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A UK Pregnancy, Parenting and Lifestyle Blog
September 18, 2017

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica – Our family holiday to Cyprus

family holiday vacation to cyprus

Wow. What a whirlwind two weeks that just was! We basically decided one Wednesday to book a holiday to Cyprus and within a week we were on the plane heading towards our hotel – the Thomson / TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica. As some of you might know, my husband is in the forces so it can be notoriously hard to pin down dates for a family holiday. We saw an opportunity with his work and my work for this particular week and just went for it! I have to say there was something quite liberating in booking it so last minute. I did kind of miss the buildup in terms of getting organized and packing though.

Why Cyprus?

I originally had my eye on heading to Portugal or Italy but with the last minute-ness of it all and my list of requirements (near a beach, near enough to different areas to explore, kids club, baby crèche, modern hotel facilities, not too long a flight or transfer), we just didn’t manage to find anything. I had been to Cyprus before for work, and had always wanted to head back to explore it a bit more, so it seemed like a great second, well third (!), option. The time of year had an influence on the choice as well. September can be a bit hit or miss weather wise in a lot of holiday destinations but we thought Cyprus looked pretty reliable and we weren’t wrong. The flight time was probably at the limit of what we were looking at for this holiday, at four and a half hours, and was alright with the two kids.

family of four holiday vacation to cyprus

Where we stayed

Due to the fact we wanted to find somewhere that had a kids club (starting at age 3) for Little I, and a baby crèche for L, we were rather limited in our choices of hotels! It came down to two in the end – the Thomson (or TUI as they are changing over to) Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica, by Nissi Beach, and the First Choice Holiday Village in Paphos. What swung it in the end was that we had stayed in a Holiday Village before (in Rhodes, Greece) and although we did have a really good time, it was a bit overwhelming having the whole hotel’s guests being British (that might sound weird, sorry!) and we just fancied a change. In saying that, Paphos seems like it might have been a better option for getting out and about exploring, as it had a bit more to see in the surrounding area.

So we chose the TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica which was just across the road from Nissi Beach. It is a pretty big hotel that seems to be popular for weddings as well. We saw three in the week we were there. There are six pools, a splash park and a shaded kids pool. One buffet restaurant and two bookable restaurants. And lots of different room options.

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus - swimming pool

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus - swimming pool

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus - swimming pool

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus - swimming pool

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus - swimming pool

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus - hotel

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus - sleepy

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus -balcony view

Our room was great. We booked one of the family rooms with pool view, sliding doors and partition. It was a great size, super modern, very clean and the fact there were sliding doors between the main section and where the kids slept was good. Little I’s snoring is impressive for her age. The bed was SO comfy and we slept really well the whole time we were there. There was also a little fridge, TV, lots of storage space and a balcony with a table and chairs. The robes in the wardrobe were a nice touch too.

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus - hotel room

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus -hotel room

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus -hotel room

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus -hotel room

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus -hotel room

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus -hotel room

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus -hotel room

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus -hotel room

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus -hotel room

We went all inclusive, which is a bit of a waste for me (apart from the drinks side of things!!) because I don’t eat a huge amount but great for the husband and kids. Breakfast was good with lots of different options of hot items, eggs, pastries, fresh fruit, cold meats, cheese and lots more. For lunch you could either get food from a snack bar near the pool or go back to the main restaurant. For each meal time there was a separate kids section which had a great selection of foods for them – not just your usual chicken nuggets and chips etc! I was impressed by all the rice, pasta and veg options. All the allergens were listed on each dish as well. Very helpful when you’re dairy free.

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus food

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus food

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus food

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus food

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus food

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus food green and grill

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus food

All TUI Family Life hotels have baby lounge, I believe, and they are such a good idea. They are air conditioned lounges with lots of facilities for babies. Our one had toys, sofas, a TV, cots, a kitchen area with a kettle, sterilizer, fridge, microwave, kids toilets and changing areas and a soft play section. They are great when you need a break from the sunshine with your little one but don’t want to go all the way back to your room. Our one also had details of all the clubs and activities as well.

Thomson TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica - Our family holiday to Cyprus bamse club kids club

The baby club was really good and a decent price too. You could book six, two hour, sessions for 60 euros or each session was 12 euros I think. The girls that worked there were so friendly and did lots of activities with the babies like water play, messy play, stories and playing with different sensory toys. They were also great at getting L to nap!

The kids club, for Little I’s age (3-5 years) at our TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica was called Bamse Club. There were different ones for different age groups. Bamse is friendly bear who has a magical cupboard and at each session they have to find the magical key to open the cupboard which will show them what the theme is for the session. Little I went to an under the sea one, a space one, a wild animal one and Hawaiian one. They do arts and crafts, outside games, inside games, memory games, stories and dancing and always give you a full debrief when you pick them up and sign them out.

You just turn up to the older kids sessions but you have to pre book the baby ones. I think we were there at a good time of year because the most amount of children I saw in a session was six or eight where as one of the girls said they had up to twenty in the height of the season.

There are also a couple night time sessions for kids and babies, which you pay extra for, where they can go for a little party whilst you have a quiet dinner. Everyone is a winner! They are very popular and lots of fun. The older kids ones were 7 euros (for two hours) and the baby ones were 18 euros (but were usually three hours) and it included food.

Bamse also featured heavily in the kids evening entertainment which was good as well! Just your usual singing, dancing and games up on stage. I did find it hard to keep track of Little I though when she was up at the front and we were sat down. The stage wasn’t sectioned off and they could run round the back

All the entertainment teams were really good and put a lot of effort into all the games and fun that went on every day.

It was a really fun hotel to be in with kids and had lots going on without being to intense.

Pros and cons

PROS
• Very, VERY clean hotel. I am quite OCD when it comes to cleaning but I couldn’t fault this place. The rooms were always immaculate once housekeeping had come round. The restaurant had plenty of staff who were constantly clearing and cleaning tables. Baby highchairs were disinfected and covered with cling film before use. I saw the pools get cleaned every day.
• Modern rooms (look recently refurbished).
• Totally geared up for families.
• AMAZING kids club and baby crèche.
• Lovely play park.
• Baby lounge was great.
• Good food with allergens listed.
• The two bookable restaurants – The Tavern and The Green & Grill were good and a nice change to the buffet.
• All inclusive drinks were good.
• Staff were incredibly friendly and helpful.
• Lots of pools to choose from.
• Well equipped gym.
• Good entertainment at night.
• Nissi beach across the road was gorgeous.
• Supermarkets and cash machines near by.

CONS
• If you didn’t have a swim up room, or a room near the pools, like we didn’t, it was a bit of a trek to find a sun bed in a suitable location to be able to head back up to your room if needed.
• The layout of the pools was a bit odd in terms of getting around the resort as well. It’s hard to explain! They just seemed to be a bit rammed in, in some areas.
• You also have to be up pretty early in order to get the good sunbeds – standard holiday chat though I guess.
• Our AC didn’t work that well but that might have just been us!
• Location wise there wasn’t much going on at night in terms of a promenade down the beach or anything, unless you wanted to walk towards Ayia Napa.

What we saw

Some of the places we explored when staying at the TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica. We hired a car from a place right next to our hotel and had a day out and about towards the end of our holiday. We really wanted to head up to Paphos or up the Troodos Mountains to explore some old villages but it just wasn’t feasible with the heat and the kids. The AC wasn’t that great in the car.

Nissi Beach – this beach was right across the road and was lovely! The sea was SO clear, pretty warm and a good depth for kids to play in, i.e. it didn’t get too deep too quick. The sunbeds and umbrellas were a good price – only 2.50 each for the whole day and the beach doesn’t go too far back so you don’t have much of a walk to the sea. There were nice bars and restaurants open during the day but they didn’t seem to stay open in the evening. There were also lots of water sports going on, if that’s your thing.

nissi beach

nissi beach

nissi beach sea

nissi beach

nissi beach sunbathing

nissi beach loving life

Ayia Napa – had to be done! We walked into Ayia Napa one night but my Google Maps took us a bizarre (and pretty dodgy) route and it was SO HOT. We were melting for the 40 minutes it took. Luckily we managed to turn the night around by finding a nice fresh fish restaurant called Vassos Fish Tavern overlooking the marina. I had swordfish which was so fresh and tasty. The place had a play park for kids so Little I was kept happy whilst we had a cheeky cocktail. We ended up getting a taxi back…a much better idea.

ayia napa

ayia napa

Larnaca – we had a little wander around the old Turkish part of the city (the Skala District) but there wasn’t too much to see so we headed to Mackenzie Beach for some lunch at a beachside restaurant.

larnaca

larnaca

larnaca beach

larnaca beach

Konnos Bay – what a stunning bay! I wish we had been able to spend the day here but it was just too hot. It got up to 36 degrees the day we went. We tried to go on a walk to have a look at the sea caves but only got halfway along the path and had to give up. We had some very miserable, hot children. We also gate crashed a lovely looking fancy hotel trying to find somewhere for a drink overlooking the bay, and failed!

konnos bay

konnos bay

Hala Sultan Tekke – in the cooler months the salt lake area surrounding the mosque is filled with water and Flamingoes. It was still impressive to see the salt lakes even though all the water had dried up and the mosque itself is a lovely little place. With LOTS of cats. Loads of them. Little I and I ended up feeding them because we felt bad, bless them. They were very friendly.

hala sutlan tekke

hala sutlan tekke sightseeing in cyprus

hala sutlan tekke sightseeing in cyprus

hala sutlan tekke sightseeing in cyprus salt lakes

hala sutlan tekke sightseeing in cyprus

hala sutlan tekke sightseeing in cyprus

Wherever we went we noticed it was great value for money. Even though the Euro and Pound are pretty equal at the moment nothing felt particularly expensive. And food and drink actually seemed cheap for the amount you got. The husband was delighted with the huge portion sizes wherever we went!

family of four holiday review cyprus

Overall we had a really great family holiday at the TUI Family Life Aeneas Resort and Spa by Atlantica and would highly recommend this holiday to other families. A great hotel in a great country where we’ve made lots of lovely memories on our first summer holiday as a family of four.

If you want to see a lot more of what we got up to (and more of the hotel and Cyprus then check out our vlogs below:

*This post is NOT an ad. I am not working with Thomson and paid for the holiday myself :)

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Kisses and cuddles with my faves 💖💫 Kisses and cuddles with my faves 💖💫
‘Each of us as citizens, has a role to play in c ‘Each of us as citizens, has a role to play in creating a better world for our children.’ - Nelson Mandela ❤️
It’s not enough though, is it? We’ve always h It’s not enough though, is it?

We’ve always had diverse toys in our house (not enough, but I’m working on it ❤️), but when questioned ‘why do you buy your kids Black dolls?’, I’ve faltered and answered incorrectly. I would respond saying ‘because that’s the doll Isla liked the best. What does it matter? We’re all human’, rather than questioning why that person is questioning it in the first place.

In a massive learning curve this week, where I am actively trying to become an anti-racist ally, not just anti-racist/non racist in general, I have found so many shortcomings in my effort to educate my kids and in my own attitudes towards race. But this isn’t about me. So here are some resources I’d like to share on top of the ones shared in my stories.

Some books to read:
Me and White Supremacy - Layla F. Saad.
Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race - Reni Eddo-Lodge.
How to argue with a racist - Adam Rutherford.
Brit(ish) - Afua Hirsch.
White Fragility - Robin Diangelo.
I Am Not Your Baby Mother - Candice Brathwaite.
So You Want to Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo.

Diverse kids books:
Anti Racist Baby - X. Kendi.
Riley Can Be Anything -Davina Hamilton.
Look Up - Nathan Bryon.
Mae Among The Stars - Roda Ahmed.
The Mega Magic Hair Swap - Rochelle Humes.
Let’s Talk About Race - Julius Lester.
Welcome To Our World - Moira Butterfield and Harriet Lynas.
This Book Is Antiracist - Tiffany Jewell.
The Extraordinary Gardener - Sam Boughton.
Let The Children March - Monica Clark-Robinson.
Ruby’s Worry - Tom Percival.
A Kids Book About Racism - Jelani Memory.

Some things to watch:
When They See Us.
13th.
Who Killed Malcom X.
Time: The Kalief Browder Story.
Explained: The Racial Wealth Gap.
Dear White People.
I am Not Your Negro.

My to do list:
- Sign more petitions.
- Donate to more causes.
- Listen to podcasts and share.
- Encourage changes in the school curriculum so that my children, and their classmates, get a better, much more rounded and diverse education.
- Call things out.
- Have honest/open conversations.
- Share content.
- To keep educating myself, whilst never expecting others to do it for me.

It’s just a starting point.

Thanks for listening x
Black Lives Matter. I can never pretend to unders Black Lives Matter.

I can never pretend to understand, but I will always stand.

I’ve been on a huge learning curve this week and have, shamefully, come to the realisation, which I should have a long time ago, that it’s not enough to just not be racist. We must also be actively anti-racist and do everything in our power to ensure our children are too.

Today is a day to stop, listen, support, educate ourselves, donate, sign petitions, take action in any way we can, big and small, to make sure that everyone knows we stand with our fellow humans, family and friends. But we can’t just do this today. We must do it each and every day going forward ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻
And breathe! First day without both my babies for And breathe! First day without both my babies for the first time in 10 weeks today and it couldn’t have gone better. Both had wonderful days and were full of stories when they got home. I said over on stories last night, which got an incredible response so thank you to everyone who reached out, that I am completely comfortable with my choice to send the kids back to school and nursery but would never, ever judge anyone who felt different. We are all in different boats in this storm we’ve found ourselves in and what works for my family, might not work for yours. I have deliberately stayed out of the ‘are you sending your kids back or not?’ debate as it started to feel like another toxic discussion, in the media and on social media, that was resulting in yet another parenting divide.
I could have had the kids in this whole time, under key worker provision, but tried my best to hang on till the phased reopenings that I hoped would happen when they did. They were what I was aiming towards. Don’t get me wrong, I have LOVED having the kids at home together for such a sustained period, we have made lots of memories and learnt so much more about each other, but mixed in with the nature of my job and the fact that @thisdadalife is deployed and so I’m on my own with minimal support, I couldn’t have gone on much longer.
When I got in from dropping them off today, and as I went upstairs to work at my desk, I literally collapsed on the stairs and almost cried in relief. Relief that we made it through, as dramatic as that sounds. I don’t think I realised the toll it was taking mentally as I was constantly running on adrenaline.
I am so happy to get a bit more balance back and to, most importantly, feel like a better mum again. Not a snappy trying to juggle it all 24/7 with no break mum.
If you sent your kids back today, whether you wanted to or not, I’m with you and support you.
If you have kept them home in your bubble for longer, I’m with you and support you.
If you’re still unsure what to do and are undecided, I am with you and support you.
Nobody knows the full extent of someone else’s circumstances and we have to stop and realise that before we judge anyone else ❤️
Ibiza vibes in Puerto Gardeno today 😂☀️😅 Ibiza vibes in Puerto Gardeno today 😂☀️😅
This is the first year in YEARS that I have felt ok wearing a bikini. And I feel like it’s more down to how strong I feel, rather than how I look. Whatever it is, I hope it continues ❤️
On another note, how tanned does the @filterbymollymae fake tan make you look! 🙌🏻
(Both bikini and cover up are from last year).
#losingmyboobstho #youwinsomeyoulosesomehaha
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