It appears that when it comes to family holidays our requirements do not meet
with even the premier hotel room configuration offerings.
My husband and I are looking to book a good family holiday for June 2008. At
the time of travel our son will be 4 years old and our twin daughters will
be 18 months. We are struggling to find a good hotel that offers suitable
rooms. It seems everyone is geared up for 2 adults and 2 children and at
most can accommodate 1 cot.
Please can you suggest some premier hotels that have excellent children’s
facilities in the Algarve or Sardinia (must be shorthaul) which can
accommodate us all. Liz Hunter, via e-mail
Family travel expert Emma Mahony (middle in picture above right) responds:
: As a mother of twins and an older child I fully sympathise with your
hotel plight, but don’t despair. I’m guessing that you are hotel-centric,
and your priorities are keeping the children occupied in a kids’ club for
part of the day. Because you are looking in the premier league, could I
suggest a couple of upmarket all-inclusive resorts in Sardinia? Expect bike
riding, giant slides, trampolining, go-karting, banana boating and mini West
End Shows if you go to one of the seven 4-star or 5-star hotels at Forte
village in Sardinia. Their crèche takes babies from nought as well, so
the twins can also toddle off for some entertainment. Still in Sardinia, the Chia
Laguna resort has 372 rooms and a Children’s club from aged 3, so the
twins would have to take the mini-train with you to the beach. All are
geared up for families.
The Almyra and Annassa hotels in
Cyprus are a family-owned group where traditional meets trendy. Built to
simulate a Greek village, there are health spas and a Smiling Dolphin
Kiddies Club as well as four recommended restaurants. Once again, the kids
club is for 4 and up, but there will be plenty of activity around the pool
and play areas for the twins. Fuller reviews of these resorts can be found
in the new book Heaven
on Earth Kids.
Let me also take you on a tour around some related articles we have here in
travel online with other suggestions. Because flying with 18-month old twins
needs military planning, do look at my colleague Chloe Bryan-Brown’s great
tips for Surviving
the Airport with Baby. For a one-off short-haul trip to Austria, do read At
last! A hotel built for toddlers. For tips and suggestions on taking a
large brood away, have a look at Holidays
– with three kids or more. And, whatever you do, don’t forget your
camera. However exhausting the experience, the snaps of your tiny smiling
brood will look unbelievably sweet in years to come.
Got a question about family travel? Email our trio of experts at yoursay@timesonline.co.uk
- Chloe Bryan-Brown takes care of questions for the 0-6 year olds, Emma
Mahony handles the 7-12 age group and Jane Owen writes about teenage and
single parent travel
I would really appreciate any advice on the following. My 73 year-old motherinlaw has received a large sum of unexpected money and would like to take the whole family away next year. We consist of 23 people, including 6 children aged between 5 and 16, the rest being 40-somethings and 4 early twenties, and of course herself. She wants it to be all inclusive, so that we do not pay for anything, she also wants to travel for the first two weeks of August. We are trying to gauge firstly where, a long-haul flight may not be feasible as 4 family members are flying from Nova Scotia. We though somewhere in Europe, but do not know where to start, then thought Kenya, but the weather doesnot look good at that time of year. Any assistance in guiding us to the 'ideal' place would be very much appreciated. With thanks Jane Ronan
Jane Ronan, London, Uk