The thought of a family break that isn’t just a busman’s holiday of changing nappies, calming tantrums and insisting vegetables be eaten is highly attractive.
The likes of Club Med and Mark Warner trade on this deep-seated parental longing and offer holidays in some of the world’s most beautiful spots and include childcare.
Sounds great, but is it that simple? I signed up for a week at Club Med Kamarina on the tip of Sicily with my husband, three-and-a half-year-old daughter Phoebe and 12-month-old son Charlie to find out.
First impressions
Soon after we arrived at Catania Fontanarossa airport, we were met by a Club Med rep who took us to a minibus for the two-and-a-half-hour journey to the resort. We were the only ones being collected (it is still low season in April), which was a bonus, but not quite as good was the lack of child seats in the minibus. None were in place and after we requested them, only one was provided.
The resort
The 237-acre resort, Club Med’s oldest, sits right on the coast with its own private beach. It has a bewildering array of activities, from archery, rollerblading and sailing, to trapeze lessons and boules. There’s a Turkish bath and a beauty treatment area, enough tennis courts to put Queens Club to shame and a huge freshwater swimming pool, which is the centrepiece to a really quite charming village with shops, bars, a medical centre and bungalow accommodation.
Wander past all this and you end up roaming through the pine forest and stumbling upon tennis and squash clubhouses, children’s club pools and other outdoorsy-type activity areas.
Doing it for the kids
Kids’ clubs start for children aged two and upwards so we were always going to have Charlie to look after, but he sleeps most mornings in his buggy so we anticipated time for tennis and a spot of archery if Phoebe took to Petit Club (for two to four-year-olds).
But it was too much to hope for. The first time we took her to see the club, no one spoke much English, which unnerved her, and she asked not to go again.
That said, the Petit Club leader and her staff, with one or two exceptions, were charming with the children and arranged a variety of activities. Kids are even chaperoned off to take lunch and dinner within their clubs to let parents eat alone if they wish, and are looked after until early evening.
We stayed around the resort some mornings but being there in April meant a lot of things were closed. Only one of the restaurants and one of the bars was open, and there was no atmosphere around the deserted, but pretty village. The pool was far too cold to swim in, and the heated pool closer to the hotel was not heated during our visit.
We also had some issues with Club Med’s Baby Welcome product, which offers a changing mat, baby bath and bottle heater in your room. None were present when we checked in.
When I asked a maid for a mat I was told they had run out. The baby bath arrived after we needed it for the evening and, at the peak of kids-going-to-bed chaos, reception would not send a bottle warmer, so we had to go and get it.
A real challenge
Evenings proved a challenge. The restaurant did not open until about 7pm. So once we had fed the children and rushed them back to our rooms in preparation for the arrival at 8.30pm of the hugely pricey babysitter (€12.50 an hour), which was only arranged after much discussion and misunderstanding with reception. This gave us two hours of child-free time in which to race to the restaurant (which closed at 9.15pm) and then to the bar for a much-needed bottle of wine.
The verdict
With very small children, parents may struggle with what one fellow guest called the guilt factor as they deposit their kids in the clubs, particularly if other kids are not English speakers. It is, however, ideal for school-age children (Club Med Passworld caters for them) who’d rather throw their PlayStation 2 down the toilet than hang out with their parents all day.
Sample package
Club Med offers seven nights at Kamarina from £769 per adult and from £504 per child (four to 11-year-olds) based on a departure on August 31. The price includes return flights, transfers, accommodation in a Club room, all meals with wine, beer and soft drinks, open bar with snacks and a variety of group classes and sports activities.
Also included in the price is personal holiday insurance, Club Med Baby Welcome, Mini Club Med (four to 10-year-olds) and Club Med Passworld (11 to 17-year-olds).
