Strange but good: a slice of Asia in Alicante
My friend Jo and I did not feel we were en route anywhere nice one recent Friday morning. We were on an EasyJet flight to Alicante, surrounded by stags roaring for more Stella and Jack Daniels.
Once in Alicante, a people carrier drove us through a parched landscape that looked a little worse for wear, marred by the building ambitions of better times – half finished or run-down houses, lonely car dealerships. The roads were impeccable, built for cavalcades of British holidaymakers. Benidorm reared up below us, a hideous nowhere-land of yellow tower blocks.
High above Benidorm, off a quiet motorway roundabout, was our destination: the enormous Barcelo Asia Gardens, one of several Barcelo outposts in the Spanish-speaking world.
Barcelo had not initially seemed like our sort of place – a massive Asian-themed resort plonked in the middle of a rocky hillside outside Benidorm. We’d gone because a friend had recommended it: “trust me, you’ll enjoy it” – and because we were ready to go anywhere to escape the dire weather in the UK.
Barcelo is strange and massive. Once through the security-manned gates, you are deposited at an entranceway that’s more suited to an airport in scale than a hotel, and ushered into a space so big and airy it could just as well be outside, continuing endlessly.
The resort is made up of dozens of red pointy huts and houses. It’s somewhere between Africa and Jordan, rather than Thailand, which is the main theme of the place. Finding your way around is very confusing, but getting lost is surprisingly pleasant. First of all, it’s mid April and the sun in blazing, the air fragrant with joyous botany. Second, the “gardens” part of the resort’s name is no joke: flora and botany are wedged absolutely everywhere, a yucca bursting into your path here, a cascade of bourgainvillea there. There are ponds every few paces and the chirrup of frogs and birds is constant. It’s really rather amazing.
The rooms are very nice indeed, too. Ours had a spacious living room with furniture that would have seemed right in a Martha’s Vineyard cottage (nothing Asian here, weirdly) and a lovely comfortable four-poster bed. Both rooms let out onto a generous balcony, with a sofa, table and chairs and…a view of Benidorm which, from this high-up vantage, looked dramatic, rather than awful.
We were a little surprised there was no spa menu in our room – we were told you have to discuss the treatments in person in the spa itself, but when we went down to do so, we were given a paper A4 list to peruse with limited options. Most odd.
The treatments we had, though, were powerful and properly Asian – Thai, to be precise, with Thai therapists and a Thai massage that left me just as almost-bruised and limbered up as those I’ve had in Bangkok. The treatments aren’t cheap but they are excellent value. The spa was surprisingly simple: one small steam room and a spacious, lovely half indoor, half outdoor pool with a gorgeous terrace. We were told only people who have had a treatment can use the facilities, which is a shame.
But there is no shortage of excellent sunbathing spots. There are two main pool areas, and smaller, warmer ones tucked beside the paths among the shrubbery. A range of infinity pools on different levels entice with deep green tiles; everywhere are flowers and lawns and, in some cases, a sea view. We sipped many a Diet Coke in such environs.
Food was good. Not spa-like in the way that one might imagine in Asia – but lunch on the terrace is a well-made selection of salads and fish, while dinner in any of the numerous restaurants is pricey but tasty. We had a Thai dinner one evening and after a greasy start settled into some wonderful lobster curry. At the fine dining restaurant we were well served and had great wine – though compared to fine dining in London, it’s not quite up to scratch.
We left tanned and relaxed, having slept well, supped greedily on fish, and drunk lots of cava, putting the world to rights over unbelievably long sunsets. A weekend here is – above all expectations – the perfect way for anyone to relax. Even if they don’t like the thought of Alicante.
From €242 (€384 during August) including breakfast based on two sharing. www.asiagardens.co.uk