18 June 2024

For Easter this year we spent a lovely week in Portugal with the family where I was lucky enough to stay at two gorgeous hotels and have amazing weather? We flew with Jet2 from Manchester and spent the first 3 nights at the Patio Suite, which is a 4 star all inclusive resort. The rooms available are 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom apartments which were extremely spacious. My 4 year old enjoyed the kids club at this one, joining in with arts and crafts, Pizza making and of course the mini discos. In the evening they had a singer one night who was great and also karaoke another. The Patio Suite was a great location to walk out to Falesia Beach and local bars and restaurants. From here we also we spent the day at Vilamoura Marina and the hotel offer a complementary shuttle bus to take you or just 10 euros in a taxi. We then had 4 nights at the Eden Resort which is in Albufiera. This hotel is amazing for families. They offer, 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments plus 4 bedroom villas with private pools. The hotel has a great splash park for the kids and also a football pitch and tennis court , so we didn't see our 11 year old boy most the of the time as he loves his football. At both hotels the food was great, always hot and fresh and the drinks included on the all inclusive was a great selection. Both had 24 hour snacks available aswell which was an added bonus for anyone with the midnight munchies ?? If anyone wants anymore information on either hotel, please just ask

18 June 2024

In February this year, as a family we went on our first Cruise. We decided on MSC as this offered everything we wanted as family and the price was great for our first Cruise. We sailed from Southampton on MSC Euribia and visited Hamburg, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge on our 7 night cruise. We were also due to stop in Le Harve however due to a French strike this wasn't possible so had an extra night in Belgium but this wasn't a problem at all. MSC Euribia is an amazing ship with so much to do for all ages. As my children are 11 and 4 they enjoyed the water slides, indoor pool, Tenpin bowling and arcades. The youngest also enjoyed the kids clubs whilst the older one spent most of his time at the sports plaza playing football. The food and drinks were great, with plenty of choice for everyone even this kids. We enjoyed the shows in the theatre at night which ranged from singing and dancing to magic and illusionist. When in the ports you could get on and off whenever you liked as long as you were back for set sail time and you could either do organised trips or your own thing. In Hamburg and Rotterdam we made our own arrangements however in Belgium we did a tour to Bruges, an amazing chocolate making shop and a traditional castle. MSC offer cruises to many destinations so please do get in touch if you are thinking of a cruise and have any questions at all.

16 February 2023

In September I was lucky enough to spend 5 days at the gorgeous Lindos Imperial Resort & Spa, this really is a hotel I would highly recommend and the weather was amazing too? I stayed on an All Inclusive basis and there are over 5 restaurants including, Mexican, Italian, Greek and Asian aswell as the buffet one. The hotel has 6 pools including a family one with lots of waterslides and then also a relaxing quiet pool. Most pools also have pool bars aswell and also plenty of sun loungers which is an added bonus ?? The hotel has direct beach access, with a beach bar and restaurant and water sports can be done at the beach. I was there with a friend, so on this occasion I wasn't needing children's entertainment however there were various activities on throughout the day for all ages to get involved with and some form of entertainment every night in the amphitheatre which was set aware from the main bar area so if you didn't want to get involved you had other options. There are a number of different room types with the largest sleeping 4 people. There are also rooms with private pools, some are swim up rooms, lots of sea view also available. From the hotel you can get on the local bus and get to Lindos and in around 20 minutes or any of the other resorts on the Island as are also accessible. Lindos is a stunning town with plenty of shops, bars and restaurants and also the amazing beach. There are plenty of roof top bars also so this is a great way to watch over the town and also see the sunset. There is also a boat which leaves from the hotel beach which you can take to Lindos and this takes around 45 minutes. I hadn't been to Rhodes before however I will be returning again, as was such a lovely Island with lots to see and do and some amazing hotels like the one I stayed in

16 February 2023

So I thought I would tell you all about my trip to Lapland with the family what an absolutely amazing experience. My children are 9 & 3 and absolutely loved every minute of it, however one day the temperature did reach -34 so the youngest did have a few melt downs We stayed in the resort of Saariselka which is only 20 minutes from the airport so was perfect. The flight was great fun with lots of singing, games and activities for everyone to join in with so really got the holiday off to a great start. Once we arrived into Lapland we were welcomed by elves at the airport who were playing games with the children and pinching a few hats along the way, which my youngest was not amused at. Ha Ha. Once on the coach to the hotel we spotted reindeers and more elves hiding in the woods along the way. Once in Saariselka we first stopped at the clothing shop where we all collected out snow suits, boots, gloves and socks. this was a really quick and simple process and the staff really know what they are doing with regards to sizes. Please do not worry about finding something to fit as they have sizes for everyone, except the under 2's which you would need to bring yourselves. You are then back on the coach for a quick 5 minutes to drop at the hotels. If something does not fit when you get to your room, you can pop back and exchange anything. Once at your hotel there are free sledges everywhere so the kids were straight on these enjoying the snow, we then pulled them round the town exploring and also down a few of the sledge runs. The next day was our search for Santa day which was a full day out, so lots of layers were needed. There was the opportunity to have Reindeer and husky rides, snowmobile rides, play ice hockey and crazy golf, ride a skidoo and lots lots more. During the day there are plenty of warming huts to pop into to get free Hot Berry juice, cookies and pancakes along with a lovely warming lunch also included. The magical sleigh ride to meet Santa was by far the best experience of the day. We were pulled along in a sleigh by a Snowmobile for a 5-10 minute journey through the woods, over a frozen lake to Santas Cabin. Once there it was just us, 2 elves and Santa. We had as long as we wanted with him and plenty of photos. Santa had already got the children's letters which they had posted the week before so he knew exactly what they had asked for which was so magical. After a long day most of the children fell asleep on the 30 minute drive back to resort which was just what they needed ready for the Gala Dinner that evening. This was in the Tunturi Hotel Restaurant where we were staying and included in our stay. Most people had their Christmas Jumpers on, crackers were on the tables and the atmosphere was great. After eating there was a disco for the children and party games and all the children received their certificates for completing the Elf Academy. For anyone looking to do this once in a lifetime trip please get in touch for more information. These trips get booked up very quickly so you don't want to miss out. I would not recommend for under 3 year old due to the temperature.