(Before I start we paid for this holiday with our own pennies, this is not a collaboration)
If I am completely honest then I have to say we tend to shy away from big hotels, all inclusive with big block upon block of rooms. Nothing snobbish just that we prefer small hotels that are a little more set within the local area and by lots of local places to dine at and wander around.
Now you'll know if you have children how sometimes you have to compromise and change your expectations at times for an easy life. Going out of season we were unsure what Menorca would be like both in terms of restaurants etc being open or the weather being warm and so we edged to the convenience of a bigger hotel where there would be plenty to do for Daisy if the weather wasn't wonderful, if the town was quiet or if we needed somewhere easy to eat at.
We came across the Viva Menorca when we were scrolling through the usual Thomas Cook, Thomson etc sites and decided to go for it last minute. We flew out there within a few days, it was a last minute break before I returned to work after maternity leave. We decided to book it through Hotels.com in the end as self catering as the big package deals were all AI.
When we arrived we noticed it was pretty quiet, going in October meant that most children were in school so the island in general was fairly quiet. There were quite a few families there though, enough to entertain a toddler anyway and enough for the hotel to still be providing entertainment etc. What really drew us to this hotel over others were the pool facilities. There was a large pool (and I mean large), a little paddling pool (which we didn't use as Daisy prefers to actually swim) and a splash pool with slides etc which is where we spent most of the time when at the hotel.
We actually spent most of our time down the road at the Marina eating where there were lots of lovely restaurants and bars and in the day we pretty much camped out at the beach. The beach was beautiful, like in a little bay so the water was calm and shallow and the sand really powdery and white. It was perfect for a toddler to race around on, dig sandcastles and swim in the sea (with supervision of course!).
We ate at the hotel only the once in the evening so it would be unfair to rate them on that really. Although the one meal we did have was fine, it was just a buffet offering and there was plenty there and it all seemed fresh. I struggle with a buffet style meal though as I just seem to wander around aimlessly and can't seem to string a meal together somehow! The food in the children's area looked really good, lots of variety and was good to see something other than just chips and fish fingers! The restaurant was nice and big and looked clean. It was expensive though to eat there if you aren't all inclusive but I think they are set up for the majority of guests to be AI so we expected it.
We did eat at the snack bar twice though and were really impressed with the food, all nice and fresh and tasty. The toddler approved too. It was nice to see other things other than just burgers being offered.
The hotel was in a great location in Cala'n Bosch for the town and marina with it being just a ten minute walk away (nice and flat) and there was a supermarket over the road too.
Overall the hotel was good, just what we expected and gave us plenty to do for the week. It was a good base to have. I am not sure I would have enjoyed it quite so much as an all inclusive guest simply because I would have liked an Al' a Carte restaurant too. But we may be back one day :)
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