As she lay on her sun longer listening to the gentle crashes of waves on the beach just behind her, Ruthie knew she’d made the right decision to come on this holiday. To say she was relaxed was an understatement and as that’s what holidays are supposed to be about she felt rather pleased with herself indeed. They’d been away as a family before of course but with children in tow the chill levels had never managed to quite achieve what they once had in her single days. It hadn’t been bad in the past, no, definitely not bad, but sunny trips had been very different with little people in the mix and although it felt a tad selfish right now, she couldn’t help but enjoy in this time on her own just listening to the breeze, sea and laughter of those around her as she read a book.

And that’s another thing she’d done little of since becoming a mother. Reading! Holidays used to be spent devouring pastel covered book after pastel covered book. You know the sort, girl meets boy, there’s some sort of difficulty in them getting together but by the last chapter things come good as the characters skip off into the love nest sunset together. The literary equivalent of East Enders where you barely have to look at the pages to soak up the story which repeats itself over again although with slightly different kooky lead girls and varying jobs for the dishevelled bearded love interest. It may seem banal to some but she enjoyed them and yet easy readers as they were, these days there wasn’t a moment to even take in a back cover. She was lucky if she made her way entirely through the school news letters before the week was over and a next issue had been sent home in book bags so to be in the sunshine and on book number 5 of the holiday was a true miracle!

They’d gone away just the two of them a couple of years ago for a friend’s wedding in Marbella but it hadn’t been the holiday she’d thought it might. She remembered looking forward to the break and envisaging that it would be then when she’d get to pick up her trashy novels whilst lazing about next to a pool. The reality instead had seen them three nights of hurried activity attending rehearsals, the wedding itself and then a party the next day too meaning she’d barely had a moments peace and as for relaxation, well, let’s say the 4am party ends were not conducive to a mother of small children. They HAD had fun, she couldn’t deny it but it hadn’t been her idea of a holiday and when she’d missed the children so much her heart ached, it was the cherry on the cake to going home. No holiday before had seen her run to the plane desperate for take-off but she’d been so in need of chubby digits clutching inside her own hand and a toddler kiss that she breathed big sighs of relief the minute they’d landed back in Blighty; she’d known then that it wasn’t what a holiday should be once her family had been created. She decided that relaxation could come later and if not for the foreseeable so be it. A holiday had to involve the children of that she was sure and, as with lots of other things in life once motherhood is achieved, some of the little things she’d enjoyed about holidays before babies were in the past and that’s just how it had to be. The sacrifice was small compared to the missing of them when she was away and the beautiful family memories created when they were all together was far more important now.

She brought herself back into the present half opening one eye just to check this was all real. Looking down the bed at her outstretched limbs, sun kissed and glowing, she saw that yes, it was indeed her and not some imposter wearing the new ‘mum tum flattening’ swim suit she’d bought before the trip. She really was sandwiched in a calm between the prettiest beach and the most glorious looking swimming pool; it wasn’t a dream. She was quite guiltlessly enjoying her own company whilst basking in the sunshine and smiled to herself with contentment. What a different perspective she had now that she was actually on this holiday and not just thinking about it. All her fears for the children being away from her had subsided and as if by magic she’d been transformed back into her old self just for a while, just for the now. And Jonny, who in all honesty hadn’t had any such worries about the children being entertained elsewhere, was in his element too.

They’d often tiffed on holiday when they were just a couple because he’d so needed to fill the days with wanting to be up and at them from dawn doing some sort of activity. He’d lay about for a certain amount of time but definitely had a use by date on the length he could stretch out turning to get an even tan and after batting back and forth they usually reached a mutually beneficial conclusion. Small compromises for each of them back then and now of course their compromise usually had to be all adult activity abandoned. In a previous life he’d loved booking them on snorkelling trips or taking long walks around the places they visited but with children to consider now he’d had to give up the idea of anything sporty in favour of sand castle building and swim teaching. He adored the latter absolutely but Ruthie had known a little part of him hankered for a spot of water sports or similar in much the same way she’d half still had dreams of doing absolutely nothing all day in the sun! Just look at them now she’d thought, they’d assumed they’d have to surrender the children’s happiness in order to do their own thing now and again and made the easy decision not to. That’s what parenting was all about, giving up the last chocolate Rolo equivalent to life and even though it was easy, the children were everything, it didn’t mean they hadn’t wistfully remembered long balmy evenings doing nothing but drinking chilled beers and playing cards, days spent lazily sun bathing or swimming out to the next bit of land they could see and enjoying being a couple. A holiday with no time restraints or other people to consider had seemed way off in the distance and not wanting to wish these precious days of their childhood away they’d not thought about it much at all. They were lucky, they had date nights at home so holidays had to be for the family. It was as simple as that. Decided.

Then she’d read about this family holiday they were enjoying right now, a holiday which promised parents time on their own without leaving the children behind and before you ask it no, not so that they could be stuffed in some balmy room to play with broken crayons as a teenager watches them while absently looking at her phone. Not in the slightest. This Mark Warner holiday propositioned qualified nannies to look after children as young as four months and from the age of two it would all be built into the price. Jimmy could go in for half a day while Florence could do as little or as much of the morning and afternoon sessions as she chose. With water sports and other exciting activities being on the agenda as well as games, sports and (when they were inside modern airy creches) playing with state of the art equipment. It all sounded a little too good to be true and as soon as she read about the free evening listening service where you take the children to an early high tea before getting them ready for bed and dropping them off with nannies to watch movies in their snuggle sacks before falling asleep, ready to be picked up at 11pm, it sealed the deal. She had only thought that there HAD to be a catch… But she was wrong.

Prior to departure she’d read up every review she could find but everyone seemed to say it was all exactly as described in the brochure. The children were superbly looked after and although, absolutely, other mothers HAD had the fear of just ‘dumping’ their kids so that they could relax, she’d not been able to find one bad word about it from them once they’d actually been. Then, on describing the style of the holiday to her six year old daughter, worrying she’d think she was being abandoned again, only this time not left at home with a Grandparent who loves her but with someone she didn’t even know, she simply said ‘Great Mummy, when can we go?’. And they’d decided there and then that they would take the plunge. It was expensive, she had to admit, but if everything was really as described then it would surely be worth it. You only live once so we may as well live and learn she’d thought and with three meals a day taken care of and all the activities for the whole family from tennis and bike riding to sailing, paddle boarding, windsurfing and more, not to mention the kid’s clubs, it seemed like a very fair deal indeed. Now, after all the anticipation, they were here and loving every second. Boy had they made the right choice and yet again, for the umpteenth time this holiday, she patted herself of the back. Jonny was off sailing, Jimmy, who’d been nervous about going to the creche the first day and had insisted his sister stay with him in his age group for that first session had completely embraced it and Florence, well, she was off doing everything and loving it too!

The children couldn’t wait to get breakfast over and done with each day so that they could get in their age group sessions and have fun but every morning they had had to withstand the three course first meal of the day their parents were enjoying. When it was finally time to wave goodbye as they darted off to meet up with their friends in the clubs they were champing at the bit and desperate to get on with whatever the nannies had planned for them. They each had someone assigned to them like a key worker at regular nursery but they spent their days filled with beach games, water activities and making new friends to explore with. Ruthie had watched Jimmy on day two, racing around the creche on a Wheelie Bug, just like the one he had at home and she knew he was happy. She loved watching all the really tiny ones walk past in their little chain gang as they headed off for something fun outside and at no point ever saw any child unhappy, how could that be? It really was like another dimension she chuckled to herself. Jonny was getting to get out on the water while she languished and then they all met back up for another yummy lunch! There’d been a half board option which may have been better for the waistline and might have encouraged Ruthie not to eat quite so much cheese but she’d wondered if the delicious wafting smells of Greek food cooking would have been too tempting anyway and she’d have ended up at the snack bar regardless, after all, it was a holiday.

They were trying new foods which were perfectly cooked at every meal and to go with the traditional Greek dishes were home-made pizzas and pasta as well as practically everything under the sun on offer in the vast buffets. The children hadn’t once been able to say ‘I don’t like it’, yet another point to the relaxation element ticked to perfection. And, with the amazing cakes and deserts yet another nod to the fact her diet must resume once she got home she thought. The Lakitira Beach Hotel in Kos was a cut above anything else they’d ever tried when it came to most things for a package holiday and the food was no exception. She thought back to the third night when they’d decided to spend a little extra and have a romantic evening in the Greek Taverna. They could have gone out, restaurants in nearby Kardamena came highly recommended like Avli with its court yard and traditional menu. Because Mark Warner offered an in room babysitting service for an extra charge it would have been easy to do that but they’d opted to stick with the evening movie for the kids and stay on site with the taverna this time. If they’d booked for a fortnight they’d have tried both but the food looked so good here every night that they didn’t want to go home without trying it and they were very pleased that they had. Dish after dish of delicious cheeses, dolmades and amazing dips with bread came out and the crowning glory to the evening was when George, one of the Greek hotel managers, had declared Ruthie the ‘dinner winner’ after he’d recommended a dish of slovaki to her when she’d told him they played ‘who wins’ with their supper so had to order something different to each other.

There were so many highlights to this holiday it was hard to pinpoint an absolute favourite but most of them were wrapped up with food which was like a constant round and never anything but amazing. They’d taken the children over to the super swanky resort next door, Helona, one lunch time and marvelled at the opulence. Swim up to the room pools and film star looking apartments might lure them one day, when they were old and rich perhaps and it was lovely to try their amazing menu with the children for this visit. Mark Warner would also book for this more grown up experience of a holiday and it was definitely something to note for the future, especially as they had such a decadent looking spa. Saying that, the treatments on offer in the Viva Spa at Lakitira were more than wonderful and she couldn’t imagine the Helona Resort being any more worthy of her custom. The therapist at Lakitira, Abi, had discussed all the treatments on offer and suggested she try their special holiday package with something at the beginning, middle and end of their stay to most look after her skin while in the sun. It was bliss and a world away from the beach front activities of sailing and paddle boarding she’d taken part in and loved but which definitely wore her out. Her sailing instructor, another Jimmy, had reminded her how to operate a little sail boat with a lesson both on land and in the sea and she was actually quite surprised by how many activities she’d taken part in. Although the daily exercise classes, which had been on her agenda to start with had gone to the way side, she’d joined in with social tennis and even a bike ride! Pampering at Viva was most definitely in order. Jonny of course had done everything sporty and of course too had booked himself in for a massage at the end of the holiday, it was the perfect way to wind down from the adrenalin of the day time and before bed in their gorgeous room which was big enough for them all with lots of lovely features and all the mod cons they required.

The beauty of choosing Kos was that the island was fairly small and easily accessible with great public transport and also lots of help for bookings from the hotel. Justine and Jonno, the Mark Warner managers who had been in resort for 18 years between them and were thoroughly in love with the island as well as each other, knew everything there was to know and they’d spoken to them so often it felt like they’d almost become friends. They’d made them feel special as guests and even though they treated everyone in this same way meaning it could all just be part of their job, Ruthie knew instinctively that it wasn’t and it was just how Jonno and Justine were as people. All the staff were the same in that respect, even the young lads working on the waterfront for a summer in the sun and some pin money, nothing was ever too much trouble and everyone enjoyed their roles. They couldn’t act the way they did otherwise. And the Greek hotel staff were very helpful too with the rooms being cleaned and tidied every day while the reception staff had booked them a private tour of Kos Town with Ioannis from KosPrivateTours.com taking the hassle from them. They’d really struck gold with Ioannis who was an amazing guide and very interesting person. Ruthie knew she’d be recommending him to anyone visiting Kos for years to come he’d so made an impression on her. He’d taken them around the ruins in town, to the castle, the harbour and explained some local history as well as the myths. They’d sat in the square having coffee with him for a while after the tour had ended and, when she asked him about it, he’d made Ruthie cry as he told her the true stories of the recent migrant crisis that had so recently been in the news yet there was no sign of it to her eye now. He and everyone in his town had dived into the water to rescue children who had lost everything and come in hope of a better life and as he described the pain, the fact this life risking journey was better than the alternative, she’d shed a tear and then Ioannis had too. The world was a terrible place but Kos was a beautiful one, beautiful for wanting to rescue these people and for standing together through all the Greek financial crisis. Ioannis said everything could be won if enough people stood as one and Ruthie hoped so very much for him this could be true. She vowed to tell everyone about his wonderful business so that in some way, she might be able to help.

The holiday was nearly over now and as she lay on her sun lounger thinking back over the whole thing she knew they’d be back. To here again and hopefully more Mark Warner resorts too. They might even try skiing with them one day as the winter programme sounded just as exciting. They were all going home well rested, they were all going home more than well fed and they were all going home happy. Family time with sandcastles on the beach and meals all together had not had to be given away in favour of the kid’s activities but then because their clubs, which ran from 4 months to the day before a child turns 18, were so amazing, they’d not had to miss out on their very special and never usually taken ‘me time’ either. It was a holiday of difference, one a parent wouldn’t usually imagine in their wildest dreams and one which could work with any family no matter how big or small or old. Mark Warner had even thought of flight times being compatible for families, they really hadn’t left any stones unturned. Single parents finally would be able to enjoy a break too she’d thought. A Mark Warner holiday was definitely the way to holiday for families. Of that she had no doubt!

This is a work of fiction based on potential truths. I went on a press trip to Lakitira Beach in Kos to see how a Mark Warner holiday works and the details about the company, hotel and people are all true. The story, sadly, is not quite and is more how I imagine it would be with my family in tow. I took this trip with other journalists and bloggers which was fun and interesting giving me all the information I needed to make my conclusions detailed in the story and I just have a feeling if we were to actually take a family hoiday at Lakitira Beach it would go something like this tale of mine.

I thought this might be the perfect way to document how brilliant a Mark Warner holiday at Lakitira Beach in Kos is and even as adults visiting without children we had the best time here. If you would prefer a more traditional review however then please do take a look at my favourite pictures from the trip and my video below which speak for themselves as well as reading the reviews of my good friend and travel companion Katy from Modern Mummy and new friends from the trip, Ed Nix who will be writing for the Oxford Mail, Jacob Lewis who will review for The Sun and Simon Murfitt whose review will be in the Brentwood Gazette shortly (Are you alright Simon?). I’d also like to quickly say a big thank you to Mark Warner and staff for hosting us so well in Kos. Emilia and Tori, Justine and Jonno, Abi, Jimmy, Terry, George, Nicos and everyone else whose names I have forgotten – your faces I haven’t and thank you for making our trip so memorable as well as inspiring my short story..

Now… Here’s a little vid of our time at Lakitira so you can see what we all got up to!

And here are some of my favourite photos from the trip!

To book a Mark Warner holiday at Lakitira Beach Resort in Kos please see www.markwarner.co.uk. Flights, at the moment, are Wednesday to Wednesday and in the height of summer a Saturday flight will also be added. Prices for a Greek holiday start at £525pp and if you book before 3rd June then full board (adding lunch onto the half board option) will be added to your booking at no extra charge for Lakitira Beach Resort guests. When in Kos I can highly recommend all the Mark Warner activities as well as booking Ioannis from www.kosprivatetours.com for some culture with guided walking tours of both Kos Town and the whole Island if requested. I can also say that the meal we had in Kardamena at Avli resraurant was one I would like to re-visit again and again. It introduced me to so many Greek dishes I’d never heard of and the wine was fantastic so it’s well worth a visit if you can bear to tear yourself away from resort.

I was invited to Lakitira Beach Resort for a few days so that I could write this piece.