It seems more now than ever, there comes a time when every man or woman accepts defeat and picks up a golf club, normally at the urge of his friends. Whatever level of the game you reach and whenever you start, there’s nothing quite like packing your bags, heading for the sun and hacking a golf ball around with some beers in tow.
You’ve heard of golfing in the Algarve or even heading to the States, but Antalya, Turkey has quickly become the perfect destination for your golfing retreat and it’s hard to imagine anything surpassing the riches on offer at Cullinan Belek.
Boasting two courses on their grounds – the Olympos and the Aspendos – the hotel has plenty of golf to explore in addition to a driving range, chipping and putting greens on top of golf lessons also available – which I learned I damn well need.
The rooms are right by the action, backing up to their luscious greens on one side and the beach flanking another. Picturesque isn’t quite the word.
Sports Mail hopped on an EasyJet flight to Antalya towards the end of May – which only took three hours and 45 minutes – and braced ourselves to get familiar with 36 stunning holes in 30 degree heat. Someone has to do it, dammit.
To take a closer look at Cullinan Belek and book your next golf trip, click the link.
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The breathtaking grounds of Cullinan Belek gives you the best of both worlds on a golf trip
The Cullinan Links Golf Club sits a short stroll (or lift) from the main hotel building
About a 30 minute drive from Antalya airport, you’re greeted to Cullinan Belek by your personal assistants for the holiday who offer you champagne or whatever drinks and snacks float your boat. You’d think that’s it, but we were quickly in a WhatsApp group with our two assistants – Ece and Ilorna – and learned any question you have or anything you need, you simply ask them.
Where do I hire my clubs? Can I book golf lessons? Can I get an early tee time? All things they do for you while you soak in the sun and fill yourself to the brim with their food and drinks offerings.
Domestic or imported beer? It doesn’t matter, it’s included. The minibar in your room? Not only included, but restocked every day. The Chocolate House in the main building? Included. Caprice Pattiserie? Included. Steak (immense quality), Italian, Japanese, Turkish restaurants and even the almost exhaustingly expansive buffet – all included.
A note on the sweet offerings from the pattiserie and the aptly named Chocolate House – they will have something you like. Their offerings are so vast they’ll get you sooner or later! I was gutted the first day when there was no brownies, but the next day, along with a bunch of stuff I hadn’t seen the first day, they had them.
The chocolatier is a quick way to get stacks of chocolate treats on the go one floor down
The Chocolaterie pattiserie has every kind of treat you can think of and is a big hit with the kids
Before you stuff your golf bag to the brim with snickers and water, you need to settle into your room. For us, we were staying in a Lagoon Golf swim-up (because, ya know… Golf!) meaning we had two rooms in one building with separate decking that led to shared personal pools overlooking the golf course. I found a golf ball by the side of our pool, that’s how close you are!
The room has a 70-inch TV, the aforementioned fridge, a spacious bathroom with a handheld shower and rainfall, a sit down area and virtually everything is controlled by a touch-screen system.
Your air con, your fan, your lights and even your electric full-stop can be controlled by this panel – you can even call for a golf cart to come and pick you up and trust us, you will. Walking the vast grounds in that heat is not advised.
The grounds were kept in pristine condition and staff were always on hand to help
The rooms are spacious and equipped with a touch screen system that controls everything
The swim-up pool is right n your doorstep, but there is 13 indoor and outdoor pools elsewhere
The Lagoon Golf Swim-up directly looks out over the luscious greens of the golf course
Then it’s on to the golf. A 7:45 tee time meant we could have breakfast in the 24-hour bistro (which will also deliver 24-hour room service) before strolling over to the Cullinan Links Golf Club. It’s about €50 for a buggy and €40 to hire a set of clubs for the round if you haven’t brought your own, so it can get expensive fast if you let it. Sorting this ahead of time and being smarter than I will save you this headache.
But the buggy did come with an ice box complete with bottle water and a jovial fellow zooms around the course offering you beers free of charge as well, so hydration is no worry. Both courses had water huts after the ninth hole, too.
Good job you can buy balls in the club house, too, because you can bet your bottom dollar I lost plenty with the water hazards around the holes. Still, small price to pay for the entertaining holes and excellent views.
Once you’ve finished your hard day of graft (that’s what my family were told, anyway), the beautiful clubhouse bar and restaurant that looks over Olympos’ 1st tee and 18th green is a sight for sore eyes.
A putting green that leads to the first tee of Aspendos, your first duel with the tricky water!
It’s a nice atmosphere too; we were lucky enough to have one of our shots lightly applauded as we approached the end of our round as groups of golfers gazed over our efforts.
Everything is close. Olympos is behind the clubhouse, Aspendos is about 500 yards to the right and the driving range and chipping greens are a simply stroll down the steps out the front.
The hotel overlooks all of this; you can be drinking a Guinness in the Irish bar surrounded by water within minutes of finishing golf.
We stayed with Cullinan for five days and my dad and I played golf three of them. I also brought my two daughters and partner with me and there was more than enough to keep them from nagging me about spending too much time on the greens.
The Mrs enjoyed a full body massage at C’espace Spa under the guise of me giving her some ‘me time’ (yes, I think I’m clever) and that was just one of seemingly a million things she could have had done. The price list that comes with the spa can be a little daunting in places, but as is the case with the rest of the hotel, you certainly get what you pay for.
My partner, Sharna Elson, said: ‘The masseuse was incredibly professional and constantly made sure I was comfortable. She was very attentive; I’d certainly go back for more treatments.’
The treatments look pricey, but Sharna Elson insists you get what you pay for in the spa
You can almost feel guilty for making use of a kid’s club when you’re on holiday, but Cullinan’s Upupa is a different animal. I’ve been away to some all-inclusive resorts before and seen my fair share of facilities, but if I had to rave about one single thing regarding the actual hotel amid a host of options, the kid’s club is on another level.
My kids were asking to go every day. The main building has two floors; the first of which has a room for smaller, toddler children, a soft play area, a sand pit to play and two arts and crafts rooms. A cafeteria with a chef at the ready completes the floor where children are free to pick up healthy snacks and drinks at their leisure.
Upstairs is where my eight-year-old could mostly be found. There is a gaming room complete with X-Box and Playstation consoles, gaming chairs, headsets – the lot. Smartly, they only kids to play the consoles at designated times and have people watching over to make sure no one dominates one for too long – it is extremely well staffed.
A view from the indoor pool that leads on from the spa – it was too hot to be inside!
If it’s a family kind of golf trip, there’s plenty for them to do while you get the rounds in
To finish upstairs, there’s a cinema room! I was panicking looking for my child, turned out she was chilling watching Garfield.
There’s a double lock system on two sliding doors to make sure no kids are going rogue and plenty of staff around. Outside, there is a play area (kept cool by huge gazebo like roofs) and three separate rooms for different kind of art: woodcraft, fashion and ceramic.
The kids club stayed alive at night with shows on their mini-theatre at the back, but there are more adult offerings on the main stage with an impressive array of acts to drink in while you literally drink in your free refreshments. To protect the children in the building, there are no amateur pictures of Upupa.
Finally, this resort also sits right on the beach with direct access to the Mediterranean sea. There was quite possibly nothing more enjoyable than playing an excellent round of golf (excellent vibes more than ability) and then retiring to a cabana on one of the two piers Cullinan boasts.
Hiring your own cabana at the beach is just asking for a nap after a round of golf
The cabana comes complete with a fully stocked fridge, but you can order what you want too
The top of the beach is sandy, but past the cabanas it is quite filled with stones – footwear ideal!
A view from the Italian restaurant on the first floor with a view of some swim-up apartments
A nap-inducing bed sits under a shaded decking area with a fridge full of ice-cold beverages nearby. More decking takes those who want to battle the heat out into the sunshine and then it’s just a short stroll down onto the beach.
It’s perfect sand around your cabana, but it get stony as you walk down towards the sea. The slightest of drawbacks.
I love golfing holidays with the boys and Cullinan ticked all the boxes for entertaining, varied courses, free-flowing beer, great food and plenty of ways to relax.
I hadn’t combined that rather selfish pastime of mine with a family holiday before, but this was the place to do it too. Essentially, if you love golf and want a memorable getaway, you don’t have an excuse now to not try Antalya and Cullinan Belek.
To take a closer look at Cullinan Belek and book your next golf trip, click the link.
Get to Antalya, Turkey quickly and comfortably with EasyJet
