Our Neilson Airone Italy Holiday

Back in 2015 (pre-children) we went to the Neilson Sivota site, and it was one of the best holidays we've ever been on. We always said they we'd love to do it again. We have received the newsletters ever since. Last year we noticed that new sites were opening in various locations. We kept looking up prices, but unlike other holiday companies, you pay for babies. It seemed really expensive, especially going from 2 to 4. Once the boys turned 2 we had to pay for them no matter what. We did some research and Airone seemed one of the most family friendly, especially as Sivota had A LOT of steps!

 

Food
One of the most important things for me is good food and my goodness they did not fail! So much choice. Fantastic quality and very tasty. I've gained a fair bit of weight, but it was so worth it! 
They are club board, which means breakfast and lunch is included everyday, and 4 evening meals. 

They then offer dinner on the other 3 nights in their bar. To give an idea of cost, a calzone was 9 euro. The inclusive meals included a bottle of water (still or sparking), with juices for breakfast. Of course you can purchase other drinks as extra cost. 

 

There is also a bar of the beach and one by the pool. They serve ice creams. They varied from 1-3 euro each. 

The staff across the restaurants and bars were VERY attentive, and literally couldn't do enough for you.

Accommodation
We stayed in one of the garden rooms, which are separate from the main hotel. They were amazingly clean (and I'm picky), and it worked for us. The bathroom had temple spa products, which I love!

 

As we were on the ground floor we had an open type of balcony. It included a seating area, which was super handy when the boys were napping. The airer was also a godsend! We covered the front in sand everyday, and the cleaners managed to clear it up every day!

The pool was huge, and always quiet. They was a section for lane swimming, and then the rest was free swimming. The boys adored the pool.

The beach was separated from the main site by a row of pine trees. The beach is private for the hotel. To the right is all the boating equipment, and to the left is the sunbeds and umbrellas. There was always loads available, and the staff were always quick to put up the umbrella for us.

Kids Club
I think 'Kids Club' makes it sound so much less than it is. It's seriously fantastic! On the first day the kids are provides with a rash vest, hat and bag. They are great quality (Zoggs) and ideal for the type of holiday.

 

The club runs 9.30-5.30 and 2.30-11.30 on Tuesdays and Thursday. They have an itinerary up everyday, and your child can come and go as they please. They do so much with them, including swimming, sailing, kayaking, painting... Ours were in the 'Sea Urchins' group, which officially is 2-4 years but the group was large, so they were in a group of just 2 year olds. On the first day the boys wouldn't leave, when we went to fill in the paperwork. The second day Ollie had a proper meltdown. There Nanny (or Manny) Alfie was amazing. He cuddled, read stories as distraction, and 15 minutes later we'd see them walking off to the beach holding hands and smiles all round. 

 

Activities
The main feature to a Neilson holiday is that all the activities are included. You can do as much or as little as you like. You can sign up to classes to learn the basics, or extend your knowledge. Or you can just go out freestyle. As I was unfortunately feeling so unwell, we opted for freestyle, so I could go out when I was feeling okay. We did SUP'ing and kayaking. We even took the boys out kayaking too.

The Spa
After feeling pretty lousy, we decided to have a little pamper out of the sun for a while. Gavin had a back massage, and I had a pedicure. I would've had a massage too, but I was concerned about not being able to wipe my nose! I had a lovely chat with the beautician. Afterwards they have a lovely little room where you can chill out. It was a lovely experience. 

 

Even with us all being pretty unwell, it was a fantastic holiday. It certainly will not be our last, and I'm excited to visit another site.

Keep your eyes out on our YouTube. I'll vlog will be coming soon!

Thank you for reading! xxx

Camping with the Craig's

In an effort to save money, Gavin convinced me that camping was the way forward. I've never camped before, nor do I have any desire to, but it is a passion for Gavin, and he'd love the boys to experience it. I've agreed to give it a go (twice(because the first WILL be a guaranteed disaster)), and then if I still don't like it it'll be boys trips from then onwards.

In great attempts to make my experience as great as it can be, Gavin has spent many an hour trawling the internet for the perfect equipment, at bargain prices.

THE TENT

We have gone for the enormous Vango Marna 600 XL 6 Person Tent. It has a zipped porch area at the front, perfect to safely storing the boys buggy, without taking inside the floored tent. And hopefully for summer evenings, sat in a chair sipping on dark fruits cider. 

The mid section, is the living space. And then to the rear in the bedroom. It can be separated into two rooms, for when the boys get older and want their privacy. Unfortunately the room dividers won't block out the snoring, or farting from the boys in my life!

This is it! We have also purchased the added Vango foot print (groundsheet) and Vango carpet, to make it homely.

SLEEPING

Gavin knows that for me to stand any chance of enjoying the camping life, I need to get sleep. We got 2 x Double Air Bed and 1 x Single Air Bed. They are the EuroHike ones from Blacks, with a built in air pump. We tested them in our living room, and they seem alright!

Equipment

We have brought two adult chairs, and two child chairs. We're still looking for a storage unit or some sort, along with a inflatable sofa, if anyone has any recommendations?

EATING

We have picked up a collapsable washing bowl/chopping board, water containers and crockery (all in the sale). Gavin's parents have an old cooker from when he used to go as a kid, which we have tested and it still works. Gavin treated himself to a Weber go anywhere BBQ, which will be perfect for rustling up a tasty dinner every night (we can even use it as a small fire afterwards.)

The Plan

Gavin and his family often went camping to Devon when they were younger. One of his friends has highly recommended a campsite in Dorset that he wants to try as well. 

Please drop us a message if anyone has any recommendations for good family orientated camp sites/equipment/tips!

Wish me luck....GULP!

The Craig's Take On Paris - Travel & Villages Nature

Last year I was obsessed with the idea of taking the boys to Disney World Florida; but after a horrific flight with the boys to Spain that idea went firmly out the window.

We then started debating options that we could possibly drive to. I was still keen to go to another country. After our fantastic Center Parcs experience last year, we started looking at their overseas locations. We then thought about do a two-centre trip, including a visit to Disneyland Paris, and then we looked for the closest Centre Parcs location to it. To our surprise there was one right next door to the Disney owned Davey Crockett. We completely stumbled across it. It's a third owned by Centre Parcs, a third Disney, and a third by another company. We would get the best of both worlds!

We then decided to take the ferry as it was a lot cheaper than the euro tunnel. The ferry was very dated, but it was fine for the hour we were on it for. The boys were so well behaved, which really surprised me. 

Checking in was easy. We were given wristbands that opened our villa door, and also did the swimming pool lockers.

The villa was wonderful. I'm very fussy, but it was immaculate. You could tell that it was relatively new, as the place was modern and showed no wear and tear. Unlike our usual villa's the place was set over two floors, which I actually preferred. I like putting the boys to bed, and having a drink downstairs. You are supplied the usual miniatures in the kitchen, to tie you over for a few days. Towels in the bathroom, bedding, and one loo roll for each bathroom. We were missing the highchairs on arrival, but when calling up they supplied within 30 mins. My only bug bare was that we specifically messaged them prior to us coming to ask whether the cots supplied were travel cots, as the boys find them uncomfortable and they are noisy when they move about. They sent us a message back saying that they have very comfortable mattresses, so it wasn't an issue. Of course when we arrived we got one wooden cot with a comfortable mattress, and one travel cot. 

On site they have the standard pool you'd expect, but it does have the added bonus of an outside too. The pool was fantastic, and the boys confidence came on leaps and bounds during our stay. The only shame thing was the fact that 2 or the 3 children slides were out of action during our whole stay. Every morning we would walk to the Boulangerie to get fresh Croissants and Pain au chocolates. 

The restaurants are minimal. Initially we were shocked, but then we realised that most people only stay one night as a base for Disney. I guess most families would either eat in Disney, or prepare things in their kitchen. The kitchen was the let down for us. The oven, was actually a microwave oven that was a nightmare to use. We brought prepared meals, in foil trays that of course couldn't be placed in there. We ended up using the hob instead. 

The supermarket was fantastic and we visited at least once a day. From previous Centre Parcs experienced, the onsite stores really rip you off. I usually take as much as humanly possible, so I don't have to buy anything. This on the other hand was much fairer. We brought a lot of wine! A bottle of Savinonge blanc was €3.60 so it would be rude not to.

The Craig's Do Center Parcs, Woburn

Travel & Checking In

For the boys first trip away we decided to stay local.  The Woburn site is only around 40 minutes drive from ours, so we knew we could easily arrange feed times etc around the journey. It was a stressful morning trying to fit our house into our car🚗, but we did it! The boys slept most of the way, which was nice💤. 

We arrived around noon, and were given 2 wristbands upon check-in. The wristbands are your key to your room, lockers around the site and you can even upload a credit/debit card to it to use around the pool instead of carrying cash💷. We parked up, and just took the essentials for the next couple of hours. We headed straight to Guest Services, as they can provide extra wristbands for a £2 refundable charge. We were travelling with my in-laws so we picked up 2 extras. I'd recommend getting them, if it is for the extra locker space by the pool alone. 

The Accommodation

You are allowed in your lodge from 3pm. I'd recommend going down and getting in your car around 2.30pm, otherwise you can be queuing for a while. 

We were in OAK lodge 357. It is classified as a 'Two Bed Executive Lodge'. 

I was very pleasantly surprised! 

The rooms were modern, extremely clean and well equipped. I'm really fussy, and have a small case of OCD! 

Each bedroom had it's own ensuite. My in-laws has the shower, and we had the bath for the boys. They said the shower was lovely, and the bathroom came with a spa bath. I actually had to contact guest services to ask them how to make it work. We all said that there should be instructions in the bathroom. It turned out we didn't fill it enough. The bathroom included the typical hotel mini bottles, but we only used the hand soap.

The kitchen had all the essentials for preparing, cooking and dining. It even included a tea towel, oven gloves, a dish cloth, a sachet of washing up liquid, and 3 dishwasher tablets.

There was a chalkboard door, which is such a clever idea. I guess it would keep little ones quiet (or my husband in my case!)🙄 The room behind the chalkboard door was home to a cot, highchair, vacuum and broom. You need to supply your own bed linen for the cot. If you need extra cots, just contact guest services to arrange. 

I did take some footage of the Lodge, so once I've edited that up, I'll post on YouTube!

The garden/patio area is really nice too. You feel instantly connected to nature. Ducks and squirrels are up close at your patio doors. There is a BBQ area, but I'd recommend bringing a disposable/or coal one with you. They were being sold for crazy prices in the site supermarket. 

As we were in an executive lodge it included daily maid service. 'George' was amazing. He ended took apart our bbq we brought with us, cleaned out the ash and washed it up! They truly went over and above the call of duty!




Dining In or Out

I'd also recommend taking as much food with you as possible. Unless you are really organised, and have very deep pockets it's unrealistic to think you'll eat out every meal. Take a big cool bag/box stocked with food. The supermarket again charge astronomical prices. We looked at a pre prepared fish pie (maybe feed 4 at a push) was £17! You would definitely need to add veg etc to fill you up. At that price you might as well eat out. My amazing mother-in-law took care of 3 of the 4 nights dinners. We took bread, spreads, cereals and milk for breakfast. Some part bake baguette rolls, and sandwich fillers. We also took sausages, bacon, eggs, burgers so we could have a fried breakfast and a bbq one day. As you can probably guess... WE LOVE OUR FOOD.

There is a takeaway menu in the room, offering a variety of cuisines. We didn't take advantage of this, but worth considering, if you want to put the kids to bed and eat in peace. I think the delivery charge was around £3. 

There is a good selection of restaurants on site. When we arrived on our first day, we went to Cafe Rouge to kill some time before being able to get into our room. 

We had dinner on our last evening at Hucks. Hucks really reminded me of TGI Fridays.  

We had brunch on our last in the pancake house. They are also happy for you to have tea/coffee/shakes (mmm... highly recommend the shakes😛). The coffee is also Lavazza, so it's a good one!

Every restaurant had a laid back atmosphere, and I felt comfortable having the boys there. I suffer with real anxiety when it comes to taking the boys to restaurants. I must add the customer service was brilliant at every restaurant!  There is also two Starbucks on site. I only used the one by the pool, and I was pleased that they offered the full menu! I love a chocolate frappaccio! 

It's also good to note that every restaurant offers free baby food (e.g. Ella's Kitchen & Heinz) with a microwave, and a bottle warmer. This was a major life saver for us. Meaning we didn't have to carry around flasks and jars all day.

The Swimming Pool

I was most apprehensive about taking the boys swimming. They hadn't been before, and I was concerned that they would be too small to really enjoy it. I completely stand corrected. They had a blast. Venture Bay is an area designed for the under 2's. It has very shallow warm water, a couple of slides and some fountains. The boys loved it. The air temperature outside the pool was beautifully tropical, meaning that the babies didn't get cold when they were out of the water.

There was also a lazy river, so we popped the boys in their inflatable baby rings and they went around and around and around. Their little legs were kicking under the water like crazy. We even took them in the wave pool, and they loved watching the waving crashing. My in-laws offered to watch the boys so we could do the few flumes. I have fond childhood memories of the rapids at other locations, but it was much more gentle at Woburn. My favourite flume was the tropical cyclone. You can sit 2-4 people on a raft, and oh my you are in for a surprise! 

The only niggle we had was relating to the changing rooms. I guess there isn't many visitors with infant twins, but as you have to leave your stroller outside and the changing table had no strap, it meant my husband having to take it in turns to get ready and holding the babies. Holding two 8 month babies whilst the other gets dressed is tiring, and that's before we had even got to the pool. And then trying to deal with two wet slippy babies when we got out is even more fun!

If you have been to any of the other Centre Parcs sites, you must note that their Subtropical Paradise area is much smaller than the others. It's ideal for preschoolers, but maybe consider one of the others for bigger children.


Bowling
We went bowling twice to cover the lull in the morning after breakfast, when the boys nap. I would imagine this would be pretty busy in the evening, especially as there isn't many lanes. The nice thing is that you just pay for 45 mins, no matter how many people you are. There was a good variety of balls, and plenty of shoes. 

Badminton
We also took along our badminton🏸 rackets for a game. It had been a while (A LONG WHILE) since I had last played, so I was shattered. Also I'm not the most competitive person usually, but when it comes to my husband losing I love it. For a split second I felt like I was in the Olympics, and dived (yes dived) to hit that damn shuttlecock back to him. I went completely fell arse over tit, scraped my knee... but I got it, until he returned it and I was still sprawled out on the floor!😂

Walking/Cycling

I'm not usually a huge fan of walking about I really enjoyed wondering around and exploring. 

It's much smaller than the other sites, so our Lodge was one of the furthest away, and it was a 10-15 minutes walk to The Plaza. 

There's also various trails to follow, or just the stroll to the pool/ restaurants is lovely. We took a long stroll around the whole complex and saw the varied array of activities on offer. 

I'm looking forward to the boys being older, so we can try out archery, and laser shooting. I'd also like to take a boat out on the lake!

If you follow us on Instagram you'd know we had a fab time. 

For us this was a 10/10 break, and it was certainly what we needed to recharge as a family. Although the boys were teething, and hardly slept.

I think it's safe to say that we will certainly be returning! 

We even entered the #spotthebot competition in hopes that we'd have some money to put towards it.. Wish us luck!

Packing essentials if you are travelling with a baby/toddler:

• Nappies
• Wipes
• Moisturiser/Oil (The chlorine replacement is quite drying to the skin)
• Baby Toiletries
• Child's cutlery
• Dummies/pacifier (if applicable)
• Bottles and/or Beakers
• Formula
• Calpol 
• Steriliser & Tools
• Bibs (I brought disposable)
• Pool towels
• Swim nappies & Swimming costume
• Inflatable ring/ Arm bands (They provide life jackets from 15kg)
• Water/Bath Toys
• Suncream/Cap (in summer)
• Cot Bedding/ Blanket/ Sleeping Bag
• Nightlight/ Monitor
• Kitchen Roll 
• Washing Up Liquid
• Anti-Bacterial Wipes
• Pyjamas
• Vests, Socks, Tops, Trousers/Shorts, Dribble Bibs
• Muslins