Where to go on holiday?

[backonthewagon]

What we want:

4/5* all inclusive hotel
To be within walking distance of a resort with family stuff, playgrounds etc preferably along a promenade or quiet roads. (Last hotel we went to was 2.7km from the resort which is probably the maximum distance we would be looking at)
Kids club with UK staff and UK childcare qualifications, first aid, DBS checks and UK ratios etc.
Hotel with beach access without crossing any roads. AI bar on beach would be a bonus.

A promenade to walk along on an evening with a few family friendly bars.
Sandy beach with shallow water. No sudden inclines and drops.
Spanish shops to have a mooch around.

What we don't want:

"Blackpool abroad" type places.
Shops selling tacky souvieners.
English bars with karaeoke, sports on TV and full english breakfasts.
Loads of nightclubs for the 18-30 crowd.
Beach right by the main road.

Oh and also we want the sea to be warm enough to swim in July.

Following your thread with interest!

I had been looking for something similar. We decided to go to princess yaiza in playa blanca in lanzarote.

It ticks most of the boxes but isn't all inclusive. We were considering dream gran castillo which is in the same resort but further away from beach/centre of the resort.
We are going at the end of May so were limited also by where is most likely to have nice weather

Mitosis Roda a Beach in Roda, Corfu. Ticks all your boxes.

Is there an AI bar on the beach there?

Do you know anything about the area Agios Georgios/St George's (south).

Hi

We stayed at the Aquis Sandy Beach resort which is all inclusive. I really loved it and my 15 year old daughter still talks about it being her favourite place. There are a few nice restaurants and bars on the front where they'll bring drinks to your sun lounger on the beach. There's a tour operator as well where we arranged a boat trip to the blue lagoon and somewhere on mainland Greece which was beautiful. We also went to Corfu town which is quite pretty.

I would definitely go back. The resort itself is beautiful - right on the beach with beautiful sunsets and a "swampy" bit with toads that sing at night and fireflies. You can also hire the small motorised ride on for kids and those 6 seater family bike things that was fun.

The town itself looks a bit "unfinished" - pavements just suddenly ending, that sort of thing.

Also the Sandy beach is a very big resort. I liked this as it meant there was a choice of pools, bars, restaurants etc, different entertainment and amusements for the kids.I thought the food was brilliant - especially the baklava. I could (and probably did) have that all day every day.

However, my 15 year old son didn't really like it and thought it "boring" as the WiFi wasn't great. My 8 year old daughter didn't like the food - there was a great choice of salad but not really much choice of fruit. She can be a but picky but she much prefers the food in Spain . They do have a kids buffet with chips and chicken nuggets etc but she didn't like that either.

My husband was a bit indifferent - I think he's sick of all inclusive holidays now - crap beer in plastic glasses, vinegary wine etc.

Personally, I would go back but only if I got a good deal - which I did last time. We went in May half term though so it probably was quieter than it would be in the summer.

Sorry that's in St George's South and it was last May we went

That's the hotel we are looking at. Is there direct beach access from the hotel grounds and is there an all inclusive bar on the beach?

We are looking at going the 3rd week of July for 7 nights. The price is about £442 per person at the moment before baggage/transfers.

Can I ask who you booked with?

Have a look at Porto pollensa or the port area of alcudia for hotels. The centre of alcudia is a bit English abroad but rest is very nice.

Yes there's definitely direct access to the beach and you can also hire those cabana things (I think they're called?) - they look like big beds with curtains round. I don't think there was a bar on the beach but may be wrong. Waiters do come round though to offer top ups. And the bottom bar is near the beach.

We booked independently. The flights were probably Ryanair as that's who we usually go with! I think I booked the hotel with travel Republic and then separate transfers.

I think I paid around 2200 for 5 of us - this was in the school holidays for a week so I was really pleased with myself!

It also feels very safe. Very little traffic. It is busy but we never had a problem with sunbeds or getting an outside table in the restaurant. There are a lot of organised activities but I was too lazy to join in. The staff were all really nice though - friendly but not pushy.

It's quite cheap when you're there too. A lot cheaper than Barcelona where we've just got back from! We had the odd meal out and it would be around 80 euros for 5 of us - and my son eats a lot and I like wine!

That's good that waiters come round to offer top ups. I hate having to get up to go to the bar! Do they do that around the pool and on the beach?

Did your kids use the kids club?

Also where does the evening entertainment take place? Are there rooms near that as often DS like to go up to bed before us but I still like him to be quite near us. I wouldn't want him to be in a different building.

I think they go round both but I stayed mainly by the pool. You probably get more top ups by the pool!

No mine didn't use the kids clubs - the twins were 14 so too old and my youngest was 7 so just wanted to be with her brother and sister. I would have had no problem using them if she'd wanted to. All the staff were so nice. Everything really clean and well maintained too.

We've had 15 years now of all inclusive so we're a bit sick of them now but if we ever went back to one this would probably be my first choice. We've been to loads - lanzarote, menorca (the most boring place i have ever been) alcudia (that was awful - don't go there if you don't like Blackpool! ), Cyprus, Mojacar, benelmadena, Ibiza, Kavos.

I will say though that the wine was typically disgusting. My husband said the red was slightly better. I never like the wine in the AI places though. I managed to find a couple of bottles of prosecco in the hotel shop cheaply enough and drank that on the terrace whilst playing cards with the kids which was really nice. The beer was OK but not as nice as Mythos.

I thought the food was good though. They have a show cooking area where you can get things so don't have to stick to what's laid out on the buffet. And they're not stingy with the feta either - massive blocks of it. Lovely fresh bread. The desserts though were the best I've ever had. All freshly cooked too. They do serve chips with every meal but I like chips and only ever seem to have them on holiday so that was a bonus really! And there were a few really weird dishes - spag bol once for breakfast. But they were catering to a lot of different nationalities so maybe some people eat that

The ampitheatre is where the entertainment is near the bottom of the complex. We were staying in one of the blocks at the bottom so could hear it sat on the balcony (but not see it). Personally i saw this as a bonus as the opera singer in particular was fantastic.

If you don't mind the noise (it doesn't go on ridiculously late) I'd request one of these rooms. The sea view is stunning and they're closer to the beach and the quieter pool without the slides. Also I seem to remember we got the sun all day on the balcony as I'm pretty sure they're south facing.

What block were you in?

Did the £2200 include flights, baggage and transfers? Did you get a taxi from the airport? If so how much was it?

DP is worried as lots of reviews say it is a hotel used predominantly by Germans and the hotel is mostly geared up for a German clientele. Would you say that is the case?

On the fact sheet it states

"Selection of local alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks
Draft beer‚ wine by the glass, liqueurs, soft drinks, tap water, brandy and schnapps
Cocktails menu: including a selection of local alcoholic and two non-alcoholic cocktails:"

Does that mean there are no spirits such as vodka, white/dark rum, whiskey, gin?

Yes it was 2200 all in with a coach transfer. I did shop around and travel Republic was a good bit cheaper than the other booking sites - but do check as they aren't always the cheapest. I got quite cheap flights too.

Not sure about other spirits but vodka and gin were definitely included. And you could pay extra and get the absolute BEST mojito.

I don't know which block we were in but it was the second nearest to the beach. I think (if I remember correctly) these are the newer blocks. If you email the hotel they will probably we able to tell you.

The clientele was pretty mixed. No one nationality dominated I don't think. There were a lot of Russians but they all seemed to stay together at the top bar for some reason. The entertainment tended to be things that you didn't need language for - musicals, acrobats that sort of thing. It was actually quite good some nights.

I don't remember there being a problem with the sunbeds either. There were the usual arseholes who reserved 6 sunbeds and never actually appeared but we always managed to get one.

I'm really surprised by the reviews saying it was geared up for Germans. The food was definitely more set up towards the English I would say (chips even for breakfast which was absolutely fine by me! ). There was the odd slightly strange dish but it wasn't particularly German food.

I emailed and they said there was vodka, gin, whiskey, white rum and brandy and the shows were in English. Were there any cocktails included in the AI?

Oh and how long was the coach transfer?

Yes there were cocktails but they were crap and I only like mojitos anyway. Can't remember about the coach transfer. Can't have been too long though or I would have remembered it.

Mark Warner Limnos meets all your criteria.