"We’ve just returned from a week at Ukino and had a really lovely time but we would not return.
HOTEL -
The hotel is huge and split into two main parts, Everything was very clean, including the rooms, and plates and cups were collected regularly around the hotel. The staff can come across quite miserable.
There is a main pool, a second pool with bigger slides to the side and a children’s splash pad. The splash pad area is great for younger children, although there aren’t many sun loungers around this section. The pools open at 9am and people were literally running to reserve them, there was also quite a lot of people who would reserve loungers then go out for the day.
One downside for us was that, despite the hotel being very family/child-friendly, it wasn’t particularly pram-friendly. There are quite a few stairs and the mini disco is up on the fourth floor and accessed by stairs, which isn’t ideal when you have a pram or young children.
ENTERTAINMENT -
The hotel is very catered towards the French and the animation team are all “lookea” which is a French brand.
I don’t usually do “kids club” but because adults were aloud to stay for under 3 I was in there with my 1 year old so my 5 year old decided to come in but it was VERY catered for the French. There was a arts and crafts room which had painting / crafts all sorts displayed on the door when my daughter went to go in the animation team stopped her started speaking in French and was saying NO ENGLISH and literally pushed her to the door and closed it on her, if I wasn’t there she’d of being absolutely terrified at why she wasn’t able to go in!
They also have a private French only event in the main theatre running 8-9 you know the French as they have red wrist bands.
The main entertainment takes place in the theatre later in the evening. Which is dark and reminds you of a nightclub with its layout, there is also very poor air con in there so it can get quite warm. The entertainment is very late pre show at 9pm - 9.30pm then the main show 10pm - 11pm
The pre show was usually a singer which were good but the main shows gave you something to watch, but the shows were quite cheesy and not particularly impressive. Drinks in the theatre were also served in plastic glasses.
The lobby bar was the only place where drinks were served in proper glasses, and this was also where they had a singer or pianist performing.
The children’s entertainment was probably the biggest disappointment for us. My 5-year-old wasn’t interested and actually preferred watching the adult entertainment. The children’s shows were essentially two people dancing on stage and singing songs in a foreign language, so there wasn’t much to keep the children engaged.
Also, the trampolines and bouncy castles advertised by the hotel are not included in the price. The trampoline costs €7 per go, while the bouncy castles are €6 for 30 minutes, which felt disappointing when these are advertised as part of the hotel’s children’s facilities.
FOOD & DRINK
We had Premium All Inclusive, which was definitely worth it for the branded drinks. They had Hendrick’s, Bombay Sapphire, Absolut Vodka and Aperol Spritz included, which was a nice touch. We also ate in the fine dining restaurant, Nakko, which was really nice, although it’s very much an à la carte experience. There is no ice creams throughout the day around the pool area only a vending machine which you have to pay €2.20 for an ice lolly. They also don’t have a pool snack bar all food is in one of the 2 restaurants.
The food was good for an all-inclusive, but considering how huge the hotel is, I expected a lot more choice. The children’s options were especially limited – it was basically pasta and chips every night, with the odd night where chicken nuggets or fish fingers were added.
The biggest disappointment was the allergy catering. For a hotel that advertises itself as family-friendly, it was almost non-existent. There was no ingredient or allergen labelling on the buffet food, so if you’re travelling with allergies, it’s really difficult to know what’s safe to eat. This is something the hotel really needs to improve.
LOCATION
There isn’t a huge amount around the hotel, The transfer from the airport was around 1 hour 30 minutes, and there isn’t a supermarket nearby, although there are a couple of restaurants within the area. The beach is close to the hotel, but unfortunately it isn’t very pram-friendly as there is a huge flight of stairs down to it.
We ate at New Delhi Indian, which was absolutely gorgeous and definitely worth a visit.
There is a land train that costs €5 per person, with babies travelling free when sitting on a lap. It runs roughly hourly and takes you to the next village, which has a much bigger beach as well as some little shops and an ice cream parlour.
We also visited Zoomarine, which is definitely worth a visit, especially if you have children."
