Mark Warner: worth it? If so which resort?

[MasterOfNobody]

We are thinking of a Mark Warner holiday as the kids enjoy wind surfing and messing about on boats and as they are all teens or pre teens they would like a bit of a social life rather than hours with us each night. Has anyone been? Is the cost worth it?

And are particular MW resorts nicer than others? We were looking at Lemnos as there seems to be more wind for windsurfing.

Not done mark warner but nielson is a similar concept and is really good.

I just wrote a big long post and lost it but agree with pp, look at Neilson instead, especially if you have children. Well worth the cost.

We went to a MW resort in '22 and I was horrified by some of their childcare policies. My children hated it. Would definitely not go with them again.

We have been doing similar holidays for nearly 20 years, firstly with Sunsail and more recently with Neilson, the last one in Oct '23.

The set up with Neilson means that you get to go out for some evenings, seeing the local area is important to us. And the kids clubs are amazing. We see less and less of our girls each year as they are closing to go off with mates they've made. (They both love it so much they want to go and do a season there when they've done their Alevels!)

Activities are all included. Our girls are old enough to sign themselves in and out of club and take out kit on the beach as they wish. Both have learnt to sail and windsurf with Neilson. There are plenty of activities for the adults too, my husband goes off on rides everyday while we're there.

They also seem to have improved their food offering in the last year or so, we had some amazing meals last year.

My favourite resorts are Vounaki and Messini. Vounaki has a small (walkable) village with shops and restaurants nearby. Bai de Mori is very picturesque but not so much going on nearby. We're back to Vounaki again next year.

I've recommended them to lots of people most of whom have now been back multiple times. And no I don't work for them!!

Any questions please ask!

I've also done Neilsons with and without kids. When I went with kids everyone who'd also done MW said Neilsons was better and the kids had an absolute ball. The kids clubs were amazing, so much so that we hardly saw them (bonus!). We went to the resort in Croatia which is just a short walk into the local village and there's a national park across the road for walks and mountain biking (and I think maybe rock climbing?)

I’ve been five times to four resorts and Paleros is my favourite.

Thanks all. I will look at Neilson too. To be fair the childcare isn’t an issue as my kids are older, it’s really about what’s more fun for teens and what has the best water sports.

@NewYear24 i read Paleros has no wind for windsurfing, otherwise it looked lovely. Did you find it was windy enough?

@NewYear24 i read Paleros has no wind for windsurfing, otherwise it looked lovely. Did you find it was windy enough?

Actually that’s a really good point, I like to waterski and it’s good for that there as there isn’t much wind until about 11.30 am.

Neilsen every time. MW shockingly bad, really slipped in the last few years with lazy management. The young staff work hard to minimise poor kit. Neilsen are enthusiastic, kit is excellent, my teens love their clubs. Food is much better than MW too.

Really interesting reading these replies. We have done one Neilson and 2 MW with our children. Age 10 and 13 first time to Neilson then 2 consecutive summers with MW. My kids both hands down preferred the MW and even though they made friends on the Neilson and had a great time my dtr in particular is adamant it has to be MW this year. We are trying to decide between paleros, Lemnos or lesvos. Lemnos was winning due to the sunsets but I have concerns about reviews regarding the hill and also WiFi (both hugely important to us as son has Autism and while very social and enjoys kids club, he needs to be able to retire to the room and go online to his safe space with mates from home to chill out in between).

I would highly recommend Phocaia though. It’s been our favourite of the two MW we have done by miles….. we did Kamari last year and while the friendships formed were the strongest ever (and therefore our best family holiday to date) the location/facilities just weren’t a patch on turkey. Obviously friendships are never guaranteed 🤣

@UnleashTheBaby I really like both resorts. While they have the usual Neilson activities each has a different feel to it.
Vounaki is on a hill, more traditional buildings and much more compact. Everything is close by but either up or down hill! Close enough to Paleros to walk in for dinner and to go to the supermarket.
Messini is much newer and I think purpose build for Neilson (Vounaki was owned by Sunsail) with much much more space and is pretty much flat. The hotel and rooms are not overly attractive but have the same room facilities as all the Neilson locations. As I recall there is one walkable restaurant but a quick taxi ride takes you into Messini, where there are many more dinner options.
I asked my teenager which she preferred and she said Messini, largely because there is more space to hang out, and for games etc. There is a park too next to the beach volleyball. The pool is bigger (better for pool olympics) and the beach is bigger. There is also a climbing wall. Oh and knee boarding. And the pool bar is bigger too. It's next to Buca Beach resort, the adults only resort.
Vounaki has two pools, one adults only, which is lovely and quiet. And of course if you want it, you can have access to the yachts for day sailing.
About 45 mins transfer to Vounaki whereas Messini is about 20mins.
(We're back to Vounaki again this year.)
Pros and cons for both but honestly, I think you'd have a great time at either!

@UnleashTheBaby
We usually go for a week at a time but two weeks means you could go all out with the activities for a week - making the most of it (which you feel like you should!) then a more restful week the second half?

Definitely Neilsen Messini. We have been there this year and the staff team are lovely, lots to do, excellent waterfront and bikes and loads of tennis. Transfer is super quick and the food is great. Lovely bar on resort with helpful bar staff. Great atmosphere

Mw phobia turkey is awesome. Their best resort. Neilson and mw are on a par.