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Mark Warner Childcare

The first time we booked a holiday with Mark Warner it was because of the excellent childcare, mean we could have holiday knowing that our 2 year old was been looked after and having a fabulous time and we all had a holiday.

15 years later I’m really glad to say that this hasn’t changed, their childcare is as excellent as ever. Mark Warner also have an exceptionally good ‘lost child’ procedure. We’ve seen this in action over the past holidays, always with a good outcome, but never had to experience it ourselves, until yesterday. Let me give you some history first.

Around 7 years ago on our first French camping holiday we took our eyes off small boy, who was then 4, for a couple of minutes while we were tidying up the caravan, one minute he was playing outside the door the next minute he was gone. We were living every parent’s nightmare. We shouted for him, we checked every room in the caravan, we asked the girls, no small boy. The French families around us heard what was going on and immediately sprang into action to help us look, it took 5-10 minutes, it seemed like forever and every outcome went through my head. Just as we were about to go to reception to raise the alarm he turned up. He thought he saw his sister heading in the direction of the pool and followed her via a new secret route he’d found through the pitches. Turns out it wasn’t his sister so he made his way home but got a little lost. End of panic and the longest 5 minutes of my life. Consequently I’ve been a little paranoid whenever small boy goes missing.

Yesterday lunchtime he finished Kids Club at 12.30 and was due to meet us at the pool, around 50 metres away, I was waiting the pool, his sisters turned up, no small boy, after 10 mins I walked over to kids club but it was empty, went back to the pool, waiting, no small boy. Decided to go and check the room, no, back too the pool, no, walked down to the snack bar where we were having lunch, no, bumped into husband, we both split up. Basically by 1pm we’d done the hotel twice and I approached reception with all sense telling me that he was off with his friends trying to find me but there is always that niggling ‘what if’ demon sitting only shoulder so I uttered the dreaded words “I can’t find my son”.

Immediate description was taken, Mark Warner were alerted and Jono the resort manager appeared as if by magic. Within a minute 30+ staff had been dragged from their lunches and were about to go off on the search when my husband came running in yelling “I’ve found him”. Relief and lots of apologies from me, did I feel an idiot or what?

Reason tells me that he’s 11 and will be off with his mates, but he’s my youngest and I’m a paranoid mother, at no time did any of the hotel or Mark Warner staff say “he’s 11, he’s probably off with his mates”, they may have thought that but didn’t say anything, they took it seriously and for that I’m very grateful, this is why I booked with them in the first place and like I said earlier Mark Warner childcare is second to none.

I do miss the children being in mini club and it was lovely no hear the mini club song, took us back a number of years, pity they don’t have Indy Club singing this too.

At the welcome meeting for Indy club we were warned that the legal drinking age in Greece is 16 and that the local town, Kardamena, is a big 18-30 venue and a party town, they recommended that we do not allow our teenagers in there for an evening, they don’t have any trips into the town either. Basically the bars will serve anyone, anything, no
ID needed. Indy’s have their own supper at 8pm. Kidz Club have their own dinner at 7.30pm, so that means we get to have supper on our own, no children, omg we have to talk to each other and don’t have to spend the evening scolding children, negotiating with them as to what they eat, grown up time, bliss.

There is then entertainment for Indy’s until 10.30 and for Kidz until 9.30, it used to be the babysitting service when they were little, now it’s just a continuation of that, how much better can this get?

Small boy asked if he could book a table at the Trattoria this evening for him and three of his mates as they wanted to eat together and not with all the rest of the Kidz Club, he went off booked a table, we had to confirm with the restaurant as they understandably didn’t want to take an 11 year olds word that this was ok. At 9pm he and his friends all went off to supper on their own, in a different restaurant to us and had a lovely time. Just asked him how it went and he replied “brilliant”, were you well behaved? “Of course, they’re all nice boys”. There you go, that’s what the clientele of Mark Warner are like, 11 year old boys who book their own tables and eat with their friends, well behaved and ‘nice boys’, not sure I would have ever done that at his age. I’m am so proud of him.