Located just 30 minutes from Malaga airport and the popular destinations of Malaga and Marbella, La Cala Resort, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, remains committed to providing an exceptional golf and lifestyle experience on the Costa del Sol. Owned by FBD Hotels & Resorts, La Cala Resort continues to invest in world-class facilities, something recognised at the recent IAGTO awards when it was crowned Spain’s ‘Golf Resort of the Year 2024’.
The resort offers guests a unique lifestyle experience with a diverse range of facilities from a luxurious spa to locally inspired restaurants and bars, including the recently revamped La Bodega, and three exciting, yet contrasting, championship golf courses. La Cala Resort’s diverse leisure offering includes padel, tennis and squash on the racquet sport side plus a golf academy with unrivalled views across the Mediterranean, a fitness studio, gym and FIFA-standard football pitch.
La Cala Resort has placed real emphasis on sustainability for 35 years now, with sustainable practices at the very heart of everything it does. With the support of its owners and continued investment, La Cala Resort has been awarded GEO certification in recognition of its environmental and social responsibility. The GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf is an international not-for-profit organisation founded 16 years ago to help inspire, support, and reward credible sustainability action and to strengthen and promote golf’s social and environmental value.
The Sustainability Agenda for golf focuses on nature, resources and community. Ahead of its time in many ways, La Cala Resort made pioneering strides in 1991 by introducing a regenerated water irrigation system on its golf courses via a dedicated pipeline, funded mainly by the FBD Group, that stretches 10km from the resort’s primary lake to the Fuengirola recycling plant. The benefits are preservation of precious freshwater resources and enhanced long-term water security.
The resort is also nearing the end of a five-year project to enhance water efficiency in its irrigation practices by moving from bent grass greens to Bermuda. Campo America will be the last course to complete the process this autumn, with Campo Asia making the switch in 2019 and Campo Europa in 2020. Replacing the tee grass with Bermuda Tahoma 31 has contributed to more water savings, estimated at 20%. The benefits of this strategic shift are three-fold: first, more water-efficient grass species aid water conservation; second, reduced water consumption means significant cost savings; and third, the improved playability of the courses enhances the overall golfer experience.
Away from the course, La Cala Resort’s sustainability journey expanded in 2022 with the installation of solar panels on the roofs of its maintenance facilities. These now generate an impressive 160Kw of clean energy per hour, which benefits the popular clubhouse area. Encouraged by the initial success, La Cala Resort has extended its solar panel installation efforts to include administration offices, with future plans including the further expansion of panels to cover parking spaces plus the implementation of energy-efficient LED lighting in hotel rooms and clubhouse areas. These projects have helped to reduce the resort’s carbon footprint and reliance on grid electricity while ensuring a sustainable future for energy consumption and reducing costs.
La Cala Resort has already moved from petrol to electric via a Jacobsen Eclipse 360 Elite green mower and Smithco Sand Star E bunker rake, while two robot mowers from Belrobotics are on order, along with a driving range ball picker, in the quest to reduce carbon emissions and switch further daily operations over to a more sustainable power source. Reducing turf areas by up to 20% and replacing them with mulch has brought water usage down by a similar figure.
“We are committed to social and environmental responsibility, in and through golf,” says Sean Corte-Real, La Cala’s General Manager. “We recognise the importance of playing our part to protect and restore nature, conserve resources, take climate action and strengthen communities. Through becoming GEO-certified, we have achieved the most widely regarded and credible sustainability distinction in golf. The international certification was earned after successfully meeting the industry-standard best practices and demonstrating our commitment to make sustainability of central importance to our golf facility.”
In his report, Pablo Muñoz, GEO-accredited independent verifier, noted: “The resort emphasises its role in conservation by using 100% reclaimed water for irrigating its three golf courses since 2017, and by reducing water consumption further by transitioning from cool-season to warm-season grasses. Moreover, La Cala Resort is committed to sustainable practices by installing solar panels on the roofs of the maintenance facility. The resort has also upgraded its former all-petrol engine buggy fleet to lithium-powered carts, demonstrating its commitment to environmental stewardship. Through these measures, La Cala continues to pave the way for a more sustainable future, integrating Costa del Sol’s culture, while maintaining a high standard of service under the motto ‘Make it Yes’, ensuring all client needs are met.”
La Cala Resort is a thriving community where residents and guests share a vibrant lifestyle in which quality living blends seamlessly with the natural beauty of the surroundings. These elements, twinned with exceptional cuisine and an enviable climate, make La Cala one of the world’s leading resorts where golf and nature come together.