After a 30-hour door-to-door journey from The Mandarin Oriental in Singapore to my home in Andalucia Spain, I fell into long, deep sleep.

Upon waking, I checked my phone to find that the 4th of the 4th (4 April) 2014 is the very day that another luxury hotel on the European side of the world, Finca Cortesin opened the doors of their beach club to launch the season.

It was a perfect late-spring day, with a slight westerly sea breeze – one of those beautiful clear days, where you could take an old-fashioned ruler and draw a hard line between the Mediterranean sea and the intense blue of the sky.

Finca Cortesin Beach club. GM Rene Zimmer, Michelle Chaplow and executive Chef Lutz Bosing. Click to enlarge photo

The dining area décor, with its pearl-white clapboard-type wood bar and lofty pillared shady area, has an air of the Hamptons. This is a venue where the pool and palms are in harmony and the sun beds in symmetry, in inimitable Cortesin style.

GM Rene Zimmer hosted the show and executive chef Lutz Bosing did what he does best – serving up the very finest Mediterranean creations.

We commenced with tapas:

Ceviche de lubina, lenguado and langostinos – Ceviche of sea bass, sole, and king prawns

Boquerones Victorianos fritos – fried anchovies from Malaga

Followed by:

Ensalada de pimientos, tomates asados con chipirones a la plancha – Salad of roast peppers and tomatoes with grilled baby squid

Tomato delicia 21 con Mozzarella – Gourmet tomatoes with mozarella

Ensalada judias verdes con ventresca de bonita – Salad of green beans with tuna belly

Calamar frito con ali-oli Andaluz – Fried squid with Andalusian garlic mayonnaise

Arroz del Señorito – Rice with seafood

And the grand finale:

Arroz con leche y maracuya – Rice pudding with passion fruit

Let the 2014 Finca Cortesin beach season begin – goodbye Asia (til the next time) and hello there Andalucia!