Resort review: Neilson Beachclubs

Even a week in the pouring rain couldn’t put TravelMole associate editor Linsey McNeill’s teenagers off Neilson Beachclubs.

"As our flight pushed through gun-metal grey skies to land at Kalamata airport, I started to wonder if it had been a mistake booking a family holiday to Greece for October half-term. My fears were confirmed when my husband leant across the aisle and showed me his iPhone with the weather forecast for the week – 15 degrees and rain all week in Greece, 21 degrees and sunshine in London!

That night we huddled in the hotels’ chilly dining room and watched rain bouncing off the large lap pool outside, trying to imagine how fantastic it would look in the sunshine. As we walked back to our room, sloshing through puddles, we passed soggy, abandoned Fatboy bean bags slumped dejectedly against trees. That pretty much summed up how we were feeling.

We’d booked a Neilson Beachclubs holiday because of the vast choice of activities available on site and included in the price: cycling and mountain biking for my husband; sailing, waterskiing and windsurfing for the kids; paddleboarding, tennis coaching and a bit of yoga for me.

We’d spent a fantastic week last summer at Neilson’s Retreat Beachclub in Sivota, which was one of our most successful family holidays. The hotel, built into a hillside overlooking the sea, has gorgeous views, the open-sided restaurant is pleasant, the food very good and the open-air bar is a great place to hang out in the evening. There’s also a spa, but I’m not a spa-person so I couldn’t tell you what it’s like.

However, it was the fantastic range of watersports and land-based activities, most of which come with free tuition, that made the holiday stand out, plus the kids’ clubs for our children, 13 and 15. They spent most of the week flitting between the clubs (they were free to come and go as they pleased) and messing about on the water with similar aged teenagers they’d met at the resort They  joined me and my husband from time to time to go waterskiing, canoeing or sailing,  but most meal times we dined alone while our children sat with their friends.

My husband took a guided bike ride almost every day and, on the one or two occasions I dragged myself from a sunlounger to join him, I was really impressed by the quality of the equipment – their lightweight bikes made riding uphill so easy – and the attention of the instructors who didn’t mind waiting for me while the other, fitter, youngr cyclists went on ahead. The fabulous views of the deep blue sea on one side and the soft green olive groves on the other also helped ease the thigh burn!

So at the end of the week we were hooked on the Neilson concept, hence the decision to return to Greece with Neilson for half-term, this time to the Messini Beachclub, expecting more of the same. We just hadn’t reckoned on it raining.

It was too wet on the first three days for bike rides, my tennis sessions were also cancelled, as were all the water-based activities. Thankfully our rooms were spacious and warm so my husband and I did a lot of reading inside while the kids and their new-found friends were usually to be found huddled under pool tables round the pool or in the lobby, which was the only place they could hook up to their life-support, sorry, I mean wifi.

But on day four, the sun came out and we saw for the first time just how glorious the pool really was with the rays not the rain bouncing off it. Activities were hastily rearranged, the young Neilson staff suddenly burst out into a frenzy of activity, scheduling additional bike rides and watersports sessions to make up for the lost days. My husband finally got back in the saddle, I enjoyed a tennis lesson, my son and a friend he’d met that week took out a catamaran and we all went out waterskiing.

All of the instruction and equipment was top-notch. I was amazed that my 13 year old and a mate who had very little sailing experience between them were allowed to just grab a boat and go out in fairly windy conditions, but when they inevitably capsized someone from the sailing crew swiftly arrived by power boat to rescue them.

In the evening, which was one of the three nights that dinner wasn’t included at the hotel, we wandered up the quiet country road to the Phoenix small traditional Greek taverna for a lovely family dinner.

Sadly the dry weather didn’t last long and the next time we saw the sun was on the day we were leaving, when it was, typically, scorching.

However, the weather didn’t put us off Neilson holidays. We’re going back again in July, this time to Turkey where we’re looking forward to trying out the activities at the Andriake Beachclub. For a family with active teenagers who like to socialise with kids the same age, the Neilson concept really works – although I wouldn’t risk any holiday in Greece in late October again!"