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5 best Neilson Beachclubs for Summer Holidays 2021
There are 10 Neilson Beachclubs across Europe, but we've picked our top 5 for a family beach holiday by looking at customer reviews, the number of activities available, travel time from the UK and value for money.
Whichever Neilson Beachclub you choose you'll get a range of watersports and other activities to try out and high quality accommodation, but there is quite a bit of variation in how big the resorts are and which sports you can pick from. Neilson is at the posh end of the family holiday market, but there are some good deals to be had.
Most of the Neilson Beachclubs are in Greece, but there are also resorts to consider in Croatia, Spain and Sardinia.
For a rough price comparison, we looked for the cost of a week long holiday for a family of four in mid June 2021, early August 2021 and mid September 2021. We included the cost of flights and transfers.
Anyway, without further waffle here's our top 5:
Whichever Neilson Beachclub you choose you'll get a range of watersports and other activities to try out and high quality accommodation, but there is quite a bit of variation in how big the resorts are and which sports you can pick from. Neilson is at the posh end of the family holiday market, but there are some good deals to be had.
Most of the Neilson Beachclubs are in Greece, but there are also resorts to consider in Croatia, Spain and Sardinia.
For a rough price comparison, we looked for the cost of a week long holiday for a family of four in mid June 2021, early August 2021 and mid September 2021. We included the cost of flights and transfers.
Anyway, without further waffle here's our top 5:
1. Neilson Alana Beachclub, Croatia (large resort, lots of activities, strong reviews, mid-priced, tennis specialists)
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Four of our top five Neilson Beachclubs are in Greece, but I would take a proper look at Neilson Alana Beachclub in Croatia as a decent all-rounder for an active family summer holiday.
It's one of the bigger resorts and has the widest range of activities out of all the Neilson Beachclubs. There are 15 sports and activities at Alana Beachclub including sailing, windsurfing, mountain biking and water skiing. Most sports are included in the cost of your holiday, with a couple of exceptions. It's got a really good sized swimming pool next to the beach as well as an indoor pool/spa. Neilson Alana Beachclub is particularly recommended if you like tennis, as it has six courts. Customer reviews are consistently strong, averaging 4.5/5 on both TripAdvisor and Google reviews when we checked. You can also pick between hotel and cabin accommodation, which is unusual for Neilson resorts. The cabins are a bit like the holiday lodges you get at UK resorts and are a good upgrade if you want a bit more privacy. As with most Neilson Beachclubs you get three meals a day, apart from three evenings a week. You also get childcare included for anyone aged 2-17 (there's a charge for under twos, which is currently £300 a week). Other plus points are that you can fly there from three different UK airports and it's one of the quickest Neilson Beachclubs to reach. Flight time and transfer time combined are just over three hours, compared to 4-6 hours for Neilson's Greek resorts so you'll have to endure a little less time travelling with children. Price: Neilson Alana Beachclub was a mid-priced option in all of our price comparisons. In early August, the cheapest price for a family of four at Alana was £5844 for four people whilst in mid June it was £2960. The price in mid-September was £2476. In case you're wondering, Neilson Aeolian Village Beachclub in Greece was one of the cheapest Neilson resorts in our price comparison but it didn't make our top five as they don't have quite as many activities. |
Neilson Alana Beachclub is a good-sized resort with lots of activities...
...and a swimming pool overlooking the sea
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2. Neilson Messini Beachclub, Greece (large resort, plenty of activities, great reviews, cycling and climbing specialists)
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Neilson Messini Beachclub is one of several highly-rated Neilson resorts fighting for your attention in Greece. We think it's worth considering, particularly if you are into mountain biking and rock climbing (although lots of watersports are also available).
It is another large resort which scores very highly with customers (average of 4.7/5 on Google reviews and 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor when we checked). It's also one of the quickest Greek resorts to reach from the UK with only a 20 minute transfer from the airport. By my count Neilson Messini Beachclub has 12 activities compared to 15 at Neilson Alana Beachclub but you certainly won't be bored. Watersports include sailing, windsurfing, kayaking and waterskiing whilst other sports include tennis and swimming in the large outdoor pool. Unlike some holiday providers, most activities and childcare are included in the cost of the holiday with a few exceptions, such as if you have children under two. Neilson Messini Beachclub is right by the beach at Analipsi, which is a rural part of Greece. Lunch and breakfast are included every day as well as four evening meals per week. Price: A mid-priced resort in our price comparison. A week for a family of four in August 2021 was from £5876 including flights, transfers and meals. Mid-June 2020 was £3176 whilst mid-September 2021 was £2548. |
Neilson Messini Beachclub gets outstanding reviews...
...and it's only 20 minutes from the airport
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3. Neilson Portomyrina Palace Beachclub, Greece (positive reviews, sailing specialists)
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Neilson Portomyrina Palace Beachclub and Neilson Messini Beachclub (#2) have a lot in common, but Portomyrina is a better choice if you're into dinghy sailing (or want to give it a go).
Portomyrina is another Greek resort which gets sparkling reviews (4.5/5 on TripAdvisor, 4.7/5 on Google reviews) and offers inclusive childcare for 2-17 year olds. It takes a similar amount of time to get there as Neilson Messini and offers the same deal where you get breakfast and lunch every day and then four evening meals a week. It's got 11 activities such as waterskiing and kayaking, a large outdoor pool, an indoor pool and a spa where they stick cucumbers on your eyes. As mentioned earlier, it specialises in sailing because there's a good amount of wind (not what you'd normally want on your holiday...parp). One advantage of Portomyrina is that you arrive on a Saturday, whereas some resorts have a mid-week arrival which doesn't work well for school half term breaks. On the downside, you can only fly from London. Another plus point is that it's only a 15 minute walk into the local town, Myrina. Price: One of the more expensive Neilson holidays, based on the dates that we searched. 2021 dates weren't available but a week in August 2020 for a family of four started at £6344, whilst a week in mid-June was £3331. Mid-September was from £2924 for the week but that was still more expensive than most. Those prices include flights, transfers, childcare for 2-17 year olds, most meals and most activities. |
Neilson's Portomyrina Palace Beachclub has a lot in common with Neilson Messini...
...and it gets similarly impressive reviews
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4. Neilson Retreat Beachclub, Greece (very good reviews, waterskiing and wakeboarding specialists)
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I spent a long time agonising over whether to include Neilson Retreat Beachclub in Sivota or Neilson Vounaki Beachclub in Paleros. In our price comparisons, Neilson Retreat Beachclub was cheaper every time so that was the clincher but I would recommend checking them both if you like the sound of Neilson Retreat.
They're both specialists in waterskiing and wakeboarding and have a very similar range of activities and sports (12 in total, including swimming, tennis, cycling and fitness classes). They were getting identical review scores of 4.7/5 and 4.5/5 on Google Reviews and TripAdvisor when we checked. Both offer the same level of childcare (included for 2-17 year olds, extra charge for under twos) and the same number of meals (breakfast and lunch every day, four evening meals a week). They also both have several airport options for travelling from the UK. Neilson Vounaki Beachclub is half an hour closer as it has a shorter transfer time and it has far fewer rooms than Neilson Retreat. Price: Neilsen Retreat Beachclub was one of the more expensive options for a week. 2021 prices weren't available when we checked but in August 2020 it was from £5916 for a family of four, mid-September was £3168. In June it was one of the cheapest Neilson Beachclubs at £2364. Top tip - take a look at the price for two weeks at Neilson Retreat Beachclub. We checked one set of dates and it was only about £10 per person per night to stay for another week. |
Neilson Retreat Beachclub in Greece specialises in waterskiing and wakeboarding...
...and you can also go kayaking
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5. Neilson Cosmos Beachclub, Greece (small resort, good for windsurfing)
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Neilson Cosmos Beachclub in Vassiliki is a curious one as it's very different to most of the other Beachclubs.
When we checked it was getting the very best reviews of all eleven Neilson Beachclubs. In fact, when we checked, reviews were bordering on perfection with scores of 4.8/5 on Google reviews and 5/5 on TripAdvisor which is some achievement. So why isn't it right at the top of this list, I hear you ask in a sarcastic tone? Well, Neilson Cosmos Beachclub is very small compared to the other family-family resorts. It only has about 30 rooms compared to more than 100 in most others. As a result, the range of activities is much more limited and there isn't quite the same level of childcare (there's no group for 16-17 year olds for example). It's also one of the furthest from the UK with the flight time and transfer time adding up to five hours compared to about three hours at the closest Neilson Beachclub (Neilson Baia Dei Mori Beachclub in Sardinia). Neilson Cosmos Beachclub was one of the cheaper options in our price comparisons but it's the only Neilson Beachclub where you don't get lunch included every day and four evening meals a week. You only get breakfast and then you can pay extra to dine at the onsite restaurant or explore the local area. However, we can't ignore those amazing reviews. I would say Neilson Cosmos Beachclub is the one to pick if you want a quieter Neilson resort and can afford to pay to eat in (or don't mind leaving the site regularly). It is also renowned for its windsurfing, so I'd go for it if you are keen on that. Price: Neilson Cosmos Beachclub was cheapest in our price comparison for a holiday for a family of four for a week in August 2020 (£4760). It was joint cheapest for a mid-September 2020 holiday (£2208) and it was in the middle in mid-June 2020 (£2976). However, you also need to budget for seven lunches and four evening meals which aren't included at Cosmos, but are included at the other Neilson resorts. |
Neilson Cosmos Beachclub is a small resort which great reviews...
...and a specialism in windsurfing
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What about the other Neilson Beachclubs?
The resorts above are our picks for a family holiday, but I wouldn't write off any of the other Neilson Beachclubs:
- Neilson Buca Beachclub in Greece is a small, adults-only resort. Reviews are amongst the best of all the Neilson resorts but there is obviously no childcare provided so we didn't include it as an option. It's got a good choice of activities including watersports and it is particularly good for tennis or rock climbing.
- Neilson Baia Dei Mori Beachclub in Sardinia is generally the quickest Neilson Beachclub to reach from the UK and is the best option if you decide you want to drive to a Neilson Beachclub. Don't get me wrong, it's a looooong drive, but you could get there if you don't mind 24 hours of solid driving. Reviews are generally about 4/5.
- Neilson Aeolian Village Beachclub in Greece very nearly made our list, because it was one of the cheaper Neilson Beachclubs in our price comparisons and it gets 4.5/5 from most reviewers. However, it has about half as many activities as Neilson Alana Beachclub and is also quite a bit further away from the UK with a transfer time of more than two hours from the airport.
- Neilson Mar Menor Beachclub in Spain did well in our price comparisons, but it was a little bit behind the others in terms of customer reviews.
Images are from Neilson
