Just over five hours from London, The Cascades Golf Resort, Spa & Thalasso is a serene escape from the harsh rigours of British weather. Even better, the hotel is an easy forty-minute transfer from the slick and spacious Hurghada airport.
A seat in the Eagles’ Nest Bar is as good a place as any to orientate yourself with this sophisticated 5* Hotel. Choose a cocktail, find a wicker sofa on the veranda and look out over the Cascades Championship Golf Course. Beyond the course are the white sand beaches and azure pools of the warm Red Sea around Somabay. The hotel majestically presides over a green oasis in a sub-tropical desert with shuttle buses running regularly to the nearby beach.
Don’t take this as sexist but for many couples this is the dream holiday. The Cascades Championship Golf Course for him and the Cascades Spa and Thalasso for her. Though there were a few girls getaway trips who opted for golf in the morning and pampering treatments in the afternoon.
If you’ve always wanted to learn how to play golf – or devote some time to improving your game – then a week in Somabay is ideal. It is rare for this peninsula to receive more than a couple of rainy days a year. Even in December and January you are unlikely to need a sweater for a round of golf.
During the winter months The Academy employs three Golf Professionals to coach the hotel’s guests. There’s a nine-hole Par 3 course to develop your game before you move onto the Cascades Championship Golf Course.
Irrigating the two courses soaks up three Olympic sized swimming pools of water every week and the care of 45 groundsmen. When Gary Player designed this course he made the very best of the area’s topography.
This is luxury golf. Halfway through the front and back nine there are welcoming gazebos offering a chilled flannel and a range of iced drinks. Fairways are immaculate, with the ball sitting up proudly on the resilient spiky grass, begging to be stroked onto the green. The deep Arabian sands bunkers are another matter and are best avoided.
Egypt – luxury golf by the sea
Even with a golf cart playing the Cascades Championship Golf Course, with its long holes, can be quite tiring. Scheduling a stop after nine holes at The Spikes restaurant for lunch, with a menu specialising in seafood fresh from the Red Sea, is a great way of recharging the batteries for the back nine. Alternatively, some golfers opt to play the front nine in the cool air of the early morning, parking up their golf cart, for the hotel’s buffet breakfast. Both Spikes and the restaurant give great views of the 9th and 18th fairways and greens.
At the Cascades Spa and Thalasso, the Aquatonic treatment is undoubtedly the star attraction. Jaffer gently guided us around a treatment that is a cross between Roman blue mosaic baths and Middle-Eastern hamman. Jets of warm salty water begin by gently massaging your feet and steadily moving up the body as your walk through the tiled maze. Finally, you float through a lazy river.
As I moved on to a massage in one of the 65 treatment rooms, I mistakenly thought that I was quite loose and relaxed.
“Your shoulders are very tense. You are carrying too much responsibility,” said Kathryn perceptively, my Italian masseuse, as she applied an oil of almond and orange.
“Relax and think of the aroma of the oranges, imagine where they come from,” said Kathryn who admitted that she indulged herself with a weekly message.
“Standing all day is hard work. I often have a reflexology treatment on my feet, that’s very popular with the golfers too, she added.”
It was no surprise to learn that in recent years the number of flights landing from the U.K. at Hurghada airport has steadily increased. As a holiday destination Somabay has the benefits of day-time flights, guaranteed weather and offers superb value for money.
Find out more
For more information about Somabay visit the Cascades Golf Resort, Spa & Thalasso
Direct flights from a number of UK airports to Hurghada usually take under 6 hours.
About the Author / Michael Edwards
Michael Edwards is a 50connect travel critic. He has a nose for good food and fine wine and plays a mean round of golf.
