Family fortunes
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Pool at Almyra, Cyprus
© Almyra
The school holidays may be over but if you feel this year's family break was a failure, or can't wait for the next one, these European resorts get top marks.
Pine Cliffs Resort, Algarve, Portugal
Seemingly ike many family-friendly resorts, this is also popular with conference goers. It’s the equation of all that space during term time, and in this case, plenty of golf. So bear this in mind if you holiday here out of high-season summer holidays. The hotel is centered around a nine-hole course, and some of the Algarve’s most famous 18 holes are within easy reach. For families, there’s a cute train chugging around the resort, an excellent La Pirata kids’ club based in a pirate galleon playhouse, and good value babysitting. Even better, you won’t need to share a room with teenies. Rooms are two or three-bed apartments in the main hotel, Sheraton Algarve, or two or three bed apartments in the Pine Cliffs Golf Suites. The latter have a kitchenette and washing machine. The restaurants are a little lacklustre, but the breakfast buffet is excellent en famille. It’s worth booking some grown-up time to enjoy the oddly named cocktail bar, TABU by amo.te garden lounge (open July and August).
Book into: a Pine Cliffs Golf Suite. You even get a sitting room with TV and DVD player (just in case you happen to have packed Fireman Sam et al). Or try one of the newest golf suites. Expect to pay from around £1,800 for a family of four, including flights and transfers, from a major tour operator.
We like: The apartments with kitchenettes, flexible kids’ club.
We don't like: The beach is a bit of a trek, down a cliff-side lift followed by loads of steps, and there isn’t a lot of shade once you reach it. Children’s menus are poor quality. The pools aren’t adequately heated out of season and many of the resort’s restaurants and bars also shut at this time.
Almyra, Paphos, Cyprus
Part of Thanos, the family-owned and managed group of three Cypriot hotels, this is worlds apart in feel (and cost) from the other two, the Anassa and Annabelle. The Almyra is in Paphos and delivers contemporary good looks, and a spa that opened in 2008. The Baby Go Lightly service, comprising pre-bookable items, such as buggies and nappies, means no more struggling on to a plane laden down. Powder Byrne run the Smiling Dolphin Children’s Club for children aged over four, and the Baby Go Lightly Creche for children from six months. Extremely swish spa with treatments run along the phases of the moon. Apparently, herbs picked when the moon is waxing are more powerful, and you’ll be given extra care if your body is on the wane. Which means exhausted. Which means every mother.
Book into: The newer, two-storey Junior Suites have great views and a separate sitting room. Expect to pay from £2,299 for a family of four, sharing a family room, including flights and transfers, when booking with a tour operator.
We like: Sleek styling – clean lines and, er, wipe-clean surfaces mean you really can’t make a permanent mess.
We don't like: The beach is small and man-made. Toddlers can easily open room doors from the inside. Paphos, where the hotel is located, is an all-day-breakfast nightmare. Good for cheap chips, though.
Forte Village, Sardinia, Italy
This huge, eight-hotel resort spreads over 55 acres, including a long, golden beach. But don’t think your Cornish coast Crocs ‘n’ cut-offs outfit will pass muster – this is the territory of Prada-clad Milanese mamas, and UK wags (coaches from Chelsea FC run the Chelsea Soccer School from May to October). Yummy mummies flock to the Thermae spa - one of the best thalassotherapy spas outside France, and its ‘leg school’ is great to get new mum’s circulation going again. There are endless facilities for children at the resort, and kids’ clubs from two years up. The meandering laguna pool, newly renovated Children’s City, and Leisure Land where you do everything from ice-skate to play tennis tick all the boxes. A whopping 21 restaurants include a new Gordon Ramsay opened earlier this season - the predominantly Italian resort clientele nonchalantly continue enjoying their pasta, whilst the Brits seem still keen on the Indian restaurant.
Book into: A triple in La Pineta. It’s not the most glam of Forte Village’s hotel options (for that, go for interconnecting rooms in La Castello at double the price), but offers the best value for money because up to two children (one on a sofa bed, one in a cot) can share parent’s room for free. Expect to pay from £1,272 per adult per week, half-board, low season.
We like: All that choice. A chance to dress up.
We don't like: Occasional lapses into shower curtain territory. And many of La Pineta rooms don’t have tubs. Take waterproofs. When it rains here, it really rains.
Abama Golf Resort & Spa, Tenerife, Spain
The super-swish Abama is located on a banana plantation on the slopes of Mount Teide, in a prime position for the island’s whale watching activities. Don’t let its rustic location make you suppose it’s anything less than a ginormous resort. The golf course is one of the island’s best, the spa was designed by the team behind Thailand's Chiva Som, and a three-star Michelin chef dishes up at the El Patio restaurant. All good news for parents. Expect an opulently Moorish look, and ask for a room with balcony overlooking the neighbouring island of Gomera. Club Abami, the extensive kids’ club, is free for children aged five and older; there’s a charge of €25 an hour for a nanny, who can look after up to three children. Rooms are slightly corporate in feel (the hotel is managed by the Ritz-Carlton group), but large with marble bathrooms and balconies.
Book into: The swishest suites feature a private pool. Expect to pay from £1,190 for seven nights, per person, for the most basic room including flights and transfers, when booking with a tour operator.
We like: The kids’ club stays open till midnight in high season, which means no babysitting charges if your children are aged three or older.
We don't like: Heck, it’s expensive. Burgers are nearly £15, an orange juice over £5, babysitting €25 an hour. You’re in an isolated spot, a €25 taxi from Adeje, the nearest town. So hire a car if you want some local culture.
Hillside Beach Club, Fethiye, Turkey
Sprawling, 330-room, all-inclusive resort that climbs up a hillside on a private bay with pebbled beaches. Don’t be fooled by Pasha on the Bay restaurant and nightclub, and large Sanda spa because this is family territory. Kid Side (4-8), Junior Club (8-12) and Teeny Club (13-16) offer supervised, age-appropriate activities, and there are plenty of watersports, tennis and fitness rooms to use free. There are two beaches just for adults, Serenity a short shuttle from the resort, and Silent, an easy stroll away.
Book into: Category B rooms offer a separate sitting room. Blocks 200 and 300 if you’ve got teeny children to lug – these are closer to the beach. 500, 600 and 700 are the most recently renovated BUT are close to the Pasha nightclub. Expect to pay from £200 a night, all-inclusive, for a family of four. There are discounts of at least 15% for repeat guests (of which there are many).
We like: Great value. It’s all-inclusive, including wine with meals.
We don't like: Buffet meals can be hectic with children throwing bread rolls and diving under tables. Closed October 31 to April 20.
Porto Elounda Deluxe Resort, Crete, Greece
We’d recommend visiting this hotel just for the Six Senses spa, a sprawling area decked out in honey-coloured stone and with floor to ceiling windows. But it’s adults only, so obviously there need to be more reasons to visit… How about a Children’s Ark kids’ club, run by English speaking nannies, for children aged six months to 10 years (from €20 for a half day; only open end of April to October)? Many of the rooms have private pools, or share with five or so other rooms.
Book into: A deluxe suite with shared pool offers the best value, and a large balcony or terrace. Expect to pay from £2,900 for seven nights for a family of four, including flights and transfers, b&b.
We like: Extremely friendly staff. That spa.
We don't like: The beach is small and gets packed, and food is expensive. The half-board option only gives you access to the main buffet, and a credit towards the pricier restaurants.
Gran Hotel Bahia del Duque Resort, Tenerife, Spain
Tenerife’s south coast can be a byword for burger-eating Brits on the rampage. Not the Costa Adeje where Gran Hotel Bahia del Duque is located. Smart extensive grounds keep out the, er, riff raff. There’s a free kids’ club (for children aged three to 12), enormous 3,500 square metre spa, eight swimming pools, and everything from tai chi to horse riding on offer. The look is supposedly typical Tenerife architecture, but expect Toy Town meets Bahamas brights.
Book into: Definitely worth paying extra for any of the seaview rooms, and try and wangle free half-board. Expect to pay from £2,900 for a family of four, b&b, including flights and transfers. Garden rooms can be noisy and villas, although they have a separate pool, are a long way from the beach.
We like: The sunlounger with telephone directory-thick mattresses, and the shaded cabanas. You’ll need to get up early with that towel to bag one, though.
We don't like: The buffet can turn into a scrum, and food runs out.
Anassa, Cyprus
Smart sister of Almyra in Paphos, the Anassa is located in the north of the island on a relatively quiet stretch of coast. The beach is golden, the hotel’s garden is extremely pretty, and the infinity pool delivers one of the best views in the Med. Like the Almyra, the Baby Go Lightly service means prebooking kid essentials, from a buggy to nappies. Baby go Lightly Creche (six months to four years), Smiling Dolphin kids’ club (four to 12), and, July and August 2010, a Hercules Teens Club for 13 to 16-year-olds. The small harbour of Porto Latchi is a couple of miles away. Visit for boat viewing and great value fish dinners.
Book into: Interconnecting garden-view rooms have all the space, and cost hundreds less than the cost of seaview. Expect to pay over £4,000 for seven nights for a family of four, b&b, including flights and transfers.
We like: Real air of calm, and all the kit for kiddies.
We don't like: The prices. No free water in rooms, extremely expensive – if excellent – buffets.
La Manga Club, Spain
If you don’t like sport, you’ll still have a good time here, but you’ll be missing out on some of Europe’s most extensive facilities. Golf and tennis loom large, with excellent tuition and facilities. There’s football and cricket coaching for children, too. The huge resort features a large hotel and a village of villas. We prefer the latter for privacy and value.
Book into: A villa with private pool. Hotel rooms aren’t hugely luxurious or spacious. Expect to pay around £1,200 a week for a family of four, not including flights or transfers.
We like: All that space – 1,400 acres to run around in.
We don't like: The cost of the kids’ club. €110 per day – and who wants to leave a toddler in all day anyway?
By Amanda Morison, mum and editor of www.familyholidayexpert.com
Locations: Italy, Tenerife, Crete, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Cyprus
