Kiani Beach Resort Hotel Review

 In January, I was lucky enough to win an Instagram competition where we won a 7 night all inclusive holidays at Kiani Beach Resort in Crete. We decided to book for the April Easter half term and have just returned so I wanted to write a review on it as they are always helpful for me when I am looking at reviews of hotels before booking. 

Location

Kiani Beach Resort is just outside the village of Kalyves in Chania, Crete and on the beach of Kiani Akti which is an award winning beach. Our transfer from Chania airport was about 30 minutes and there are a few other towns around 30 minutes away as well but you are not really able to walk anywhere to explore. The hotel has a private section of the beach which is just next to the pool so it was about a 5 minute walk maximum from our room and you can walk further down the beach where we found a little restaurant, bridge to walk over and a larger section of beach but that is about it. You do have beautiful views of the mountains though which I could not stop looking at!

The rooms

The rooms were what stood out to us as 5 star as opposed to any other hotels we have stayed at before. They were beautiful, had everything we needed and very modern and contemporary. It was big, lots of wardrobe space, 2 bathrooms which is fab for all 5 of us getting ready and we had a double sink as well which was very nice. It also had a big balcony with a little laundry airer on the wall as well. I also love how they do have 5 in a room as we have been struggling to find that, we normally have to book 2 rooms which means me and Warren are separated all week which is very annoying. These rooms also have a little kitchenette area with fridge, sink, coffee machine, plates and glasses.

Our Europe travel trip: Rome with kids!

*We were gifted our flights, accommodation & WithLocals tours but paid for everything else ourselves*

Our travelling in May started with Rome which is somewhere that has always been on our bucket list so we were super excited to go. We were only there a short amount of time so had some tours by Withlocals planned to help us get the most out of it while being family friendly for the girls as well.

The first morning we did a bit of exploring around the Campo Di Fiori market which was right on the square we were staying at, such a good location really as it wasn't too busy but still near the centre. The market was fun to look around and there were some little shops and nice restaurants too so we didn't have to go far for food or souvenirs. 

Our first Withlocals experience was Pizza making with Massimo and the girls loved it! We got some insider tips on how to make the best authentic pizza, I'm yet to try it at home but the girls keep requesting it. It was fun to see Massimo's house and learn a bit about the history of Italian houses too.

After pizza making, we took a short walk from Massimo's house down to the Colosseum as it was obviously one of the main sights we wanted to see. It was surreal having it in front of us, Sienna has seen it randomly on a few kids programmes when she's been learning about it and was so excited to have it in front of her and be there.

We did a bit more exploring ourselves and grabbed a drink before we had another Withlocals tour with Amandio. We met at Piazza Navona square to do the 'From Gladiators to Gelato: A Must-Do Family Tour'. Out of our whole tours around Europe, hands down Amandio and this tour was our favourite. The girls still talk about him now. He was so good with the girls, he bought his bicycle and pushed Sienna round on it the whole time which was such a big help as she was tired by the time we finished. He seemed to really capture our interest about Rome with the stories he was telling, we all learnt so much from his tour and were fascinated the whole way round. Highly, highly recommend him and this tour if you're ever planning a trip to Rome.

Martinhal Chiado family hotel review

The second part of my Portugal trip last month included staying at the Martinhal Chiado family hotel. This is still a 5* hotel (all of the Martinhal's are) and is still family friendly, however this is right in the centre of Lisbon so is great if you are wanting to see the city. 

The Chiado doesn't just offer hotel rooms, it actually offers whole apartments and suites for families which for the middle of a city centre is amazing - and they are not small! They are beautifully designed and really give you own space and place to connect as a family when you're back from a busy day out exploring.

I absolutely loved the decor, it was still luxurious but had brighter, bolder colours to fit in with the city vibe of Lisbon instead of the white, spa feel of the Cascais hotel but both are equally beautiful. I have actually been lusting over orange sofas since I got back but my husband is not so keen!

Each apartment or suite has a kitchen complete with a stove, dishwasher, washer-dryer, fridge and basic crockery, cutlery and pots and pans to make your city-centre stay perfectly manageable, and even more importantly, enjoyable with little children. They also offer the same family concierge as the Cascais and can pre-organise little details like bottle warmers, bottle sterilisers, etc prior to arriving at your hotel.

The bathrooms are well equipped and ours already had a toilet seat, potty and toilet step in it for kids. We only used the double bed while there but we did also have the fold out beds similar to Cascais for if we had taken the girls with us! 

 The kids club was smaller than the one in Cascais obviously minus the pools and outside area but still a really lovely area for kids. It looks so fun and exciting and I love that they offer a pyjama cinema night so parents can escape into the city for a lovely meal and explore. They also offer a baby sitting service if you'd prefer. Another fun addition is the kids climbing wall in one of the hallways too!

Martinhal Cascais family hotel review

If you follow me over on my Instagram or watch our videos, you may know that I have recently got back from 5 days in Portugal with Martinhal. I was away on a press trip to review 2 out of 4 hotels and attend their annual blogging conference. I took so many photos so I have split them into two posts; this will be my review of the Martinhal Cascais family hotel.

I had seen a few reviews and photos of this hotel around before I went, but I must say it is definitely even better in the flesh. Every inch of it's decor and design is incredible, from the reception to the pools and bathrooms!

Angry Birds Activity park, Gran Canaria

Turning around the corner to this park is a memory that will last me forever I think. For some random reason the Angry Birds Activity Park, Gran Canaria has been on my bucket list for a while now as I knew the girls would love it and it looked so picturesque on the website. 

This park has everything you could need to keep the kids amused including super trampolines, a climbing wall, a laser maze, a 3d cinema and bag jump... you could easily spend a whole day there and I wish that is what we had planned instead of just an afternoon.

The girls are very into jumping and gymnastics at the moment so the trampolines were the first port of call and they took it in turns nicely doing some massive jumps and seat drops.