Vivosa resort, Italy: review, itinerary and top tips for holidays with a family

My husband and I love the beach. We spent our summers with siblings on the Welsh coast and adore heading to the Kent or West Sussex coast for the day during summer. Sea swims, beach picnics, reclining in the heat of the sun to read a few pages between building sandcastles and chasing the waves with the kids is our idea of heaven.

When looking for a beach break abroad, we want to find a special beach, but with a three-year-old and a five-year-old in tow, we also need the facilities and benefits of a family resort.

Ugento in Puglia, southern Italy, is a destination that’s visited by Italian families from all over the country. Known as the ‘Maldives of Italy’ thanks to the soft sand (not white, but I’ll allow the comparison because of the clear turquoise waters which stretch as far as you can see. The nearest airport is Brindisi (a 60–90-minute drive) and can be reached from London Gatwick and Stansted.

The area is home to lots of other noteworthy beaches, although there are three impressive pools at Vivosa – one is heated and one has three water slides. There’s also beautiful architecture, history and plenty to do in nearby Lecce and Gallipoli.

The resort

Vivosa resort is thoughtfully and tastefully finished, the gardens are lined with flowers, shrubs and herbs, including lavender and thyme, and peppered with mature olive trees and lines of palm trees. The restaurant is lined with plants in terracotta pots, and the main building is made largely of the pretty, light beige local tufo stone.

The resort is casually luxurious, the family rooms are spacious with two bedrooms and a bathroom and are light cream with cream and forest green textiles and furnishings, practical tiled floors, a full-length mirror and small gardens with a small drying rack for clothes for those on the ground floor.

Beyond the hotel’s three pools is the kids’ club, with a generously sized outdoor playground that includes a climbing frame, slide, swings, seesaws, a mud kitchen, zip wire, archery area and treetop adventure zone. Beyond that is a rope-lined short winding boardwalk to the beach through a fragrant pine forest (part of the Ugento Nature Park).

The kids’ club (Mini Club) is included in the price, and the staff are young, charming and enthusiastic. If they notice children still with their parents on the beach ahead of a beach activity, they will come and persuade them to join, which I appreciated very much.

The resort’s spa has won sustainability awards and uses organic products that don’t compromise on luxury. The massage beds are enormous and relaxing, and the part-covered indoor-outdoor studio where pilates, yoga, HIIT, meditation and spinning take place looks slick and impressive, as does the cardio room and weight room. There’s also a bio sauna, sauna, hammam, hot and cold plunges, a relaxation area and a pool.

There’s an ease about the resort, which is no doubt aided by the fact that all guests stay on an all-inclusive basis and the food and drink offering is vast.

Food and drink

There are two main eateries. Via Appia is a large buffet restaurant that sits on the ground floor, with seats inside and out, which is a great set-up with plenty of options. For breakfast, there are stations for crepes, pancakes and omelettes as well as all of the usual hot and cold foods. For lunch and dinner, there is an abundance of fresh Italian fare (several special pastas each day, which might be trofie with mushroom and sausage, squid ink spaghetti or rigatoni al amatriciana – plus fussy-kid favourites that include chips, boiled vegetables, salads and build your own pasta dishes with separate plain pasta, bolognese and pomodoro sauces at every meal. There’s also plenty of fruit, enormous fruit tarts, tiramisu, meringue-topped cakes and chocolate tortes.

The second main restaurant is an à la carte restaurant on the terrace above the buffet restaurant, which is open from June to September.

You can also eat at the beach bar, Scirocco, which is open 8.30am to 7pm and serves coffee, croissants and drinks in the morning, and cocktails, slushies, ice creams and sandwiches in the afternoon. The pool bar, Damiano’s, serves the same fare, but also offers aperitivo from around 6pm. We have spritzes and slices of tomato focaccia before dinner at 7.30pm.

Getting out and about

The neighbouring towns are incredibly beautiful. Lecce is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and you can book a guide or drive into Lecce and walk through the historic centre with its piazzas and open-air spaces, palaces and churches. Don’t miss the Piazza Duomo, the Roman amphitheatre, Piazza Sant’Oronzo and Santa Croce.

Santa Maria al Bagno is a gorgeous small beach – about a 30-minute drive from the resort – that makes a great day out. There are several restaurants nearby, including Ristorante La Pergola, which is small and pretty but unassuming and does great pasta with seafood and arancini. Dinner starts at 8pm, but you can have lunch there too. 

Gallipoli, further up the coast, is also lovely, particularly of an evening. There are lots of little stalls in the old town that kids love to browse, but there are better beaches in the area.

The wider area around Ugento is known for its beautiful ceramics, but if you don’t make it out, you can at least get some great splatterware from the resort shop.

Need to know

There are different clubs within Mini Club and different programmes for various ages (2–4, 5–7, 8–10, 11–13 and 14–17), but all are dropped off at the same place at the same time, and siblings or friends travelling in a group can eat together. Activities include football, pool time, crafts, falconry (and more).

The property has impressive eco credentials. It’s plastic free and recycles water used at the resort to water the plants. There’s also a sensitive air-con system triggered by doors and windows opening, and different bins exist for nappies, food waste, recyclables and general waste.

It’s worth bearing in mind that a lot of Italians visit the area during the school holidays, which run from the second week of June until the first week of September. The plus side of visiting during this time is that sunshine is virtually guaranteed (and you can get involved in the turtle release in June, July and September).

All-inclusive rates start from €191–€381 per person per night for a family classic room (two bedrooms, one bathroom). To book, visit vivosaresort.com

Our itinerary

Thursday

We fly in and out of Brindisi airport (a 2.5 hour flight), which is just under an hour and a half drive from the resort. The airport is small, and we fly with Ryanair in and out of Stansted. You can also fly into Bari, which is about 2.5 hours from the airport.

We are greeted by a roomy people carrier and appropriate car seats, which is always a relief. The hotel staff are lovely and manage to communicate all of the necessary information over the constant din of my children groaning after a long stint of travel.

We have lunch at the main restaurant, which is buffet style – not my personal favourite typically, but perfect for kids and totally delicious. The kids are overwhelmed with the pudding options (various fruits plus trays of impressive-looking puddings) and declare it the best holiday ever.

We explore the resort, which isn’t massive, and spend the afternoon by the pool before drinks and snacks at the pool bar and dinner at the same restaurant (which opens at 7.30pm or 6.30pm for those with babies).

Friday

Breakfast is at the same restaurant because the kids are obsessed with it, but the beach bar serves coffee and various croissants. I would probably eat there a few mornings if we were here for longer.

The kids love the outdoor playground, so we spend part of the morning there and the rest of the day at the beach. I notice kids tubing in the sea, and the kids’ club team mention that usually they have some small inflatables out, but it’s especially windy this week.

I consider taking a spin class or using the gym, but instead head to the spa for a massage, which is incredibly relaxing.

Dinner is at the same main restaurant (an à la carte restaurant on the terrace above the main building is also open during peak season).

Saturday

There’s falconry at 10am, which sounds incredible, but my kids love the pools and want to skip falconry for pool time. They especially love the heated one with jacuzzi chairs and the one with three small water slides, so I relent and we spend the day at the pool again.

Sunday

We head home. The minimum stay at the hotel is three nights for much of the season, which I would recommend. There’s so much to do in the area, and so many beautiful towns and beaches. You could easily stay longer and explore more.

Images: Vivosa Apuglia Resort