“St Mellion will always have a special place in my heart” -Jack Nicklaus.

After a £20m transformation, St Mellion International Resort has reopened, confirming its status as South West England’s premier golf and leisure destination.

With Jack Nicklaus’ first ‘signature’ golf course in the UK extensively refurbished, and restored to European Tour standard in advance of hosting The English Open in 2011, golfers from around the world can now enjoy one of Europe’s highest quality playing experiences at St Mellion.

And a new 80-bedroom four-star standard landmark hotel, with conferencing and leisure facilities, has also opened at the resort, meaning that Crown Golf’s most prestigious property is now fully equipped to realise the dream of its original founders – to create a world-class championship golf resort in the heart of the South West.

“Visitors to St Mellion now have both accommodation and golf facilities which befit our stunning Cornish location,” said Crown Golf Chief Executive, Stephen Lewis. “And our members can be enormously proud that their golf club now bears comparison with any in Europe.

“The new-look St Mellion represents an investment of several years and £20 million by Crown Golf, and I believe that our new resort is a fitting flagship for the group, and our position as Europe’s leading owner / operator of golf clubs.”

Both golf courses at St Mellion International Resort have received widespread alterations, with £2.5m spent on a major bunker rebuilding programme, plus remodelled greens, new tees, a new cart path network and a new fairway irrigation system.

The Old Course, opened by brothers Martin and Hermon Bond in 1976, and which hosted St Mellion’s first professional golf tournament – the Benson & Hedges International Open in 1979 – has been re-named The Kernow Resort Course.

The Nicklaus Course, which opened in 1988, and which was Jack Nicklaus’ first golf course design project in the UK, has been re-named The Nicklaus Signature Course. This golf course celebrates its 21st birthday in 2009. With new championship tees and an upgrade to every bunker, this famously tough 7,000 yard golf course will host The English Open when The European Tour returns to St Mellion International in 2011.

At St Mellion golfers also now enjoy modernised golf reception facilities including arrivals hall, bag drop area, changing rooms and a resort-style pro shop plus, nearby, a new golf academy with driving range and practice facilities. St Mellion also has a brand new fleet of 60 electric golf buggies.

Accommodation at St Mellion International Resort has also changed beyond recognition.

Just fourteen months after the resort’s old hotel was demolished, the new St Mellion International Resort Hotel opened in early June 2009. Each bright, air-conditioned room offers Freeview plasma TV, free internet access, luxury bedding and a contemporary bathroom with power shower. Many rooms also offer breathtaking balcony views across the golf courses and surrounding countryside.

There are also fourteen self-catering Fairway Lodges at St Mellion, offering flexible accommodation from one to five bedrooms per Lodge – perfect for families, groups and for longer stays at the Resort.

“Visitors to our new hotel will find comfort and luxury at our surprisingly stylish and modern resort,” said Resort Director Stephen Towers. “Set in 450 acres of stunning Cornish countryside, I believe St Mellion International Resort is now the perfect destination for both business and pleasure in the South West of England.”

The Resort also now offers visitors a choice of three restaurants. Its superbly-appointed a la carte restaurant An Boesti 1 (Cornish for ‘restaurant’) offers fine dining using fresh, locally-sourced produce. The more informal Bewdern Brasserie, overlooking the 18th green on The Nicklaus Signature Course, offers traditional and contemporary Cornish fayre including pasties, West Country cream teas and fine Cornish ales. And The Nicklaus Bar, also overlooking the Nicklaus’ final green, is a magnificent place for golfers to gather to swap stories from the golf courses.

St Mellion International Resort also has thirteen conference and banqueting suites, including the 400-capacity St Mellion Suite, and its Spa complex includes three swimming pools, sauna, steam room, spa pool, group exercise studio and a state-of-the-art gymnasium. Aero Leisure & Spa is open to both members and hotel guests, with a range of relaxing spa therapies and treatments also available using the finest Elemis products.

Situated near to Saltash in Cornwall, close to the villages, beaches and attractions for which the county is famed, but also within twenty minutes’ drive of Plymouth’s railway and airport, St Mellion offers easy travel links via Air Southwest, a low-cost airline offering daily scheduled flights into Plymouth from 11 airports across Great Britain & Ireland.

The remodelled resort is also a boon to the local economy. An estimated 375 people each year will be employed there on either full-time or part-time basis by 2010, and the St Mellion Economic Impact Final Report (Roger Tym & Partners, Sept 2006) estimates that £2.1m will be spent off-site in the area annually by people staying at St Mellion.

“Whether you come here for business, or golf, or to relax, or for a wedding or function, or simply to use St Mellion as a base to explore Cornwall, I believe that our revitalised resort will exceed even the highest expectations,” said Stephen Towers.

“My staff and I are committed to delivering the highest possible quality, throughout the resort, and we look forward to welcoming all to the St Mellion International Resort.”

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The village of St Mellion is on the A388 northbound in the direction of Callington and Launceston.

Alternatively via the M5 A30 from Exeter to Okehampton branch off onto the A388 at Launceston for Callington and St Mellion.

By Air Sea and Rail

Plymouth only 10 miles from St Mellion is served by frequent flights from London Gatwick and other major cities including Cork Paris and Jersey as well as Glasgow and Edinburgh via Bristol.

It is easily accessible by cross channel ferry from Roscoff in Brittany and Santander in Spain By train from London and the north via Bristol Heliport Helicopter landing facilities at St Mellion are located at Grid references SX384657 SX388659 SX377675