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Which Neilson Beachclub Resort Is Best For A Summer Holiday In 2025?
There are seven Neilson Beachclub resorts around Europe. Most of them are in Greece, but they also have classy beachside resorts in Croatia and Sardinia. They're at the posh end of the family summer holiday market offering action-packed family-friendly beach holidays. Neilson Active Holidays has won several awards in the last few years, including Best Activity/Sports Holiday Company at the British Travel Awards in 2023.
But which is the best Neilson Beachclub resort? We've looked at customer reviews, value for money, location, activities and travel time from the UK to reach our conclusion.
If you want the short answer and don't want to read all our waffle, I would start with:
If you want to hear how we reached that conclusion, please read on...
But which is the best Neilson Beachclub resort? We've looked at customer reviews, value for money, location, activities and travel time from the UK to reach our conclusion.
If you want the short answer and don't want to read all our waffle, I would start with:
- Neilson Alana Beachclub in Croatia for families who want all round good value or if you love tennis.
- Neilson Messini Beachclub in Greece for families or if you love cycling.
- Neilson Buca Beachclub if you're travelling alone or as a couple.
- Neilson Levante if you want good weather outside of the peak summer season.
If you want to hear how we reached that conclusion, please read on...
Neilson Baia Dei Mori Beachclub is an excellent choice if you want a quick journey...
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...whilst Neilson's Alana Beachclub resort is a good value all-rounder for families
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Which Neilson Beachclub is best for families and children?
Most Neilson Beachclubs are ideal for family holidays, if you can afford it. However, they don't all offer kids' clubs and childcare.
The other five Neilson Beachclubs all include childcare for 2-17 year olds in the cost of your holiday with several different groups so your teenager won't be stuck playing with Playdoh with a toddler. If your child is under two then you pay extra for childcare (£390 per week at the time of writing).
But which is the best Neilson Beachclub for a family holiday? Keep reading more waffle and we'll narrow down the choice for you.
- Neilson Buca Beachclub is for adults only.
- Neilson Cosmos Beachclub is a small resort compared to the others, so it doesn't have a kids club for 16-17 year olds and doesn't have quite the same range of childcare (such as evening babysitting). It does have some childcare and kids activities though, so don't write it off completely.
The other five Neilson Beachclubs all include childcare for 2-17 year olds in the cost of your holiday with several different groups so your teenager won't be stuck playing with Playdoh with a toddler. If your child is under two then you pay extra for childcare (£390 per week at the time of writing).
But which is the best Neilson Beachclub for a family holiday? Keep reading more waffle and we'll narrow down the choice for you.
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Which Neilson Beachclub Resort gets the best reviews?
All of the Neilson Beachclub Resorts score at least 4/5 on TripAdvisor, but there is some variation in review scores.
We added together the TripAdvisor scores and the Google review scores for the Neilson Beachclub Resorts in November 2023 and came up with this ranking from highest to lowest scoring. We converted the final score into a percentage to make it easier to read:
So, what can we conclude from this splurge of numbers?
According to customer reviews, Neilson Cosmos Beachclub is the best Neilson Beachclub as of September 2024, but (as we'll see later) it is a very small resort with a smaller range of activities.
The Greek resorts seem to get the highest scores with customers, with the resort in Sardinia appearing at the bottom (although 4/5 on TripAdvisor is still very respectable in my opinion).
It's worth noting that TripAdvisor only give scores in half-chunks, so Neilson Cosmos Beachclub appears to have a much higher score, despite having a similar score on Google reviews as Neilson Vounaki Beachclub and Neilson Messini Beachclub.
There aren't as many reviews for Neilson Levante Beach Beachclub but we managed to find customer scores when the resorts were used by other holiday companies, including Mark Warner Holidays. For Alana, most of the reviews are under the name Bluesun. This isn't a perfect solution but it's as good as we can manage!
We added together the TripAdvisor scores and the Google review scores for the Neilson Beachclub Resorts in November 2023 and came up with this ranking from highest to lowest scoring. We converted the final score into a percentage to make it easier to read:
- Neilson Cosmos Beachclub, Vassiliki, Greece - 98% (4.8/5 on Google reviews, 5/5 on TripAdvisor)
- Neilson Vounaki Beachclub, Paleros, Greece - 93% (4.8/5 on Google reviews, 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor)
- Neilson Messini Beachclub, Analipsi, Greece - 92% (4.7/5 on Google reviews, 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor)
- Neilson Alana Beachclub, Croatia - 91% (4.6/5 on Google reviews, 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor)
- Neilson Buca Beachclub, Analipsi, Greece (adults only) - 91% (4.6/5 on Google reviews, 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor)
- Neilson Levante Beach Beachclub, Rhodes, Greece – 90% (4.5/5 on TripAdvisor, 4.5/5 on Google reviews)
- Neilson Baia Dei Mori Beachclub, Sardinia - 83% (4.3/5 on Google reviews, 4/5 on TripAdvisor)
So, what can we conclude from this splurge of numbers?
According to customer reviews, Neilson Cosmos Beachclub is the best Neilson Beachclub as of September 2024, but (as we'll see later) it is a very small resort with a smaller range of activities.
The Greek resorts seem to get the highest scores with customers, with the resort in Sardinia appearing at the bottom (although 4/5 on TripAdvisor is still very respectable in my opinion).
It's worth noting that TripAdvisor only give scores in half-chunks, so Neilson Cosmos Beachclub appears to have a much higher score, despite having a similar score on Google reviews as Neilson Vounaki Beachclub and Neilson Messini Beachclub.
There aren't as many reviews for Neilson Levante Beach Beachclub but we managed to find customer scores when the resorts were used by other holiday companies, including Mark Warner Holidays. For Alana, most of the reviews are under the name Bluesun. This isn't a perfect solution but it's as good as we can manage!
Neilson's Cosmos Beachclub gets outstanding reviews...
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...as does Neilson Vounaki Beachclub in Greece
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Which Neilson Beachclub is the cheapest?
For our (rough) price comparison we looked at the cost of a 7-day holiday for a family of four on three dates in June 2025 (outside school holidays), early August 2025 and mid-September 2025.
We searched for the cheapest room available including flights and transfers but didn't include any optional extras or upgrades. There is some variation about the day of the week that you arrive at your holiday. Where several departure airports were offered, we went for the cheapest option.
Our price comparison didn't include Neilson Buca Beachclub as it's an adults only Neilson resort.
We searched for the cheapest room available including flights and transfers but didn't include any optional extras or upgrades. There is some variation about the day of the week that you arrive at your holiday. Where several departure airports were offered, we went for the cheapest option.
Our price comparison didn't include Neilson Buca Beachclub as it's an adults only Neilson resort.
Lowest price available for a week in mid-June 2025 for a family of four:
Lowest price available for a week in early August 2025 for a family of four:
Lowest price available for a week in mid-September 2025 for a family of four:
Let me attempt to summarise this huge list of numbers. Based on our limited price comparison:
Of course, we just looked at three sets of dates but it's a starting point.
- Neilson Alana Beachclub, Croatia - £3069
- Neilson Cosmos Beachclub, Vassiliki, Greece - £3197
- Neilson Baia Dei Mori Beachclub, Sardinia - £3293
- Neilson Levante Beach Beachclub, Rhodes, Greece - £4005
- Neilson Messini Beachclub, Analipsi, Greece - £4005
- Neilson Vounaki Beachclub, Paleros, Greece - £4093
Lowest price available for a week in early August 2025 for a family of four:
- Neilson Cosmos Beachclub, Vassiliki, Greece - £5149
- Neilson Alana Beachclub, Croatia - £6109
- Neilson Baia Dei Mori Beachclub, Sardinia - £6141
- Neilson Messini Beachclub, Analipsi, Greece - £7237
- Neilson Vounaki Beachclub, Paleros, Greece - £7389
- Neilson Levante Beach Beachclub, Rhodes, Greece - £7679
Lowest price available for a week in mid-September 2025 for a family of four:
- Neilson Cosmos Beachclub, Vassiliki, Greece - £3389
- Neilson Alana Beachclub, Croatia - £3517
- Neilson Baia Dei Mori Beachclub, Sardinia - £3869
- Neilson Messini Beachclub, Analipsi, Greece - £4581
- Neilson Vounaki Beachclub, Paleros, Greece - £4669
- Neilson Levante Beach Beachclub, Rhodes, Greece - £5163
Let me attempt to summarise this huge list of numbers. Based on our limited price comparison:
- If we add the prices together to make an average, then we can conclude that Neilson Cosmos Beachclub, Neilson Baia Dei Mori Beachclub and Neilson Alana Beachclub are the cheapest Neilson resorts.
- There are two mid-priced Neilson Beachclubs - Neilson Messini Beachclub and Neilson Vounaki Beachclub. The difference in average price between these two is about £90 to £150 over a week.
- Neilson Levante Beach Beachclub was more expensive than the rest on two occasions. On average, it costs about £1500 a week extra for a family of four to stay here compared to Neilson Baia Dei Mori Beachclub.
Of course, we just looked at three sets of dates but it's a starting point.
Neilson's Levante Beach is one of the more expensive Beachclubs
Which Neilson Beachclub has the most activities?
As you may have gathered from the name, Neilson Active Holidays are all about swimming, watersports (sailing, water skiing, wakeboarding, kayaking etc), fitness classes, cycling and tennis. You aren't obliged to try out the activities, but you'll get the best value from your holiday if you do.
All Neilson resorts have plenty to do, but there is some variation in the number of activities on offer:
Most activities are included in the cost of your holiday at most resorts, but there are some extra charges for kitesurfing and rock climbing at the time of writing (see this Neilson page for more details).
We worked out the number of activities by counting up all the activities mentioned on the Neilson website, as well as swimming. The recommendations for which resorts are particularly good for certain activities come from Neilson themselves.
All Neilson resorts have plenty to do, but there is some variation in the number of activities on offer:
- Neilson Alana Beachclub, Croatia - 15 activities in total (particularly good for tennis and rock climbing)
- Neilson Levante Beach Beachclub, Rhodes, Greece - 13 (particularly good for swimming pools)
- Neilson Messini Beachclub, Analipsi, Greece - 12 (particularly good for mountain cycling and rock climbing)
- Neilson Vounaki Beachclub, Paleros, Greece - 12 (particularly good for water skiing and wakeboarding)
- Neilson Buca Beachclub 12 (particularly good for tennis and rock climbing)
- Neilson Baia Dei Mori Beachclub, Sardinia - 10 (particularly good for road cycling)
- Neilson Cosmos Beachclub, Vassiliki, Greece - 7 (particularly good for windsurfing)
Most activities are included in the cost of your holiday at most resorts, but there are some extra charges for kitesurfing and rock climbing at the time of writing (see this Neilson page for more details).
We worked out the number of activities by counting up all the activities mentioned on the Neilson website, as well as swimming. The recommendations for which resorts are particularly good for certain activities come from Neilson themselves.
Neilson Messini Beachclub ranks quite well in our league table of activities...
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...but the winner for activities is Neilson Alana Beachclub in Croatia
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Which is the nearest Neilson Beachclub Resort to the UK?
We added together the typical flight time and the transfer time to work out which Neilson Beachclub resort is quickest to get to from the UK. Of course, you need to allow extra time to pick up your bags from the airport and it depends on where you live in the UK as different resorts offer flights from different UK airports. But let's not make it too complicated...
From nearest to furthest from the UK:
So, if you want to cut down on travel time, then you are best to pick one of the Neilson Beachclub resorts in Croatia or Sardinia rather than Greece (although you had probably worked that out already if you own a world map)
If you don't want to fly, there are two Neilson Beachclub Hotels which they reckon you can reach by car, as long as you can tolerate hours stuck in a car with children and have plenty of battery life on their tablets. We worked out the travel time from London to the resort via the Eurotunnel:
From nearest to furthest from the UK:
- Neilson Baia Dei Mori Beachclub, Sardinia - 3 hours 5 minutes
- Neilson Alana Beachclub, Croatia - 3 hours 15 minutes
- Neilson Messini Beachclub, Analipsi, Greece - 4 hours 10 minutes
- Neilson Buca Beachclub, Analipsi, Greece - 4 hours 10 minutes
- Neilson Vounaki Beachclub, Paleros, Greece - 4 hours 15 minutes
- Neilson Levante Beach Beachclub, Rhodes, Greece - 4 hours 50 minutes
- Neilson Cosmos Beachclub, Vassiliki, Greece - 4 hours 50 minutes
So, if you want to cut down on travel time, then you are best to pick one of the Neilson Beachclub resorts in Croatia or Sardinia rather than Greece (although you had probably worked that out already if you own a world map)
If you don't want to fly, there are two Neilson Beachclub Hotels which they reckon you can reach by car, as long as you can tolerate hours stuck in a car with children and have plenty of battery life on their tablets. We worked out the travel time from London to the resort via the Eurotunnel:
- Neilson Baia Dei Mori Beachclub, Sardinia - 24 hours (includes getting a ferry to Sardinia, as well as the Eurotunnel at Folkestone)
- Neilson Cosmos Beachclub, Greece - 32 hours (yes, that's a day and a half of solid driving, so I suggest you'd need to make it part of a 'tour of Europe')
Neilson Baia Dei Mori is the closest resort to the UK
How can I save money on a Neilson Beachclub holiday?
Here are a few tips I've picked up during my research, I'll add other ones when I find them:
- Two weeks at a Neilson Beachclub is often considerably better value than one week. It varies a bit but as an example we found that a week in mid-September 2025 at Neilson Cosmos Beachclub was £3389 whilst a fortnight was £5021. That means you're only paying £1632 for the second week. That's £58 per person, per night for the second week which is good value considering you are getting food included.
- Obviously, you can save significantly if you are able to travel outside of school holidays, but I appreciate that's not an option for most families. The difference in price is enough to make a parent's eyes water. When we checked, a week in mid-June 2025 at Neilson Vounaki Beachclub in Greece was £4093 for a family of four whilst a week in early August 2025 was £7389, a difference of £3296. Eek.
- If you're willing to travel to a different UK airport you can save yourself quite a lot of money. In one instance we found that a week for a family of four at Neilson Vounaki Beachclub in Greece was £4669 if you flew from Bristol, London or Edinburgh Airport or £4869 if you departed from Manchester Airport. That's saving of over £200. Thankfully, the Neilson website seems to default to the cheapest airport when there is more than one option.
- There's an 'offers' page on the Neilson website which is worth a look.
Other notable differences between the Neilson Beachclub Resorts
- Neilson Cosmos Beachclub gets the best reviews at the time of writing, but it is also a very small resort compared to the others with just 32 rooms. Most resorts have between 100 and 180 rooms. The second smallest family resort in terms of room number is Neilson Vounaki Beachclub which has 93 rooms (almost three times as many).
- Neilson Alana Beachclub in Croatia has the greatest number of rooms with 221 rooms and cabins, whilst Neilson Messini Beachclub has 180 rooms. Neilson Levante Beach Beachclub has 240 rooms, but only half of them are used by Neilson.
- Neilson Buca Beachclub in Greece is the resort just for adults, as we mentioned earlier.
- Neilson Cosmos Beachclub doesn't include as many meals as the other Neilson resorts. At Neilson Cosmos Beachclub you just get breakfast included and then can pay for lunch and dinner at the onsite restaurant or dine out. At all the other Neilson Beachclub Resorts you get breakfast and lunch included every day, as well as four evening meals a week. So, you only need to find somewhere to eat three nights a week.
Neilson Cosmos is the smallest beach club (no, that's not me on the board)
Which Neilson resort has the best weather?
The short answer is that Neilson Levante is the hottest and driest Neilson resort and is your best bet if you are looking at the start or end of the season (Neilson Beachclubs are generally open from May to October).
However, we'll dig a bit deeper as scorching hot days are not everyone's idea of a great holiday.
However, we'll dig a bit deeper as scorching hot days are not everyone's idea of a great holiday.
- If you like it hot and a guarantee of dry weather than your best bet is to stay at Neilson Levante Beach Club on the Greek Island of Rhodes between June and September. The average temperature is 25-28 Celsius. That's a bit warm for me, but you are probably made of tougher stuff and won't complain endlessly like I would.
May and October are also pretty warm at Neilson Levante, with an average of about 21-22 Celsius and only a little bit of rain. - If you would prefer the temperature to be a couple of degrees cooler and don't mind (very) occasional drops of rain then you can take your pick from four of Neilson's Greek resorts. Cosmos and Vounaki are on the Western side of Greece whilst Messini and Buca are further South and so slightly warmer. All four will give you good weather from May to September. July and August are hottest at these resorts , with an average of about 25-26 Celsius.
June and September are more like 23 Celsius at these Beachclubs whilst May is about 19 Celsius. October is warm (i.e. 19-21 Celsius) but can be a bit wet at these resorts. - If you want it slightly cooler still then Neilson Alana in Croatia or Neilson Baia Dei Mori in Sardinia are your best bet. They have a slightly shorter season and less guarantee of dry weather. I'm not attempting to put you off - both are great resorts and the weather will be spot on for most people.
July and August average 25 Celsius and are the driest months at both resorts. June is more like 22 Celsius and is generally quite dry. September and October are still quite warm but it gets much wetter at Alana so it's a bit riskier for a beach holiday (Neilson Baia Dei Mori isn't as wet in September so you can sneak in a later summer holiday). May is about 17-18 Celsius and will have a bit of rain, but not enough to ruin your holiday.
Neilson Levante has the hottest and driest of the seven Neilson resorts
How about a month by month guide to Neilson Beachclubs?
What a good idea!
You might be fixed to a certain set of dates because of school holidays or because you have a miserable manager at work. Here are my suggestions of your options in each month. As mentioned earlier, Neilson Beachclubs are usually open from May to October.
You might be fixed to a certain set of dates because of school holidays or because you have a miserable manager at work. Here are my suggestions of your options in each month. As mentioned earlier, Neilson Beachclubs are usually open from May to October.
- May - Neilson Levante Beach Club will give you the warmest weather with an average of about 21 Celsius. Neilson Baia Dei Mori is more like 17 Celsius, so there's a slight risk of needing a jumper. The other Neilson resorts average about 19 Celsius, including Cosmos, Vounaki, Messini, Buca and Alana. I consider 19 to be a nice temperature but you might hope for something warmer.
- June - You can take your pick from all of the Neilson resorts in June. Most resorts average about 22 Celsius and have only a small chance of rain throughout the month. Neilson Levante is hotter and drier with zero rain and an average of about 25 Celsius.
- July - This is the start of the peak season for Neilson and all of their Beachclubs will offer very good weather. Most resorts average 24-25 Celsius with the exception (again) being Neilson Levante, which is more like 27 Celsius.
- August - There's not much in it, but August is usually the hottest month of the year with July in second place. You can choose from any of Neilson's resorts and expect great weather. Temperatures at most of the resorts average about 25 Celsius whilst Neilson Levante is a couple of degrees hotter.
- September - This is quite a mixed month for Neilson's resorts. If you like a temperature in the low twenties Celsius then I would go for Cosmos, Vounaki or Baia Dei Mori. If you want it to be in the mid twenties Celsius, go for Messini, Buca or Levante. Neilson Alana is a bit of a risky one, as it starts to get a bit wet in September. Neilson Levante is still very dry in September whilst the Greek resorts and Baia Dei Mori in Sardinia will have a little bit of rain.
- October - This is the end of the summer season for Neilson's resorts, but you can still find some good weather. Neilson Levante is still pretty dry and hot, with temperatures around 22 Celsius. Messini and Buca are usually in the low twenties by October. There will be a bit of rain, but not too much. Cosmos and Vounaki are getting a bit wet in October and the temperature drops to about 19 Celsius. Alana and Baia Dei Mor are a fair bit wetter and about 17-18 Celsius so I would be inclined to avoid them.
Neilson Alana is a terrific resort - but it has a shorter season than some Beach clubs
Conclusion - which is the best Neilson beachclub?
I've narrowed it down to two Neilson Beachclubs that I think should be top of your list for a family beach holiday:
Neilson Alana Beachclub in Croatia is a good value all-rounder. It offers the biggest range of activities, it's one of the closest to the UK, it gets very good reviews, and it is a lower to mid-priced option. It's particularly good if you like rock climbing or tennis.
The other at the top of my list is in Greece Neilson Messini Beachclub, which is particularly good for cycling or rock climbing.
Some other conclusions:
Neilson Alana Beachclub in Croatia is a good value all-rounder. It offers the biggest range of activities, it's one of the closest to the UK, it gets very good reviews, and it is a lower to mid-priced option. It's particularly good if you like rock climbing or tennis.
The other at the top of my list is in Greece Neilson Messini Beachclub, which is particularly good for cycling or rock climbing.
Some other conclusions:
- Neilson Cosmos Beachclub gets the best reviews (actually, it gets almost perfect reviews) and it's good value. However, it is notably smaller than the rest, so it doesn't offer quite the same range of activities and childcare. You also don't get as many meals included so you need to budget for that. It's about 1 hour 45 minutes further away than the closest Neilson Beachclub. It is known for windsurfing, so it's a good one if that's something you particularly want to try.
- Neilson Buca Beachclub is obviously the one to choose if you're travelling alone/with friends/as a couple as it's Neilson's adults only resort. It gets very positive reviews and has a good choice of activities.
- Neilson Vounaki Beachclub is probably as good as the other three Greek Beachclubs mentioned earlier, but it was a bit more expensive in most of our price comparisons.
- Neilson Levante Beach Beachclub is the newest resort. It has a very good range of activities and it has six swimming pools. However, it's also one of the more expensive Neilson resorts. It's a particularly good choice if you like very hot weather or if you want to visit at the start of end of the season in May or October.
Note: Neilson Portomyrina Palace Beachclub, Neilson Aeolian Village Beachclub, Neilson Mar Menor Beachclub, Neilson La Pared Beachclub in Fuerteventura and Neilson Retreat Beachclub in Greece are not currently available to book.
