Rio Real Golf & Hotel

Rio Real Golf & Hotel brings together an 18-hole course, a golf academy, practice facilities, a hotel and a restaurant in Marbella. Set in Málaga province on Andalucía’s Costa del Sol, the club also offers events and meetings alongside its golf facilities.

For a visiting golfer, the course has two clear points of identity: its designer, Javier Arana, and its relationship with the Rio Real river. The layout follows the river to its mouth on the Mediterranean, placing the waterway at the centre of the course’s setting.

Golf by Javier Arana

The club opened in 1965, as did its 18-hole, par-72 course. Arana designed the layout, and the club describes him as the greatest Spanish golf course designer of all time. That is the club’s own assessment, reflecting the importance it places on the course’s designer.

The river provides another way to understand Rio Real before a visit. Rather than simply sharing its name with the course, it accompanies the layout towards the Mediterranean. Together, the Arana design and this river-to-sea setting give a clear introduction to the golf on offer in Marbella.

Practice and learning

The driving range is 100 metres from the course and has 12 covered bays equipped with Toptracer technology. It is a separate practice facility from the 18-hole layout, with its proximity to the course a useful detail when planning time at the club.

A golf academy is also part of Rio Real’s facilities. Between the academy and the range, the club’s golf offering extends beyond playing a round: learning and practice each have a place alongside the main course.

Staying, dining and meeting

Hotel Rio Real provides the accommodation element of the club, while El Club Restaurant is its restaurant. For golfers looking at more than the course alone, these are the names to know when considering a stay or dining as part of a visit.

Events and meetings are another part of the club’s offering. Rio Real therefore combines its golf course with facilities for practice, learning, accommodation, dining and gatherings. The central golfing reference remains the same throughout: an Arana-designed course, opened in 1965, following the Rio Real river towards the Mediterranean in Marbella.