Mark Warner first holiday. Should we still go?

[Love2dance]

DH, DS (will be 5 1/2 m) and I were about to book with MW on a late deal for the first time to go to Ocean Club Portugal when poor little Maddy McCann went missing. Ocean club sounded just up our street (we don't usually do all inclusive and before DS born tended to go on independent self catering hols) as it has apartments for independence but also the creche/babysitting facility so we could eat out in the eves and relax on our own some (but not all) of the time.
I now feel a bit uncomfortable about going, particularly as I can empathise with the McCanns' suffering.

Anyone know of anywhere shortish haul with apartment or small villa with a babysitting option? Any advice gratefully received.

Personally, I wouldn't go there, no.

Wouldn't be a holiday for me. I wouldn't go either.

Come on! Go on your hols. You deserve a break!

This is a very ramdom event. Please take your kids with you all the time. Have early dinners and take your ds with you everytime you are out! He can sleep in his little pram while you eat.

It depends when you are going.
I wouldn't go now simply for the reason that the media swarming the place would make a holiday pretty unpleasant. But only for that reason.

These instances are so so so rare. That is why they have such promenance in the media.

I would not put me off going on holiday.

But I think atm the same resort may be inundated with ghoulish journalists and may not have the same pleasant atmosphere tbh

I dont think you'd be at "risk" anymore by going there but just remember all the media will be there and it might not be an exactly peaceful holiday.

you would feel guilty having a nice time with all this going on around you

id go somewhere else, there must be hundreds of places!

i have heard MW dont allow children to eat wiht the adults at the evening meal. dont know if this is true but if it is i wouldnt go for that reason also

If you have the money to go to MW, you must be able to afford to go pretty much anywhere else!

Personally we have always gone on the independent self-catering route (villas, gites) and let the kids eat with us, but then we are not obsessive enough about an 'evening alone' to make Mark Warner even remotely attractive. Do you really want to spend your holiday surrounded by other peoples older, rowdier children?

Obviously your child will be stolen if you go there.

I wouldn't go there if there are going to be media around, it just wouldn't be relaxing. Surely they have other resorts.

tbh with a baby so young i'm not sure you 'll get full use of the creche facility anyway.At that age they are still relatively easy to cart around, snooze and you still get some peace. I wouldn't go there atm , not because of what has happened which is so exceptional, but because it will be crawling with press and police and I would feel intrusive.

Crystal do villas, mainly in South France iirc, with nanny facilities, there are places like Villa Pia which are stand alone(check out the MN recommendations) or resorts with apartments like Pierre et Vacances which often have kids facilties. Do check out any specific requirements if you plan to use childcare , often in France you need to produce a vaccination certificate to leave a lo in a creche, or there might be a minimum age of 6 months or older.

I would not go to that resort, simply because having seen it from the air in news photos it liiks horrible! Basically a tennis court, swimming pool and now notorious tapas bar surropunded on all sides by main roads! I heard the beach was 500 m away, doesn't sound like a great place for a laid back family beach hol at the best of times, and at the moment it'd just be a ridiculous circus - your nighbours in the apartmnents would proably be journos and the MCCanns' massive entiourage of lawyers, POR people and other hangers on.
There are loads of other nice MW and other family friendly resorts - I have no axe to grind, but would be happy to go to another MWresoprt to give them a bit of business since the company was caught uop in a fiasco not of its own making and must be suffering enormous loss of biz @ the moment.

I wouldn't go because you can't eat with your children in the evenings. I love grown up time, but I don't like it imposed on me, iyswim.

is that right, children are banned?

oh dear, I didn't know it was a rule!

allgonebellyup - that is really unnecessary

You won't be able to move for journalists and security and checkpoints and the noise from the bloody Sky News helicopter will drive you mad

don't go

mousses in Greece is a MN fave I think

have a look under \link{http://www.mumsnet.com/rev/summersun/here}

grrrr

Allgonebellyup what only providing what Cod would do if she was here (which would be to to massive applause) If it weren't for the legible post, I would assume it WAS Cod.

Love2dance, you could consider MW in Paleros, Grecce, or another MW resort. Just make sure you book a sitter!

why would you go a holiday where you cant take your child out to eat with you?? I dont understand that at all.

cos so me people like to eat without children bothering them

'adult time' they call it