Is a Neilson holiday only for active people?

[nparkin]

Hi
I cant work out to go with Mark Warner or Neilson for my family of 4 - 7 yr old boy and 13 yr old girl. I want this type of holiday for the kids activities and mostly for my 13 yr old to have friends to hang out with which these both seem good for. BUT I don't want to do lots of crazy exercise in the sun! Neilson's is meant to be great for the kids clubs but they seem very sport focused for adults. Will i be reluctantly dragged to play beach volley ball😂 Any help appreciated and I want to go to one in Greece.

---

MNHQ update: If you’re short on time, here’s a summary of the resorts that Mumsnetters are recommending on this thread:

😎 Neilson Levante Beachclub, Rhodes, Greece

😎 Club Med Da Balaia, Portugal

For more inspo, check out our guides to the best Neilson Beachclubs, the best Club Med resorts and the best Neilson ski resorts.

I doubt you'll be dragged anywhere against your will, but Neilson are definitely activity focused, so if you won't partake then you might be paying a premium for something you don't need.

I don't know anything about Mark Warner.

We went to the Nelson resort in rhodes, can't comment on the kids clubs I'm afraid. You can do as much or as little as you want. I do recommend the yoga first thing in the morning though! About a 20 minute walk to nearest town. I would love to go back.

Haven’t done Neilson but have done MW. I think they are pretty similar though.

at MW there was no pressure to do any activities, but it’s expensive for a holiday where the adults are not doing activities, as the price of those is baked in - also the beach is quite watersports dominated. I ended up doing a lot more than I expected due to that being the general vibe and some peer pressure from people we were there with…!

Which MW did you go too? Im going round in circles reading reviews . I know my Daughter would love it and actually id pay extra to have them busy even if i don't do all the activities.

we haven’t used either of these companies in summer but I’d recommend Club Med Da Balaia in Portugal. We have had great holidays there and there tends to be a bit of a breeze on the Algarve making it more conducive for activities. As most are on site you can dip in and out of them. I did things like coastal walks, aqua fit, tennis and yoga. I would find Greece too hot in school summer holidays. My dd loved the club med teen club. A lot of the guests are french but there are usually some British families and others from all over the world. The staff speak English even if it isn’t their native language

agree with the other posters - there was absolutely no pressure to do anything if you didn't want to (if anything the formal watersports courses were overbooked so they'd probably be quite pleased to have people not fighting to get on them), but given that's the main selling point of the holiday it does seem like a bit of a waste if you don't want to do anything!

there are quite a few things you can just dip in and out of, e.g take a bike out, play tennis, borrow a paddleboard/kayak, yoga session even if you don't want to commit to any of the more formal planned activities

because the idea is to do stuff at the resort I think a lot of them are a bit remote, so it's not like you could just wander around the town to entertain yourself like you would if you were in a normal hotel somewhere central or whatever. So if you weren't planning on doing any activities it might get a bit boring, unless all you want is a complete relax in which case fair enough!

Thanks

Yes too hot in Summer so going in May/June half term! Unfortunately Club Med seems a few thousand more but looks lovely.

I want my kids to be entertained so i can relax basically. Any tips on the good resorts?

You won't be forced to do anything but it's kind of baked into the price- but if that doesn't bother you , then I'm sure your daughter will love it

I would also have a look at Robinson if club med looks too much- it's a similar vibe and very multi national- we walked past a lovely looking one near Cala d'or in Majorca - they have Portugal, Morocco, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Majorca plus far east etc

@nparkin they have kids and teen clubs too

We did MW last summer for the first time, it was on the Greek mainland. Our ds is 14, we all enjoyed it. Ds tried the teen club but he’s just a bit too awkward around other kids at the moment. So he had scuba dive and water skiing lessons instead- without us. He absolutely loved it all. Dh and I did the early morning walks, yoga and Pilates classes. Dh did a one day sailing taster which he enjoyed. Apart from that we borrowed bikes a couple of times to cycle to a nearby village (literally 10 minutes away). And the rest of the time we swam and sun bathed.

We’ve booked Neilsons for next summer (Greek mainland again). Just wanted to be able to compare them both really.

Which one was this ? Paleros? Ive heard nice things about that one

Watching with interest!
I've booked with a Neilson adults only (next to a family resort) next year and really looking forward to it so keen to see comments on this thread.
Currently referring to it as two weeks "sports camp" but genuinely has got me back on the treadmill and Echelon bike in anticipation.
Also looking forward to the tennis and water activities, neither of which I have any talent for!

We went to Lemnos when ds was about 10 which he absolutely loved. Mark Warner, the owner, flew out on the same flight as us as apparently it’s his favourite club. We loved it, particularly borrowing a bike to cycle to Lemnos town itself.

We then went to Vounaki with Neilson last year. Loved that too, albeit for different reasons. I did a lot of cycling but I’m really not a cyclist. The staff were great with me suggesting rides I’d enjoy.

Both are excellent, but I think Neilson is better. We’ve skied with them too.

Only son enjoys the freedom of being able to join in or not depending on how he feels. Gives us our well deserved break then as we know he’s having fun.

Yes Paleros, lovely resort.

Ive done loads of MW and no pressure to be active for adults. DC loved them.
Friend did neilson and they were not rounded up either.

I've been on several Neilson holidays and am very inactive! No pressure to join in at all. I read three books in a week and kids and partner did all the activities!

We've done Mark Warner both last year (Paleros) and this year (Kamari) - our DS is younger, but the kids clubs/childcare has been second to none both times. We also did Neilson on Lesvos before it switched to MW this year.

I'd say Kamari - on Rhodes, needs more work done to it, to bring it up to MW standards, my understanding is that they only took over that resort a couple of years ago and the next step is the cosmetic side now they've got tennis and padel courts built. I'd also say that you're pretty isolated with Kamari, meaning that unless you want to walk into town for lunch, you're kind of stuck with the beach bar or restaurant.

At Paleros you can see the investment, the whole resort was much more what you'd expect with MW and the amount of money you pay; there are also two independent beach bars less than 10 minutes walk from the resort.

There's no rounding up with either Neilson or MW, maybe apart from for water polo but it's very relaxed.

If you're into the evening entertainment, the offerings at Paleros - and indeed the location - was much better. Rock the Room anyone?