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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Anyone done Mark Warner? Is it worth the £££?

35 replies

MissyB1 · 15/04/2023 14:26

We have a 14 year old ds, we noticed last summer on our usual beach /hotel holiday thathe was a bit lonely and bored. He's the type of boy to make friends in an organised activity, but wouldnt just approach other teens informally. So this year we think we need to do a holiday with organised stuff for him, we still want a beach though for us! Any recommendations would be great, I've been looking at Mark Warner they do look good but wow very expensive! I will pay it though if it's worth the money.
I also looked at Club med - and nealy passed out at their prices!

OP posts:
LaurieFairyCake · 15/04/2023 14:42

I thought it was adults only ?

Singapore4 · 15/04/2023 14:45

I've not tried. Have you looked at TUI Magic life's?

Original poster
MissyB1 · 15/04/2023 14:47

LaurieFairyCake · 15/04/2023 14:42

I thought it was adults only ?

No, very much marketed at families.

OP posts:
Original poster
MissyB1 · 15/04/2023 14:47

@Singapore4 I will have a look at TUi magic thanks.

OP posts:
slummymummy82 · 15/04/2023 14:52

My children are younger but we do Neilson holidays and I can't recommend them enough. If your DC would enjoy sailing, windsurfing, paddle boarding, kayaking, tennis and mountain biking it's worth a look and I think are cheaper than Mark Warner.

DiastasisRectiSucks · 15/04/2023 14:55

Watching with interest! 👀

adriftabroad · 15/04/2023 15:01

Does anyone speak French? CM is better (IMO) than MW, but French. MW is very good, copies CM but very English.

CMed food is absolutely amazing.

meatballsagain · 15/04/2023 15:02

We found Neilson better than MW once our DC got to their teens. Definitely worth the money for us, DH is very active, me less so and the DC have always had a brilliant time. So a great holiday for everyone.

Original poster
MissyB1 · 15/04/2023 15:04

At the moment Neilson are coming up as more expensive than MW, it might be because we need a seperate room or area for ds as he's 14 and obviously doesnt want to be in a room with us!

OP posts:
LaurieFairyCake · 15/04/2023 15:09

Sorry I was getting it confused with Warner which are adults only

https://www.warnerleisurehotels.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwlumhBhClARIsABO6p-yyHA4YLtP9UZ623MUc3dzgGJxUXmX6TJvChl8JawL52bUsDKNze4aAmWQEALww_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

NameChange30 · 15/04/2023 15:17

adriftabroad · 15/04/2023 15:01

Does anyone speak French? CM is better (IMO) than MW, but French. MW is very good, copies CM but very English.

CMed food is absolutely amazing.

What's CM?

adriftabroad · 15/04/2023 15:21

Club Med

NameChange30 · 15/04/2023 15:22

Thanks (I worked it out after posting, as OP had mentioned club med - sorry Blush)

adriftabroad · 15/04/2023 15:24

🙂I worked in the head office if anyone has questions on destinations.

AchillesElbow · 15/04/2023 21:55

Does he have a specific interest like football? I’ve noticed a few hotels offering football or tennis camps for kids but can’t remember any specifics. It’s an additional charge.

Original poster
MissyB1 · 16/04/2023 16:02

AchillesElbow · 15/04/2023 21:55

Does he have a specific interest like football? I’ve noticed a few hotels offering football or tennis camps for kids but can’t remember any specifics. It’s an additional charge.

Yes he loves football, and would like to learn paddle tennis. Yes hotels with specific sport camps would work.

OP posts:
gogohmm · 16/04/2023 16:12

Look at TUI magic life fuerterentura, they had lots of sports included though the teen programme wasn't running when I was there (term time). Neilson is big on water sports but was seriously expensive even 10 years ago. Check out cruises as they usually have teen programmes, a teen club etc

alpinia · 16/04/2023 16:20

Have done a few Club Meds with large family groups. I didn't find the European ones (Turkey/Greece) too expensive compared to similar 4* resorts without all the activities. Antalya in particular was not French majority guests. The staff all spoke French, but mostly as a second or third language.

UpsideDownInsideOutRoundAndRound · 16/04/2023 16:23

We did Mark Warner at Lemnos I think just before Covid. Great fun and a really lovely hotel with plenty of activities. We saw DS at meals only. He had a great time.

Last year we went to Vounaki with Neilson. We preferred this as just seemed to fit a bit better. We cycled past the Mark Warner in Vounaki and felt the club wasn’t as good, mostly as there was a road to cross to the beach and just didn’t seem to have the same vibe. Again, DS had a ball. We all preferred it to Mark Warner but could just be the mix. Both were excellent for us to relax, take part or do whatever we fancied.

Also skied with Neilson which was great too.

Loads of activities for teenagers but also at 14 they are able to dip out without you having to sign them out if they decide to. Really useful for our son.

WithIcePlease · 16/04/2023 16:51

Over the years, I have done about 20 MW holidays. DD's loved them.
At the last resort we went to, there was even an informal group (but spoken of by the Indy group organiser) of 18-19 year olds too, often there with younger siblings.
I was glad it wasn't my only beach holiday with DC though. Sometimes I felt a bit bereft when they just disappeared with their gang all day, hung out with them in the evenings and sometimes didn't even eat with us.

Original poster
MissyB1 · 16/04/2023 17:34

Yes we’ve been warned that we won’t see ds at all on a MW holiday! But Dh and I will appreciate a bit of time together and as long as ds is happy that’s fine. I think we are going to book the Lemnos one @UpsideDownInsideOutRoundAndRound it looks fab!

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UpsideDownInsideOutRoundAndRound · 16/04/2023 18:25

@MissyB1 you’ll have a ball!! I’m not sure if the pimped taxi is still in the town, but if it is it’s almost unmissable after an evening in town!! Have a fabulous time. Very jealous!!

emmathedilemma · 16/04/2023 21:24

I’ve done Neilsons a couple of times and folk there had also done mark Warner and said they were both good. I think it’s worth the money if you’re active people. If you added up the cost of several hours of kayaking, bike hire, paddle board tuition etc it would come to a lot of money and it’s all included. And, call me a snob, but because it’s more expensive, the clientele tends to be fairly civilised ;)

bellswithwhistles · 16/04/2023 21:30

I used to work for Neilson. Also worked for MW.

Neilson is miles better. Worth the extra money. And you definitely get a better clientele (agree with poster above, might sound snobby but it's true)

custardlover · 16/04/2023 21:35

We've done both Neilson and MW and they were both excellent and I think definitely worth it. My sons are probably similar to yours and they adored the clubs and the freedom.