Club Calida Mar Menor
Reviewed by A Foster
who stayed here in October 2005

We had many discussions about this - did we like it or not? The unit was typical European timeshare 2 bedroomed with kitchen/lounge - small but perfectly OK for 3 of us. Well appointed and reasonably comfortable. At this time of year we guessed about 6 - 12 of the 200 or so units were actually occupied and some of them were by outright owners rather than timeshare users. And a good number of the apartments were for sale outright. Perhaps it had been very different when built but now the place is surrounded by cranes building tower blocks. The resort is right at the end of the road through La Manga - a connecting causeway or bridge to the other part of the isthmus is mooted making Alicante a short trip away (but would that be better or worse?) - so getting anywhere is a long drive back down the same old strip. Almost everything was closed at this time of year - but was that so bad? Imagining high summer was an unpleasant thought and at least peace and quiet reigned - to a point. For golfers there is a nice little nine hole next door. If you're into sailing like us you can spend the whole of your holiday sailing and windsurfing (Noel's www.club-vela.com nearby is highly recommended and is beside a good and scenic restaurant) but if that isn't your thing then it has to be beaches and walking or cycling. The views over the Med and the Mar Menor are great and the water in the Menor is warmer than the Med (certainly warmer than the pool!). A satisfactory net would bring the tennis in to play as well. Handy for Murcia and Ryanair. But would we go back? For sailing, the water and the beach, yes. To find out if every single available space had a high-rise apartment block on it within ten years? Maybe not. A bit dull for kids off season but I might look forward to joining the other over-wintering crusties exercising off the arthritis on the flat. We still can't decide!