Last year during my visit to Levante we were given a tour around the childcare rooms and saw for ourselves the children in childcare around the resort partaking in various activities. The childcare rooms we fresh, clean and bright and all staff were fully trained to UK standards. The opportunities even the younger children had such as sailing and windsurfing seemed too good to be true and it was hard to envisage my children enjoying what Mark Warner had to offer as it seemed so impressive.
During our recent holiday the childcare was one of the features I was looking forward to embracing the most. Both children had experience holiday kids clubs during our earlier family holiday this year ad had taken well, so I knew there wouldn't be a problem leaving them once more. In fact they were both really excited to join in and make new friends.
The first session we tried was the evening movie night, which is from 7.30pm - 11pm every night and is a free drop-in session. The children all sit together to watch a film and then have individual beds laid out with a sleeping bag each and their names on top, where they can all lay and go to sleep. Some parents collected their children at nine after they'd enjoyed a child-free meal, mum and I usually went down around ten once we'd enjoyed a drink at the beach bar, but on a couple of occasions we left them until eleven and enjoyed a few hours of adult conversation over a cocktail or two. Each evening the children were happy and quite often asleep when we collected them and I felt completely happy leaving them.
For the daytime sessions you can opt for mornings or afternoons, with the option of putting them in extra hours for $56 per session, which felt very expensive so we didn't go for this. However unlike most resorts each session was three and a half hours long, giving us plenty of time to unwind and explore without having to chase around the children. Each day alternated between water activities and the pool and beach, so the children were able to be outdoors every day. I was so excited to see them giving the waterspouts a try and I absolutely love that Mark Warner encourage even young children to give these things a try and expand their horizons.
Throughout the week Miss H and Little J tried sailing, wind surfing and kayaking and absolutely loved each one. Little J in particular is just happy being active so these were perfect for him. In fact when they were sailing I caught him leaning right out of the boat on more than one occasion, trying to get his hands in the water. During these activities the children all wore Konfidence life vests, hats and t-shirts. All the staff are fully trained and the watersports staff are always on hand in case they are needed, as well as the lifeboat being further out for any emergencies. I felt completely secure that even out on the sea my children were in safe hands and well looked after.
On the last day all the parents could go and watch the presentation. I'd heard a lot about this from other people who had holidayed with Mark Warner and I was excited to see what my two would be presented with. All the children sang a song for us and then were presented with their own certificate which included a special picture they had all made. Miss H was awarded the Pretty In Pink award for being a princess in pink and Little J had the Story King award for enjoying story time. It was so lovely to see the friendships they had all formed and how much fun they had clearly had in their time in childcare.
Whilst Mark Warner holidays can be on the more expensive side I highly recommend them for the childcare alone. For my family, who often have it hard at home due to my Chronic Fatigue, it is vital that us adults get to enjoy some child-free time and have the opportunity to recuperate. It is also important to us that the children are entertained in ways we do not necessarily have the energy to do and can broaden their horizons whilst travelling. Mark Warner offers this and so much more and it is definitely one of a kind when it comes to the incredible childcare facilities.
If you are looking to go away with Mark Warner, they are offering all readers per person for all bookings made before July 31st 2015. Use discount code LisaBlog50.
T&Cs: Get an additional £50pp discount on all Summer 15 & 16 bookings made by 31th July. Not valid for free child place and can’t be offered in retrospect.
T&Cs: Get an additional £50pp discount on all Summer 15 & 16 bookings made by 31th July. Not valid for free child place and can’t be offered in retrospect.
*We were sent on this trip FOC, however all opinions are my own.
