Travel Weekly managing editor Robin Searle tests out the family facilities at Mark Warner’s Perdepera Beach Resort in Sardinia
Like this and want more details? Click here to download and save as a PDF.
Before going to Sardinia, I must confess I’d never heard of sea badgers. More to the point, neither had my four-year-old daughter Bronwen.
It turns out these denizens of the deep are attracted to children banging on the sides of their kayaks and, on occasion, can even tip instructors out of their vessels.
Bronwen’s reaction to this revelation while on the water on the first day of our trip to Mark Warner’s Perdepera Beach Resort wasn’t overly positive, even when I reassured her from my erratic attempts at windsurfing nearby that the instructors were only having fun and that sea badgers didn’t actually exist.
However, just five days later, not only was she banging the sides of her kayak with the best of them, but she happily launched herself into the water to join the other children who had, by now, built up the confidence to follow the instructors overboard.
If you ever needed a snapshot of the benefits of a family activity holiday, the little girl bobbing around in the Mediterranean laughing her head off with her new friends would do very nicely.
FAMILIES VALUED
Like its other summer resorts around the Mediterranean and in Portugal, Mark Warner’s Sardinian property has three focuses – watersports, tennis and quality childcare.
While some may find the combination of British staff and almost exclusively British guests a tad unadventurous, for exhausted parents, the reassurance of a recognised childcare qualification can’t be underestimated. Regardless of nationality, staff are great to be around – friendly, enthusiastic and always happy to go the extra mile.
As parents who look forward to spending time with their children on holiday rather than packing them off to children’s clubs, we wondered how we would get on with the childcare concept. But as it turned out, the balance here is spot on, and the idea of dispatching your brood from dawn ‘til dusk couldn’t be further from reality (until they become teenagers, at which point you and they are probably glad to see the back of each other).
Clubs last a couple of hours in the morning or afternoon, allowing you a brief period of R&R while they enjoy arts and crafts, treasure hunts, watersports and, of course, hunting sea badgers.
They are also divided by age, and while our two-year-old son Evan was a bit unsure about being away from mum, dad and his older sister, it was simple enough to keep him with us on the days he didn’t fancy the toddler club.
There’s no doubt they both benefited from the activities, swimming unaided for the first time, exploring local flora and fauna, and discovering the joys of geckos – including one in our accommodation which Disney-mad Bronwen christened Rosie the Crown Princess.
One of the nicest touches is the evening Movie Club, which allows parents to enjoy dinner in peace while pyjama-clad youngsters settle in for a DVD on camp beds close by.
WORKING UP A SWEAT
For the grown-ups – particularly one as sports-mad but time-pressed as me – the activities at Perdepera are a delight.
In six days, I fell off a windsurf board, fell out of a kayak, fell over reaching for a forehand pinged down the line by the ever-patient tennis coach, and fell in love with just being outside in the sunshine working up an appetite.
When I wanted a break from the resort, it was easy to cycle the couple of miles into the nearest village or pop to the nearby beach bar for a well-earned beer. Those keen to explore farther afield can take advantage of guided bike trips, boat tours along the coast and coach trips to local villages.
While I’m no watersports expert, reports from the boaty types about the equipment and sailing conditions were positive, and those who ventured off-road on the resort’s mountain bikes reported some challenging routes in the peaks and crags that give the resort its spectacular backdrop.
INSIDE AND OUT
If there is a drawback to the resort, it’s the remoteness and fairly basic accommodation, which benefits from being low-level, rustic and surrounded by plants, but is somewhat stark and dark as a result.
The stone staircases and sharp edges of our mezzanine room were a cause of some concern for our toddler, and the bushes covering our patio blocked the sunshine and acted as a magnet for mozzies. But these are minor quibbles when the objective of your holiday is to spend as much time as possible in the open air.
The beauty of resorts such as Mark Warner, Neilson and Club Med is that each has its own personality while aspiring to deliver consistent service and facilities.
And while we may not have heard of sea badgers before we arrived, they remained a fond topic of conversation long after we were back in the UK, showing the lasting impression a holiday like this can make, regardless of age.
Book it: A week in a double room with two extra beds costs from £2,294 for a family of four departing September 20, with British Airways flights, full board with wine and childcare for over twos. Summer holiday prices start from £1,224 for adults or £874 for children.
markwarner.co.uk/agents
0844 273 5583
