Still deciding on a family holiday destination for a last minute summer break or thinking ahead to next year? Having just got back from our two week family holiday, we would highly recommend this location and hotel!

Where? Viva Sunrise hotel in Alcudia, Mallorca.

Why? It’s quick and easy to travel here from the UK, the beaches and surrounding mountain views are stunning, the weather is glorious (maybe not guaranteed but more so than the UK!!)  with a constant cooling breeze and there is loads to do for the kids, both in and outside of the hotel.

We had such a lovely time that I’d like to sing the hotel’s praises in a bit more detail and in doing so, I got a bit carried away and wrote far too much for one post! Therefore, to make it a bit more ‘reader friendly’, I’ve decided to split it and follow-up next week with more detail. So here is how and why we had such a great family holiday where everyone (not just the kids) had a whale of a time!!

 

Our first morning at breakfast:

The Boy: “Mum! Can I have a chocolate donut?”

Me: “Donut? It’s 8.30 in the morning, we don’t have chocolate for breakfast.”

The Boy: “But there are donuts and cake and pancakes and muffins. They are for breakfast! Can I have one please, please, pleeeeeeeease?”

Me: “Is that Champaign over there (well Cava but still…..)? We’re on holiday so have what you like…….”

 

So, we’ve just returned from a fab, all inclusive holiday staying at the Viva Sunrise hotel in Alcudia, Mallorca. We stayed on an all inclusive basis though the hotel has other board options available. The hotel is totally set up for young families and was perfect for our lot aged 5,7 & 10. Grandma (my mum) joined us for seven nights mid-holiday, and just paid the ‘up-grade to all-inclusive’ fee per night and stayed in our apartment that slept six anyway. My mum is fab, she’s a very hands-on Grandma and the kids love her! We didn’t tell them that she was coming, smuggled her in and onto a sun-lounger while they were playing, their faces were an absolute treat when they saw her- priceless!! Mum insisted that J and I go out for dinner somewhere outside of the hotel, just the two of us, needless to say, we did. We love you Grandma!!!!!

The hotel rooms and communal areas were kept amazingly clean (with a few exceptions that I’ll get onto later) with cleaners literally sweeping constantly, around eating areas as well as by the pool. The food was the best we have experienced in an all inclusive buffet for both quality and choice, with food and drinks available from somewhere, when ever we wanted it (bar shut at 11pm but with young kids, that was late enough for us!). The kids had plenty to do whether that be playing in the pools, playground or joining the kids club activities including art, cooking, treasure-hunts, performing arts and games. They made loads of friends and generally had a great time! As all parents know, if the kids are having fun, then the parents are too, we didn’t see them for hours at at time- fan-bloody-tastic!!

  

I’m really not a big drinker and, in all honesty, we probably didn’t get our full monies worth as far as alcohol was concerned but the ‘ease-factor’ of being all-inclusive really made up for that! The fact that the kids could help themselves to ice-lollies and drinks all day or try new foods in small it-doesn’t-matter-if-you-don’t-like-it portions because you can just go and get something else, made it worth it. In fact, it was a really good lesson in portion sizing for the kids as they are old enough to collect food themselves. At first they would go mad and pile up their plates, which is something a lot of people do, but I hate waste, even in this situation and they soon learned to take a little of a few different things and return for more later if necessary. Needless to say, J and I still put on a few pounds with all that gorgeous food around- it would be rude not to!!

      

It was all too easy to just laze by the pool while the kids burnt off their extra sugar intake, charging around the place! But by the second week, we needed to get out and explore! The beach was a short 5 minute walk away and was a long stretch of glorious golden sand. We walked down to the port along the beach and found that at the end (just before you reach the port), if you don’t mind sitting on your towel under a tree, rather than a lounger with a parasol, it’s quieter, less breezy and the bay creates a shallow mill-pond effect, where the kids can play and I’m not worried that I’ll lose sight of them.

    

There were also lots of places to eat along the sea front and especially by the port, we only ate out a few times (having paid for the all-inclusive option at the hotel) but it was all good and being a bit snobby when it comes to food, we are not easily pleased! We also bought a few souvenirs in shops around here and if you are looking for something other than the ‘usual tat’ (!) this is the place to come. They were allowed up to €10 each and chose these:

The Boy chose the surf board to hang on his wall and the girls chose these lovely jewellery boxes decorated in starfish and sea shells.

So, all in all, a great time had by all, where our only real issue was having tired children! They wanted to do everything, see the shows and/or play with their friends until gone 10pm and were eager to get up early and into the pool in the morning. We had to negotiate a few cat-naps here and there with the younger two and there were a few occasions when they just crashed out on a sun-bed in the middle of the day! Most afternoons, we had to bribe them out of the pool with the promise of some iPad time (iPads were only allowed in the room) which also meant that we could enjoy a drink on our balcony in piece once they were showered. Happy Mummy and Daddy!!

Have you had a fab family holiday that you would recommend? Have you visited Alcudia or anywhere in Mallorca? I’m always looking for great destinations for family holidays so please let me know if you have a recommendation!

As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be following up next week with more details about the hotel itself so please sign up to receive an email when I post! Thanks for reading xx