Holiday Village Viva

Just returned from The village Viva. Kids are 8 and 5 years old.We had a good time. This is the first All inclusive holiday that we have been on. Rooms were fantastic, but bathroom stank all the time, due to the fact that there is no fan or window. 8 year old loved the pool and he made loads of friends. By the end of the holiday my husband and I had forgotten what he looked like. Both kids enjoyed the kids club, but as the 2 weeks went on the hotel got busier and busier so the queues at the bar and at the restaurant and at the kids clubs got a bit ridiculus really. Entertainment at night, not the best but the kids enjoyed it which is the main thing. The biggest gripe for my husband is the fact the drink is sooooo watered down and you cannot get food 24/7 it stops at 9pm unless you want a plastic wrapped sandwich from the bar or popcorn (which you have to pay for). We also went to the pirate show which is a must see. We also went to the rancho Grande which we enjoyed, bearing in mind these 2 excursions cost us an extra £500. talking about money the onsite shop is a huge rip off. our kids are out of nappies thank goodness at £12 per pack of pampers. Just to give you an example. All in all a good holiday with friendly British staff. But this is not a cheap holiday!!

We took our 2 daughters aged 13 and 8 on their first oversea holiday. We all had a fantastic time. The Wavelength club for 13-15 year olds was what really swung going with First choice (Thomson don't have clubs for this age group despite being part of the same company) Wavelength has all the buzz and energy that teens require to wear them out. Our younger daughter spent about 4 hours a day in the pool doing her best to look like a wizzened prune. Her superstars club kept her busy for the rest of the time. Food was well presented and plentiful enough. there was plenty of variety so there really was no need to keep eating the same stuff all the time. There was a change in entertainment team 2 days after our arrival and the change to the whole 'village was quite noticeable' for the better. The energy and enthusiasm exuded by the team was quite infectious and resulted in far more daytime activity participation by children and adults alike. The accomodation excedded our expectations, it was clean, well presented, though it could be a little noisey at times.

Just got back from 10 nights at the Holiday Village Viva - our second visit here. With a 9 year old and a 5 year old there's lots and lots for the children to do both day and night. Room: The hotel is spotless, the rooms are ideal, with separate bedroom, spacious lounge, separate shower cubicle along with shower over bath, tonnes of wardrobe space and even MTV, BBC1 and CBBC on the TV should you need it (although as other reviews say there is a bit of a buzz sometimes). There is a safe, you have to pay for it, can't remember how much but think it might be £25 euros which I think is pretty steep and should be included as standard. You can also hire blue pool towels for 5 euros deposit each, but there are tonnes of room towels that are replaced whenever you like during the 5 times weekly cleans. Entertainment: The entertainment was just okay.. not great, but okay. The outside acts are pretty good but the in-house entertainment isn't that brilliant. A new entertainment crew arrived 3 days into our stay - Dan, Jazzy John etc. They were enthusiastic and worked extremely hard - very likeable young people but not particularly entertainers. However they did try hard and were brilliant with the children. Cheeky Charlie has more energy than I've ever seen in one person! We didn't get to experience the other original entertainment crew too much, so I can't comment too much, other than to say that Paul and Sandy did an impromptu concert one night when the outside entertainers didn't turn up - have to say, that was a total highlight of the holiday, these two were AMAZING, absolutely wonderful singers and had great charisma. I wish they had been on every night, they were truly fantastic. Stage Academy and Kids Clubs: Our children attended the Razzamatazz stage academy - there's an extra cost but it's highly recommended, both the 5 year old and 9 year old loved it - Caroline and Bowey were fantastic. The kids clubs were exceptional - an absolute credit to First Choice - at least 4 sessions a day to choose from with varied activities, including a 9pm-11pm 'chocolate party', or 'slumber party', or kids disco - fantastic and almost all of them were free. Laura and gang were truly wonderful. There's also high ropes and other included activities which the older children loved. Didn't see too many teenagers around and to be honest I wonder if this resort would suit them - we speculated that it wouldn't (but haven't got teenagers yet so can't comment from experience). GYM: If you're booking the hotel because it's got a gym, then don't, it's a let down. It's small, not well equipped, and only one out of the two treadmills has worked on both holidays we've had there. There is also one cross trainer and one bike (I think - possibly two). There are also some free weights but the gym should be better. There were actually lots of people who wanted to use the gym and a better, bigger facility would be very popular. Having said that, it's a lovely run to and along the beach, and if you do it early enough it's not too hot. If they did an early morning runner's kids club that would have been the icing on the cake! SUNBEDS: Sunbeds - hmmm. There ARE plenty, but if you want a lounger in a specific spot, then you will have to get up around 8.00/8.15a.m. to mark your territory and wait for the '8.30a.m. Unlocking of the Loungers' ceremony. This is particulary important if, say, you've got toddlers and want to sit by the splash pool, or older kids and want to be by the deep pool. If you're not bothered where you sit then you should be fine but you will still need to get loungers early. POOLS: The pools themselves are great; 2 x 1m deep separated by a bridge, one 1.5m deep and a good sized splash pool with slides, fountains and waterplay area for smaller children. There's also a very small circular pool that's used by very small toddlers. There's always something going on in the pools, from adults water polo, to canoing, raft building, snorkelling etc. and the pools were warm and incredibly clean. My two children were in and out of the pools all day each day and had no problems with ear infections or illness whatsoever. Have been there in May and the pools were not warm and not heated (which I think they should be in low season) but obviously that's down to the time of year as at end of July/beginning of August they were perfect. FOOD: good, edible but not particularly awesome. Something for everyone, lots of nice fresh bread and salad at lunch and dinner, good quality edible food, freshly cooked omelettes at lunch, but nothing particularly exceptional. I agree with the reviewer who said the breakfast was dull and repetive - it was, although the bacon was yum and crispy! The fried eggs also all looked like they should be runny but weren't - very upsetting for a small child (!!!!!). Lots of cereals, fruit, juices and yoghurt though. It's hard to be varied 10 mornings in a row! SERVICE: 10 out of 10, from the hotel rep, to the service in the restaurants, to the staff in the grounds , waiting staff and bar staff - nothing was too much trouble, any problems were attended to immediately (our loo overflowed one evening - we phoned reception, a repair guy arrived literally within 5 mins, and a maid 5 mins after him to mop up). BEACH: One of those paradoxs, beach took 3 minutes to get to on your own in the morning for a run, or 15 with young children in tow! 15 Downhill on the way there, 20mins uphill on the way back (surprisingly!). Beach was nice, clean, two loungers and an umbrella 8.5 euros, nice water, a few typical tourist shops to buy bits and bobs in (which I quite like). Had a meal down at the beach one night, just nice to get a change of scenery. TRANSFERS: we booked a taxi transfer as part of the original booking. As we came out of the exit at Palma, the rep had our name on a board and a car waiting. Fantastic service. In summary - loved it. If you've got a young(ish) family, want lots of pools, spotless hotel, great service, edible food and similar guests then you can't beat this. We would and will be back.

I returned from the holiday village in early July. The brochure pics do not do it justice as it is a really pretty complex. We did get a room that was quite a little away so they next day we upgraded to a ground floor room at a cost of 15 euro a night which really was worth it, however we did complain as the television did not work and as they did not have another one we were refunded our upgrade money. The food was fantastic there was something new everynight and my little girl loved the choice. The Italian resturant was very poor on site but the carribean was nice and worth going to. We booked swimming lessons for my little one and they were fab!!! the kiddies club for the older kids over 6 looked fab, however for the younger ones it was not so good. I stayed for a couple of hours with my little one but to be fair we were both very bored, and the entertainers were not very good and controling the kids. The evening entertainment was not the best and at times I was cringing. The kids disco was fine but the adult entertainment was poor but the resort was lovely to go for a walk in the evening. Yes I would recomend the hotel and yes I would go again

Stayed here from 24th july for 2 weeks,great place very clean.good food.good pools. Location not bad.all trips good but far to expensive.supermarket a rip off. entertainment staff (paul & scratch) had no idea what children want.they were terrible,they got rid of them 10 days into our holiday & were replaced with dan & his team,what a difference,they were fantastic ,i dont know where charlie gets her energy from ,shame we only had 4 days with them. Kids club very good, we have a 7 & 5 year old Overall a good holiday,would recermend to all familys with small children. cheers, Sparkie,bailey,ella,claire

Just returned from a 2 week holiday at this hotel and my honest opinion is that the layout of hotel and facilities are very good. There is lots to do through the day kids clubs,creche, kids and adult activities and daily pool quiz. My 2 girls 6 months and 3 years loved the splash pool and thats were we spent most of our 2 weeks, the good thing is that the sunbeds are chained up til 8.30am so there are no battles trying to get some as long as your down by 8.15am. The variety of food on the snack menu through the day was very good for the all inclusive option and brilliant the fact that kids could just help them self to icecream from freezer. Unfortuneatley i cant sat the same for the buffet restaurant, the food to my standards and im certainly not fussy was basic, and repetitive the breakfast was exactly the same every morning and so was the evening salad bar and kiddkes buffet most nights. The evening entertainment got better as the 2 weeks went on and some nights were really good where the team put alot of effort in, but other nights were poor !!!! The kiddies entertainment on an evening lasted an hour and was poor, they spent more time telling the kids to get off stage than entertaining them, and the main attraction was fart time which i find poor, all the kids want to do is dance to a couple of songs they all know and have a few games. Bingo was good every evening at 9 the tickets are 1 euro and the winnings are good value, we won twice. The all inclusive drinks are defineately watered down as we are not heavy drinkers and we drank quite abit but never once went to bed tipsy... The apartments are good spacious and cleaned 5 times per week, we had a ground floor apartment in the fourth block which was ideal considering we had 2 pushchairs on a evening. My 3 year old come home with an ear infection which seems to be common from reading other reviews and also another couple of kids suffered the same while we were there but that can happen anywhere.. Over all if first choice sorted out the variety of food, improved the entertainment and the watered down drinks they would be sitting on a gold mine, we would seriously consider going back if this was dealt with and the hotel layout and facilities are brilliant !!!!!

We have just got back from hv viva & all i can say is FANTASTIC we went for a wk self catering & upgraded to all inclusive half way through, the complex itself is beautiful the gardens & landscaping are seen to everyday & the cleaniness is amazing there were cleaners everywhere inside & out & always had an hola. The rooms were lovely & very spacious i read reviews that the beds were very uncomfortable but we never found that my 4 & 14yr old had the bedroom & we had the living room with the baby & they have never slept so well(not at home anyway!) The food was very varied & always lots of choice the omlettes that the chef makes fresh to order in front of you were gorgeous & on wednesday evening it is dessert day & all i can say is wow! ive never seen so many desserts the waitresses were lovely if you gave them the time of day some people didn't even acknowledge they were there. The kids clubs & reps are great always had a smile & my little girl loved them especially the chocolate night she came out with her face painted in chocolate. The pools were great not to crowded as they were huge but best of all was the waterpark for the younger ones it was fantastic, but as in other reviews you really do have to be early to get a bed they unchain them at 8.30 so you need to be down about 8 stupid i no but if you dont you wont get any some people were sitting there at 7.15!!!! I came down put my towels where i wanted to be & came back at 8.30 if you cant beat them you have to join them. The evening entertainment was varied some good some not so good but still fun at the end of the day your there to have a good time with your children & thats exactly what you will have, the bar staff are hilarious & always appreciate a tip no matter how small. I dont really no what else to put apart from if you are thinking of going here then go you wont be disappointed.

We just came back tues night from hol village viva and had a fab time. Fantastic for families- must say the childrens splash pool was fantastic with all the slides etc for them. As we arrived, there was night time entertainment on and could not believe how quickly the kids wanted to join the fun as the entertainment is all outdoors. I highly recommend it for families with small children. The whole hotel was so clean and cleaners were non-stop cleaning. The rooms were spacious and linen changed regularly. The hotel is only 10 minute walk downhill to a most beautiful beach with lovely prom and marina. I highly recommend a trip to the beach.Shops are nice to browse through for the children too. We were all inclusive and the beverages were great for adults and children and bar staff very prompt. We were however very disappointed with the food, in particular with the breakfast. There was the same food for breakfast every morning with absolutely no change. The cooked breakfast looked like slop thrown on the trays and very off putting. We found the food very tasteless but thankfully there was such a range of choice that you try several things and eventually get something nice. The caribbean restuarant was a waste of time as the food was horrible and the italian restaurant is in the main restaurant so looks nothing special. Our little ones 6 and 3 did not eat anything but bread in the mornings and I asked for a bananna for them to eat but would not give me any .At the end of the week we were glad to go and have a meal in Burger king just to have a change! Despite being disappointed ith the food the holiday was great but 1 week is long enough here.

Nice hotel with lots to do, if you have children the reps look after them, the food and drinks are OK, I think its always good to go out and eat in the local places every couple of nights. The entertaiment in the hotel is varied, what made a good holiday great was the trip we booked through our rep. Come Fly With Me is a new show for the island, it is in the other end of Mallorca but it only took an hour by coach, it is a mix of swing music, dance and acrobatics, but world class, I have seen shows in London, New York and Vegas and this ranks as one of the best.

Saw some mixed reviews before I went, but the HV Viva was simply fantastic. We all had a great time, we took my 8 year old son who had so many things to do, a week wasn't enough. The instructors were superb, activities wide ranging and the evening entertainment was good fun. If you don't like action and noise, avoid it - if you want to get stuck in and enjoy time with your family, it is the best. Food - excellent and varied. Apartment - clean and very spacious. Village - spotless Activities - wide ranging Value for money - exceptional as we were all inclusive Evening entertainment - great Travel - Thomson were superb, on time all the way there and back GO GO GO - we'll be back for sure... Met some lovely people too. The Guernsey Family