you think of anyone I can contact regarding camps?
“You should check out Norwegian papers. They have all the websites of the clubs and you can use me for personal recommendations.”
Additional comments:

“Desert Springs is a lot higher standard than La Manga.”

“The games room was very popular with the players at night.”

“The sauna/Jacuzzi was used a lot.”

“There have been a couple of editorials in the Norwegian press about their stay at Desert Springs. I am liaising with a reporter to try and get some information for our website.”

“There has been a property inspection from the trip”

“They have enjoyed their stay so much they are asking price for next January.”

Jim Gordon Sierra Sports & Fitness Club Manager

Find out more about HONEFOS BK:

Reporting on visit of BRYNE FK, the Norwegian first division football club for their pre-season training

On Friday 12th March I met with the Bryne F.K. manager, Tommy Bergersen, for an informal meeting on how he thought the trip had gone to get as much feedback as possible.

(J) Tommy your first visit to Desert Springs (Bryne’s second) – did you enjoy your stay?

(T) Yes we did everything about our stay was perfect.

(J) Was you accommodation up to standard?

(T) Yes the apartments were first class and nicely furnished making our stay here very comfortable.

(J) How was your dining experience in both restaurants?

(T) All the meals from breakfast to dinner were excellent and all our dietary requests were met.

(J) Were the staff friendly and helpful?

(T) The staff were all very helpful and nothing was too much trouble for them, including you of course Jim.

(J) Did the football pitch meet your expectations?

(T) The pitch was fantastic I have to say and the whole squad agrees it is the best surface they have ever played on. In Norway 70% of football pitches are Astroturf so it was a treat to have a perfect playing surface on grass.

(J) How did you find the rest of the Sierra Club sports facilities?

(T) Excellent a few of the players used the gym which is very well equipped.

(J) Did you use any of the other facilities during your stay?

(T) Not on this trip because we did not have enough time. However next year we would like to come back for a week to take full advantage of the resort and even play a round of golf on your wonderful looking course.

(J) Is there anything we could have done to improve your stay at Desert Springs?

(T) No the whole trip was perfect and being the first time here I was interested to see how good it was because the players that were here last year had such a good time. They did not want to go anywhere else and now I know why and agree.

(J) So therefore can we expect that you will be returning to Desert Springs?

(T) Yes as I said earlier we would like to come back and for a week next year finances permitting.

(J) Can you think of anyone you could recommend Desert Springs to?

(T) Yes and I think it would be beneficial to get in touch with all the league clubs in Norway to invite them out to see your facilities here. You can use me for any personal recommendations.

(J) Could you please sum up a description of your training camp stay at Desert Springs for our website?

(T) Yes I would say that Desert Springs is the perfect place to hold football training camps. Everything about the resort is first class from the relaxing ambience, the food being perfect, accommodation very good to the football pitch which was excellent. At La Manga everything is rushed and we have to queue for all our meals. There we have one hour on the pitch at a time and we have to wait for the team before us to finish. There is always a team waiting for us to finish too so after two or three days you feel stressed and tired. This is the complete opposite to how we feel at Desert Springs. At Desert Springs with the first class service and attention to detail we are leaving feeling refreshed as you do a first class job here. The one thing you will need to have to be careful of is maintaining the standard when you have more teams coming here for training which I’m sure you will have. Eventually you will need more pitches to accommodate the additional teams training here too.

My municipality, Cuevas del Almanzora, has in recent years become well known far beyond its boundaries as a result of the fame and high profile that Desert Springs has conferred on it. This leisure resort, which has become recognised both nationally and internationally, is in reality one of the most enchanting locations that can be found in the region.

The great variety, which it offers, provides a perfect combination of sport and well being. And Desert Springs has much to offer; its unique desert golf course, its magnificent restaurants, its sports areas and in particular its very direct integration with the environment, which has made it such an inviting and welcoming place.

It is a place in which one can delight in the tranquillity and beauty of the surroundings. The visitor who gets to know all of its secret corners is taken with the elegant style of the place and with the enchantments that enfold the Resort itself.

Desert Springs has turned itself into a unique and exclusive tourist enclave; an ideal location to welcome and host all kinds of ceremonies in its unique surroundings.  It is undoubtedly the case that a day spent at this residential leisure resort is both a complete and most pleasurable experience for those who are looking for the best in quality.

D. Jesús Caicedo Bernabé
Mayor of Cuevas del Almanzora

Simon,

Just a quick note to thank-you for your hospitality this weekend. As you could no doubt tell I enjoyed the weekend far too much, not least because of the facilities and especially the team at Desert Springs. Please pass on our thanks to everyone there, and warn them there is certain to be a return journey at some point in 2011.

Thanks again, and look forward to seeing you soon.

Adam

Adam Waterworth
Managing Director, Goodwood Racecourse

—————————————————————————————
Hi Simon and Carmen

Just a short note to thank you both for your hospitality at the weekend.  It was my first visit to Desert Springs, and I guarantee it will not be my last!  I could not speak highly enough about the staff, golf, facilities and catering – it really was top class!

Thank you both once again.
 
Regards

Dickon

Dickon White,
Managing Director, Jockey Club Racecourses
Haydock Park

—————————————————————————————
Many thanks to you both for being so hospitable over the weekend; it was great fun and I really enjoyed it, course was truly amazing and the food and drink wonderful.
I will be in touch with regards that golf weekend in July 2011

Johno

Johno Spence
Managing Director, JSC Sport

—————————————————————————————
Simon

Just a quick email to thank you for everything this weekend, all the team at DS were brilliant and could not have made us feel more welcome. I was certainly very impressed with how the golf course has matured and it was in immaculate condition, Anthony and the team obviously work very hard and do a great job. It seemed like everyone really enjoyed themselves, although I think some are probably a bit jaded this morning, I know I am, it’s going to be a long afternoon.

Thank you again for everything.

Regards

David

David Addison, Corporate Sales Manager
FairwaytoFurlong.com

—————————————————————————————
Hi Carmen and Simon!

Huge thanks for the weekend. The boys had a fantastic time and I hope you enjoyed having us????
If possible could you send me over the pictures of the weekend that were on show?

Josh

Josh Apiafi
Managing Director, Apiafi Associates Ltd

—————————————————————————————
Simon,

Just quick email to thank you & Carmen for looking after us last weekend.
As now seems the norm the hospitality was 1st class and its much appreciated.
Hopefully your back problem will be sorted next time I see you & will mean I’m taking your money on the golf course!

Look forward to seeing you guys very soon.

Scott Salkeld

I met with Karen Nicholls, Director of Golf for Millfield School, for an informal meeting to receive her feed-back on how she felt the Millfield School Golf Academy squads warm weather winter training camp at Desert Springs held between Saturday 10th – Tuesday 13th December, 2011 had gone.

Millfield Golf Academy Squad Winter Training Camp at Desert Springs

(Jose) How would you rate the overall experience at Desert Springs?
(Karen) As always very good all round, staff are friendly and do make sure your needs are catered for. Special mention to the golf staff, Ellie and her staff in the catering area and to Carmen for making our trip so smooth with all the package arrangements.

(Jose) Were the practice facilities / golf course in good condition?
(Karen) Practice facilities were top, great hitting off grass at this time of year. Greens smooth and course overall very good.

(Jose) How would you rate the staff service at Desert Springs?
(Karen) Staff as always are very good, look after and cover all needs and certainly make you feel welcome and remember you from past visits.
(Jose) How could we improve your experience?
(Karen) As far as we are concerned with what is offered all is covered, just wish we could come more often!

(Jose) Why is Desert Springs the selected venue for Millfield School?
(Karen) We are made to feel very welcome, nothing is too much trouble. When taking a school trip you need a venue you know will be easy to make it successful. Desert Springs offers great practice facilities, especially the short game area, a golf course in excellent condition and a challenge to all. The accommodation is close to all facilities and you know the students are safe and their needs all covered. The staff always make us feel welcome and I would like to think the relationship we have between the two of us, will continue.

(Jose) Would you recommend Desert Springs to others?
(Karen) I have been a regular visitor to Desert Springs and will continue to do so and certainly would recommend to others.

Karen Nicholls, Director of Golf, Millfield School

The success of Desert Springs can, quite simply, be put down to the standard of service maintained throughout… it is the epitome of service. It has customer service honed to a fine art. It is service of the highest calibre carried out by staff who give the distinct impression that they enjoy what they are doing.

Eamonn Power in Andalucia Golf

Both throughout my playing career and after, I have been privileged to have been invited to participate in numerous golf events at some of the most luxurious locations all around the world.
 
Hosting your own event, in your own name, for the charity of which you are President can be a daunting task. Certain criteria have to be met by the host venue both for the celebrity guests and the amateurs.

Desert Springs as a venue offers my guests a relaxing ambience, a unique experience and an underlying overall charm. It has lots of quality facilities to enjoy besides world class golf. Its staff afford a warm welcome and unrivalled professional service
 
That is why my decision to host the Ian Botham Charity Golf Classic in aid of Leukaemia Research at Desert Springs in October 2008 was an easy one and due to its phenomenal success, why I have selected Desert Springs to host the final of my next Charity Golf Series.

Sir Ian T Botham