restau- rant and bar), Valmont spa and beauty clinic, heated pool and hamman, a well-equipped gym and tennis club. There are stables nearby and as you might expect, no shortage of golf courses, including the world famous PGA Golf Catalunya. Dining is a delight. La Gavina’s fine dining room, Candlelight by Romain Fornell, with Terraza La Gavina, Blue Bar and El Barco, all of varying degrees of formality, make La Gavina a place where dining is taken seriously and guests still dress for dinner. Breakfast in a sun-filled dining room is sheer pleasure on the terrace over- looking the Mediterranean, and in the evening a gourmet dinner awaits from Chef Fornell, a master of French and Catalan cuisine. We love this palatial 1930s hotel for its spectacular location, its natural loveliness and its blend of authenticity—the extraordinary antique doors, altars and Romantic period museum pieces, gleam- ing inlaid Catalan antiques—with contemporary style and facilities. ¶Read the full feature on countryclubuk.com and call 020 7399 2960 for full details and to check availability and best Club rates for your dates. Our Members save up to 61% off rack rates. LaGavina,Spain Hostal de la Gavina S’Agaro, Girona, Catalonia, Spain OUR gracious hotel on the Mediterranean coast is a privately owned Catalan mansion standing on a rocky promontory on one of the finest beaches in Spain. This, the beautiful Hostal de La Gavina (it means The Seagull) is Catalunya’s only five-star Grand Luxe re- sort hotel, and it welcomes our Members with warm Catalan hospi- tality and old-time indulgence. We are in good company: La Gavina attracted Ava Gardner, with the bullfighter Luis Dominguin and Frank Sinatra in her wake. Then came Elizabeth Taylor, Orson Welles, Peter Sellers, Dirk Bogarde and Sean Connery. Writers such as Jean Cocteau loved La Gavina, as did tenor Jose Carreras, soprano Teresa Berganza and King Juan Carlos. The list goes on. As you can see, this elegant hotel—one of the Leading Hotels of the World—has a glorious past. But this is no paradise lost—more likely, it is paradise found, an elegant, quietly sophisticated oasis, set in sunlit gardens which bloom with roses, geraniums and marigolds, all bright against the dark cypresses and the brilliant blue sky. The rooms offer views through tall French windows of the sea lapping the rocky shore a short walk away. Those views are mesmerizing. Indeed Sant Pol de Mar is a beautiful bay, with a unique dune landscape and crystal-clear waters, its golden strand almost 1 km long and 25m wide. It offers a promenade for strolling, as well as water sports including sailing, kayaking, windsurfing and water ski- ing—and if you want to see colourful fish while you are snorkelling, you can swim into nearby coves. Back at La Gavina there is a large saltwater pool (overlooked by a marble statue and with its own Members’ advantages include up to 70% savings and complimentary room upgrades:Full details,call 020 7399 2960 197