Mexico

We're just back from a splendid two weeks in Mexico, staying at the Riu Palace Las Americas. This was my first trip to Cancun, and I'm not going to write at length about the things we did. However, I can thoroughly recommend the hotel. It was friendly, clean, with excellent food and service. The hotel has its own beach, which is cleaned every day and of course the turquoise waters are beautifully clear and clean.

We flew with Thomson and the fights were all on time and pain free - and I even enjoyed the safety announcements which were done by children. If the airline could improve one thing, it would be to get the service out of the way quicker on the return leg so that passengers had a chance of some proper sleep.

Center Parcs

We're just back from our first ever stay at Center Parcs in Elvedon Forest. I was very impressed and can see why almost everyone I spoke to before going said it was a great place.

Butlins for the middle-classes.

The place was clean, well maintained and everyone we came into contact with was friendly and helpful. During our 5 day stay we managed plenty of bike riding, swimming, golf, crazy golf, crossbows, high wire adrenalin challenge (including the Jacob's Ladder), roller skating, foil fencing, badminton, huge zip wire, canoing and pedalos. And we fed plenty of ducks and geese.

The accommodation was very well presented, if a little small, and all the food we had was good. The main criticism I'd heard before we went was that it is expensive. I didn't find that to be the case. The prices we paid for the activities we did were pretty much on a par with the price you'd pay if you did it locally. And in fact, some were cheaper (such as the badminton). Just compressing so many things into such a short space of time inevitably means you will pay a lot of money.

It's certainly a holiday I would consider again. And if you are thinking about it, make sure you go with active people, as those less keen on physical activity will probably not have so much fun.

My highlight - the crossbows, which turned out to be more technical, and therefore harder, than you'd expect. However, we benefited from a good coach for the morning, which made all the difference and made it really good fun.

Sorrento

Just come back from a week in Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast. This was my first trip there. It’s quite a place – not as big as I expected – but very friendly. The holiday got off to an awful start when we queued 4 hours to check in with Thomson Airways. Their computer systems were down right across the country. Everyone was very patient – very British in fact – but I find it astonishing that a company the size of Thomson has no resilience or back up in their systems . As a result we didn’t arrive at our hotel until around midnight – long after the restaurant had closed. However, the hotel had kindly prepared a cold room service meal for our arrival, which was both very thoughtful, and very good. The hotel was the Hilton Sorrento Palace and whilst it was very nice and in a terrific, commanding spot high up the cliff on the outskirts of town, it was very American (glass and concrete) and really didn’t blend in with the style of the local architecture.

I have high standards when it comes to hotels, so it is disappointing to report that the hotel restaurant ran out of two out of three main courses on Sunday night – and it then took an hour to serve the remaining main course. Other than that, the service was excellent. There were no English speaking channels on the in-room tv except CNN and Bloomberg and internet access was incredibly expensive – 17 Euro per day for wif-fi or 35 cents a minute in the business centre. When will these places learn that these services are becoming an increasingly important part of the regular traveller’s requirement?

We experienced a couple of rainy (but warm) days, which gave us plenty of scope to people watch. What is it about Canadians and fashion sense? Other than that, we did a lot of lying in the sun, reading (Bill Bryson’s ‘The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid), and generally relaxing. We did a tour of the stunning coast line, but unfortunately didn’t manage to get to Pompeii. That will be next time.

Coming back, I was very amused by the check in procedures at Naples. We were left waiting on the coach for 90 minutes outside the airport and only allowed in shortly before our flight was due to depart. All of which meant we marched straight through check in, security, passport control and straight onto the flight. No time for shopping. These days, when airports depend up tourists spending, it was odd we were not offered the opportunity to get rid of our few remaining Euros! Their loss.

All in all, I'd recommend Sorrento if you want a friendly resort, with plenty of historical sites and good weather. Just bear in mind it will take well over an hour from Naples airport on a very busy road - and that's without hold ups.

Sometimes marketing departments get it wrong

I've just come back from a week at the Sheraton Fuerteventura. I find it strange that a hotel group as large as Sheraton would choose to build a hotel in such a down market resort. Very strange. Nothing wrong with the hotel - except perhaps the service, but you can read more about that on tripadvisor.com if they finally publish my review -but you'll only enjoy the resort if watching football on a large screen TV in the 'pub' is your thing. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I wouldn't have thought it was top of the list for the demographic Sheraton target.

Live and learn.

A week without technology

I took time out for a week on the beach last week. And I took a decision to try and leave the technology behind - well most of it anyway. So, no laptop, no Windows Mobile device. Just a mobile phone to be turned on in an emergency. Strangely, I experienced no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. Only on one occasion, when I walked passed an internet cafe did I even think about it. What did I learn? Simply that it's real life and real people that are important and that provide real experiences. As the Musicians' Union used to say - "Keep It Live"! Or at least, let's use the technology to help us get on with our real lives, not as an end in itself.