Kids' clubs child's play for parents

Are kids' clubs really such a great social and educational experience or more of a godsend for frazzled parents who need a break? And do they enhance or limit a holiday? EDEL MORGANfinds out

MY TWO ELDEST are only now at an age where they can go to kids’ clubs on holiday. Initially I was dubious about the concept. Isn’t it effectively leaving your kids with strangers to have adult time on what is supposed to be a family holiday?

A recent stay in a Mayo hotel (see castlecourthotel.ie) during February midterm break changed my mind. The club ran for an incredible nine hours a day: in the morning for games and swimming and again in the evening for arts and crafts, dinner and a DVD from 9pm to 11pm.

Too much? I thought so, especially as they loved it so much we had to bribe them to step outside into daylight to see the local sights. But ultimately it transpires that kids love to hang out with other kids on holiday and because we weren’t forcing them to go to the kids’ club, the pay-off is that we got to spend some guilt-free time relaxing.

But are kids’ clubs really such a great social and educational experience or more of a godsend for frazzled parents who need a break? And do they enhance or limit a holiday? Six parents with children of different ages give their views.

Adrienne Curran, Dublin

I have been singing the praises of the Hodson Bay Hotel in Athlone, Co Westmeath because when we stayed there they ran a club in the evening as well and our five-year-old was dead keen to go and loved going off to dinner with the other kids. He’s in day care so he’s used to the concept of being away from us. Every evening there was a movie with popcorn which was a great novelty.

Another very family-friendly hotel is the Bedruthan Steps Hotel in Cornwall, which has a kids’ club and a crèche for babies. We went over thinking we’d use the crèche more than we did but, in the end, we didn’t feel comfortable leaving the baby there for any length of time because babies don’t tend to like change. I definitely think there’s a big gap in the market for clubs for special needs kids. My niece’s son is special needs and it’s a barrier to her going away on holiday.

The Hodson Bay Hotel (hodsonbayhotel.com) is offering two nights BB and one dinner for two adults and two children for €335, and this includes its Penguin kids’ camp and grandparents stay free.

Prices at the Benruthan Steps Hotel (bedruthan.com) near Newquay in Cornwall start at £116 (€131) on a BB basis for a double or twin room per night. Until May 27th the youngest child aged six or under stays free if sharing a parent’s room on seven-night stays or stays of three nights or more between Sunday and Thursday.

The Fota Island Hotel and Spa Resort (fotaisland.com) in Cork runs kids’ camps during the holidays and has an unsupervised play room. Family interconnecting rooms cost from €259 per night in high season which doesn’t include breakfast.

Tina Lynch, Cork

We went to Los Zocos in Costa Teguise, Lanzarote two years ago which has a kids’ club. We had been there the year before too and our daughter thought it was brilliant.

When we went back the next time she wanted to do everything in the kids’ club so we couldn’t leave but our son was too small to go to the club so we sat around the pool all day long.

Last July we went to Lanzarote again and stayed in a different apartment development called Punta Jablillo with no kids’ club. It was only when we didn’t have one that we realised what we missed out on by being tied to the club. We did so much more as a family. Our daughter made her own fun with her brother and enjoyed herself anyway.

Los Zocos Club Resort (loszocos.com) has a kids’ mini club which offers games, crafts and painting, a mini disco and children’s shows in the Aguamarina Club. Two adults and two children self-catering for a week through Falcon Holidays (falconholidays.ie) in early June costs €1,679, including one free child place, making a saving of €422.

Seven nights self-catering at Punta Jablillo costs €651 per adult and €422 per child for seven nights, including flights, departing on July 2nd through latedeals.ie.

Amie O’Shaughnessy, editor of Ciaobambino.com

Programmes that are camp-style like Paintbox at Montage Laguna Beach in southern California get top marks with an evolving schedule of crafts, games, and outdoor activities. Movies and computers are used for breaks only, not core club time.

To miss out on a session means kids miss something special; our son begged us to get back to the kids’ club each morning. Exceptional programmes also integrate education and engagement with the local culture and environment so the destination has an impact.

The Jean-Michel Cousteau Ambassadors of the Environment is a perfect example of this in practice with kids’ club excursions and activities that focus on eco-education. We experienced this phenomenal club at the Ritz-Carlton in Grand Cayman but the chain runs this programne at some of its other resorts.

Beware, some kids’ clubs integrate swimming into sessions. This can be a great plus if swimming is done right with adequate instructor ratios. We participated in a programme at a luxury hotel that wasn’t up to snuff (never assume a well-respected hotel brand means swimming safety). After that point, I’m extra diligent about the questions I ask at drop-off. Don’t be afraid to stipulate what you want your kids to be doing during the day. Any hesitation to honour reasonable requests is a red flag.

Montage Laguna Beach (montagelagunabeach.com) costs from $5,178 (€3,689) for two adults and two children for six nights in high season which includes accommodation in an “Ocean King” coastal room and BB.

Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton (ritzcarlton.com) on Grand Cayman are from $349 (€248) per night in high season. It has a summer offer of five nights for the price of four.

Helen Bourke- Barnwell, Dublin

The last kids’ club we used was on a Sunsail holiday and our kids were very small. I’d say older kids attending clubs there were getting a better deal as they were taught to sail and windsurf but, at the time, we were using the club for the youngest kids as childcare.

At the time, with two very young children, any break from them turned out to be very welcome and a bit of a marriage saver. But nowadays for us a family holiday is just that: the kids hang out with us all day, do the daytrips, the shopping, the sightseeing, etc.

We don’t see the point in taking them abroad to hang out with their own type – they do that in their free time at home. I feel that some kids are so overloaded at home with extra-curricular stuff that they don’t get that free play and perhaps they need that when they go away.

Sunsail Vounaki Beach Club in Greece has five kids’ clubs for different age groups, including a beach team for teens which offers more flexible hours. The clubs are free (apart from the one for children aged from four months to two years), and have treasure hunts, barbecues, night crèche and night activity club plus supervised mealtimes for all kids. A Sunsail holiday through Sunway (sunway.ie) for two adults and two kids for a week from June 26th is £3,196 (€3,639). A week from July 3rd is £4,900 (€5,579). Flights are included and are ex-London Gatwick to Preveza.

Joyce Hickey, Dublin

We were at the Hotel Westport last summer and the boys went to the Panda Club and loved it. They didn’t do every activity, every day, but they could dip in and out of the programme depending on the weather, and on what else we wanted to do (and it’s Westport, there’s tons to do). Every morning there was a big flipchart in the hotel foyer with the day’s activities laid out. There was a breakfast train, which meant the club leaders, all chirpy twentysomethings in cheery T-shirts, collected the kids from their rooms and brought them to a sectioned-off part of the dining room where they could eat all the Coco Pops they wanted and avoid the wholemeal toast that their cruel parents would have forced them to eat.

There was face painting in county colours, crazy golf and a trip to the playground and a cinema outing. There was a parents’ and kids’ talent show, and ball games. There were DVDs at night – and that was our only quibble: it was nigh-on impossible to extract the kids before the end of the film, which sometimes was 10pm. And there were very happy children.

The four-star Hotel Westport (hotelwestport.ie) has a Panda Club and Cubs Corner. It has a family offer, costing €499, for two adults and two children from April 15th to 30th which includes three nights BB in a family room, dinner on one evening for the adults, dinner each evening for the children, daily activities with the Panda Club, use of the leisure facilities and one activity from a Killary Harbour cruise, four-hour cycle hire for the family or a family day pirate pass to Westport House.

Dave Curran, Galway

I’ve been to hotel kids’ clubs where there seems to be a huge number of kids racing around with no particular activity going on and nobody who seems to be in charge. A mini Dáil, if you like. But we’ve also had some wonderful experiences.

We were once on holidays in Lanzarote in the Sol Lanzarote Hotel where the staff were terrific to the kids. They spoke at least four languages, had a staff uniform, all seemed to be lifeguards and took part in activities rather than just supervising, and all seemed to be destined to be on the stage.

I always think that if more hotels made the kids’ club experience the best part of the holiday for the children, they would have repeat business as, as we all know, if the kids are happy, we, as parents, are delighted.

A seven-night break in a self-catering apartment in the Sol Lanzarote resort from July 31st through Panorama for two adults and two children including one free child place costs €2,086. See panorama.ie.

Top tips for kids' clubs

THE SAMEcommon sense applies on holiday as at home. If you don't feel comfortable leaving your child in a kids' club, trust your instincts and don't do it.

HOW DOyou know that a kids' club is a well run? It will have health and safety procedures in place and will ask you to fill in a form and give your mobile number when you enrol your child at their first session as well as sign them in and out of each session.

IF IT'Sa big resort, you should be kept informed where the kids are at all times and do your research before agreeing to allow them leave the hotel or resort on a day trip or local excursion with staff members.

DON'T ASSUMEthat an expensive hotel or luxury brand means that the kids' club is great.

A GOODclub will be well organised with different activities every day, the equipment and games will be in good condition, and the staff experienced (as opposed to the receptionist being drafted in to oversee the mayhem).

WHAT ISthe staff-to-child ratio? One staff member to six children is ideal, although the younger the children the more supervision they will need.

THE BESTclubs will allow flexibility so parents can choose half- or full-day programmes or kids can dip in and out of activities.

ALTHOUGH GROUPINGsame-age kids together enables the best age-appropriate activities some children mature more quickly – or might want to stick with an older sibling – and may feel happier in a club for slightly older children. There's nothing to stop you from asking if your child can go into the different age club, although some staff can be reluctant to accommodate this.

AND REMEMBERsome children don't want to go to kids' clubs on holiday, and even though you may feel they'll enjoy it, it's their holiday too.