I’ll try and be brief and hopefully give you a snapshot of the resort. We stayed in a swim up room along the beach front which was lovely (mood lighting in the bathroom if you wanted it – plus a lively jacuzzi bath – which was fun). Really enjoyed my cup of tea on the patio first thing followed by a few laps before breakfast. Even saw dolphins one morning (not in the swim up pool of course, in the sea!). Family swim up rooms are also lovely for those of you with children. If I went again, would probably opt for a swim up room around the adults only pool area, which is where we ended up most days – so peaceful. (There are also other types of rooms – some on the first floor above us had jacuzzis outside. Plus there are other pools which are bigger/noisier etc if you prefer and a separate area on the other side of the hotel for very young kids with pirate ship/creche etc). The beach is also fabulous and the sunbeds by pool or beach extremely comfortable – and plenty of them too well spaced out. One thing I was really impressed with was the overall cleanliness of the resort. It was absolutely spotless and you could walk around in your bare feet if you wanted to. The gardens were beautifully kept. The bar staff were delightful (bringing your towels to you/moving your sunbeds etc) and the drinks service was excellent whether you were on the beach or by a pool (they also served the swim up rooms but you had to wade across the water to get your drinks!). Good jetty to walk down to get to deeper water for snorkeling in a cordoned off area. If I’m being picky, would have really enjoyed a beach bar to sit at later on in the day for socializing/watching the sun go down etc (there was a ‘Club House’ just back from the beach but only a handful of tables and chairs outside). and more places to eat outside of an evening. There’s one main buffet restaurant for breakfast, lunch, evening meal; One American style (glass enclosed with open air shaded roof) diner on the beach for lunch and evening meal; An Italian and a Middle Eastern restaurant, evening only; and two ‘additional charge’ restaurants – Asian and Stonegrill – which we never tried as I object to paying extra when I’ve booked an all inclusive holiday. All restaurants, apart from the buffet, had to be pre-booked for your evening meal. This involved swiping your room card through a machine in the morning and making your own booking. A system I hated. Quite often you couldn’t get the booking you wanted so you ended up at the buffet. On the occasions we did manage to book a table there were lots of empty covers so I can’t help thinking maybe the chefs/staff etc couldn’t cope with too many people. Annoying that we couldn’t go and eat wherever we wanted at whatever time we liked. Food not bad but not the best I’ve had and I’d had enough of it by the end of the week… Entertainment/Activities – plenty to go at if you wanted it, and not rammed down your throat (Yoga/Pilates on the beach looked lovely if you’re into that kind of thing). I did nothing! Perhaps if I’d been there another week would have maybe tried my hand at archery! There was also a spa but I couldn’t get the booking I wanted so never tried it. Just a 20 minute transfer from the airport and very quick check in. All very well organised by Thomson. On the whole a great week’s break for relaxation and winter sunshine.
