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We have just returned from a week's stay in Villa Marianna. We have 3 children aged from 2 to 8. We chose the villa because of its proximity to the beach and the ability to use the nearby hotel's facilities. The villa is very nice. There are 4 villas, joined to each other in a sort of terraced arrangement down a hill. They were very soundproofed. The pool was quite small but fine and very nice views. Outside is not totally private by any means - the villa above you can look over your pool, but this didn't bother us. There is a short walk downhill to the private blue flagged beach. The beach is perfect for young children and as it is private for the hotel you felt safe leaving your things there while you wandered around. There is a beach taverna (run by the hotel)which we used every day for lunch. Beach is partially sandy and partially shingle. It is cleaned constantly as is the sea. The older children loved using the childrens' club at the hotel and there were lots of other activities organised for them too such as beach volleyball, painting competitions. They enjoyed having the independence to wander between the childrens club, beach and villa and you felt safe allowing them to do so. The club is supposed to be for children between 4 and 7 but they had no problem taking the 8 year old and we even left the 2 year old there on several occasions for an hour or so quite successfully. We did not use the hotel restaurant so cannot comment on that but they did run evening entertainment for the children such as videos, mini disco and so we could enjoy cocktails at least! This may sound like Butlins but it really wasn't like that!
Annabel Holyoak
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The children just had a ball. There were lots of other families with similarly aged kids, so within a few hours of being there they had formed a 'gang' which was fairly inseparable for the entire holiday!
The hotel had a very friendly entertainments team which organised activities most days i.e beach games, ping pong tournaments, teen gatherings, beach parties and pool volleyball etc so it gave all the children a chance to join in and meet others.
The kids club was fairly ineffective, so ours didn't go along; but this might have been due to a lack of children to make it more fun! We stayed in one of the villas which was ideal as we could eat breakfast there and casual suppers on some nights, as a change from the hotel restaurant. Simpson Travel also supplied us with a hire car so we explored a bit (when we could pull the kids away!) and found some lovely restaurants,a water park and some shopping. I was very excited to go to Spinalonga (the leper colony featured in the book 'The Island"). Overall, we were very happy with our holiday so THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
P Barette Jul 07 |
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