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We made a booking with Magic travel following your helpful information about forte village resort in Sardinia. We went in September for one week and had a fabulous time. Our only criticisms about the resort would be that several of the restaurants were closed when we were there because they were apparently 'winding down' for the end of season. We were also surprised to find that there were no microwaves in the room, so a portable sterliser is essential if using bottles. However, apart from the limited choice of food at this time of the year, the food was very good quality.
Panida Avni October 2003
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We've just returned from a two week stay at the Villa del Parco and cannot recommend it highly enough to families with children. I've divided my comments into a few categories:
Child-specific facilities/activities: there is a MiniClub which operates from a very young age (under 3 has to be paid for, otherwise, free), besides the babies, there is a group for toddlers up to 4 years old with low-key activities from about 9-6 with a break for lunch (when kids go back to the parents), while the 4+ have an all day program with more activities. The younger group mostly stay in the Miniclub itself, though they take small excursions to the beach or around the resort on a special club "train". The older group seems to get around the resort a lot more - I saw them on the football pitch playing a game, at one of the larger pools enjoying the water slide, playing tug-of-war on the beach etc. The staff in the children's club was fantastic and very energetic and friendly - spoke lots of languages, so all children seemed catered to. My only complaint/concern is that the facility has very little shade and the children can be quite exposed on hot days. We kept our daughter out of the club several times for this reason, but otherwise she enjoyed it. There is a children's restaurant open for lunch (need to pay about 11 euros) or dinner (free), which is very handy and serves a range of pasta, fish fingers, veggies, etc. plus plenty of juice, water and sodas as well as ice creams. They also have baby food available, and I saw one of the restaurant staff making up a puree of some of the hot food for one baby. It's mostly handy at night, if your child can't wait until 7:30, when the restaurants open, as the children's restaurant opens at 6 pm. Like the children's club, though, this place can be very hot as it gets the sun most of the day and is partly in the open. The main entertainment square show cartoons on large screens (Tom and Jerry) for a half hour in the evening, which is followed by "baby dance" for another half hour - semi-choreographed dancing to pop music for the little ones led by some of the MiniClub staff. Very fun to join in and/or to watch! There is a baby pool in one of the pool complexes which is good for very small children (just a few inches deep), but very hot and little shade available. Better, in our view, was the large shallow end (about 12-18 inches deep) at the salt water pool complex, which also features large water slides.
Food: We were there in mid-June before the really busy season starts, so not all the restaurants were open, but we still had plenty of choices, even for two weeks. You are assigned a restaurant for breakfast and dinner. I don't know if you can eat breakfast elsewhere; we didn't try. You can, however, eat dinners at any of the other restaurants, but for most of them you need a reservation, and if you want to eat at a five star restaurant and you're in a four star accommodation, there is a surplus, which I understand is quite high. Otherwise, the available choices center around two large buffets, one of which required no reservation and was very good. I was impressed by the amount of choices, and in fact never got to main courses as I filled up on cold starters and lots of desert! There was not a lot of variety from night to night, but still plenty to choose from - loads of cold seafood, salads etc., 6-8 or more hot dishes, including pastas, risottos, roasts, whole grilled fish, veggies, etc., and a big desert selection as well as fantastic home made ice creams. We also really enjoyed the "fancy" restaurants at the Villa del Parco and the Dune (preferred the former, which is quieter and cooler, but the Dune is beautifully located on the beach ...) which had menues and table service with more or less 4 courses. There are other smaller restaurants with fixed menus, and the ones we tried (for variety) were ok, but a fixed menu can be a problem. I must say, each was quite accommodating to our daughter's limited diet (fortunately, she loves pasta!) Mostly, drinks aren't included, but we found relatively reasonably priced bottles of wine at each place. Lunch is not included on most plans, and there are a few places on the resort to eat, including a good pizza place. I found them all pretty expensive, so it can add up, but as the breakfasts and dinners are so generous, I really didn't much feel like lunch during the day. One complaint is that it is difficult or expensive to just get a small snack (like a piece of fruit or a small salad or some crisps) during the day. Room service had a nice menu of sandwiches and hot dishes, and was a good option especially as our bungalow had a really nice patio area to sit and eat, but it was also an expensive option.
Spa: we really enjoyed the spa facilities at the resort, including the Thelassotherapy which comprises 5 different pools set in rocks/gardens each with different salts/minerals and temperatures - very relaxing and takes a couple of hours to do properly. I had a decent massage, manicure and pedicure, and my husband really enjoyed his massage and special treatments (one with mud and the other with salt/honey). It is quite expensive to go to the spa - about 70euros per visit depending whether you buy a multientry pass, and this includes on the pools/sauna/gym and only for one visit. Since the facilities close mid day for lunch, this means you effectively get a half day visit. I heard a lot of complaints about this, and especially from people who "just" wanted gym access - on this basis, it would cost about the equivalent to a year's membership in a club if you went every day for two weeks. Money aside, it was a very nice facility (though I admit to not using the gym)
Beach/water: the beach and sea exceeded my expectations - very clean beach - no shells - just some smooth stones in the beach and water, so easy to walk on (but gets hot, so bring sandals/watershoes), and the water gets gradually deeper, so good for children. The beach can be crowded, but the cove that the hotel is on is quite large, so walking a little way should be ok. I can't see, though, in high season, how they manage to find chairs/umbrellas for everyone. Besides the beach, there are three sets of pools - two large ones available to everyone, and one smaller one available to only the 5 star guests (but the only advantage I could really see is that it was a bit quieter and had better shade). Of the two other pools, one is a fresh water pool and the other, with slides and a waterfall, is a salt water pool. Both are great and were busy but not too crowded. For some reason, though, all the pools closed at about 7 pm so you couldn't swim later, which was a shame, considering it was still quite light until 9 or 10.
Other activities: of the many things on offer, we went on an excursion to some Roman ruins in nearby Nora (very worthwhile), a trip up to the "forest" in the interior (not very worthwhile); and a two-hour boat trip along the coast (highly recommended). We also stayed some evenings for the nightly entertainment, but it was a bit cheesey so you have to be in the mood.
Accommodations: The Villa del Parco accommodation are nice, if expensive for for one room - our daughter was in a small bed in our room. Also, the VdP is the furthest you can get from the beach and MiniClub, so if you stay there, be prepared for a bit of regular walking. Another tim eI might also try one of the larger bungalows in one of the 4-star properties like Il Borgo or Le Palme which seemed pretty nice when we walked past, though it would also depend on which unit you got, as some were a lot more shaded and private than others. I think some of those have larger facilities, though, and even two or more rooms. The benefits of five-star seem to be: access to all restaurants without surcharge, delivery of wine/snacks at about 5 pm and port at about 9 pm, access to small pool area, arguably nicer set up in the rooms. It seemed to me that the 5 star had different toilletries than the 4 star The towels/linens seemed to be the same. Overall, we'd come back to this resort, but you have to be prepared to pay a lot up front and during your stay. I don't think that the price:quality ratio is good, to be honest, so you just have to decide to enjoy it despite the cost. Since we have yet to come across such a nice place which is also so child friendly, we'd have to consider it worth the money - most places where you pay that much and get something really luxe are not that child friendly (the Four Seasons chain being one notable exception) let alone have so many activities and facilities for kids.
Karen Moore
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| The Forte Village is wonderful, for couples or familles, we've done both. The best place to stay is the Villa Del Parco in a bungalow. It is in the quite end of the village near to the spa and pool. The food and wine is fantastic. The children's restaurant is ideal. Baby-sitting is good and arranged locally. The children's nursery is very well equipped and the nannies the best. The beach is perfect for small children. Every year they improve or add something. I could go on and on. |
Just had a lovely holiday at the Forte Village, staying in an "Il Villaggio"
family bungalow. Lovely beach, great pools, fabulous food, good service. Our
children (3 & 5) loved the evening entertainment - outdoor cinema, kiddie
disco and clown although they weren't that keen on the kids club. In August,
the Forte Village is VERY busy, ie, every sunbed taken, restaurants booked
days in advance etc. The sheer amount of people there got a bit much at
times for us. Our "family bungalow", consisting of two smallish bedrooms and
a small bathroom, was comfotable but not huge. We'd consider going again but possibly avoid high season.
Michelle Clifton
Babygoes2 note: there are various levels of accommodation at the Forte- the
Villagio and the 5 star Dune and Del Parco. The latter is more expensive but
is more spacious and also has easier access to the top restaurants etc.
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