Mark Warner Family Holidays

Probably someone will say that I have too much time on my hands, but I have been reading up quite a bit about Mark Warner Family Holidays, mostly in the Med. Originally I thought the Ocean Club in Luz sounded like some middle brow Butlins with guaranteed sunshine, for the unimaginative and unadventurous, but that is not quite it. The write up online reminded me of PGL's sporty adventure holidays for children, which our son and daughter went on for a week when they were aged nine and eleven respectively. Lots of 'activities' and 'coaching'... in the Ocean Club's case mostly tennis coaching, but to me the whole ethos seemed essentially juvenile, or at most adolescent. Then I thought... these were, as far as we can discern, culturally limited, fitness-absorbed doctors, one a cardiologist who had been involved in sports medicine, and both of them inclined to go padding around in shorts and singlets on organised, or unorganised 'runs' for fun. Online there were endless shots of adults on windsurfers, or in small sailing boats, or playing games of one sort or another, exactly like those of children in the PGL children's adventure holiday catalogue. Is that what many adults want to do on a family holiday? I find it very odd.

The family aspect seemed to be all about 'choice of childcare' - various types were available from ages 2-17, but I think I read that with a small surcharge it could be available from two months old. I did not see any pictures of parents and children taking part in 'activities' together. The nannies were referred to for their excellence in childcare and their involvement in activities with the children, many of them rather similar to those which their parents took part in. At one point the description referred to children often enjoying the simplest of activities with the nannies, like jumping over waves, and that the children often liked to show their parents this skill at the end of the week. I found that pitiable. Perhaps there is a whole tranche of the population which goes for this kind of thing. No wonder there are no photos of the three McCann children on the beach playing with their parents and running in and out of the waves. I did understand a bit more about the Ocean Club and its type of appeal when I got to the end of the ads. The holidays are mostly about superannuated adult PE. Chacun a son gout. The Ocean Club was by far the cheapest of the venues I read about. All the above merely my own opinion about what I read, of course.

I never put mine into 'kids clubs'....nothing wrong with them, but when I worked as a school classroom assistant one of my daughter's friends told me they were going on holiday abroad....'how lovely' said moi (we went U.K. camping)!.....'kids club again' she replied 'yuck'.

Personally I prefer to read on a sun lounger under a parasol rather than run around in the heat. Even FP commented that Kate was 'mad for the running. At their ages you'd think they'd have been glad of a rest!

I re-read what I wrote and thought it sounded a bit snide. That wasn't my intention. I read all that stuff to try and understand the appeal of a 'resort' like the Ocean Club..

I never put my kids in an actual club, only sometimes in an activity group so they could be introduced to other children, they used to last about 45 minutes and the parents had to stay, even if it from a bar stool so they could keep an eye on them. It used to be a bit of an 'ice breaker' when they met in the pool etc. later on.

I don't understand why you go on holiday with a pack but don't spend any time with them......very odd.




The rest off the pack took their children on little outings, beach etc and pictures but not the mccanns.



I dint believe there is one bloody holiday picture off the McCann children unless they got were added in a picture which was taken by the rest off the tapas lot and I dont believe the ice cream outing either.


Where the ice Cream man interview...is it in the files?

kitti wrote:I don't understand why you go on holiday with a pack but don't spend any time with them......very odd.




The rest off the pack took their children on little outings, beach etc and pictures but not the mccanns.



I dint believe there is one bloody holiday picture off the McCann children unless they got were added in a picture which was taken by the rest off the tapas lot and I dont believe the ice cream outing either.


Where the ice Cream man interview...is it in the files?

I've not seen one pic taken by the McCanns inside the creche or outside at the beach during an activity. Altogether , a most unusual family holiday. The parents had no time for the children.
I also think the icecream tale is another lie.

So if they weren't at the beach...where were they?

Hiya I didn't think your post was at all snide. you raised very relevant points. when we were kids my parents would not have sent us to the kids clubs. and there were a lot of us, perhaps the cost involved was a factor, but we did all those things and more with our parents. they always said children bring their own joy.

They should market it as an adult holiday where you can dump the kids. Essentially that's what it is.

Anywhere we have holidayed has kids clubs available for 5 years old upwards, where they sign up for actual activities such as soccer, horse riding, swimming, even cooking. There are no activities laid on for the adults and the kids clubs are run usually for just the morning or just the afternoon. My kids have never bothered, perhaps because they are all boys and very close in age so they have each other. Selfishly, I'm glad they say no.

Warner are offering a childcare service, with activities for adults. I find this unusual in itself. There appears to be every opportunity to leave the kids somewhere, even the night crèche encouraging child free eating. My limited experience of holidaying in Portugal is just the opposite of this, where every effort was made to welcome a family unit, children being fussed over and locals delighted by their presence.

Looking at their website, it would be my idea of holiday hell, full of yummy mummy's and sporting dads talking rubbish. I think I'd prefer to stay at home.

kitti wrote:So if they weren't at the beach...where were they?

Washing the curtains ?

Scrubbing the floors ?

Talking to the 'men in black' ?

kitti wrote:So if they weren't at the beach...where were they?

If Madeleine had an accident at the w/e then it may have taken the parents a couple of days to arrange things.Monday appears to have been a "quiet" day...not much info available but Gerry may have had an agenda for the rest of the week...his primary reason for being there. After all, he said he wasn't there to enjoy himself. If they jogged in the morning and played tennis in the evening then what happened in between?

Is there anyone who might have knowledge of a small holiday complex shaped like an eye with a 9-hole golf course called Bella Vista? Close to PdL. The builders were connected to the UK.

Any pings from the group in this area would be interesting.

I have pics of the area which , if genuine , imo, would completely explain the coverup. I hasten to add that I'm not the only person with these pics.