GETAWAYS
ALMERÍA ’ S BARCELÓ CABO DE GATA :
The Ultimate Family Holiday Destination
SEARCHING FOR A FAMILY HOLIDAY THAT SUITS EVERYONE IS AKIN TO SEARCHING FOR THE HOLY GRAIL : NEVER-ENDING . WHAT SEEMS LIKE AN EXCITING PROSPECT CAN END UP FRAUGHT , ESPECIALLY AS YOUR CHILDREN START TO GET OLDER – ONE LOVES SWIMMING , SO A BIG POOL IS YOUR PRIORITY ; THE OTHER LOVES KIDS ’ CLUBS , SO ENTERTAINMENT NEEDS TO BE HIGH ON THE AGENDA . AND WHAT ABOUT US PARENTS ? IT ’ S NOT FAIR THAT THOSE OF US WHO ARE TRULY IN NEED OF A BREAK GET PUSHED INTO THE BACKGROUND JUST BECAUSE IT ’ S ‘ EASIER ’ TO RELENT . LAST SUMMER , I MADE IT MY MISSION TO SEEK OUT THE ULTIMATE FAMILY HOLIDAY … AND I FOUND IT AT THE BARCELÓ CABO DE GATA IN ALMERÍA , WHICH HAS EVERYTHING YOU COULD NEED FOR A FUN-FILLED BUT RESTFUL HOLIDAY . BY POLLY HUMPHRIS
Of course family holidays are subjective . For some parents , the aim of a summer holiday is to lavish their kids with their every attention , which is great , but isn ’ t for me . Although of course I adore my children , I can ’ t deny I feel happier and more ‘ on holiday ’ when I ’ ve been able to read a few chapters of a book daily . Some like to see egg and chips on the menu , or a dedicated kids ’ menu ; I don ’ t , which leads me to the first thing that drew my attention rapidly to the Barceló Cabo de Gata … Although the Trip Advisor reviews were , in the main , hugely positive ( the hotel scores a whopping 4.5 with over 50 per cent of reviewers rating it five star ), the only negatives came from those holidaymakers at odds with the fact that the hotel is ‘ mainly Spanish ’ serving ‘ mainly Spanish food ’ to which , at odds with those holidaymakers , I say ‘ thank goodness ’ – Almería is in Spain , after all .
I ’ d go as far as to say that the authentic ‘ Spanishness ’ of the hotel is one of its biggest draws . The staff are brilliant – if your child asks for a drink or an ice cream in English , they ’ re cheerily encouraged to repeat their request in Spanish ; who knew sugary snacks could be educational ? Similarly , I attended the ‘ aquagym ’ aerobics and Zumba sessions held in one of the smaller pools every morning , which were entirely conducted in Spanish to a Spanish soundtrack and kept up every step of the way . It was refreshing and actually made the classes more accessible because I was as focused on picking up some basic Spanish as I was trying to squat underwater without suffering any embarrassing bikini wardrobe malfunctions .
The food is absolutely not ‘ mainly Spanish ’ however , and … big statement … is hands down the best food I ’ ve eaten on an all-inclusive holiday . Each evening is themed , but only as far as ‘ BBQ night ’, or ‘ Mexican night ’, and there ’ s a massive effort made in terms of variety – I still miss the salad bar , which overflowed nightly with fresh greens , peppers , beautiful ripe tomatoes , chillies , gherkins , olives and every other accompaniment and condiment you can think of . The barbecued ribs – slow-cooked over hot coals and basted regularly with a sweet and salty marinade until they began to fall off the bone – were a huge hit too . The absolute favourite for every member of my family , however , was ‘ seafood night ’. Expecting a few prawns and some hot fish dishes , we were instead greeted by mound upon mound of mussels , clams , huge langoustine and lobster sat proudly on crushed ice with all manner of interesting salads to accompany them ; it was exceptional .
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