01 September 2018

We arrived at our accommodation and wow – an absolutely beautiful cottage on a working farm. It was immaculate with an open plan living area, two bedrooms one of which is en suite and a main family bathroom. Outside there is a garden area with table and chairs and BBQ. There was a bottle of wine, flowers, milk in the fridge together with tea, coffee and biscuits all waiting for us. I have never been anywhere self-catering that provides all your kitchen cleaning equipment, toilet rolls etc. Everything had been thought of. The owner came to say hello and spent around 10 minutes telling us a bit about the area and there were plenty of maps etc available in the cottage. We had a very relaxing week, spending a day at Padstow, about an hour’s drive away, where we went on a speed boat, had lunch and then walked along the coastal path. We then went to the Wake Park which is around 10 minutes from the cottage where the kids went on an outdoor aqua adventure course. It was £12 for an hour and they had a great time! We hired bodyboards at Widemouth Bay and spent a day on the beach, then walked a little way along the coast and had ice cream. We went to Bude and went to Life's a Beach which is a great café on the beach. We also hired rowing boats down by the Quay which is really pretty. We had a lovely meal in Elements one evening between Bude and Widemouth Bay. We drove down to Heartland which I would recommend, right on the coast, very rugged and natural, say and had a drink which watching the waves. The local pub serves traditional homemade food and good for a night out, we walked down early evening for a drink and sat in the garden. All in all, we had a very lovely time!

01 September 2018

We arrived at the Royalton Bavaro and were greeted with a welcome drink while we checked in. The reception area was very modern and had the wow factor! Our room was great, with two large beds and a sofa bed, a whirlpool bath and separate shower and toilet, with a lovely balcony overlooking the lazy river and grounds. We quickly changed and went for an explore. The hotel has two lovely pools, one with swim up bar, and extra one if in the Diamond Club, plus a lazy river with waterfalls and swim up bar inside the caves! There are many bars to choose from and not sure we actually found them all. As well as a main restaurant there are a la carte restaurants that you can choose from, we are at the Italian, Japanese, Brazilian, Sea Food and Steak restaurants and two of them more than once, you don't need to book in advance and can go to any of them as many times as you like! Occasionally we had to wait half an hour but a good excuse to go and have a cocktail or glass of fizz before dinner! The main restaurant was ideal for breakfast with everything you could wish for, again you could eat there at lunch or go to the outside BBQ restaurant, the fish restaurant by the beach was great for lunch and had everything from chicken, fish, salads, potatoes, chips, breads, vegetables, pizza, burgers etc etc. There was also a burger van by the beach serving burgers and fries! There is a coffee shop service fresh coffee, croissants, pastries, ice cream which was a hit with us all! There were activities on during the day and these included, aqua fit, beach volleyball, boccia, foam party. There was also a Flow Rider which the kids can use as much as they like when open, this is all included. There is also a mini golf course close to the teens club, which has table tennis, basketball court, pool and other games. There was some evening entertainment which was good, although we didn't go to a lot of it as we were a bit later having dinner as never wanted to leave the pool or beach. There are water sports on the beach and non-motorised are all included. The staff are amazing and nothing too much trouble, they bought us drinks by the pool and on the beach, always with a smile. We had a fantastic family holiday and would love to go back.

20 March 2017

We decided to take our two children age 6 and 7 on a family holiday to Orlando, Florida. We went at Easter for two weeks, flying directly to Orlando. After arriving at the airport and making our way to the Virgin Lounge our holiday began! The kids thought it was amazing they could play on video games and eat and drink what they wanted. The flight was great and the movies kept them entertained all the way. We picked up a car at the airport and made our way to the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, having decided to stay a little bit away from all the hustle and bustle, and loved all the extras this hotel offers. Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress offers activities the whole family will love, from paddle boating on Lake Windsong to splashing around in the lagoon-style pool. Spending your days hiking and biking throughout the resort trails, rock climbing or learning how to scuba dive or swim like a mermaid. You can also play racquetball, tennis or basketball or just lounge in a poolside cabana under the warm sunshine. We would go to the parks and then come back and spend some time round the lovely pool, which also has a waterslide for the kids. There were some lovely restaurants at the hotel but we did venture down the drive as there were many more excellent eateries so this gave us some variety, and no driving as there was a courtesy bus that would drop us at the end of the drive and then pick us up again. We stayed here for eight days visiting Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Wet n Wild, Sea World, Aquatica - there just wasn’t enough time to do everything. There were plenty of rides and activities for the kids and one of our favourites must be the Forbidden Journey Harry Potter ride, although my daughter wasn’t tall enough, we have promised her we will go back! After eight wonderful days we drove down to the Keys and made our way to Hawks Key Resort - well what a great place. We were upgraded to a beautiful room, with wrap around balcony overlooking the estuary. There are many lovely restaurants that you can visit on the complex, along with 5 different pools and a natural salt water lagoon. Lots for the kids to do with kids clubs and for older kids there is a teenage club. We just had the most amazing time, late afternoon was spent round the fire pit drinking cocktails, you can just order food round the pool if you actually don’t want to go and get ready to go out. We also did the Dolphin Connection experience which was amazing, this is all on site so you don’t have to travel, just perfect. I would thoroughly recommend both hotels and hope to return one day.

05 December 2016

In August my family and I went on our annual summer holiday to Cyprus. Having never been we weren’t sure where to stay and we eventually went for Nissi Beach which is 5km from Ayia Napa. We were a little apprehensive, however we had a fantastic holiday in a beautiful resort which caters for all ages. There are many water sports available on the beach, which stretches for 500 metres and has been awarded the blue flag, with shallow clear water. We were advised to keep to the left of the beach which is the family side, if you go towards the right there are plenty of bars with foam parties and DJ’s. This wasn’t an issue at all as you can please yourself where you go so you don’t have to be in the noisy part, although our 13 year old would have liked to go and have a look! If you have never been scuba diving then this is the place to give it ago. We went to TABA Diving Centre in Paralimni and they were fantastic! So much patience and encouragement, Henry and Amie were anxious at first but absolutely loved it and went down about 6 metres and were able to feed the fish while down there, they even saw baby seahorses. We were collected from our hotel and they drove us back afterwards, excellent service and value for money. We stayed in an all-inclusive hotel, but during our stay we had a night out and in Ayia Napa where we ate at Sage which I would recommend to anyone. We also visited the fun fair which the kids enjoyed, the all-inclusive wrist bands are a good idea allowing them to go on all the rides as many times as they wanted. We had a day at WaterWorld which was a really fun value day out, there is plenty there for everyone and also more than enough sunbeds all around the park which are included in the price. We got a taxi from the hotel and there are taxis outside the waterpark when you leave ready to take you back to the hotel, make sure you check the price before you leave. In summary, Nissi Beach and Ayia Napa offer a lot for everyone, with great beaches and almost guaranteed sun.