Three days of sunbathing at a beach club in Marbella. Three days of skiing in the Sierra Nevada. Plus exploring the fairytale town of Granada.
In Southern Spain you can combine a skiing holiday with a beach holiday. Just travel 2.5 hours by road between Marbella Club Hotel and Spain’s only ski-in ski-out hotel, El Lodge.
Start on the Beach at Marbella Club
Southern Spain offers beach weather almost every month of the year. Marbella Club is a 35-minute drive from Malaga Airport and offers the most exclusive accommodations in southern Spain. Our private consultant Tomas Safarik says:
Overall we consider this as the best hotel on the Marbella beachfront
There’s a kids club, golf course, full range of wellness and water sports, plus a great beach and extensive gardens. Grand Villas come with a private pool and butler service.
Average daily high temperatures are 17℃ in early January rising to 20℃ in March and 23℃ in April. Okay, it’s not scorching hot, but this is Europe in winter and you will enjoy seven to eight hours of daily sunshine.
Ski the Slopes of the Sierra Nevada
It’s an entirely different world just 220 kilometres northeast of Marbella. Here in the Sierra Nevada the ski season runs from late November to early May. Yes, until early May! So skiing is only a 2.5-hour road transfer from the beach.
El Lodge was built as an Andalusian ski retreat for the King of Spain. It’s now a ski-in ski out boutique hotel, at 2,100 metres, owned and operated by the Marbella Club.
All 21 rooms are different and most have outdoor terraces with a jacuzzi. There’s also a kids club, plus heated swimming pools, Turkish baths, indoor and outdoor saunas, and the resort town’s two best restaurants.
Skiing in the Sierra Nevada is not like skiing in the French Alps. There’s usually good powder and a variety of slopes, but the ski area is significantly smaller. So it’s ideal for two days of fun, especially for less experienced skiers. There’s a good ski school and ski equipment hire at El Lodge.
Explore Granada
Complete your unique winter holiday with a day or more in the old city of Granada. This is where tapas was invented, where flamenco originated, where the Moors had their final stronghold. It’s part of the iconic Andalusian experience.
Granada is one of Spain’s most alluring places, a fascinating city of riddles and discoveries.
Explore the magnificent Alhambra Palace, go tapas hopping between small tavernas, immerse yourself in all the creativity and culture. Choose to go for a day trip from El Lodge, which is only 30 minutes away. Granada is between the skiing and the sea, so you can visit on your return to Marbella.
Granada has some good palace hotels if you want to sleep inside the city’s evocative history. These don’t provide the same high level of service you’ll experience at Marbella Club or El Lodge. It’s fine for one night, but it’s not top-tier luxury.
Ready to Sun & Ski?
Eurowings and Smartwings have daily direct flights between Prague and Malaga, operating year round. Many other Central and Eastern European cities have direct connections to Malaga.
From Malaga why not continue your holiday to explore more of Spain? Like Barcelona, Madrid or Basque? You can fly there direct from Malaga Airport, 30 minutes away from Marbella Club Hotel.
You can make it a week of beach time and ski slopes, or even an extended weekend combining two separate pleasures. Ready to explore?
