Chairman's Blog

Chairman’s Blog – Edition Five, October 2022

• Seriously, where has this year gone? We are now well into the ‘ber’ months as October has arrived and although we are moving into the Spanish autumn, here in La Manga the weather is still warm and most importantly the sun is shining. Here we go again with some more updates and information for the month of October about the people, activities and events happening in and around La Quinta, La Manga Club and the Cartagena/Murcia regions. As always this is directly to your email inbox but it is also accessible on our website www.laquintaclub.com

• We have had a very good September and have enjoyed full occupancy levels. I am pleased to report that our Monday night dinners also continued to be really well attended and would once again like to thank our members for their support.

•  We also continue to deliver a wonderful selection of breakfast and lunchtime dishes including our daily specials.

• Although autumn is nearly upon us there is still lots to see and do at La Quinta, La Manga Club and the surrounding areas, which I have detailed below.

Meet the staff

My regular feature of 'meet the staff' continues this month with a debut of two more of our La Quinta family. So please allow me to introduce Loli Exposito and Jose Ros.

Loli Exposito

• Loli has asked me to send her personal greetings to everyone at La Quinta and is delighted that members take time to read the blog. She has also said how much she enjoys working at the club and looks forward to seeing you soon.

• She is 48 years old and has been employed as a member of the housekeeping team for over 11 years. Originally with a contract company for her first 2 years, she was then made a permanent employee and has worked for us ever since.

• Loli lives in El Estrecho, a small village between La Manga and Cartagena. She has been married to Pedro for 23 years who has worked at the Príncipe Felipe hotel here at La Manga Club for 36 years.

• They have two daughters, Ana aged 21 years and Lucia aged 16.

• Loli lives a simple and quiet life spending time with her family & friends. She likes nothing more than to be surrounded by the people she loves.

• She also enjoys doing art crafts and sewing and is a big fan of shoes and handbags 😀.

Jose Ros

• Jose is 55 and has worked in the maintenance department here for 23 years. He was originally contracted to cover a member of staff who was off sick but after that staff member left the following year he was made permanent.

• He lives in El Algar, has been married to María for 30- years and has a daughter aged 23 called Noelia, who is a teacher in a primary school.

• Jose plays non competitive tennis on weekly basis with friends and enjoys hiking and hillwalking. 

• However his great passion is motorbikes and his pride and joy a Honda CBR 600.

• He also owns a classic Vespa scooter that his wife bought him as a present for his 50th Birthday and at 55-years old is same age as he is 😂.

A Recap of September Events

• As mentioned above, September has been a wonderful month but was tinged with great sadness at the death of Her Majesty the Queen. It was only in June that we held our celebratory street party for her Platinum Jubilee, but on the 8th September we lowered our flags to half mast and held a minutes silence on the 9th as signs of respect. Rest in peace your majesty, thank you for 70-years of unfaltering service, we shall never see your like again. And now have a new monarch, King Charles III. So let’s wish him all the best for the future, ‘God save the King’.

• Monday night dinners continue to be very well supported. We have received some lovely feedback from members praising the quality of the food, the wonderful service provided by our staff and the great music from our two different entertainers. See further in the blog for an article on them both.

• We started offering free try-dives in partnership with local company - Adventure Divers & Activity Center in our pool in late August and this has continued throughout September. There has been a great uptake and adults and children alike have enjoyed experiencing what it is like to wear scuba gear and to swim and breathe underwater.

• La Manga del Mar Menor celebrated it’s Fiesta’s between 7th-11th September, sadly as details weren’t available at the time of publishing, this event was not included in September’s blog. There were daily activities over the 5-days including; fairgrounds, live music, entertainers, casetas (food stalls), a local Ruta de Tapas and a motorcycle rally. These events were held in the Plaza Bohemia area. An event to put in your diaries for next year perhaps?

• I have just returned from a short visit to La Quinta for various meetings including the La Manga Club General Community Presidents meeting, which was held in La Solana. These are some of the highlights from the meeting:

• The provision of medical services Saga continues and although all parties were ready to sign off on a new contract this has been delayed due to one of the Dr’s seeking further legal advice.

• Las Lomas have formed a community group and are taking legal action against Hesperia for breach of contract. They have also instructed a new management company Christie’s, so things should hopefully improve soon in the Las Lomas area.

• Although dialogue continues, plans for Par 47 and the La Manga community swimming pool still remain uncertain at this time.

• I also met with both our new social media provider and the Editor of Murcia Today, to discuss future product marketing.

• We will be holding promotion open days at La Quinta Club on Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th October.

 Introducing our La Quinta entertainers:

Jesus (GSU)

• Jesus (GSU) started his musical career when he was 15 years old as a bass guitarist in a band that performed their own material.

• He then played in different groups also appearing on television programs until he launched his career as a solo singer.

• He later won second prize at the Benidorm song festival, and became part of a 'Grease Tribute Tour'.

• In 2002 he founded a band called La Saga. They performed throughout Spain until 2005 when they were signed by the Hyatt Hotel Group at La Manga Club as the resident band in Spike's Bar, where they sung for 2 years. Jesus continued his singing career with La Saga until eventually, they separated. 

• In 2017 he was selected for a television contest as most voted for artist by the public for his performance of Louis Armstrong and Brian Adams.

• In 2021 he began a solo project as GSU performing pop-rock songs he composed during lockdown.

• In April 2022 he was contracted by La Quinta and appears on Monday nights every other week. He has been warmly received by members.

Two Twenties (Javier Ruiz & Eugenio Fernández)

• Javier & Eugenio have been entertainers for some 25 years.

• Javier is a singer/musician who has performed in numerous bands and orchestras, as well as being involved with music academies and artist representation.

• Eugenio is a pianist, musical producer, arranger & composer who has also worked in the world of TV as a musical director, for over a decade. He currently produces and composes albums in his studio for a number of artists.

• They have been together as a duo since 2012 working on different projects and performing a variety of songs from artists such as Sting, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Queen. They have been regularly performing at LQC as our resident band since 2017. From 2022 they now perform at the club every other week sharing their musical talent with Jesus.

Upcoming Events and Activities – October 2022

Cabo de Palos Tour Fest - 8th October

• This is a day of cultural activities to be held on Saturday 8th October with performances by three local artists. Admission to the three concerts is free. The day will begin at 12:30 pm in Cabo port car park, with a performance by Lydia Martin.

• In the afternoon at 17:30, at entrance to the port it will be the turn of the Rio Viré group and then finally at 20:30, Jamones con Tacones will perform on the esplanade of the parking lot by the Cabo de Palos lighthouse.

• In addition to these performances, the festival will feature other entertainment, food trucks and a bar sponsored by Estrella de Levante.

• For full details see: The second edition of the Cabo de Palos Tour Fest festival presents its poster - Pledge Times

The Farmfoods European Senior Masters Golf

• Between the 12-16th October, the Farmfoods European Senior Masters takes place on the South course at La Manga Club.

• This highly anticipated tournament will be hosted by Peter Baker, (a previous Ryder Cup star and three-time winner of the European Tour).

• There will be a host of players taking such as Ian Woosnam OBE, Paul Lawrie OBE, Michael Campbell, Thomas Bjorn, Barry Lane, Peter Fowler and Spanish players Miguel Angel Martin and Jose Manuel Carriles. - all hoping to take the crown from the reigning champion, Marcus Brier.
  

• La Quinta has a vested interest in the event as one of our members - Richard Hayes is taking part in the senior amateur section. So if you are at LMC during the above dates, please wander down and support Richard. We all wish him good luck. I will report back in more detail about this event in November's blog.

Wine tour to Jumilla - 15th October

• Departing from either Cartagena or Murcia this 1-day tour takes you to the town of Jumilla, where you can visit the castle, museums and explore this historic town.

• Also included is a guided winery tour of the ‘Bodega Xenysel’ and lunch at the restaurant La Macarena.

• The price is €59 per person, for more info and to book see...

 https://m.murciatoday.com/october-15-wine-bus-trip-to-the-town-of-jumilla-and-a-leading-winery_1824143-a.html?search=true&subject=378&town=50&town_search=true&town_inside=1

 Discover the Caves of Calasparra

• The Cueva del Puerto in Calasparra is a spectacular place to visit. The caves are part of the Sierra del Puerto mountain range, approximately 700 meters long and 50 meters deep, with much of the cave yet to be discovered. The Cueva del Puerto remains at temperature of 18 degrees all year round, which makes it an ideal place to visit during any season.

• The tour, which lasts about an hour, shows how all the different formations have been created over time. A fascinating and educational visit, with a magical atmosphere in breath-taking surroundings.

• For more information or to make bookings visit: www.cuevadelpuerto.es or call 643 70 10 56

The Regional Park of Sierra Espuña

• In the west of the Region of Murcia lies the regional park of Sierra Espuña.

• It is an area protected by CETS; the European Charter of Sustainable Tourism and is ideal for all sorts of outdoor activities such as climbing, mountain biking, walking, hiking and birdwatching. There are over 100+ kms of green-ways, 11 marked paths and many other trails to explore.

• There is also an abundance of restaurants where you can sample authentic Spanish cuisine and a must visit to the thermal baths of Los Baños de Mura.

• For more information see: ! Murcia Today - Sierra Espuña, A Mecca For Nature Enthusiasts, Adventure Sports And Relaxation!

LQC Halloween Party 2022

• La Quinta Club will be holding our Halloween party in La Solana on Thursday 27th October, (the last week of the half term holidays) and will be offering a special Halloween cocktail.

• So please come along and enjoy this spooktacular event!

Breaking News...Plaza Bohemia

• For those of you that visit La Manga Strip. Work is due to commence on a €439K refurbishment project at Plaza Bohemia.

• This will create a new pedestrian space, green areas & a new car park with electric charging stations.

• For full information see: https://murciaplaza.com/asiseralanuevaplazabohemiadelamanga 

Dish of the Month

For October I am featuring one of our specialities – Turbot with black garlic butter & lemon..

About this dish

• Turbot is a very succulent white fish which is available nationally throughout Spain.

• Without giving away our chef Adrian’s trade secrets the whole fish is cleaned, prepared and filleted. The fillets are then sealed in special bags to maintain freshness.

• How is it cooked?

• It can be either grilled or baked in Adrian’s special black garlic butter, which is absorbed by the fish to give a wonderful flavour.

• Originally only available as a special, due to it’s popularity we now offer this dish on our regular lunchtime menu.

Members Photographs

• Members have begun sending in their holiday snaps, which can be viewed in the ‘members photos’ folder in our gallery on the website.

• If you haven’t already done so please email them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will add them for you.

• We look forward to seeing them.

• Well that’s October’s Blog complete. I hope you are still finding them informative.

• November’s Blog will be next, published towards the end of October. As you will appreciate, although there are still things going on in the winter months there will probably not be as much content as in the summer and as always I do check activities and events at the time of publication but please don’t blame me if they are cancelled or rescheduled 😉.

• Also don’t forget to a) visit our website where we have lots of other useful information in the info+ section (see +Info (laquintaclub.com) and b) use the members' forum where you can swap, exchange, rent or sell weeks and share information, ideas, suggestion or just ask questions. If you haven’t signed up yet, please visit: La Quinta at La Manga Club - Official Forum - Index (laquintaclub.com) to register.

• Thank you for taking the time to read my blogs and for your continued support. As always, I look forward to seeing you at La Quinta Club.

And…..don’t forget to submit your requests for 2023….Mark.