Holidays for the Brits needs to include sunshine and water, be it pool or beach. We rarely travel inside our own country because of those two main points lacking. I’ve been lucky enough over the last two years to travel extensively through Asia: to Koh Samui, Hong Kong and Japan – and later on to come this year, Bali. I love these countries because they are so different from our own; fully immersive, you get completely lost in an entirely new culture and way of life.
So when Asia Gardens reached out with an invitation to visit their hotel, I was intrigued. Is it really possible to have a resort on the Alicante coast feel like you are in an Asian jungle of Bali or Thailand?
On arriving to the resort you are greeted in this giant wooden lobby with beautiful ceilings fans rotating around and soothing Chinese flute music. We were given a delicious iced tea and led through Asia Gardens vast gardens (the clue is in the name!). There were fishponds and water fountains around every turn, giant ferns and banana plants stretching high above you. The resort itself has over 290 different variations of plant-life. It was incredible to feel like you had stepped into a jungle. Our hotel suite balcony was so secluded because of the wonderful palm trees reaching up to our second floor views,. The sound of the waters below was also a welcome touch, drowning out any sounds of fellow guests or even the restaurant a few floors down. Everything had clearly been considered; it was pure peace and relaxation from here on in.
We were there for three nights and relaxation was the aim of the game. Being that Asia Gardens is only a two hour plane ride away from London we wanted to maximise our time and get stuck right in with their signature Thai Massage. One hour of being thoroughly pushed and pulled, all muscles being works. It was incredible! Like an intense yoga session with a one on one instructor, without you actually moving yourself. After that followed a wind down at the secret spa pool and sauna session.
The hotel has three separate main pools to lounge around, one Zen pool with a romantic Italian eatery surrounding it past 9pm, another adult only pool with the incredible Angkor rock face water feature that made you feel like your discovering a lost city of an ancient civilisation and then there’s the main pool, which is wonderfully vast and has many welcome hidden corners. You could wade across a shallow stretch up to your knees and find yourself on your own island, hidden behind some palm trees where only the bar staff know you’re there for that all important top up.
In the evening we were welcomed to the restaurant in Black, Asia Garden’s gourmet offering. We followed a pathway around a river and came to a clearing in the mini jungle where we found tables and chairs under a star filled canopy. All candles were lit and the setting was very romantic. I enjoyed Ceviche followed by Tuna Tartare and Rum Baba to finish – each course more delicious as the last. All wine on the Island is sourced from Spain and we drank the house Rioja every day because it was so good.
Each evening we took a wine on our terrace whilst running a bath in the giant in room tub. We really enjoyed visiting for three nights, even though we had rented a hire car we felt no need to leave the hotel, just relaxing and letting the 30 degree sunshine warm our bones before returning to rainy England.
I’d especially like to thank Santiago Brotons of Asia Gardens for making us feel so welcome at the hotel.
Post in collaboration with Asia Gardens
One comment
This honestly looks like the perfect escape from the wet soggy British summer we have had… I’m so jealous!
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