I do not recommend this place for parents of young children unless you want to leave feeling judged and humiliated.
We were staying at the resort and decided to eat at the on-site restaurant, an outdoor/indoor arrangement right next to the pool (picture attached). My...husband, 2 children and I had invited my sister and brother-in-law to join us for dinner. There were 3 other tables occupied when we arrived at 5.30pm. My toddler got up and ran to the pool fence (away from the restaurant and away from everyone else) twice, so my husband asked for a highchair to contain her. Our toddler was not overly impressed at us trying to put her in a high chair and was quite vocal about it. We had been at the pool only an hour earlier and I guess it looked pretty fun to go back there! She was protesting loudly, something any mother of a toddler can understand is highly stressful at the best of times. I was actually thinking how lucky it was that we were outside by a pool and not in an indoor space where it’d be louder. We had been there only 5-10 minutes max and just as our drinks arrived, the owner - a man maybe in his 60s - approached us telling us “I’m going to have to ask you to restrain your child", in a way that could only mean we really weren't welcome there, which my husband acknowledged immediately while I wanted to curl in a ball in humiliation. This obviously wasn’t the child friendly place that I thought it might be (though we are staying at the "resort" and the "restaurant" is by a pool separated merely by a fence, with people still swimming there….).
While I acknowledge that my child wasn’t at her best, we had not even got settled yet or had a chance to have our children happily occupied with other activities. If we couldn't have settled my toddler, obviously we would not have stayed because that isn't enjoyable for anyone.
To add insult to injury, just as the owner had approached our table to tell us off, our drinks had just been placed on the table. Luckily, the others had ordered soft drinks which had been delivered in cans and my husband hadn’t even had a chance to order his drink yet so it was just mine that I was wondering what to do with. While the others packed up, I walked up to the bar to request if they could take back the glass of wine that had literally just been set down on our table and hadn’t been touched. I can see how this might be an unreasonable request, but I thought some amount of empathy to our situation might be applied. Being told "No, you ordered it, you have to pay for it" was probably the straw that broke the camel's back for an already humiliated mother of young children out for a dinner with family she hadn't seen in a long time (and who have the good fortune to have older children who can stay at home). At this point, I was just about in tears, humiliated and actually slightly gobsmacked at the situation of a family owned resort having such little compassion and an unbelievable lack of customer service skills. I have no idea how he thought saying this would end in anything but a seriously bad review and a warning for other families to not go here.
I have NEVER experienced anything like this previously as a mother to 2 young children. We’ve travelled extensively, including overseas with a toddler and never had such an issue.
That night we went to the Parkhurst Tavern for dinner, which was FAR more family friendly.
This experience ruined our stay entirely.
Hopefully this review saves at least one other family from falling for the “family friendly” reviews, which obviously only apply if your kids are older, don’t ever have a tantrum and sit quietly 100% of the time - especially on family holidays when you’re out of routine but you still need to eat and perhaps don’t want to cook in the limited kitchen. To me, that’s not family friendly.More
