Roda Golf and Beach Resort Information

admin April 29th, 2008

Work going on! A lot of it! - Click to enlarge

Photo gallery is below this report! Hover over it for controls, click it for descriptions. Or go straight to the Flickr set for high resolution views!

We have had a large number of requests for this report, with updated pictures from our regular visitors, who are growing increasingly fed up with the negative posts on a few “independent” forums out there about the beach club at Roda Golf.

We visited the Roda Golf beach club on Friday 25th April and were very pleasantly surprised at the amount of work that has currently been completed, also the amount of work under construction, there were about 25 men working. Only a couple had decided it was too hot and were enjoying what looked like a well earned “siesta” under one of the beautiful palm trees!

The Roda Golf and Beach Resort beach club is progressing nicely, the location is fantastic, for those of you who have not been lucky enough to visit the area, you are in for a very pleasant surprise.

There was a massive amount of work to be done but due to owner pressure, the beach club was opened last year with a very limited service, it looked nice and was a pleasant alternative to the local beaches in Los Alcazares. However, for it to be considered a 5 star beach club, which is what you all want, the building needed to be taken back to the bare structure, well that has happened in the closed season.

You must also remember that now that the new clubhouse has been completed and opened, with huge success I might add, (see our roda golf clubhouse post here) there are more men available for work on the beach club.

There has been lots of new steel added, as well as a new floor for the upstairs. A number of internal walls have been removed, and all the area outside has been cleared. There are lots of building materials laying around, however they will all be used in due course.

The beaches have been swept and all the beach debris has been removed, we actually watched a couple of trucks taking it away whilst we were there.

The Beach Club pool - Neglected...for now! - Click to enlarge

The swimming pool has clearly been neglected, obviously as nobody has been using it for about 10 months, it looks like nobody has cleaned it in that time either, this pool will take just a week or 2 at most to be restored to it’s former glory, but it has the potential to be spectacular, what with it being only 40 paces to the Mediterranean sea from the pool!

The gardens again have the potential to be superb, it is a massive area with loads of room to simply lounge around and relax whilst you decide, “is it the pool or the sea”? Not a bad choice, we call that a “win win” situation! :)

We were lucky enough to meet some new owners who had just purchased this week, they were checking out the location and the planned facilities for the first time, Matt and Rachel and their 14 week old daughter Macy from Porthcawl, South Wales. They absolutely loved the place! Matt, who own his own magazine, “Seaside News“, commented that even though the place was a mess, he could see the potential for one of the nicest facilities he has ever seen.

Matt who loves to surf, and has travelled the world in pursuit of that elusive monster wave said, “the peace and quiet here, and the natural beauty of this area is just fantastic and we can’t wait to use the beach club”.

Nice one Matt, thanks for your time. We hope you and the family had a safe trip home.

In our opinion, this beach club is going to be awesome. We have always felt that, and if the new Roda Golf clubhouse is anything to go by, I think we will be right. The planned opening is the last week of June, which is when all the water parks in the area open, so nothing strange there. Be patient and get ready to be wowed, because even though there have been considerable delays, Calidona so far are exceeding everybody’s expectations with the finished product.

We hope you enjoy these most up to date photos of the beach club, please feel free to leave a comment or request any further information.

Look out for our next news item coming soon, and remember, you can click the gallery for descriptions of each photo!

Tags: Beach Club

• Amenities , Beach Club , FULL REPORTS , construction , inspection visits
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admin April 23rd, 2008

Only Roda Golf Info could bring you a complete gallery of pictures from the Roda Golf Clubhouse on the very day that it opened! We present a gallery of 35 pictures below showing the new clubhouse in all it’s glory! To tell the truth we were surprised just how great it has turned out! After the two month delay since the “official” opening party, we were starting to worry, but those worries were ill-founded. The clubhouse is simply superb.

We show below, images from the outside of the clubhouse, including the great site of people relaxing on the terrace enjoying drinks (on this balmy April afternoon :) and we also ventured inside to see the smart tables of the “La Higuera” restaurant bar and terrace. The restaurant really looks stunning in it’s earth tones palette. Cool for the summer, and cosy for the winter months. We couldn’t help but notice the golf playing on one of the TV monitors in the bar :) The arm chairs and settees look very comfortable. Whilst outside in the sun, drinks can be taken whilst watching golfers practise on the driving range. We tested the beer for you (I know we do too much!) and that is great too :)

Soon we will try to secure some photos from the shops and offices downstairs, but in the mean time we hope you can make it to the superb Roda Golf Clubhouse very soon for a beer! We’ll see you there!

Remember all these pictures are available, as always, at our Flickr page…in FULL size! To use the gallery below, simply hover over it to reveal the controls at the top and the bottom of the viewing area :)

Finally, I know you’ll forgive us for mentioning our kind sponsors Calida International Properties. It’s because of their support that we can bring you these great images showing developments at Roda the very day they happen! Help us to keep you informed… talk to Calida International and find out how they can help you with your professional property management and sales requirements here at beautiful Roda Golf! Thanks.

Tags: bars, Clubhouse, la higuera, restaurants

• Amenities , Clubhouse , photo shoots
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admin April 18th, 2008

Welcome to the full April report with completely new, and completely up to date photos! We concentrated this month on providing views of the properties from the golf course. The very kind people at the De Vere clubhouse loaned us a buggy for a couple of hours, which we used to tour the course, starting up the 10th fairway, moving all the way around the proposed phase 5 area, moving on to phase 4, then down past the 17th green and 18th tee and fairway to have a look at phase 3 and then on to the front 9.

Please be aware that these photos are also available to view on our Flickr page. It really is worth visiting our Flickr page because the images there are available there at absolutely HUGE sizes! (More than 6000 pixels wide!) You can zoom in to find your own house! Just write in if you need help using Flickr. And now onto the gallery. Please just hover over the gallery area to access the controls, and if you click a picture a detailed description will appear! The full report is below the gallery:

Our Roda Golf and Beach Resort full April report

The Roda golf course was looking fantastic as usual, there were lots of players out there, some playing some great golf, others just enjoying the day out. We stopped for a brief chat with a few groups just to get their opinions on the golf course and Roda Golf generally, without exception, everybody thought it looked fantastic and they were enjoying the golf course very much.

There was one particular “4 ball” who were not owners, however they were so impressed that they were looking for property to purchase at the resort, that has to be great news and we expect that will start to happen more and more as each phase comes on-line.

A big thank you to all the golfers who gave us a few moments of their time, much appreciated.

The views of the properties and the completed phases looked great from the golf course side, the front line villas in particular with the swimming pools are very impressive, particularly when you see the owners enjoying their lunch and a glass of wine or two, whilst watching the golfers at the same time, the resort really is starting to “come to life”!

The Roda fairways are in almost perfect condition and the greens are now as fast as we have seen them, not quite Augusta and the Masters standard, but fast none the less, the one thing that separates the golf course at Roda Golf from the other golf courses in the region is the attention to detail and the manicuring around the course, that is down to the world class experience that Mike Maloney from De Vere and his team bring to the project.

There is still no sign of the apartments on phase 4 being started, albeit there is now considerable work on the front line golf villas, phase 3 A is looking fantastic and lots of owners have now completed over there and phase 3 B looks all set to be delivered about August / September time. We know there have been considerable delays, but I think everybody will agree it has been worth it, Calidona really are delivering a world class resort.

We have reported before on the opening on the clubhouse and it would appear that we got our dates for the official opening incorrect, my advice to everybody is get ready to enjoy the sensational facilities at the clubhouse sooner rather than later, for those who have visited the new clubhouse, I think you will al agree it looks incredible, for those of you still to visit and see the facilities, you are in for a real treat.

The fully renovated beach club will be ready with a full service for the Summer, we will have a special report on that in the near future, if there are any questions regarding any of the above, please write in and we will be happy to provide as much information as possible.

We met a lot of people who were renting properties for the first time at the Roda Golf and Beach Resort, this was also very good news for those people looking to rent their properties out and start getting a return on their investment.

Please remember, if you are planning to rent out your property, make sure you have a professional property management company looking after your property and your guests, this is the best way to guarantee that they come back next year, you really do need so much more than just a “key holding” service, our sponsors over at Calida International Properties will be very happy to help and assist in any way they can.

I hope you enjoy our latest set of photos and in a day or two we we publish the virtual reality view from the par 3, 11th green!

Tags: full report, Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, phase 4

• Clubhouse , FULL REPORTS , Phase 3 , Phase 5 , The Course , inspection visits , phase 4 , photo shoots
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admin April 16th, 2008

Last week Stuart from Calida International Properties, finally found the time for a round of golf. He sent us this report, sure to make any owners languishing in the rainy UK jealous!

We were very fortunate to be joined by Mark Jones, Wales and Llanelli Scarlets number 14, for a game of golf this week. Also joining us to make up a four ball was Gary Conroy, PE teacher from Manchester.

Mark was over for a well earned rest after a very busy and very successful 6 nations campaign where Wales won the Grand Slam. Gary was over checking progress on his phase 3, part B penthouse apartment. (We could have sent him pictures if he’d asked!..but then he’d have missed the golf ;)

Mark was playing off a lowly 24 handicap, where Gary was playing off 5. I knew early on, I had my hands full in this stableford competition with these two very competitive characters; I later found out that Gary used to play semi-pro football as well.

Both Mark and Gary played some superb golf, my own not faring too well unfortunately, especially as I am off 15 and have been playing quite well recently.

Mark won the front nine comfortably and we were never able to catch him, Gary as you would expect played some quite stunning shots, the highlight being a 45 yard bunker shot which stopped “stone dead” next to the flag on the second bounce, for a tremendous birdie, show off!

This was the first time that Mark had played the Roda golf course (you could have fooled me) and the first time to pick up his clubs for 6 months, Gary being an owner has played a few times. It was a fantastic afternoon, the weather was beautiful, right up to the time when we walked off the course at about 8.15pm. Mark won the competition by some margin with some great golf shots, coming off the course with a very creditable 37 points. Gary, playing with rental clubs, finished in last place, but I have been sworn to secrecy about his stableford points, hmmm!

Both Mark and Gary were very impressed with the condition of the golf course. The lakes and fountains were fantastic and provided a real test, particularly when the wind was up, the greens were as fast as I have seen them, and the fairways were in superb “nick”. Most of the bunkers were raked, and were immaculate around the edges and the whole golf course is maturing beautifully.

If there was one complaint, we did notice that pitch marks on the greens were not being repaired, c’mon everybody, let’s make an effort to keep the greens nice and tidy for all fellow golfers, please adhere to etiquette and local rules at all times, especially slow play, you are supposed to be directly behind the golfers in front of you, not directly in front of the golfers behind you.

Overall, a fantastic afternoon, great golf course and awesome company, thanks Mark and Gary, will get you next time Mark! A huge “thumbs up” from everybody for the Roda Golf and Beach Resort.

Tags: Mark Jones, playing golf

• The Course
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admin April 10th, 2008

Another interesting comment from our sponsors at Calida International Properties, this time they are addressing the delays at Phase 4 which are concerning many of our readers:

We are constantly being asked “what are the reasons for the delays on phase 4 at Roda Golf?”

Phase 4 - April 2008 - Click to enlarge

It is so very frustrating, particularly for those owners on Roda Golf Phase 4, but of course it does affect everybody, including the developer, nobody wants to “crack on” more than the developers themselves! Luckily the answer is extremely simple.

I appreciate you all think that this is just an excuse, however the truth of the matter is that town hall bureaucracy is responsible. For those of you who live in Spain or have purchased in Spain before, you will know all about this subject. It is so painfully slow waiting for the local council or town hall officials to take responsibility and simply issue the licences. That is the problem in a “nutshell” - nothing more sinister than that, so for all you conspiracy theorists out there, please relax (easier said than done) there are some great updated pictures of phase 4 coming in our imminent “April - Full Report” article. These new, and very detailed photos taken from the course, show that there has been progress, but we appreciate not enough, so please watch this space, as soon as we have news we will advise you.

Tags: delays, town hall

• Interviews , construction , phase 4
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admin April 8th, 2008

Our sponsors over at Calida International Properties are enthused with the amount of visitors we are getting here on Roda Golf Info, and they have agreed to start writing some articles for us! In this first article Stuart Thomas, managing director of Calida International, discusses his thoughts on the ever present worry - “Buy now or wait?”. Stuart provides some illuminating, and honest insights into the current market in general and at Roda. We print his article in full below:

Location, Location! Does it get better than this? - Click to enlarge

We have been asked many times over the last few months, “why should we?”, or “why would we?” buy property at Roda Golf and Beach Resort - and it is a very good question.
Clearly the world wide “credit crunch” has really started to “spook” not only those people who are considering purchasing, but also those who have already purchased at Roda, combine that with a very strong euro, and you can see why people might consider delaying their purchase of property at Roda Golf and Beach Resort

The truth is there is never a good time to buy… or indeed a bad time to buy! There is only a time when it is right for you as an individual. Let me explain - The property market in Spain has experienced a considerable slow down, that was always going to be inevitable, particularly after ten years of solid growth, the problem is not as bad as the problem currently being experienced in the UK, however there is no doubt, there is a slowing of the market.

In the UK there has been some quite dramatic slowing figures being produced, but not in London, the UK generally has slowed to a standstill, but London property prices continue to perform pretty well. One should understand that Roda Golf and Beach Resort is a lot like London in this respect, you have all heard the expression “location, location, location”, well Roda Golf and Beach Resort is currently the very best location in the region, and possibly even the best location in Spain to purchase property.

San Javier / Murcia Airport - Click to enlarge

When you consider the world class Dave Thomas designed golf course, the gated resort just a couple of minutes from the stunning blue flag beaches of the Mar Menor, just 5 minutes from San Javier airport, with the 2 cities of Cartagena and Murcia just a stones throw away, and luxury properties still available for under 240,000 euros, it s easy to see why property sales are still pretty buoyant, not as good as they were 2 years ago, but on a resort with a maximum of 1,800 properties, obviously there was going to be a problem with availability.

There is not the wide choice of properties available any more, nearly all of the really desirable properties have gone, no longer can you just walk in to Roda Golf and pick from a choice of penthouse apartments, now you have to take what is available, this is why, if you are seriously considering buying at Roda Golf, make sure you can afford it, then go and “jump straight in” you will not regret it.

Somebody asked us just today, “what if I wait for the euro to weaken against the pound?” well what if everybody does the same thing?, you will have a mad rush again when the euro weakens and property prices will rise very sharply, what if the euro continues to strengthen? you will kick yourself for having “missed the boat” yet again.

Properties are limited at Roda Golf, particularly the “front line” golf villa’s and the penthouse apartments, and the problem is getting worse daily. Unlike other developers and other resorts, Roda Golf are still making steady sales, if you are considering buying at Roda Golf, then it must be because you love the place, you have probably played the golf course and, like me, you have probably put a ball or two in one of the fabulous lakes. You will probably have enjoyed a nice cold beer served by the very friendly staff at the clubhouse, or enjoyed the wide variety of stunning restaurants in the nearby town of Los Alcazares, whatever your reasons for wanting to buy at Roda Golf, our advice is “strike while the iron is hot” - delay at your peril.

Tags: buying at roda, financial markets, stuart thomas

• Interviews , The market
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admin April 8th, 2008

A reader recently asked us : “How much are the pools and hot tubs for the Birdie Villa’s? And can I see some photos please?”

Our sponsors over at Calida International Properties had the following to say:

“The cost of the swimming pools are about 20,000 euros if you purchase from Roda, possibly less from another supplier, however you need to get permission from Roda Golf to use another supplier, and this may not be possible. The hot tubs vary in price, depending on size and quality, but start from about 6,000 euros up to 12,000, please remember, the quality varies quite considerably, should you require help with this, please just ask us.”

We include a couple of pictures below of two pools we found installed outside villas, they look very comfy! Happy to oblige our readers. By the way, these pictures were taken during our FULL April report visit, so we have loads more pictures coming very soon, especially of the Phase 4 progress.

Tags: birdie villas, pools, villa

• Amenities
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admin April 3rd, 2008

Celebrity news! Look who we bumped in to at Roda Golf today, you Welsh owners and rugby fans out there will recognise Mark Jones, the Llanelli Scarlets and one of this season’s Wales 6 nations Grand Slam winners!

The number 14 for Wales was enjoying a much deserved vacation at the Roda Golf and Beach Resort with his wife Helen, fresh from celebrating the Grand Slam win over France just a couple of weeks ago. Well done Mark and congratulations from the Roda Golf Info team!

This was Mark and Helen’s first visit to Roda Golf for over 12 months and they thought it was fantastic, they were both very impressed with the progress at Roda Golf and Mark told us, he thought the new Roda Golf clubhouse and PGA academy facilities were just sensational, we even caught him hitting a few balls on the range, good to see you Mark and thanks for your time today, come back and visit soon.

Tags: Celebrities, Mark Jones

• Interviews , Sports
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