We recently visited San Lucianu Beach Resort which is a Mark Warner holiday resort. When I say we, it was actually Dylan, Erin and myself as Chloe and Lee couldn’t join us due to school. I have never been on a Mark Warner holiday before and to be honest, we are not ones for package holidays generally. However, the ease of everything, the staff and the place have converted me. We had the most wonderful week and I will share with you why.
Firstly travelling there is flying with British Airways and the luxury that brings with it. A newspaper for the journey plus drinks and breakfast (we flew at 7.45) got us off to a flying start. Corsica is only a two-hour flight which makes travelling with children easy, mine were happy for the flight despite our early start. Once at Bastia airport there was plenty of Mark Warner staff to greet us, take care of cases and get us on the short 30-minute transfer to the resort. Once arrived we left our bags with the staff to be delivered, which they were done with amazing speed.
Our room comprised of a huge double and a single bed for Erin. The room was spacious and it was superior as it was recently refurbished and had a sea view.
The balcony was lovely and overlooked the restaurant and sea which was a wonderful view. I shut the traditional wooden shutters each night and it kept our room both cool and dark meaning that the children and I enjoyed some lazy morning starts as we headed down to breakfast about 9.30 each morning. For this reason I had chosen afternoon childcare for Erin!
Childcare
The childcare is second to none and I have never experienced anything like it before on a holiday. I think I have now been spoilt forever! The childcare is included in the price and therefore does not cost anything extra out there (unless you choose to hire a babysitter for 14E an hour). Erin went to Mini Club which is for children 3-5-year-old. They can have a morning or afternoon session each day. On the first evening, there is a short welcome meeting which outlines how childcare works. For Erin, she went every afternoon and there are three different activities planned with one of them being sailing, windsurfing or kayaking.
Kayaking is one of our favourite things to do when on holiday. We have even bought our own which we take out on the river at home! A motor can make all the difference too! Check out https://www.globosurfer.com/best-trolling-motors-for-kayak/.
After her afternoon session, the children would go and eat a ‘high tea’ which was a more child-friendly dinner. It was then time to shower and get into PJ’s before heading back to Mini Club to watch a DVD and then be put to bed. Just how those staff members achieved that I’m not sure but when I picked Erin up she was asleep in her little bed. On the one evening, Erin did not settle they came and found me at about 10pm. This was reassuring as you know if they are not settled or happy the staff will come and see you.
Childcare for tweens is more informal and I had given permission for Dyl who is 11 to sign himself in and out. His sessions ran both morning, afternoon and evening. He could duck in and out as it suited him. Each day there was a water sports hour and Dyl found his sea legs. Sailing is going to be the new hobby! He also enjoyed kayaking and mocktail making.
Formal childcare rocks and gave me some much needed time to drink cocktails relax, unwind and top up the tan. However, the pool entertained my little gang for hours and again the lifeguard was brilliant interacting with the children and encouraging them with their swimming. I was ensuring Erin did some physio in the water and worked her little joints. The lifeguard Poppy was also encouraging Erin and said that Erin was the best 5 yr old swimmer she had had on the resort and considering all Erin has been through that’s a wonderful compliment.
Food
I choose to upgrade to full board for only an extra £119 for the three of us and it was a good call. Lunch did seem to come around very quickly after dinner, but with all the swimming and watersports the children did need to refuel! Breakfast is always their favourite meal and they devoured everything from the sausages, chocolate croissants and fresh fruit. I usually opted for an omelette made to order which was scrumptious. Most of the fruit was local and included melon, kiwi, pineapple and apples. The buffet selection was always good and I enjoyed a fruit tea on many a morning.
Lunch was a buffet and each day there was a pizza bar providing us with fresh pizzas, Erin’s favourite tuna and sweetcorn. In addition, there were copious amounts of salads and bread. This certainly refuelled us!
The evening meal was a slightly more formal affair and as Erin was in kids club by this point I was able to unwind (some more) with dinner and rose. Dyl abandoned me in favour of eating with the kids his age. They had their own table and had meals especially cooked for them. It was a good job I had friends to sit with in the evenings as the children had deserted me! Adults had an al la carte menu to order from and the food was beautifully presented and filling.
Summary
What can I say – do you know any other holiday that can beat this?
If this has tempted you to book a Mark Warner holiday you will love that I have a discount code for you then! You will recieve a £50 discount per person on each break booked using the code EmmaBBlog50
Disclosure: The review is all my own words and I was given the holiday as part of a press trip for an honest account.
29 Responses
Oh Emma this look so much fun. My kids and I all have tennis lessons and how fab to playu on holiday and get soem coaching. Your pics are wonderful!
I keep hearing how good the childcare is in the Corsica resort, and we’ve loved the island previously, so it’s definitely on my list to try. Do you think the staff there are capable of taking responsibility for a child with a serious medical condition? J is the perfect age now to start gaining some independence on holiday, but I’m nervous about letting her go when type 1 diabetes is so complex.
Oh yes they are all qualified Helen and we had three children in our group with different medical diagnosis and needs from autism, Downs and hypermobility / asthma. Each child has any medical conditions clearly written on the tag when they are little.
It does look like a lovely holiday. I love that there is so much to do on the resort like the water sports.
This looks like an amazing holiday Emma – beautiful photos too! Sounds like you all had a brilliant time x
I love just how much there is to do for everyone – so much variety and literally something for everyone. That’s what makes a great holiday for me x
Corsica looks amazing !
The child care is second to none . I was very envious the resort is beautiful
Looks like a lovely resort with lots of different things to do, and the food looks great! Corsica is not a country I’ve thought about visiting before x
What a fantastic experience. I do worry about the food when abroad – and if it will suit all our tastes – as there’s not a lot you can do when you are there is there! We have never flown with the kids so it is good to know that you can get a flight at such a reasonable time. Thank you for sharing your experience.
We’ve never been sure about resorts or package holidays either, but I love the idea that we could get some much needed time out and that the kids would be learning something new. Love that the staff are so invested in the kids making progress, slue your opinion as a teacher yourself too.
I used to work in the kids club in Turkey with Mark Warner. I met my other half there! We’d both like to take the children to where we met and do Mark Warmer as a customer! Looks like you had a great time!
Looks like you all had fun and such a good experience.
The childcare looks very good and it’s great that it’s included in the price of the holiday.
I loved seeing all your photos on social media. This just looks such a fabulous venue for a family holiday. Lots of do but not overcrowded. I can’t wat to visit one day. Mich x
Looks, fantastic. We nearly went there over half term as a last minute holibob but girls all managed to get a lurgy so we couldn’t fly. It’s still on out list of places for a quick easy holiday and your photo’s make me want to get there sooner rather then later
Ah I love Mark Warner – so glad you have a fab time!
Sounds like it was bliss, I’m so sad I couldn’t join you all. I love the idea of the water sports and the childcare, I know my two would fully embrace the kids clubs and is love to try some water sports.
I followed everyone’s pics on instagram and facebook when you were away (I may have been a little envious) – we love Mark Warner and have been lucky enough to enjoy two holidays with them
I had no idea it was so quick to get to Corsica, I thought it would be about 4 hours x
Looks like such a fun holiday with so much to do!
looks like you had an amazing time! I’ve heard such good things about Mark Warner x
Oh wow what a gorgeous looking place – the food looks delicious and it sounds like such a fun resort.
I keep reading all these reviews and I am still not sure that Mark Warner is for us. We go on holiday to spend time together as a family, not to all be off doing something on our own. I have never left my kids in a kids club on their own and am not sure how I feel about it. I know that everyone is different, but Husbeast works so hard and only has short holidays so we want to spend them together.
It sounds amazing Emma – my two love the kids clubs as they love spending time with new friends their own age. They’ve made some great friends in the past and they’ve really made their holiday x
This looks fantastic – I love the look of the Mark Warner resorts, it just seems like there’s so much to do!
Great review Emma. I’ll link up to you now, as this give a really balanced view to mine as I didn’t use the child care. So lovely getting to know you and your family.
THis does look utterly amazing! Glad you had such a lovely time.
Oh that pic of Erin paddling is adorable! We had such a great time didn’t we Emma? 🙂 x
This looks such a great place – I have only heard excellent things about Mark Warner holidays, they sound fab. Kaz x