Great summer getaways

From swanky self-catering apartments on the Cornish coast to grand Tuscan villas and luxurious Caribbean resorts with complimentary childcare, school summer holiday deals are aplenty, says Jo Fernàndez

Jo Fernandez

31 July 2013

So school has broken up and, despite the heatwave here at home, 14 million of us will head overseas between now and early September, according to ABTA. Among them, thousands of families will be booking trips to Mallorca, the Canary Islands and Turkey in particular.

If you haven’t yet booked it’s not too late, with good availability still in the aforementioned popular spots as well as Italy, France, Portugal and Greece — and further afield in the Caribbean.

In some cases, the foreign holidays are cheaper than the UK ones — though for my money a trip to the Cornish coast while the balmy weather lasts is hard to beat.

New England-style four-star hotel Hell Bay on Bryher — the smallest inhabited island of Scilly — has a new long-weekend package to celebrate the opening of its pop-up rustic restaurant called The Crab Shack, serving Bryher crab, and the spa room.

A four-night break costs £780 per adult (£220 per child) half board including a dinner on Monday at the Crab Shack and a spa treatment per adult. Return flights from Land’s End, island transfers and travel insurance are also included in the price, hellbay.co.uk

With interiors by Household Design, the team behind Shoreditch House, The Village, Watergate Bay, in north Cornwall, opened at the end of June with two- and four-bedroom properties decked out with open-plan living areas, high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows as well as an outside shower and storage for surfboards and wet suits. Seven nights for the price of five are available from August 2 in a two-bed property for £1,078 (saving £301), beachretreats.co.uk/village

The four-star Myhotel Brighton in Brighton’s North Laine has colourful, karmic artwork, futuristic furniture arranged according to feng shui principles and a café-deli selling ice cream. Nearby is the Pavilion, the seafront and pier.

The “More4Less” family offer of £285 B&B for three-night stays in superior double bedrooms includes one child under 12 staying free of charge. Available until September 9 2013, myhotels.com

For a final fling before school starts, Hawke’s Point luxury self-catering apartments in Carbis Bay, on the Cornish coast near St Ives, has open-plan layouts with floor-to-ceiling sea views, white French antique-style furniture, Villeroy & Boch crockery and Bose and Nintendo Wii gadgets. A concierge service is available and you can book surfing or paddle- boarding lessons, as well as visits to galleries and restaurants.

Three nights in a two-bedroom balcony apartment, sleeping three, £590 and a two-bedroom penthouse apartment, sleeping four, £860, are both available from August 30,hawkes-point.co.uk

EUROPE

Villa Carda near Arezzo (the setting for Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient) in Tuscany is a secluded 19th-century villa in acres of parkland views over Casentinesi Forest Park. It has a heated swimming pool, mountain bikes, Turkish bath and a Jacuzzi. Elegant bedrooms are furnished with antiques. The bakery van can deliver each morning and a chef can be arranged (as can cooking classes) and, fittingly, there’s a pizza oven.

Seven nights from August 24—31 costs €4,500 (saving €1,000), sleeps 12, sawdays.co.uk

The recently re-launched Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort (formerly the Four Seasons), near Tourettes in the hills of Provence, sits within the Domaine de Terre Blanche, a huge private estate with two championship golf courses, a David Leadbetter Golf Academy, a heated outdoor infinity pool, tennis courts, a kids’ club (ages two to 12), private outdoor pool and spa with a 20m indoor pool.

Superior suites with private terrace and lounge cost €450 per night B&B for two with two under-12s sharing (room only) and complimentary access to the kids’ club. Available from August 25 until September 2, terre-blanche.com

Pierre & Vacances has availability at its Port Bourgenay Holiday Village in châteaux country in the Loire Valley. Set over 220 acres of stretches of water and lake with two 18-hole golf courses, family activities range from circus skills class to flying trapeze and DJ lessons.

A studio apartment, with bright contemporary décor, sleeping four, now costs £457 for seven nights (reduced by £196) arriving on August 24, pv-holidays.com

Sleek contemporary Martinhal Beach Resort and Hotel, on a protected natural park near Sagres on the Algarve, has a combination of a five-star hotel and family villas with restaurants, a spa and activities for the children.

The hotel has availability from August 11-14, and from August 26 onwards for €301 B&B (two adults and one under two) per night. A few luxury villas with private swimming pool from €788 per night, self-catering, are still available until September 3, martinhal.com

The five-star Agua Hotels Vale da Lapa, set between the fishing villages of Carvoeiro and Ferragudo on the Algarve, has suites and villas in lush gardens with lakes and two outdoor pools. Seven nights in a family suite costs £479pp B&B (based on two adults and two children) and return flights from Stansted departing August 7,lowcostholidays.com

The Peligoni Club in Zakynthos, Greece, specialises in watersports with a bar, restaurant and spa on site. Seven nights at Meganisi, a whitewashed villa, sleeping four with sea views and barbecue, costs £960 (saving £240).

Membership to the Peligoni Club, including watersports, is available from £210 for under-12s; over-13s £345, flights extra. EasyJet flies to Zante from Gatwick from £389. Available from August 22, peligoni.com

Exodus has a multi-activity week for families on Turkey’s Turquoise Coast, based at the Oreo Hotel in the fishing village of Ka, with a swimming pool and a restaurant bar. The holiday features activities from diving and sea kayaking to boat trips and canyon walks, each taking place on a different day of the week. Families can take their pick to make their stay as active or as relaxed as they like.

Exodus has seven nights for £679 per adult, £639 per child B&B including return flights. Minimum age is three years old. From August 19–26. Packages to Malta and Gozo are also available, August 16-23, £999 adults, £949 per child. exodustravels.com

Senses Villas are two ultra-modern properties set among olive groves in picturesque Sivota, opposite Corfu, with pine-clad hills and pristine coves. The villas, each sleeping four, are within short walking distance of Bella Vraka Beach, with the top-floor master suite offering stunning sea views from the Jacuzzi bath. The ground floor opens out on to a large deck, perfect for al fresco dining next to the private pool.

Seven nights costs £892pp (four sharing) including return flights from Gatwick to Preveza and transfers, gicthevillacollection.com

CARIBBEAN

Cobbler’s Cove, a five-star Relais & Chateaux seafront hotel on the west coast of Barbados, has tropical gardens that contrast with its English country-house aesthetic.

Tropic Breeze has seven nights for the price of five from £1,899 B&B per adult and £949 per child, based on two adults and two children sharing, with return Virgin Atlantic flights from Gatwick and return airport transfers. Two children aged under 16 can stay, eat and drink for free (includes breakfast, dinner and soft drinks), along with two hours of supervised children’s activities per day including watersports, swimming with turtles, tennis and sailing coaching. Departs August 5. cobblerscove.com

Sat on a 100-acre estate with two white sand beaches, and complimentary non-motorised watersports and Kidz Club, the St James’s Club and Villas in Antigua is situated near English Harbour and Nelson’s Dockyard.

Virgin Holidays has seven nights for £1,325 all-inclusive (based on two adults and two children travelling, sharing a premium room, price includes all applicable taxes and fuel surcharges which are subject to change), return flights with Virgin Atlantic from Gatwick and transfers. Departs on August 20,virginholidays.co.uk

Rosewood Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands, has a complimentary daytime children’s club, swimming pools and a half-mile beach backed by verdant gardens. Caribtours has seven nights from £8,640 per family room only (based on two adults and two children under 12 sharing two interconnecting Premium Ocean View Rooms). Includes return scheduled flights from Gatwick via Antigua on August 14, transfers and use of a lounge at Gatwick, caribtours.co.uk

*All prices quoted available at time of going to press.

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