Two Greek hotels, Sani Beach Club, Halkidiki and Costa Navarino are among Europe’s best holiday resorts with kids’ clubs for all ages according to the following article by Telegraph:
“A great kids’ club offers children the chance to try new sports, nurture their creative sides, and make new friends in a safe and cheerful environment with attentive and engaged staff. A great kids’ club also grants parents the chance to switch off on holiday, content in the knowledge that their children are happy.
But there are plenty of disappointing kids’ clubs around – the sort that is so unwelcome by your child that you have to drag him or her kicking and screaming, which goes a long way to destroying anyone’s chance of relaxation.
If childcare – and a bit of a break from full-time parenting – is what you’re after, these beach-side clubs, tried and tested by our experts (and their children) are fantastic. Your children will thank you for checking them in.”
Babies & toddlers
Best for: excellent early years childcare
Sani Beach Club, Halkidiki, Greece
The 30 minute on-beach “babewatch” service – included in the price of your room – is justifiably legendary; when else does a new parent get the chance to swim unencumbered on holiday, while their child frolics happily nearby? If you’d like a bit longer away from your child in this luxurious resort – which comprises four hotels filled with baby-friendly facilities, several pools and 18 restaurants – the British-run cr?che takes babies from the age of 4 months.
Under 10s
Pine Cliffs, Albufeira, Algarve, Portugal
Best for: friendly club for young children, plus great tennis
Porto Pirata, the vast kids’ club aimed at children aged from six months to eight years, covers almost two acres and includes a giant pirate ship, mini-golf course, basketball court and two swimming pools. The well-trained local staff can accommodate children with some special needs (contact for details) and lead the international group in face-painting, water games and treasure hunts. On-site there’s a super tennis academy and golf lessons.
For a moment of togetherness at the end of the day, head to the stunning cliff-top champagne bar overlooking the sea.
Delphina’s Le Dune resort, Sardinia
Best for: Gourmets with primary-aged kids
With a 10,000-square-metre playground set among the dunes, a kids-only pool, Indian village and helter-skelter, Village Fantasia is just one of many miniclub hang-outs – and kids can go with their parents too. There’s an aviary for gathering eggs and a garden where they pick organic veggies for cookery workshops and the miniclub’s restaurant. There’s also tennis, mini-golf, trampolines, a riding school, kayaking, archery and a climbing wall. This mid-market resort frequented by an international crowd has almost 500 rooms, six pools and 10 fabulous restaurants, yet feels surprisingly intimate.
A one-week stay for a family of four in a family room at Le Dune starts from £2,699, half board including BA flights from Heathrow and transfers, plus kids’ clubs for ages 18 months up with Sardatur (sardatur-holidays.co.uk)
Tweens (that’s 11-13)
Best for: aspiring acrobats and maximum hours of childcare
Club Med, Da Balaia, Algarve, Portugal
Club Med’s USP is its flying trapeze lessons – available to children and adults at 25 of its 70 resorts. At Da Balaia, a newly-renovated mini-club for under-10s includes its own pool and music room; other activities include swimming, kayaking and on-site team sports. Kids’ clubs, available from four months to 17 years, run all day and into the evening. The cheerful, multinational staff often wear wacky costumes, adding to the cruise ship atmosphere – there’s also near constant (incredibly good) food, plus spectacular daily evening shows – if that’s your kind of thing.
Best for: sporty tweens
Mark Warner, San Lucianu, Corsica, has offerings for children of all ages, but has particularly strong water-sports
Perfect for watersport-loving families, both holidaymakers and staff in this informal resort are almost exclusively British. Kids from four months to 17 years are catered for in clubs divided into small age groups with activities including windsurfing, sailing and beach cricket. The resort is small with its own private beach, so parents see their children enjoying themselves, and young people don’t feel they’ve been shunted off.
Parents can get out on the water or play tennis, too, at no extra charge. This Corsican spot is one of six similar Mark Warner sun destinations around Europe: the operator has four resorts in Greece and one in Sardinia with similar set ups, although the Sardinian club doesn’t offer childcare for under-ones.
Teens
Anassa, Cyprus
Best for: water-loving teenagers with younger siblings – there’s great range here
This is the answer to every parent’s cry “How can I get my children off their screens?” For here the pull of the sparkling, clear, blue waters beats all previous addictions. With the resort steps from the beach and entirely enclosed, you can let teenagers head down to the brilliant water-sports centre to experience everything from the fun of a banana ride to the exhilaration of parasailing to honing their water-skiing skills. They can learn to sail or scuba dive, windsurf or paddleboard. Meanwhile in any of the six structured layers of the kids’ club, from four months (with professional nannies) up to the urban graffiti-designed den where 18-year-olds can shoot pool undisturbed, the rest of the younger generation will be happy. And the parents? With gourmet food, a world of local wines to explore and a spa which further reduces worry lines –the perfect holiday is guaranteed.
Scott Dunn Crew at Costa Navarino
Best for: independent teens
A combination of scheduled and informal activities, Scott Dunn’s Crew programme (read the full review here) allows teens to propose what they’d most like to do. Taking advantage of the local attractions – and setting water sports outside of the confines of the hotel’s campus – helps give the children a sense of place, something often
missing in self-contained resorts. Unusually for a child-focused programme, Crew offers no evening activities or group meals, so families get plenty of time together at the end of each day, to reflect on adventures. Our reviewer found this to be the most teen-friendly of all kids’ clubs her family had visited.
Crew was launched at Costa Navarino in Greece and Sun Gardens (telegraph.co.uk/Radissonbluresort) in Croatia in summer 2016, and will run at Anassa in Cyprus during October 2016 half-term.
Read more here.
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