Thankfully this year our Travel Specialists weren’t restricted by Covid-19 restrictions. So with the world at their fingertips, and Chemmy’s brief of “short-haul, beach, family fun”, they chose…

Hillside Beach Club, Turkey

As Seen By... Chemmy Alcott

“If I’m honest, the pictures of Hillside looked absolutely incredible before we even went,” said the former British Ladies Champion Skier on her return.

“But I have notoriously been put off by all-inclusive resorts because I’m a bit of an adventurer and a bit of a traveller. I’ve also got a crazy issue with FOMO! And I always think if I go far away to a new place I shouldn’t just stay inside.”

However, seven days with her husband and two young boys soon persuaded Chemmy that staying put can be just the ticket for a relaxing family holiday with children: “I can tell you that we did seven days at Hillside and I didn’t once want to leave the property because there was so much to do. It had everything that I wanted. It was incredibly easy to access all the facilities and it blew my mind by all that was provided.”

Before leaving, Chemmy had done her research, talking to friends and ogling Hillside’s Instagram page: “A lot of my community who I know had been to Hillside and raved about it and said ‘you’ll never go anywhere else’. So I had massively high expectations before we went. And we haven’t had a family holiday just us alone. A few days here and there but this was our first big one... and it did not disappoint.”

The family had space and a view in their Family Superior Room, and as you’d expect from two former athletes, checking out the gym and the sports activities were high on the agenda: “We played tennis and we did a workout in the gym which looked like The Flintstones workout room! It was all outdoors and made of wood. It was a beautiful fitness area.”

But the real surprise for Chemmy and her husband came at Hillside’s restaurants: “When you think about an all-inclusive resort, you always think about below par food because it is all ‘big buffet style’. Hillside was buffet style but each section had independent chefs working on fresh dishes every single day. And the menu was so vast and so huge that we didn’t even try everything.

“There are also two other places in the resort that you can book and eat out that aren’t buffet style that we tried. Both were incredible.”

As parents of young children will know, travelling with kids can be stressful. But Chemmy says that the point of difference about Hillside was that everything was organised so well and the staff were super helpful, making travelling with kids seamless.

“There’s not anything I could fault it on. We had the most incredible time. And my oldest son says he wants to ‘build a house in the resort in Turkey’!

“We looked for flights for May next year before we’d even left!”

Chemmy’s holiday highlights:

• We had a date night at Pasha Restaurant at Hillside Beach Club and it was amazing; just the whole atmosphere, the food, the wine...just incredible. It felt like you were in a little bit of Ibiza on the beach in Turkey!
• The buffets were amazing, especially for a family. You want your children to try new things but you don’t want to order a whole plate of it. And in that environment they try so much more food than they would do at home.
• The staff and the people were amazingly welcoming, super friendly and super chatty.
• My husband and I learnt a new sport while at the resort. We’ve been wanting to learn to FlightBoard (Efoiling) for a long time. So we signed up straight away and learnt how to do that. The sports club was incredible.
• We did family waterskiing with both my sons aged five and three – who both managed to water ski!
• We did a La Chaise boating experience; so the boat is dragging a big chair behind it which all four of us sat on! It was one of the best family moments I’ve ever had in my life, just looking over at the boys and seeing them shouting ‘more more more’!

The details:

Chemmy and her family travelled to Hillside Beach Club in Turkey at the end of May, via Dalaman Airport. Travel Seen arranged for them to stay in a Family Superior Room with its own sea view terrace. Ideal for families, these rooms consist of a double bedroom, sitting room and then a further bedroom with two small beds. They stayed on a full board basis, and to get a real feel for the resort spa treatments, dinner at Pasha, movies on the beach and watersports were included in the family’s itinerary.