Club Med
Ages:Baby Club Med is for 4-23 months; Petit Club Med for 2-3s; Mini Club Med for 4-10s; Club Med Passworld for 11-13s and Junior Club Med for 14-17s.
Hours: Baby Club Med: 9am-6pm six days a week; Petit Club Med: 9am– 5.30pm and 7.30pm–9pm six days a week; Mini Club Med: 9am – 5.30pm and 7.30pm– 9pm six days a week. Club Med Passworld and Junior Club Med are open during school holidays when there are daytime and evening activities.
Supervision: Every kid’s club manager has a childcare qualification and supervises children in all activities.
Activities: Sailing, tennis, archery, skiing and snowboarding (in ski resorts), golf, flying trapeze, circus school, climbing, water-skiing, kayaking, rollerblading. For tots, there are walks, paddling, story-telling and singing while 4-10 year olds can make masks, sing, dance and try out the bungee trampoline.
Anything educational? At Club Med Passworld, kids can learn a range of artistic activities including hip-hop, theatre, singing, introduction to a musical instrument, African dance, magic, video directing and editing, jewellery making and make-up. Some resorts offer a Petit Chef programme where children are taught how to prepare their own snacks.
Price: Club Med offers seven nights all-inclusive at Gregolimano in Greece for £735 per adult and £393 per child (4-11 year olds) or £194 (2-3 year olds) in June 2008, including flights.
The Verandah Resort and Spa, Antigua
Ages: 4-11s
Hours: Daily from 9am to 10pm
Supervision: By trained staff, ratio of staff to kids changes according to occupancy.
Activities: Celebrity interior designer Linda Barker has created the children’s club here with a pirate theme, including a treasure hunt and play area plus an activity zone inspired by films such as Pirates of the Caribbean.
Kids can get busy making crafts, playing games, jumping around on safe and squishy rubber-mat floors. The nap room is a cosy and comfy quiet room for tots to sleep.
Anything educational? The activity programme has been put together to meet the developmental needs of the child. Linda Barker said: “It’s very important to get children’s imagination going and develop their creativity. I wanted the outdoor activity centre to be very physical as I like kids to get mucky and grubby and overawed by their surroundings.”
Price:Kuoni offers seven nights all-inclusive at the Verandah Resort and Spa in a bayview junior suite for £1,417 per adult and £1,034 per child (aged from 2-11) based on four sharing one room, including flights and transfers.
Coconut Bay Beach Resort and Spa, St Lucia
Ages:CocoKidz is for 3-9s; CocoAdventure is for 10-14s
Hours: daily from 10.30am-12.30pm and 2.30pm-5pm. On Tuesdays and Saturdays, it is also open from 6.30pm to 9pm to allow parents to have a quiet meal for two
Supervision: The head of the kids club has a teaching diploma and the other workers have a kindergarten education diploma. The ratio is eight children to one adult, although the numbers tend to be lower.
Activities: Cocokidz offers supervised games, arts and crafts, video games, a water playground and a napping area for younger children.
Anything educational? Preteens are taught about the island and they get the chance to explore, take part in eco-activities and hike over some of the property’s 85 acres. Exercises include team games on the field or in the water, problem-solving puzzles and nature walks.
Price:Virgin Holidays offers seven nights all-inclusive at the four-star Coconut Bay Resort and Spa for £899 per person for departures between January 1 and December 31, including flights and transfers.
Superclubs
Ages: Seahorses is for 6mths-3yrs; Sea Shells for 4-7s and Dolphins for 8-12s
Hours: 9am to 5pm for a small daily fee, babysitting available after 5pm for an extra charge.
Supervision: All activities are supervised by trained staff.
Activities: Younger kids can play in the children’s pool and the jungle gym playground or enjoy arts and crafts. Seahorses offers painting, crafts, puppet shows, jungle gym playground, a children’s swimming pool.
Sea Shells and Dolphins offers mask making, flying trapeze, toga fashion show, talent show, circus, ice-skating, tennis, beach games, pool volleyball, trampolining, juggling lessons and rock climbing.
Anything educational? Team-building skills are a confidence booster, said Superclubs. Also, kids are taught about Jamaican culture, history and art.
Price:Virgin Holidays offers seven nights all-inclusive at the Starfish Trelawny resort in Jamaica for £2,916 for a family of four sharing one room in January/February 2008, sharing a family room on an all-inclusive basis.
Hotel Jupiter and Saturno, Alcudia, Majorca
Ages: Baby Bugs caters for 1-2s; Star Bugs for the 3-6s, Cosmic for 7-11s and The Base for 12-15s.
Hours: Clubs are open for up to six two-hour sessions every week and some offer evening sessions.
Supervision: NNEB or NVQ qualified nursery nurses look after the one to two-year-olds and all other clubs have experienced child-care reps.
Activities: arts and crafts, face painting and parties for younger kids; discos, games, video nights and sports activities for older teenagers.
Anything educational? The hotel offers two, three or four-day football training courses which operate for two hours daily for boys and girls aged from seven to 16, from £49 per child.
Price:Cosmos offers seven nights all-inclusive at the Hotel Jupiter and Saturno for £425 per adult and £259 per child, including flights.
Beaches
Ages: Infants (0-23mths); toddlers (2-5s); children (6-7s); pre-teens (8-12s); teens (13+)
Hours: 0-5 years: 9am-6pm; 6-12 years: 9am-9pm.
Supervision: Beaches Resorts educates its own ‘Ultra Nannies’, so they gain a qualification in childcare which is recognised by Florida State University and the International Nanny Association.
Activities: Children under five can enjoy petting zoos, shell collecting, face painting, treasure hunts, puppets, costume time, magic shows, sand-castle building while kids aged six to seven can enjoy baseball, swimming, arts and crafts, nature walks, movies and dancing.
Pre-teen activities include sailing, beach volleyball and reggae jam sessions while older teenagers take part in boat cruises, karaoke and disco, dance parties and talent shows.
Anything educational? Beaches recently launched Crayola Art Camps where families can take part in imaginative and educational activities, such as treasure hunts and nature trails.
Price:Kuoni offers seven nights all-inclusive at Beaches Boscobel resort and golf club, in Jamaica, for £1,439 per adult and £742 per children (aged 2-11) including flights and transfers in April 2008, based on four sharing.
