3 luxury tennis hotels you'll want to visit
Playing tennis is always great, but doing it at a luxury restor makes it somehow magically even more fun. Here are three tennis hotels to dream away to.
In Sweden: Hotel Skansen, Båstad.
Right on the waterfront, Skansen is a hotel that tennis fans will love. So did King Gustav V (our current king's great-grandfather) who used to visit the hotel often and participate in the Swedish Championships. Today, the competition is called the Swedish Open, and the tennis courts where the competition is held every summer are directly adjacent to the hotel. Here Björn Borg, Robin Söderling and Rafael Nadal have won, will you also win a match on the center court?
In Europe: Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire.
Already in 1795, this mansion was built in the English countryside, half an hour from London. Stoke Park has 13 tennis courts of various surfaces, some of which are grass, giving it a Wimbledon feel between May and September. Two weeks in June, however, they are closed to us mere mortals as The Boodles are held here, a warm-up tournament the week before Wimbledon. Last year eleven of the top 20 ranked players were here, including Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. If you get the chance to go here, don't forget that there is a strict classical dress code.
In the US: Fisher island club, Miami.
Fisher island is located just south of Miami beach. This paradise island has 18 tennis courts with three different surfaces and players of all levels are welcome to play outdoor tennis all year round. Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Anna Kournikova and Mats Wilander have trained here. The hotel exudes old-world luxury, but they've just completed a $60 million (about half a billion kronor) renovation of Fischer Island, so you won't be disappointed if you're a fan of five-star service. If you're looking for a variety of activities, you can always try the golf course, which is also located here.
