We had a great two week fully inclusive holiday at the Holiday Village Viva, with our two children aged 2 and a half and nearly 5 years old.

As other people have mentioned, the rooms are very big and spacious for a family of 4, athough if you were self catering the cooking facilities were very basic (ie just two electric rings to cook on!) It was very clean - with maid service 5 times a week. In fact everything was very clean at the resort - everywhere you looked there was something being cleaned or bins being emptied.

The swimming pools were lovelyand big although very crowded (as we had expected) as we were there at the start of the school summer holidays. Our two children loved the kids splash pool with all the slides and jets of water - it kept them amused for hours! it is very well designed as part of it is under a bit of shade which you definitely need when it is so hot. There is also a childrens very shallow paddling pool which is quite small but is excellent for very young children and babies and it has a sun parasol over it to give a lot of shade..

Our youngest daughter had 9 morning sessions in the creche and loved it and our eldest went most mornings (and some afternoons) to the kids club. Both the creche and kids clubs are very well run, and the staff work very hard, and the kids club has a different theme for each session, so you can decide which session to take them to. Although it is done on a first come, first served basis, all the children we saw managed to get into the session they wanted.

The food was good, especially when you think they are catering for so many people. There is a snack bar by the pool which sells pizza, burgers, salads etc from 10 - 6 each day and the main restaurant had a lunch buffet which was excellent and the evening meals were good too, although some days the choice was better than others. They did pasta every day which was great as our eldest daughter decided to have spag bol every single day! They had a large choice of meat/fish dishes and good desserts too. You get one night each week at The Italian and Caribbean grill restaurants which were good (it was nice being waited on for a change) though there wasn't a lot of choice. One tip is if you are going out for the day you can order a packed lunch at reception by 8pm the day before - although the lunch isn't great it may save a bit of money having to buy food when you are out.

The evening entertainment was good, with children's village time from 8 - 9 which was the same most nights but they enjoyed it, followed by bingo, then an adult game show and the evening cabaret started at 10 but we didn't see much of that as we had to get the children to bed.

The only thing that was a bit annoying was having to get up early to reserve a sun bed - if you weren't by the pool by 8.30am each morning, you missed out!

We booked this last minute directly - (it has a special offer if you book a week or less before). There are plenty of budget airlines operating flights to Mallorca that don't leave at 3 am as well! We knew nothing about Mallorca before we went other than its cheap holiday reputation, but it's a beautiful place.

We've tended to book holidays independently and have never been to a resort before, so were a little worried. But we needn't have - Viva Mallorca is pretty much as good as you could possibly get for this type of holiday. Our six year old loved the Bufo kids club -she dipped in and out of the various activities, you didn't have to sign up for long periods - the animation staff were pretty good with the kids, and there was plenty for them to do. Worried parents will find the lack of a signing in process (some days there were some days there weren't!) a concern, but the kids club itself is self enclosed and safe, and our daughter was accompanied back to the pool when she wanted to find us on one occasion. There's a great kids pool, a massive main pool and an over 18's pool (nice idea but plenty of kids in it!). In short, it's an extremely good family resort - not recommended for couples, but really well set up for families.

Pool area had plenty of sun beds though this didn't stop one outbreak of war over one particular bed (why are people so weird about their towels?). Animation team are not pushy but enthusiastic beyond belief! We didn't watch any entertainment other than the mini disco which was as terrible as these things always are, but was a big hit with our daughter!

Can't comment on the food but there are plenty of good restaurants around. Can Picafort is actually lovely down by the port, and the beach is superb - sandy, with a long shallow bay with strong winds - great for wave jumping! Our daughter loved it. The resort is given a mixed press but not really sure why - we preferred it to Port de Pollensa, certainly in terms of the beach and the resort itself seemed to be used by a more cosmopolitan crowd - Pollensa was very British!

Definitely worth renting a car - just to go to Ermita de la Victoria (beyond Alcudia town), an superb restaraurant there called the Mirador with an amazing drive to get there, - great views. We also enjoyed trips to Alcudia town, (not to be confused with the port) and Binissalem (for wine lovers....) Palma airport is about an hour from Viva Mallorca and you can rent a car for £100 a week in high season. There are other good trips -Lluc monastery, Pollensa town, some hair raising mountain roads near Soller, and Palma itself is a great place to visit.

Alcudia itself is horrible unless you're a lover of Burger King etc, but go down to the port area and it's lovely - Bodega d'es Port does great tapas there.

So, if you've got kids, and are tempted by a resort holiday but are nervous as to how it might turn out, I'd thoroughly recommend the Viva Mallorca - apartments are clean and spacious (all important separate bedroom, and small kitchinette), staff are friendly and professional, and there's even an on site doctor, laundry, supermarket, spa, gym............. thoroughly recommended.

We have just returned from a very enjoyable 2 week stay at this hotel. It ticks almost all the boxes - lovely secure grounds, great food, very clean, friendly atmosphere and good night time entertainment.
We have 2 young children who thoroughly enjoyed the "Bufo" experience and there were some lovely activities for children during our stay - e.g. pool mini discos, treasure hunts, balloon release.
I would give others a word of warning about the kids' club - we did not feel entirely happy leaving our children here as there was no note taken of their names most of the time and we were not asked for a contact number, nor where we would be if needed. We found the kids' reps a little disinterested and , after 2 weeks, they did not know their names! The chances of my children winning something at one of the games was slim as, if they did not ask to take part, no one approached them. Twice our 5 year old daughter appeared beside us at the pool, having left the club herself. No one noticed she had gone!
Also, the resort of C'an Picafort is not very attractive. We went once at night and found it difficult to find a decent restaurant on the sea front.
Following this we mostly ate in the hotel restaurant which was superb and we went out by car on a few days - notably to Puerto de pollensa, Alcudia port, Arta and Porto Cristo.
Overall, a great hotel - we would definately return to the Viva group.

We have just returned from 2 weeks at Viva Mallorca Aparthotel in Can Picafort(not to be confused with Viva Holiday Village Can Picafort, which is just down the road).
This aparthotel is a fantastic place to stay, the facilities are first class.The whole complex is well landscaped, with trees, shrubs and grassed areas. The 3 pools mean there is enough room and they are never crowded. One pool is available for over 18's only, with large sun beds around, a lovely quiet place to relax and have a quiet swim. The aprtments are spacious and well equiped.They are always clean, linen is regularly changed throughout your stay. There are activities to join in with if you want to, daily aquagym, a favourite for many. Daily water polo, football, a tennis court, table tennis and more. There are clubs for different age grous.Our teenagers joined in with the sporting activities, not many did though, which was a shame. The hotel attracts visitors from Germany, Holland, Iceland and Britain.It was good to have a mix of nationalities for a change.
We ate in most days, half board is available.The food is excellent, enough choice for everyone. It is buffet style,so you can try what ever you want.
Can Picafort is not the most attractive resort we have visited on the island, but the beach is excellent, the sea is turqouise, shallow for quite a distance out and lifeguards there all day.
We explored different parts of the island, and enjoyed walks along costal paths, a trip around several hairpin bends to a restaurant below Castle Alaro, not for the fainthearted!(then drive that is). We spent 2 afternoons at our favourite resort Puerto Pollensa,and ate at Pascolina Chinese restaurant on the promoenade in the town, 3 course set meal with a drink for 8.50 Euros. Another good place for lunch, is 3 km out of Can Picafort, S'Alqueria, a lovely courtyard setting,a set menu for 8 Euros.
We had a great 2 weeks at Viva Mallorca, and met families who had been there before.We like to go to new places each year, but could be tempted to return to this hotel in the future!