With three children of different ages, finding a holiday that everyone enjoys is my new travel holy grail. Entertaining a teen, a tween and a younger child, while getting some semblance of a break myself, is the latest in a long line of parenting travel challenges. 

Having successfully graduated from those quite frankly hideous years of flights with travel cots, prams and bulky car seats and making it to the omg-the-kids-can-pack-and-carry-their-own-bags years, I thought I was on the home straight. Until that is, they started to voice their own opinions. Polling the family over dinner one Sunday was a mistake. Requests for rollercoasters, hikes, sandy beaches, no mosquitoes or wasps, camping, a hotel, a villa, pebble beaches, sunshine, snow, adventure sports, lie-ins and no beaches whatsoever left me wondering if we would ever go on a happy holiday again. Last year, though, we found the answer in the form of Verdura Resort in Sicily, a large family-focused resort that promised none of us would get bored. And it didn’t disappoint.

For my 11-year-old that meant a holiday where he could learn football skills from a World Cup winner, David Trezeguet, at a Juventus football training camp; for my 13-year-old it was a chance to take one-to-one muay thai lessons with an international championship fight winner; and for my seven-year-old it was pasta-making, heaps of magic sand and scavenger hunts around the resort. Wrapped around that? Family swims, bike rides, golf, basketball and many, many wild-and-wonderful watersports. The perfect balance of family time and a chance to indulge their own passions and interests. And for once it wasn’t just my children getting spoilt. While the kids took on their masterclasses, I relaxed with sunrise and sunset yoga in the dappled shade of poolside palm trees and the adult-only hydrotherapy spa pools.

The resort itself is picture-postcard perfect; modernist cubic terracotta-hued buildings are dotted between the resort’s 230 hectares of vivid green golf courses and olive groves, a true feast for the eyes. Bicycles and chauffeur-driven golf buggies are dotted around the resort, making trips between the activity centres, huge infinity pools and the village square as exciting as the activities that await.

Dinner options

The food is a real highlight at Verdura Resort. Under the creative direction of Chef Fulvio Pierangelini, there are six restaurants throughout the grounds that offer diverse mouth-watering menus, although it’s worth noting the kids’ menu is the same in every restaurant; the absolute dream for two of my take-no-risks children but for the most adventurous child that meant upgrading to the adult menu. We started each day in Buongiorno, the breakfast restaurant beside the pool, with a glass of zesty resort-grown orange juice squeezed freshly for our arrival before moving on to the omelette station, pancakes and waffles cooked to order and an extensive buffet of fruits, pastries, yoghurts, cold meats and cheese, a DIY juicer and much more. The kids… OK, all of us, could have stayed and grazed all day.

My favourite of the restaurants was Amare, a seafood specialist on the beach, where we tucked into ceviche red prawns with broad beans and papaya, freshly caught red snapper grilled with rosemary potatoes, and a sensational dessert cocktail to finish: tiramisu martini – as creamy and delicious as it sounds. The kids, meanwhile, wolfed down bowls of pasta.

As a family, our favourite evenings were spent devouring pizzas and pasta alla Norma at the informal Liola Restaurant in the village square, which also has the most impressive dessert trolley (filled-at-your-table cannoli is a must). As a self-contained resort surrounded by nature, the nearest town is a short taxi-ride away, so the ‘village square’ – a picturesque spot a 10-minute bike ride away within the grounds – complete with its own tower and festoon-lit terrace to sip sundowners on is an elegant nod to the tradition of la passeggiata, the evening stroll through villages and towns that is an essential part of any Italian holiday.

What made a difference at all the restaurants was that the children were not just tolerated but warmly welcomed, despite some lively rounds of Uno! over candlelit tables. And that family hospitality was felt everywhere we went, not just in the child-focused clubs but in every detail: welcome drinks and snacks delivered to the room; kids’ toothbrush packs, mini products and robes in their bathroom; a variety of sizes of children’s bikes so they could all find the right one for their height. 

Despite a very relaxed atmosphere, nobody flinched at the more boisterous games of human hoopla with inflatables in the infinity pool or the exuberant bike races around the resort.

For the kids

Alongside the extensive menu of daily-changing activities is a kids’ club, Verdùland, that is free to use when you stay and open until late into the evening, welcoming babies through to 16-year-olds. The schedule is busy day and night, even offering kids’ dinners and movie nights so parents can enjoy a night off, too. With its own pool, cookery kitchen and science lab, younger kids will be entertained for hours while the older ones can pop in and out of activities they choose.

One of the things that has always put me off all-inclusive hotels or family resorts is that they’re often designed for parents and children to have separate holiday experiences, but Verdura Resort has cross-family activities well covered too. Our favourites were on the hotel’s Missoni private beach (think Missoni-print beach towels, cushions and palm-fringed umbrellas), where you can hire everything from a body board to a flyboard. The centre isn’t cheap, but the hotel offers discounted activities throughout the week on a weekly timetable, which was a great way to try different things out together. My two eldest kids said the Sea Bobs (motorised water sleds that you hold onto and drag you through the water) were the best water sport they had ever tried – I wasn’t brave enough for that one – and we all loved flying around the bay on the giant inflatable sofa.

The resort

Spa lovers are well catered to. The star attractions here are the four outdoor thalassotherapy pools that you can use as many times as you like throughout your stay by booking a slot in advance at reception. I spent two separate idyllic hours hopping between bubbling pools filled with minerals from shore and sea, which are said to help everything from circulation to joint pain. Treatment lovers will love the menu of massages and facials, many using organic ingredients grown on the resort’s farm, such as prickly pear, olive oil and hibiscus.

When not enjoying the hundreds of activities on offer we escaped to our spacious family suite, two luxuriously large adjoining rooms with their own generous balconies (every room democratically has a sea view at this hotel). The rooms are elegant and cool, huge stone bathrooms, concrete floors, modern dark wood four-posters with romantic muslin netting complemented by original artworks and of course those essential Sicilian ceramic pinecone ornaments, a sign of prosperity and good luck.

One of my favourite moments each day was catching the evening sunset. The hotel’s unique position on the southern coast means it offered some of the best sunsets I’ve ever witnessed, engulfing the sky in a vivid orange glow every night. Whether it was from the beach bar, the hotel terrace, a sunset yoga class or an evening sea swim, I found a new way to enjoy the sunset each night – a magical part of our holiday.

Getting out and about

Verdura Resort is a great base for exploring the southern coast of Sicily. Although there’s more than enough to keep you occupied within the resort, we loved exploring the local town, Sciacca, a fishing port, which comes to life at 10pm. One evening, we tucked into huge, delicious pizzas for €4 each in Arco Antico, a pizzeria in a church courtyard, before enjoying late-night gelatos and carousel rides near the harbour. The next day, a tuk tuk and pedalo trip to the famous Turkish Steps in Realmonte, near Porto Empedocle, just under 40km away, was an adventurous highlight of the trip.

Despite being in Italy, lovers of Greek history (or Percy Jackson books; it’s a significant location in the Olympians series) should allow a day or evening to explore the very famous Valley of the Temples at Agrigento, 2025’s Italian City of Culture. Just over an hour away from the hotel, the site consists of eight stunning temples, along with many other remains, and is one of the best preserved Greek archaeological sites left. In fact, many consider the Valley of the Temples second only to the Acropolis at Athens in terms of its archaeological importance. As we were visiting in August we didn’t make the mistake we made when we visited the Acropolis in 40ºC temperatures a year earlier, much to no one’s delight, and instead took an evening trip to the temples and explored the extensive grounds and fascinating snap shot of 5th century life as the sun set.

Tucking into one final slice of pizza on our final night, we all agreed that we’d had a brilliant holiday. A mix of true family time and personal experiences that made up much of our dinner-time conversations as we reported back each day. My seven-year-old daughter had loved playing with all of us each day in the waves on the beach and in the pool; my football-loving son couldn’t wait to show off his signed Juventus shirt, and my eldest was already planning what water sports he was going to try on our return. As for my husband and I? In a first, we were well and truly relaxed – we had found the holiday holy grail.

Need to know

Where did we go? Verdura Resort, Sicily

How long did we stay? Nine nights: two nights in Palermo and seven in Verdura Resort

How do we get there? We flew from London Luton to Palermo with EasyJet in August, which cost £1,483 for a family of five.

Ages of children travelling: 13, 11 and 7

How much did it cost? Verdura Resort offers rooms starting from £400 a night on a B&B basis.

To book: roccofortehotels.com

Top tips: 

• There is an extensive menu of activities, but some can be expensive. Using the weekly guide will help you find the best offers and the many free options. Contact the concierge before you arrive to learn how to book onto popular activities, such as the Juventus Academy.
• We flew into Palermo and the hotel organised transfers, but we stayed an extra night in the city before we returned. We loved getting a tuk tuk tour around the city and trying arancini and Aperols in the street food markets.
• Hiring a car is a great idea if, like me, you get a little stir-crazy staying in one spot for the week. Verdura Resort had a deal with a local car hire business that delivers the car to the hotel. Our small car cost about €200 for 24 hours.
• Buy snacks for the kids before you arrive. There is no on-site food shop or mini market in walking distance, although the kids’ club does have some snacks for younger children available.
• Although the beach is sandy, the entrance to the beach is stony. My kids were gutted that I forgot to pack their beach shoes.
• We visited Sicily in August, which was great for sun lovers like me, but hot for the kids during the day. Consider an Easter, May or October break if you’re not a fan of the heat.

Our week’s itinerary

Thursday: Fly to Palermo

Night in hotel (Domina Zagarella Sicily) near the airport with many pools and a lido for sea swimming.

Sardinian street food for dinner, with live music by the pool.

Friday: Drive one hour to Verdura Resort.

Lunch by the pool at Ondina before exploring the hotel.

Book activities for the rest of the week.

Sunset volleyball, bike rides and cocktails in the Amare beachside bar before dinner in Liola.

Saturday: Family paddleboard and swimming in the sea and pools.

Explore kids’ club as a family.

Juventus football camp for our middle son, and bike rides around the resort for the rest of the family.

Hydrotherapy pool spa trip for adults.

Dinner at Amare.

Sunday: Basketball. Juventus football camp.

Sunset cocktails on the terrace in Granita bar.

Dinner poolside in Zagara.

Monday: Bike rides and driving range. SeaBobs and giant water sofa.

Crafts in the kids’ club. Juventus football camp.

Sunset yoga.

Dinner at Granita.

Tuesday: Pasta making in the kids’ club. Padel and tennis. Golf.

Hire a car and drive to Sciacca for dinner. Dinner at Pizzeria Arco Antico.

Wednesday: Sea sofas and ringos.

Drive to Realmonte, 35 mins away, and take a tuk tuk ride to Punta Grande beach.

Pedalo to the Turkish Steps, a geographical formation in the cliff face.

Sunset tour of the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.

Room service dinner.

Thursday: Sunrise yoga. Thalassotherapy pools.

Cookie making in kids’ club.

One-to-one muay thai lesson. Sunset sea swim.

Dinner at Liola.

Friday: Drive back to Palermo.

Stay inside the city walls, Porto di Castro Boutique Hotel & Spa, £415 for the night.

Booked a tuk tuk (via the hotel) for an hour to tour around the city.

Lunch in the Ballaro street food market. Afternoon by the pool.

Dinner at Osteria Pizzeria da Carlo. Try the brioche con gelato, a Palermo speciality – delicious ice-cream-filled brioche buns.

Saturday: Fly home from Palermo to London Luton.

Images: Rocco Hotels