Well, I have to confess that Lesley found and booked this hotel, but what a great choice (the RH Bayren, in Gandia). The idea was to have a relaxing break and enjoy some time running and using the gym and spa facilities.
The journey was straight forward, about 150 miles of mostly easy driving on dual carriageways. We were very pleased to see our room, large (2 tvs), fronted by a large glass wall and a bath in the middle of the room. The bed was so big that it covered two time zones. The panoramic view of the beach was stunning.
We went for a drive round to explore the local area, most of it was closed being winter and siesta time, but, we did find a restaurant where we got a pizza. we also learnt that the locals don’t speak traditional Spanish, but Valencian, a form of Catalan.
In the evening, we had dinner in the restaurant. There was no à la carte, all the food was from a buffet. There were plenty of choices, but, we did feel that the food wasn’t the best part of our stay.
Also staying at the hotel were the AG2R La Mondiale Pro cycle team. They had been there over a week and this was their last night. One of the cyclists told us that they had ridden over 1100km in 9 days. They had full support teams and back up. A very impressive setup.
The following morning we started with a run. Parallel to the beach was a cycle track and a pedestrian track. We ran about 5k in lovely morning sunshine, followed by a hearty breakfast.
Later we spent some time in the gym and spa. What a lovely way to pass the time.
We had a fabulous 3 day break and left feeling refreshed.