We found the Holiday Village very clean. Rooms were great nice size (beds a little uncomfortable) bathroom was fantastic.

We went self catering & found that we were treated better than the guys on AI. As soon as they discovered we were paying they bent over backwards, one guy at the bar even went as far to throw away a very dodgy looking bright pink milkshake and replace it with a more normal looking one and told us "you pay you have nice things". Strange!!!

Entertainment was a bit Butlins like but the kids loved the disco.

The buffet breakfast was great and for 8 euros each (adults) you couldn

In all this is a very good hotel.

The hotel is absolutely spotless, an army of cleaners always mopping, polishing etc. Beautiful gardens, lovely pool area.

Splash park is great for kids and a great playpark for the younger ones.

Food is excellent with a wide and varied choice at the main buffet restaurant. Avoid the "Italian" and "Caribbean", very poor by comparison.

Entertainment is very holiday camp, but the kids seem to love it which is most important. Make sure you go down to the sports bar- near the supermarket- most people do not know that it's even there, which means no queues for the bar and a bit of piece and quiet. Sports on a projector screen and he walls are lined with plasma screen all showing Sky Sports. A partition wall seperated a kids section which shows kiddies movies on a large plasma- so everyone is happy!

We had a few problems- KIDS CLUBS, what an absolute nightmare- there are nowhere near enough spaces for the number of kids at the hotel. You have to queue at 8pm every night, sometimes for half an hour or more, just to try to get your kids booked in. There were many unhappy parents- myself included. This was low season, outside of school holidays, god help anyone travelling half term/summer holidays. They need to address this NOW, or there will be huge problems during the season!

Watch your valuables- the safe in the room would just about fit a small camera and some money. We had a camcorder that was too big for the safe, that was promply swiped from the room when we were out, by someone who had a master keycard, i.e inside job! All the tapes from our kids Christmasses, birthdays, holidays etc were in the bag, so I was absolutely gutted. Reps looked concerned but pretty much swept it under the carpet and fobbed me off to get a report from the police station for my insurance, whenever I asked if there were any developments over the next few days I was met with a "not yet".

It's a great property but expect a struggle to get your kids into club and lock away ALL your valuables! Enjoy.

As previously stated, the hotel was immaculate. There were always cleaners and gardners around. Rooms were a good size, bathroom had a bath (with overhead shower) AND a large shower. Bath does get slippery so for small kids it would be worth buying cheap bath mat.

Room has kettle, toaster, microwave etc, air conditioning and safe which is payable locally. Pools lovely but baby pool is very small, would have been better if they had been freeform but it didn't make much difference.

Lots of reps around so someone is ALWAYS there to answer questions, they also have a main office at reception which is helpful. They were very helpful and were great with kids.

Would highly recommend soccer school and swim club. The hotel was about a 10 min walk to shops and restaurants which was fine for us but with a tired 5 year old we could have done with it being a little closer.

There was a shop on site which opened at 9 and closed at 6, but other than that there was nowhere to buy snacks like crisps etc, so if you get peckish after a few beers - make sure you bring your own nuts!

Entertainment was good but by the end of the two weeks - we had had enough. mini disco at 8 till 9 then bingo (not really my cup of tea), then evening entertainment came on after that.

I must say I liked staying SC as it gave us the freedom to come and go and not be confined to the complex.

Overall, great children orientated hotel with great reps!

PLEASE NOTE THIS REVIEW IS FOR AI. S/C MAY BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT

This was our first Family Holiday with our 2 children aged 2 and 4.

I was a little apprehensive booking at the Village Viva but finding this forum was a godsend and helped us out no end.

Upon arrival I was VERY impressed with the overall look of the place, spotlessly clean and spacious. Check in was smooth and directions given were accurate. An English receptionist made a lot of difference, making it easily approachable.

Our room, well it was exactly as expected from previous holidays with my wife, fairly big, comfortable and again spotless. Sleeping arrangements were as follows, 2 single beds in 1 bedroom (We put the kids in here) and 2 separate sofa beds in the lounge. They are not the most comfortable of beds but me and my wife managed just fine, I'm 6'6" and had no real problems! A big help were the 100% blackout curtains, my kids wake up with the sun usually (But not here!)

The Bathroom is large and spacious, with a separate shower. I would recommend a bath mat as the place gets very slippery, all tiled, especially after a shower with a curtain 4 inches too short! The sink is outside the bathroom with a large mirror and good lighting.

Plenty of sockets throughout the rooms. There is also a small TV with a few English channels and music stations. Sky news was usually on in ours!

The kitchen area is small but purposeful, Microwave, hob, sink, Fridge and all necessary utensils. Enough for anyone really. No cleaning products supplied, Sink and W/Top are S/Steel. There is a bin in one of the cupboards.

The cleaners (3 times a week I think) were very thorough and made a great job.

There is a balcony outside, with a table and chairs with access from the lounge or the bedroom, both with Patio doors. The balcony rail is about 4' high with close rails to stop little ones squeezing through!

Access to the rooms is using a swipe card, and also the same method for turning on Electricity. There are 2 keys supplied on arrival.

The rooms can be quite noisy on a night as people return as all noise seems to echo around the place. (Everywhere is tiled!) I have never seen so many tiles in one place.

The pool area is also very clean, plenty of sunbeds to use. A tip, don't put your towels out before 9am as they will probably be gathered up by the cleaners, and taken to reception as lost property! (Happened to us once, but when you go at 9.00am there are no beds left, so a little tip...put your towels on and sit with them until the cleaners have finished the pool area, then ok to leave!!!

There are 2 main pools, the larger one is down the slope and tends to get VERY crowded, We opted for the upper pool, always busy but less noisy. Depth at the upper pool was 1.50m whereas the lower pool was a bit shallower 1.00m (I think). The baby pool was far too small and only measures about 10' across, about 18" deep-ALWAYS busy. It does get very slippery so be careful, neoprene waterproof shoes are ideal.

The Aqua Park was very popular, it came on a few times a day and all the kids loved it. Again, very slippery, lots of kids were slipping and falling. NOT a criticism just an observation.

There is also a small play park near the Aquapark and my 2 loved it in there, it has soft play area (flooring wise) and gave hours of entertainment. There is also a play park off site, just down the slope and has swings slides etc, a nice alternative. The play park in resort is also next to the kids clubs, I don't want to comment on them too much as I think by the time you read this, or certainly travel they will have the problem sorted. My eldest (4) went to club twice and thoroughly enjoyed it. They are given a T shirt, hat and bag which they proudly wear around the place.

Reps and resort staff, well all I can say is they are SUPERB. There are plenty about and all questions/problems are dealt with promptly. Reps who come to mind are Nathan, Jenny and especially James who all gave 100%. Well done First choice.

Food, you will never go hungry at Viva, there is plenty to choose from, albeit a little repetitive. The quality and quantity were Excellent, no complaint at all. Kids will manage on the Chips, veg, and vast array of puddings, ice cream etc!

We were AI so cannot comment on S/C

We found the poolside snack bar a little poor, food was ok but we found it paid to go the buffet restaurant for a better choice.

The bars serve a good selection of drinks, again we were AI and had dedicated areas to help ourselves, with endless cups of Orange, Pineapple, Apple, Tea coffee etc. You usually have to queue for Alco drinks. Couple of mins max.
San Miguel was on form anyway! We never tried the Italian/Caribbean just because we were quite happy with the Buffet. Mixed comments on both from guests.

The Entertainment was also very good. Kids disco the same every night but had my 2 enthralled, as I write this I have "Cartoon Heroes" from the CD I bought for my daughter blasting out in the background! Reps entertainment is well thought out, Powder blue, the resident Artiste were ok.
We even had Fogwell Flax perform one night! (Don't ask)
Overall entertainment, 9/10

Supermarket, good range, daft opening hours (Closes at 6.00pm!) and you get served by Mr. Bean! Really! Ask anyone who's been!

Indoor Pool, Very humid, always packed.

Sports bar, never tried it, looked very nice though.

Also, on site there is a sun cream rep, who will advise on all types of sun cream/skincare on your holiday. We used the service, and bought some items and were very pleased with the results. 10/10 to the Viva for this Very important service, great products, great price. You will see the team near the snack bar mid morning, also at the welcome meeting.

Anyway, overall we had an excellent hHoliday and would recommend the Viva to anyone. I wouldn't consider S/C here because I reckon the bills would mount up rather quickly.

Overall:
Accommodation 10/10
Food 9/10
Reps 10/10

Just returned from the holiday village.

We stayed on a first floor apartment in block 1 overlooking the mini golf. Hotel very clean, however we still got ants in the room even though we were all inclusive and only eat a few biscuits in the room. The hotel is beautiful with fountains and olive trees and walkways with lovely flowered borders. The reception area is lovely and well presented and makes you feel like you are walking into a very posh hotel. Rooms are cleaned 5 times a week with towel changes and beds made. Sheets are changed twice per week. Our air conditioning in the room wasn't that great and would advise to take mosquito ball and sprays etc as my ankles were covered in bites and I definately got some overnight.

The pool area is nice, but we did struggle to get sunbeds in the main pool and went to the top pool a lot, however this is deeper and my 6 year old could not touch the floor in the top pool but could in the bottom pool. By the time we were leaving after half term week, some people were getting up very early 7-8ish in the morning to get sunbeds but you need to stay with your towels if you are planning on doing this as the cleaners come round before 9am and removed them all. We only got up early on the last day to get a sunbed as the children wanted to spend all day at the pool.

The pool bar food was ok, nice pizza's, salads, fries,burgers,hotdogs and sandwiches. We tried just about everything by the end of 2 weeks and we did get a little fed up with it, so went in the restaurant for lunch a couple of times as there is much more choice. My favourite at lunch was a large slice of bagette with cheese, onion and mayo which you can just make up yourself. I tended to make different things with the salads for the evenings too. The food in the restuarant was ok but all the veg seem to be cooked in garlic, so the kids tended to stick with fries, salad and some sort of meat. My son liked to the soups although I didn't like the look of them, but they actually tasted ok. The puddings were nice but after 2 weeks again they were always the same sort of pudding, cakes, fruit, whipped dessert, cream caramela, ice cream. Every night was different and you need to try things. Breakfast was good, we eat a lot of pancakes as they make them in front of you and there was sugar, choc, lemon, caramel, kiwi sauce to put on them. The cooked breakfast was ok, but they are not that good at doing running fried eggs. The bacon was lovely some mornings but undercooked others. The sausages were awful, different types but all seemed to taste of curry and this is not what you want in the morning. We went to the italian one night and I wouldn't go again, I thought it was horrible, the carribean was a little better I recommend the seaford starter, but the main meal for me was undercooked so we didn't go there again either.

This is a great holiday, but there is some dissappointing things to say as well.

The kids clubs is a bit annoying like people have already said you have to queue up the evening before for at least half an hour and the reps open it up at 8pm so in the end you are probably queuing for an hour to get a place. They have put on extra times now so not many people are disappointed if you don't mind what time they go in.

Be careful the whole site is tiled and they can get a little slipping in places. There is some steps going down to the indoor pool through reception and while we were there a lady carrying a baby slipped down them as they are also tiled and wet from the indoor pool. Really the hotel should stop people coming from the indoor pool up those steps.

Food and drink was good, but did get a little boring by the end of 2 weeks and some of the meat used was very fatty.

Block one is very close to the outdoor entertainment so don't expect to go to sleep until midnight.

My son missed his swimming lesson one day as we were waiting in the indoor pool and apparently they had moved them to the outdoor pool. A notice was put on a shed they use but we didn't see it as we were already in the pool and no one came to tell us. Later on that day we found out why they had moved the lesson, someone had been sick in the indoor pool and we had been swimming in it, they did not closed the pool straight away. I put a complaint in to the rep and by that time the pool had been closed.

Because the indoor pool was refilled it was really cold and I don't think they bothered putting the heat back on. Don't get excited about the jacuzzi, its cold and only 2 jets work so not very bubbly.

The shop closes at 6pm, so if you want a late night choc bar you need to get it in the afternoon.

The outdoor stage has steps up to the stage and the kids loved to sit on them or go on stage, so keep your eyes on them.

Please watch your children around the pool, don't rely on the life guard. While we were there a little girl fell into the pool but the life guard didn't know what to do. Since that day they have put on more lifeguards as before there was only one lifeguard on duty looking at a very large area.

The bar staff tend to ignore the kids when they go to the bar on their own, even with their wristbands on, so I advise you go with them or get the drinks.

There is not a lot of bad points to the hotel and most of the ones I have mentioned did not spoil our holiday.

The entertainment team are great with the kids and the shows are good, yes a little like butlins with a kids disco, bingo,quizes, main show, late night disco, but the kids loved every minute of it and for the adults its what you make it and without this entertainment in the evenings you would get fed up. My advise is to join in and have a lovely family holiday. This place is designed for families and if you are a couple on your own, I don't think it would be your cup of tea, it certainly won't be for me when the kids have left home.

Some outside entertainment came in a most nights and some were great, the parrot show, illusions and a comedian to mention a few.

The swimming lessons are worth the money, Hayley is very good with the kids.

The pirates excursion is the best I have ever been on, the show is great worth a visit.

I would definately go back or to another of first choice holiday villages, we have been to 2 now and both have been good fun.

I cannot fault the hotel at all! Fantastic! Well worth the 4* rating that it has!

We stayed on the 1st floor, and did have a slight problem with ants, but had a 2 year old who encouraged them regularly with his meals!

The rooms were spacious and immaculate! towels changed every day except Sunday and Wednesday, as long as you put them in the bath in the morning!

Reception staff very helpful.. towels for the sunbeds can be hired for E5 each, and then changed every Mon, Weds, Fri. At the end of the holiday you get your money back...fantastic idea!

The only downfall, being self catering, was the supermarket closing at 6pm! The entertainment was pretty much what you would expect on a family holiday!

I wouldnt hesitate to visit again! The staff were fantastic, and the Reps plentiful!

We have just returned from the Holiday Village Viva with our two children - aged 6 & 3

What a great place, very clean and tidy. The hotel grounds are fantastic, very pretty.

We were on the 2nd floor of block four, our apartment was very spacious and clean (we didn't get any ants!!!)Bathroom has bath with shower as well as seperate shower cubicle - great idea to stick the kids in the bath so you can get ready in peace.

The pool was lovely - however all of it is a bit deep for a 3 year old!!

We were fully inclusive and never went hungry - The main restaurant was fantastic for breakfast, lunch and dinner (altho it was a hike to the toilet, why they haven't got one in there seems silly) Always a good choice, between 6 and 6.30 they do "childrens" food which was great. The poolside bar did snacks which were OK but we went to the restaurant most days.

Both my kids loved the kids club, queueing the night before was a bit of a pain but it was only half hour and we would all have a laugh.

The entertainment staff were fantastic - I would like to say a big thank you to Stuart, Spikey Mike, Denise, Jenny, Katie and Natalie for making my kids (and our) holiday so enjoyable. My son Louis still spikes his hair up, stands on the step and shouts "DJ Dee, play us the cha cha slide". The Ents team always had time for the kids, Louis would run up to them at every given chance and they would always pick him up for a cuddle. The resident duo "Powder Blue" were great too, it was always a good end to the night to listen to them in the sports bar.

I am already thinking of going back for a week in September.

All in all a fantastic holiday, I would recommend to any family with young children.

We were in the 1st batch of people to visit this hotel and were very pleasantly surprised with what we found. Taking 2 small children(2 & 10 weeks) is always a gamble but we had no reason to worry.

All inclusive is excellent for kids, plenty of juice and snacks, but did get a little repetitive in the main dining room. Snack bar was ok for just that.

Never had any problems with the cleanliness of the room or the surroundings.

The location was a little further out from the main stretch and the beach then we were expecting but nothing overly exerting. Buggies were available for hire from the hotel.

The hotel staff were very nice although a little rusty on their English....we later found out it'd taken them four years to learn German(1st choice took over from a German firm) then were told they'd have to learn English.

The entertainment staff were excellent, my son Jack fell in love with Natalie.... they always had time for a chat and a cuddle with the little ones.

The hotel didn't really fill to the maximum capacity so we never had any problems with sunbeds, although the top pool was always a little quieter.

Overall a wonderful holiday and would definitely go back!!

We all feel we had a great holiday overall and would visit this hotel again some time in the future.

The entertainment was great, but the only thing was that the entertainment had to finish outside early some nights due to neighbours complaining about the noise level, but music was provided in the lower ground bar.

The staff were all very friendly especially the hotel reps who were always making sure you were having a great time.