Changing my mind: club holidays

2:45 PM Sarah Elena 0 Comments

I have to admit that whenever someone told me he or she was going to have a club holiday I was rather wondering why than green with envy. I always associated this kind of holiday with being forced to take part in rather annoying activities and not even having the possibility to read a book at the pool/beach or to be on my own (meaning being with whom ever I travel but without any talkative strangers) when having breakfast or dinner. As sometimes things turn out otherwise, I ended up having a club holiday with my lovely friend Lena in Andalusia - and guess what? I loved it! Now I want to share my experiences from a whole different perspective. I was taught once again that it is always worth giving things a try - with an open mind. 




I do love experiencing new cities and places, absorbing nature and new images and of course taking thousands of (different) pictures with my beloved camera (or iphone). That's why my holidays often involve at least a few stops at different places, a hired car and I tend to make sure I got to see everything the very city or place has to offer. The truth is: club holidays are different. Although our club was only an 1 hour drive away from Granada with its famous Alhambra, we did not leave the club grounds once during our 6 days stay. We wanted the complete picture! 

Everything is taken care of!

It was fitting that we both had recently overcome a few very demanding weeks and therefore were longing for nothing more than laziness, pleasure, delicious food and good company. And we received it all: We had booked an all inclusive arrangement - in our case this did not only mean that we would have had the opportunity to eat exceptional good food from about 8 am until 10 pm but also could participate in every course of the huge sports program. So pancakes, fruits, scallops, scampi, beef filet, permesan tortellini and varying dessert delights (just to name a few of those sins) were (at least partly) trained down by step aerobic and spinning classes. My favorite course was the yoga class at 8.30 am - even though I am more the sleepyhead type! The course took place just next to the beach with the sea breeze waking us up and the sun coming around the corner right when our sun salutation was almost finished. On top of all that we spent our days at the private sunbathing lawns which are located between the (in this area of Andalusia pebbled) beach and the pool. Enriched with our favorite music and books we tried hard to become evenly tanned and refresh ourselves optionally by jumping into the pool or the Mediterranean Sea or getting another fresh juice or soda. It's perfectly practical that you can order whatever you want whenever you want at the beach or pool bar or just grab a bottle of water out of the refrigerator - especially under a radiant sun and 30 degrees. Before we went to our afternoon sports classes or just to get ready for dinner we often had another cappuccino at the lovely beach bar. From there you can watch the beachfront hustle (especially during the weekend it's nicely crowded with the colorful sunshades of the locals) and listen to some chillout music or sometimes even a live band (in our case called "Westbunch" - Sven West is awesome!). The club grounds are lovingly created and integrate perfectly into the natural surrounding. From any location you can enjoy the breathtaking mountains silhouette (of which I definitely took the most pictures). The rooms are spacious and distributed over several buildings.

Special challenges: choosing the right outfit and dancing barefoot in the sand

When you think about this holiday you might assume that you do not need a lot more than your sunglasses, thongs (flipflops), beach- and sports wear. Wrong! Our biggest challenge (and great fun for a real girls trip) was choosing the right outfit every evening. There is always a special theme (but no one is forced to participate - casual outfits are just fine too, even for dinner). If you enjoy dressing up a bit, you might put a few more dresses into your suitcase. We managed themes like black and white, neon, white night and gala night. After dinner there was always the possibility to watch the sun go down in the beach bar or just wait until the next party begins somewhere near the pool. The themes usually match the motto of the parties such as rock, 90s or Angels & Devils. Our highlight was the "Noche del Mar'. Most people were dressed all in white and the barbecue dinner was served just next to the beach. Afterwards there was a party in the sand at the beach bar. Later in the night the party got silent: everyone was provided with headphones. Two DJs spun records onto two different channels we were able to choose between. I will always remember that night as very special and full of joy: dancing in the sand, smelling the sea and watching the stars. Plus, it's really worth putting away the headphones from time to time and listen to the dancing crowd at such a "silent party". 

Clearing up prejudices

It must be clear that there are more talkative people in such clubs and there are more events during the whole day than in regular hotels. Many people sit together at rather big tables but it is always possible to find a place to just to be with your companion whenever you feel like it. We easily made the acquaintance of nice people and enjoyed many conversations. But there were also many places of retreat and we were never asked to participate in events we didn't join voluntarily. You can go to sleep early (and will not be disturbed), sit near the sea and chat or party all night - it's all up to you. After Australia I kept on having those more "adventurous" holidays (of which I do plan to report here again) and of course I will keep doing so - but whenever I need some time off just to take a deep breath, relax and have a great time, I will definitely stand by being into club holidays and do it again! 






Hotel: Robinson Club Playa Granada, Motril, Andalusia
Getting there: Lufthansa flight (Frankfurt - Malaga), about 90 minutes shuttle drive from Malaga airport to the club
Soundtrack: Cro - MTV unplugged, Julien le Play - Rollercoaster (filous remix), Gestört aber geil - Unter meiner Haut
Special thanks to: Adrian, Micha & DJ Daniel