Review: restaurants and dining at Grand Hyatt La Manga Club (part 2)

This is Part 2 of my review of the Grand Hyatt La Manga Club.

If you haven’t already, I suggest you take a look at Part 1 which looks at the rooms and suites at Grand Hyatt La Manga hotel as well as the extensive sporting and leisure facilities.

La Manga Club’s vast setup, with its town-like structure and size, means that it is not particularly close to any nearby towns or villages. The closest are at least 10-15 minutes away by car.

Fortunately, the Grand Hyatt has an extensive selection of 11 restaurants and bars you can choose from, including:

• Amapola, a fine-dining restaurant
• Grand Buffet, where breakfast is also served
• Don Luigi Trattoria
• Asia Restaurant, serving Asian fusion
• Hatsune, a very cool Japanese-style Izakaya
• La Cala, the beach restaurant
• Sol y Sombra poolside restaurant
• La Cascada, the adults-only poolside restaurant

The Golf Club also has a restaurant, and there are also a number of bars throughout, including The Last Green, a circular bar in the middle of the hotel that acts as a meeting point for all the restaurants.

For any World of Hyatt Globalist members or suite guests there is also a Grand Club Lounge.

Obviously I didn’t make it to all the restaurants during my press trip. I did, however, make it to a handful. Without going into too much detail, here is a quick overview:

Dinner at Amapola

Amapola is the high-end restaurant in the hotel, and something new for La Manga Club which hasn’t previously offered a fine-dining establishment. It is located in a multi-level space that has been stylishly designed but lacks any natural light. Not that you’d notice inside – it is cleverly done.

Whilst this is the first restaurant of its kind in La Manga Club, the hotel GM has high hopes. The kitchen is run by one of the resident chefs, who has been at the hotel for 25 years, in partnership with Carlos Torres, who is from one of the Michelin-starred restaurants in Murcia. In the long-term, the GM hopes Amapola will be awarded its own Michelin star.

We were served a tasting menu. One of my highlights was the shrimp with marinated peppers, which had a sort of sashimi/ceviche feel to it:

The food was really good, and I definitely think a Michelin star is within reach although it will take time and training. For example, the lovely waitstaff never remembered which of us had sparkling or still water, which is something they shouldn’t have to ask more than once. Overall, however, it is very promising.

Hatsune

This is a quick one. Whilst we didn’t eat here, it did look very cool and features just ten or eleven covers, so exceptionally intimate. It is tucked into a corner of the main dining area without being hidden away which I liked.

With so much fresh seafood in the area here I can imagine this being excellent – in fact, we had some fresh sushi for lunch on our first day which I imagine came from this kitchen:

La Cala Restaurant

Speaking of sea food, if you want to enjoy it whilst listening to the waves lap against the beach then it is well worth making a visit to La Cala. This is a tiny cove and the restaurant is more of a rustic set up, but it serves all sorts of local catch:

It was my first time trying razor clams:

You can also get the local caldero here, which is the Murcian version of a paella:

All the fish is incredibly fresh and the majority of it is locally sourced.

Sol y Sambra and La Cascada

Although on separate sides of the building, I believe both of the poolside restaurants share the same menu. This has the usual pool bar type food on it – sandwiches, burgers, salads etc.

Asia Restaurant

I’ll be honest here: in London we are spoiled when it comes to Asian food, with both choice and quality available. Obviously it’s much harder in Murcia.

This was, in my opinion, one of the weaker restaurants in the resort in part because it’s a bit of everything – jack of all trades, master of none and all that.

I still enjoyed the food but it wasn’t my favourite. It did have a pleasant (if small) outdoor balcony:

Grand Club Lounge

New to the hotel during the refurbishment is the addition of a Grand Club Lounge – a Grand Hyatt brand standard.

La Manga Club has been clever and simply repurposed an existing restaurant which would otherwise be closed during the day. The Grand Club Lounge uses the space from the morning until 7pm, when it turns into the Asia Restaurant.

Anyone in the Suites, Club Rooms or any Globalist members of World of Hyatt have access to the lounge but you can also pay €40 per person per day to get in. In exchange you get a small breakfast buffet including, I am told, made-to-order eggs, all day snacks and a cocktail hour from 5pm-7pm.

Here are some of the snacks that were out during cocktail hour:

Cava, wine, beer and some spirits were available.

Breakfast at the Grand Buffet

Another brand standard is the Grand Buffet. This is open for breakfast and dinner. In the evenings, it primarily caters for those who have booked half board.

It is a lovely space, with lots of indoor seating:

…. as well as an outdoor terrace, overlooking the infinity pool and golf course:

There is a good breakfast selection. Breads, pastries and muffins are out, plus a funky honeycomb:

Nine types of muesli and cereal:

An entire table is dedicated to local meats and cheeses, with a big porks leg in the middle. This was my favourite table!

There are other cold cuts as well, including smoked salmon, ham, salami and cheese. Next to this was a range of pre-cut fruit: kiwi, grapefruit, orange, melon, papaya and more:

Finally, of course, is the hot station. This featured a self serve selection of full English breakfast items (of course) but also an eggs station.

On my second day I challenged them to make eggs royale. I had to explain what it was but, apart from the pancake base, they delivered:

Fresh juices were available including orange and peach, as was some Cordoniu cava and teas and coffees.

Conclusion

So, how is it?

One of the reasons for the big refurbishment program was to increase the level of luxury and sophistication. Whilst I haven’t seen what it was like before, it’s clearly an improvement: a bigger, more conveniently located spa; adults only infinity pool and renovated bedrooms and public areas are clearly an upgrade.

Is it where it wants to be? Not quite yet, I don’t think. But all the staff – many of whom have been here for decades – appear intent on delivering a more luxurious experience across the board, and the service was really very good even if some of the details aren’t quite there yet.

Crucially, few if any European resorts are able to compete with the sheer scale of the sporting facilities at La Manga Club. This is what sets the resort apart.

Rates at the Grand Hyatt La Manga Club start at around €290 per night for a standard room. This is a Category 4 hotel in World of Hyatt and redemptions start at 18,000 points per night. You can find out more, and book, on the hotel website here.

Thanks to the hotel team for arranging my stay.

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