The best luxury hotels for sporty families, from Spain to Italy

Top retreats for good sports: The luxury European hotels for active families, offering golf lessons, mountain-biking and football camps run by former England players

• Former footballer Michael Owen is set to lead kids’ football camps at the Algarve’s Quinta do Lago resort 
• Professional choreographers run dance classes at the luxury Chia Laguna Hotel Village on Sardinia 
• Spain’s sports resort La Manga offers a range of private golf lessons at its recently launched Golf Academy 

Join former England footballer Michael Owen, pictured, for football lessons at Quinta do Lago resort on the Algarve

Every week, our Holiday Hero Neil Simpson takes an in-depth look at a brilliant holiday topic, doing all the legwork so you don’t have to. This week: Luxury hotels for sporty families.

Happy families are on the cards as a select band of resorts boost their five-star facilities with summer sports academies to suit all ages, interests and abilities.

In Portugal, golf and tennis lessons, plus a star-studded football camp, draw families to the Quinta do Lago resort on the Algarve.

At its heart is The Campus, a multisports complex that welcomes everyone from Olympic athletes and sports stars to families on holiday – and where former England footballers Michael Owen and Joe Cole are set to lead week-long football camps for five to 15-year-olds in August from £550 per child (footballescapes.com).

Stay amid the retro glamour of Magnolia Hotel where parents can get discount day passes for the pool, gym, personal training and sports rehabilitation sessions at The Campus while their children are at the academy. A week costs from £1,318pp plus flights (themagnoliahotelqdl.com).

At Quinta do Lago’s Magnolia Hotel, pictured, parents can get discount day passes for the pool, gym, personal training and sports rehabilitation sessions 

A week’s stay amid the retro glamour of the Magnolia Hotel costs from £1,318pp plus flights. Above is the hotel’s bar

At the heart of the Quinta do Lago resort is The Campus, pictured, a multisports complex that welcomes everyone from Olympic athletes and sports stars to families on holiday

In August, five to 15-year-olds can sign up for week-long football camps at The Campus – it costs from £550 per child

At Spain’s famous sports resort La Manga, budding footballers can take skills sessions while the recently launched Golf Academy offers a range of private lessons, week-long courses and 90-minute family lessons for up to six people. 

Tennis is its other big draw, with 28 courts, and coaches offering private, group and week-long classes. For £25 you can sign up to a taster session for padel, a fast-growing version played on a smaller court.

Families can book self-catering apartments around the resort or head to the five-star Hotel Principe Felipe for fine dining, a huge outdoor pool, wellness centre and spa. A week costs from £965pp plus flights (lamangaclub.com).

Active: At Spain’s La Manga resort, families can head to the five-star Hotel Principe Felipe (pictured) for fine dining and a huge outdoor pool 

The recently launched Golf Academy at La Manga offers a range of private lessons, week-long courses and 90-minute family lessons for up to six people. Above is the resort’s golf course 

Pictured above is La Manga’s clay tennis court – visitors can enjoy private, group and week-long tennis classes from the resort’s coaches

An aerial view of La Manga. A week’s visit to the Spanish resort costs from £965pp plus flights

The luxury Chia Laguna Hotel Village on the Italian island of Sardinia offers football and dance academies for six to 15-year-olds.

UEFA-qualified coaches run the football training sessions, while professional choreographers lead classes at the dance school.

Parents, meanwhile, can take advantage of a mountain bike rental service and regular tours run by knowledgeable hotel-based guides, or try hiking, horse-riding, golf, tennis and water sports.

Or, while the kids run around, there is also the option of simply heading to the resort’s spa, swimming pools or white sandy beach to relax.

Hotels in the 50-acre Forte Village Resort in Sardinia, pictured, give guests access to basketball courts, a cricket pitch, 12 tennis courts, and five football pitches

There are nine pools, one of which is pictured above, and a water-sports centre in Forte Village Resort

Cyclists at the coast by Forte Village Resort. A week’s stay costs from £1,431pp plus flights with Elegant Resorts

All-inclusive weeks cost from £1,415pp including flights. Five-day academies cost from £335pp for dance and £415pp for football in August (sovereign.com).

Also in Sardinia is the 50-acre Forte Village Resort with eight hotels – either four or five-star – which give guests access to basketball courts, a cricket pitch, 12 tennis courts, five football pitches, nine pools and a water-sports centre. Golfers can hit the driving range or head to the nearby Is Molas course that’s hosted four Italian Opens.

A week costs from £1,431pp plus flights (elegantresorts.co.uk).

Guests can sign up to classes in football, tennis, windsurfing, sailing, yoga and even Greek dance at the Ikos Dassia hotel in Corfu (pictured)

 At Ikos Dassia, guests can choose from rooms and suites with garden or sea views, or book a villa with private pool

One of the rooms at Ikos Dassia. A week at the hotel with Jet2 Holidays costs from £1,579pp including flights

On Corfu, professional instructors are on hand at the beachfront Ikos Dassia hotel. Guests can sign up to a mix of week-long academies or one-off classes in football, tennis, windsurfing, sailing, yoga and even Greek dance.

There’s a spa and wellness centre to soothe aching muscles, and guests can choose from rooms and suites with garden or sea views, or book a villa with private pool.

A week costs from £1,579pp including flights (jet2holidays.com/indulgent-escapes).

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