This is the 2022 edition of the 100 Best Golf Resorts in Europe. It’s golf’s only ranking of resorts that is entirely unbiased and fully based on user reviews. The overall ranking is based 50% on the rating of the golf club on Leadingcourses.com and 50% on the Booking.com rating for the resort itself.
The Best Golf Resorts in Europe ranking has become the reference point for golfers looking for a great golf trip or golf break. Leading Courses has been publishing the ranking since 2016 and ever since it has been very popular amongst their community. It’s based on Leading Courses review data and their hotel partner Booking.com reviews to provide a comprehensive list of the best golf resorts throughout Europe.
How the Best Golf Resorts rankings are determined
One of the major discussions is: when does a combination of a golf course and a hotel qualify as a resort? Is St. Andrews with the Old Course Hotel a resort? Does Royal County Down with the Slieve Donard Hotel across the road qualify as a resort? Difficult to answer.
Leading Courses turned to Wikipedia for a proper definition: “The term resort may be used for a hotel property that provides an array of amenities, typically including entertainment and recreational activities. A hotel is frequently a central feature of a resort.” So, having a hotel and a golf course is not enough to qualify as a golf resort.
Criteria to be listed in Best Golf Resorts rankings
Below are Leading Courses’ criteria to be in the Best Golf Resorts in Europe rankings:
- the rating of the golf club on Leadingcourses.com must be active, so it should have enough (recent) reviews
- the rating of the resort or hotel on Booking.com must also be active
- the (official) hotel must be located next to the golf course or must be located on the premises of the golf course.
- the resort should include more facilities in addition to having a golf course (for example a spa, tennis court, swimming pool, etc.)
- the golf club should explicitly mention or refer to the specific resort or hotel on its website (so linking to multiple hotels is not sufficient)
Finca Cortesin is the Best Golf Resort in Europe
For the 4th time, Finca Cortesin Hotel Golf & Spa is crowned Best Golf Resort in Europe. They score a whopping 9.4 overall, combining the score of the golf club and its hotel. The golf club is rated with a 9.2 and the Finca Cortesin Hotel with a 9.6 out of 10. The Finca Cortesin Hotel boasts 67 spacious suites and the golf course consists of an 18-hole Championship Course. Not surprisingly Finca Cortesin’s golf course also ranks very high in Leading Courses’ annual Golfers’ Choice Rankings.
10 Best Golf Resorts
Below is the ranking of the 10 Best Golf Resorts in Europe. Click the button below to see the full top-100.
- Finca Cortesin Hotel Golf & Spa 9.39
- Trump Turnberry Resort 9.19
- Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg 9.19
- Monte Rei Golf & Country Club 9.15
- The Gleneagles Hotel 9.15
- The Machrie Hotel & Golf Links 9.14
- Costa Navarino 9.07
- The Montgomerie Maxx Royal 9.06
- Dundonald Links 9.04
- Der Oschberghof – Osch Golf 9.03