Roda Golf Resort Wins Best Costa Cálida Resort 2026 Award

The news broke on a Tuesday morning, which felt about right for this part of Murcia. Nothing dramatic, no fanfare. Someone forwarded a WhatsApp message around the expat community in Los Alcázares: Roda Golf Resort had just been named Best Costa Cálida Resort 2026. Half the group replied with a thumbs up and carried on planning their round. That, in itself, tells you something about how locals feel about this place. We always knew it was good. Now there's a certificate to prove it.

For anyone considering a visit this spring, the timing couldn't be better. April and May are when the Mar Menor coast is at its absolute finest: warm enough to play golf in short sleeves, cool enough to walk the paseo without wilting, and light enough in the evenings to sit outside at one of the chiringuitos near Santiago de la Ribera until nine o'clock. The award recognition has brought fresh attention to the resort, and the team there has used it as motivation to sharpen things up considerably.

What "Best Costa Cálida Resort" Actually Means for You

Awards in the property and tourism world can sometimes feel like marketing exercises. You see them everywhere: plaques on walls, logos on brochures, certificates nobody remembers handing out. This one feels different, partly because the Costa Cálida category is competitive. La Manga Club is the obvious rival, a much larger operation with three courses and a long-established international reputation. Winning against that field means something.

The criteria typically cover course quality, accommodation standards, facilities, and overall visitor experience. At Roda Golf, that means the 18-hole course designed by Dave Thomas (which plays differently in spring than any other time of year, with the fairways still showing some of that lush green from the winter rains), the pool complex, the on-site dining, and the quality of the residential rentals surrounding the course.

If you've been thinking about booking a stay and weren't quite sure, this is a reasonable nudge. You can browse the current availability in holiday rentals at Roda Golf Resort to see what's open this spring.

How to Get the Most From an Award-Winning Stay

Winning a resort award doesn't mean you automatically have a brilliant holiday. That still requires a bit of planning. Here's how to make a stay at Roda Golf in spring actually deliver on the promise.

1. Book tee times early in the morning. The course gets busier once the award coverage starts circulating. April mornings here are genuinely special: the light is soft, the air smells of pine and dry earth, and you'll often have the back nine almost to yourself before 9am. The wind off the Mar Menor tends to pick up by early afternoon, so early rounds not only feel better, they score better too. There's a full breakdown of course conditions and tee time booking details if you need the specifics.

2. Base yourself in a villa rather than just passing through. The resort is built around the idea of staying, not just visiting. Properties spread around the course, many with private pools and direct views onto the fairways, give you access to the resort at its most relaxed. Midweek is noticeably quieter than weekends, when day-trippers and short-break visitors arrive from Murcia city and Cartagena.

3. Don't skip the area around the resort. The award is for the resort experience specifically, but the surrounding area adds enormous value to a stay. Los Alcázares is fifteen minutes by car and has a Wednesday market that's worth an early morning. Lo Pagán, just up the road, has the mud baths on the salt flats that people either love or find bizarre (both reactions are valid). San Javier has good tapas bars near the town square, the kind where you get a free pincho with every round of drinks. This is the Costa Cálida setting that makes the resort what it is.

4. Use the clubhouse properly. There's a tendency, especially among self-catering guests, to cook every meal in the villa and never quite make it to the clubhouse for lunch. Don't do this. The post-round spring menu is solid, particularly the local fish dishes that appear when the catch from Cartagena is fresh. Sit outside on the terrace, have a cold Estrella Levante, and watch whoever's on the 18th green trying to read a putt. It's one of those small pleasures that can't be replicated anywhere else.

5. Plan at least one day trip. Cartagena is forty minutes away and has Roman ruins, a decent harbour seafront, and the submarine museum that children find unexpectedly fascinating. Murcia city is an hour and worth a half-day for the cathedral alone, plus the Real Casino building, which is one of the most over-the-top interiors in Spain and somehow entirely charming for it.

Spring 2026 at Roda Golf: What's Changed

The award has come at a moment when the resort has been investing in the visitor experience. The course itself is in strong condition this spring following a winter with decent rainfall. Visitors arriving in April will find the fairways greener than they'll be by July, and the rough thicker, which either adds to the challenge or adds to the scenic backdrop depending on your handicap.

The residential side of the resort has also seen upgrades across several villa properties. If you're planning a longer stay with a group, it's worth asking specifically about the updated properties when you get in touch with the Roda Golf team. The difference between a recently refurbished villa and an older one can be significant, and they're often similarly priced.

For anyone who already knows the resort, the award feels like confirmation rather than discovery. For first-timers, it's a solid starting point for what is, by any measure, one of the best golf and relaxation destinations on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. The Mar Menor is right there, the golf is good, the food in the surrounding towns is excellent, and in April the weather is close to perfect. The certificate on the wall just makes it official.