Have just returned from a fantastic break in the sunny emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of glitzy Dubai....and cheaper too! I stayed at what is very much a family resort but manages to successfully combine all the facilities and entertainment for your little ones, whilst still catering for the adults in terms of good restaurants, a few child-free zones and of course the baby-sitting service. Althought I did refrain from using the service again after 'Florence' our sitter seemed to think it ok to allow the children 3 chunky kitkats each! A number of pools, bars and restaurants are spread throughout the hotel and villa complex amongst tropical gardens which means that no one area ever seems too busy despite it being Easter! The beautiful white sand beach is divided into a series of safe little
bays each with a lifeguard. So all in all everything to ensure the perfect family break.
Sitting by the pool, with a lime daiquiri, Ipod, a good book whilst sunning myself, I realised the one key ingredient you need to make the most of such a wonderful set up is a skill that only results from experiencing parenthood itself. It cannot be provided by even the best family hotel. It is the ability to ignore and extract the noise of exuberant children in the background!!!! When you have graduated to the higher echelons of this skill, you are able to remain aware of any cry made by one of your own flock whilst successfully ignorng the noise of all other children in the vicinity. Even plugged into your Ipod you need to apply this ability, albeit at a much lower level.....I found that even with Robbie Williams shouting out 'Let Me Entertain You' loudly in my ears that the shrill cry of one consistently whingeing little girl managed to penetrate my peace!
And let's be honest, there is always one or two repetitive tamtrum throwers around! Sadly this means that their voices do begin to register in your mind and it becomes more difficult to 'extract' them.....you just have to hope they have lots of days out and go home before you....worst case scenario is probably that they are sitting next to you on the plane!
P.s. I think that men are actually much better at the noise extraction skill, bearing in mind their genetic tendancy towards selective hearing!
The resort I went to is:
http://www.hilton.co.uk/rasalkhaimahresort?WT.srch=1
