Mark Warner Kamari Beach Resort review: a fantastic family activity holiday in Rhodes

On the east coast of Rhodes, around an hour from the airport, Mark Warner Kamari Beach Resort is a brilliant retreat for families looking for a little more than a fly-and-flop escape. Activities like sailing, paddle boarding, kayaking, cycling, tennis and fitness classes are included in the price, as are the kids’ clubs, staffed by British childcare specialists.

And while the idea of an ‘activity holiday’ might strike fear into some families, you really can do as much or as little as you’d like at Kamari Beach, with no pressure to take part in any of the sessions if you’d prefer to remain horizontal during your stay, sipping on a glass of rose instead. 

We travelled with a toddler and a preschooler and the novelty of using the kids’ club and having three hours to ourselves every afternoon meant we felt inclined to try things we wouldn’t normally be able to at home, like windsurfing and sailing. 

Not having to think about meals and entertainment for the kids meant our stay felt like a ‘proper’ break. We felt well catered for and can envisage returning as our boys get older to embrace more of the watersports. 

A couple of small improvements would enhance the experience (baby baths, non-slip bath mats, ‘do not disturb’ signs for the door) but these are very minor concerns in the grand scheme of things. 

I’d definitely recommend a Mark Warner holiday to anyone in these wilderness years of managing small children on holiday, particularly if you can travel outside of school holidays to avoid peak-season pricing. 

How we tested

I stayed at Kamari Beach Hotel with my husband and two kids (18 months and 4 years old) for two weeks in June. We flew from Gatwick which took around four hours, followed by a one-hour coach transfer. We stayed in one room in the family annex, and got stuck into most of the activities on offer during our child-free afternoons while the kids were enjoying kids’ clubs. We rented a car for one day to explore the local area and ate at all three restaurants at the hotel, as well as a couple of options further down the beach.

Where is Kamari Beach Resort and how easy is it to get to from the UK?

Mark Warner’s Kamari Beach Resort in Rhodes sits right by Lardos Beach on the island’s east coast. It’s a 15-minute drive from Lindos town, with its clifftop acropolis. 

We took a four-hour flight from Gatwick to Rhodes Airport and the coach transfer took around an hour. It’s one of the longer Mark Warner resort transfers (some are just 30 minutes) and we hadn’t sufficiently rationed our snacks for the coach journey so I’d recommend packing more than you think you need, along with extra water. 

The Enter Air flight was chartered by Mark Warner, so everyone onboard was going to the same resort and it was easy to find the coach waiting for us on arrival. We were some of the last ones to board, as families had to wait for buggies at the airport, but the Mark Warner staff greeted us on arrival and directed us to the air-conditioned coaches. 

What’s included in the price of a Mark Warner holiday?

The package price includes flights, coach transfers, breakfast, dinner and all activities (windsurfing, sailing, paddleboarding, kayaking, cycling, tennis, padel, fitness classes and use of the gym). Children aged 3+ are also entitled to a place at the resort’s kids’ club - a daily 3.5-hour morning or afternoon session for the duration of your stay. 

What’s the resort like? 

The newly refurbished resort sits by a gorgeous bay. Dotted with low-rise whitewashed buildings, it’s a contemporary take on a traditional Greek resort. The family annex where we stayed was right on the bay with sea views and easy access to the beach, pool, terrace bar, restaurant, and nearby mini mart. 

We arrived around 6pm and were handed our key cards immediately so we could bypass reception and take our travel-weary kids straight to the room which we were grateful for. 

The room was very hot on arrival though and we missed our childcare briefing at 6:45pm as we were trying to get our bearings and get the kids ready for dinner. All of the initial briefings are done in person, which is useful for meeting staff but the timing meant most parents missed it. Having an information pack in the room for parents to digest at their leisure would have been an easier way to communicate.

What activities are available for kids and adults?

The activities are what make a Mark Warner holiday feel like such good value. We didn’t think we’d participate as much before we arrived, envisaging ourselves sipping gin by the pool but we ended up getting stuck in. My favourite was a 9am Standup Paddleboard stretch. With the sea as calm as a lake, a group of us paddled out to do yoga stretches on the boards for 30 minutes. By the end of the class everyone had fallen in at least once, and we had a laugh. I also did a few morning classes: Boxing and Circuits while DH had breakfast with the kids (I picked the lesser evil). 

I was determined to learn to windsurf and after doing the Beginner’s Windsurfing course (a 3-hour session with an instructor and a small group) I was able to rent a windsurfing board and give it a go independently. The wind was a bit touch and go while we were there, but the beachfront staff were supportive and encouraging, and on hand with the rescue boat to tow anyone back out to sea who needed assistance. 

My DH did a lot of sailing on different dinghies (there’s a great selection of boats) and he also joined the social tennis most afternoons which he loved, both in terms of improving his skills and meeting other guests.

You can also get a PADI qualification for an additional cost. The kids enjoyed swimming in the pool alongside the beginners in their masks and tanks (cue calls of ‘shark, shark!’).

We didn’t try cycling or padel tennis but both were popular with other guests, despite it being 35 degrees while we were there!

A team of on-site photographers snap away throughout the day and you can order photos at the end of the week should you wish. Great for parents of small children who, like us, need both hands free around the pool and hardly take any pics. Nice to have some action shots as proof of said windsurfing too!

What are the rooms like?

We were in the family annexe which sits separately from the hotel (a five-minute walk to the pool and restaurant; a 7-minute walk to the kids’ club). Our upstairs room offered great views of the beach but couldn’t be reached via a lift which meant we had to cart our buggy (along with towels, inflatables, toys, snacks, etc) up and down the stairs multiple times a day. Not fun in 35 degree heat, so if opting for the family annex I’d request a ground floor room if you have a buggy. There are Premium family rooms located right by the pool which looked more convenient, but these get booked up quickly.

The decor is modern and simple, and the family rooms are very spacious with sliding doors to divide the sleeping and living areas. The blackout blinds are a welcome addition. In addition to the super king size bed, there are two sofas that convert into twin beds, so my four-year-old slept on one of these, and my youngest in a travel cot. 

The sliding doors didn’t go up to the ceiling meaning they didn’t block out light, or sound, so on one or two tricky nights we had to sit in the darkness once we’d put the kids to bed, waiting for them to fall asleep before being able to read or turn the lights on. And having ‘do not disturb’ signs to hang on the door would be useful as there were a few occasions when my baby was napping and housekeeping let themselves in. 

Towels were replaced daily, which felt a bit excessive (having a way of letting housekeeping know that you don’t need replacements would be useful). 

All rooms have showers instead of baths so it would have been useful to have baby bath seats and non-slip bath mats. I spotted some of these in the parents’ kitchen at the kids’ club near the end of our stay, along with some toddler toilet seats but hadn’t realised these were available for use. 

We used the mini fridge for storing bottled water, milk and snacks for the kids; the family annexe is conveniently right next to a well equipped mini-mart. We were there daily, buying everything from water shoes (needed for the shingle beach), to sunblock, hummus and ice cream - ALL the essentials!

Our verdict on the kids’ clubs 

The custom-built childcare centre consists of four rooms used for kids of different ages. The clubs are split into the following age groups to ensure appropriate staff ratios and suitable entertainment:

• Baby club (4-12 months)

• Toddler 1 (1-2 years)

• Toddler 2 (2-3 years)

• Minis (3-5 years) 

• Juniors (6-9 years) 

• Kidz (10-13 years)

• Indies 13-17 (only in school holidays)

Afternoon or morning sessions are included in the price for over 3’s (we opted for afternoons and spent the mornings by the pool with the kids). There’s an additional cost of 200 euros for six sessions if you have kids under 3. 

If you haven’t pre-booked your space in the clubs and want to book ad-hoc sessions on arrival that’s possible but subject to availability, and at a cost of between 45-60 euros (it’s cheaper if you book via the UK head office vs on the ground in Greece). 

The activities are fantastic and we had zero guilt when dropping them off each afternoon. Each session includes some time spent inside the bright air-conditioned rooms, as well as a session on the waterfront/in the pool. My four-year-old tried windsurfing and kayaking and bobbed around in a catamaran. He played with puppets, had his face painted, and did arts and crafts. He became friends with the other kids, which meant that they were keen to play together around the pool, and parents could share the load a bit. My 18-month-old was initially tentative but soon developed a bond with his key worker and enjoyed splashing in the pool and playing with the toys on offer.

It was noticeable how attentive the staff were to our children, setting up toys they knew they’d like and they were happy to take on any feedback. During our stay there was a heatwave where temperatures hovered around 42 degrees. Some parents expressed concern about having the under 2’s outdoors and the staff were happy to adapt the daily program to keep the little ones indoors.  

One of our particular highlights was the Movie Club for under 5’s. Each evening the creche screened two films, starting at 7:30pm and running until 10.30pm and laid out beds for kids to fall asleep in. They ask for smaller kids to be settled on arrival so we’d take our youngest for a walk in the buggy and wheel him in asleep, and if he woke while there, the staff would happily rock the buggy to re-settle.

Having three hours to ourselves where we could enjoy sundowners and converse over dinner without being interrupted was liberating! Some days we realised we hadn’t had an actual conversation while spending the day chasing after children, reapplying sun cream and providing snacks. We thoroughly enjoyed having evenings to ourselves, and noticed most parents had a bounce in their step on arriving to dinner sans kids. We may or may not have been the last couple to collect our children at 10:29pm most evenings…

Babysitting is available at a cost of 15 euros per hour, which some parents used if they were doing early morning activities before the kids’ clubs opened, but we didn’t use this service.

There’s a parents’ kitchen within the childcare centre stocked with handy supplies like sterilisers, toddler toilet seats, potties and baby baths as well as fruit and UHT milk. We used this to wash up water bottles and sippy cups but didn’t spot some of the other equipment until the end of our stay. The team also mentioned they also had snooze shades on hand which would be useful for buggy naps. 

What’s the food like?

The hotel operates on a half-board basis so we had breakfast and dinner included and paid extra for our drinks. The main restaurant offers an extensive buffet spread and there’s a poolside snack bar for gyros, pizza, pasta and sandwiches for lunch (for around 8-15 euros). There’s also a seafood taverna next to the hotel that we went to one afternoon - we had the shrimp saganaki, calamari and sampled a Greek rose (added bonus is that it’s linked to the hotel so you can charge it to your room).

The selection of food on offer was impressive, and despite being there for 14 days it didn’t feel repetitive. There was always lots of fruit as well as delicious salads and cheeses (feta x 100), and the grill section was constantly tended to and replenished. Lots of pork and lamb options, always with accompanying sauces and dips. On one evening there was a whole grilled turbot on offer which was a standout for me, as were the pork gyros served in fluffy pitta bread with tzatziki. 

For breakfasts the kids had porridge and fruit with the occasional donut or muffin thrown in, and we enjoyed scrambled eggs, salmon, and made-to-order omelettes. We would have enjoyed having an a la carte option in the evenings instead of a buffet every night. 

One element that really sets Mark Warner hotels apart is the kids’ dinner (or ‘High Tea’) served in the restaurant between 5 and 6pm. We went straight from collecting the kids at kids’ club to the restaurant which was only open for families at this time. The options always included fish fingers, chicken nuggets, chips, carrots and cucumber sticks and pasta, and there’s an ice cream counter too. I mentioned to the manager that this felt a bit repetitive especially as we were there for 14 days and the following day we had grilled chicken, pizza and some other options which was appreciated. The kids' dinner meant families could eat in a relaxed environment, with every parent in the same boat - i.e. comfortable surrounded by piercing sounds of our DC’s shrieks, the occasional nuggets flying overhead, and loud demands for ice cream!

What is there to do nearby?

We rented a car one day and ventured into Lindos where we discovered St Paul’s Bay which was absolutely gorgeous and had the feel of a beachclub. We rented two sun loungers (50 euros for the day) but you could also just sit on the sand which we didn’t realise until after we’d paid. We liked this beach as it was sandy so the kids enjoyed playing and splashing around in the shallow water (something we couldn’t do at the hotel beach as it was too pebbly). We didn’t go into Lindos itself, as it was too hot to walk far with the buggy, but on a couple of afternoons we walked 10 minutes down the beach into nearby Pefkos to the Kalanoa restaurant, which was excellent. 

The acropolis in Rhodes is a UNESCO site which we would have liked to see, but it’s up a number of steps which wasn’t compatible with small children, but maybe worth seeing if you’re there with older kids. 

About the author 

Sarah Murray-Muncila is a Brand Partnerships Manager at Mumsnet, with a particular focus on travel. She’s previously worked at The Times and the Sunday Times, Immediate Media and BBC Magazines. 

As mum to two preschoolers she’s well aware that holidays now hit differently and she loves discovering brands that really understand the challenges that families face and working with them to help make parents' lives easier.