Warner educational Corton & Gunton Hall, Suffolk 29 June 2011

On wednesday 29th June, I was invited to drive up to Suffolk to view Warners properties in Suffolk.  I first arrived at Corton where I was to stay for the night in a beach garden room (chalet style). Corton has a holiday village appearance and feel to it and with just 206 rooms on 2 floors, is a nice compact village with friendly and helpful staff.  We sampled one of the activities offered and learnt to make cocktails.  This is offered at a small extra charge. Lunch was a barbecue and we played a game of shuffleboard, giant connect 4 and ground chess. The rooms have recently been refurbished and mine was a good standard with tea/coffee making facility, tv, large king size bed and walk in shower room. The facilites are plentiful with other sports like boules, outdoor badminton, and a small pool, sauna, steam room, and sports room.  There are activities arranged during the day by the resident entertainment team to bring people together and make new friends.  They offer 26 single rooms at no supplement and room with computers and complimentary wifi.  Food is offered on half board or all inclusive basis.  They have free entertainment/cabaret whilst dining and you can keep your table for the evening.  The clientelle were the more mature client who are young at heart and wanting to have entertainment on site and a team of staff who bring them together to make new friends and take away the concerns about travelling alone.  It is an adults only concept and the lead in price this year was £149 for a 2 night stay.  There is also the option of coach inclusive. The following are a few pictures taken to give an idea of the Village

We were then taken to see the nearby Gunton Hall which is set in 50 acres of wooded grounds, where in addition to the activities and facilities of Corton, it has archery, pitch and putt, putting green, croquet, air rifle shooting, french boules and freshwater angling in its own lake, some lovely gardens and secluded woodland. The house itself has character which incorporates the facilities and the bedrooms are in the gardens outside (chalet style)  The indoor pool is 22m and there is a full size indoor bowling green and gym.  For those wanting to dress more formally, this would suit them better, it has a choice of bars, separate dining and cabaret room, VIP dining and there is a good choice of health and beaty treatments available. There are 210 rooms of which 208 are ground floor (more photos on facebook EmsworthTravel) The following at a few pictures taken at Gunton Hall 



This was the cheapest category room and the only one we were able to see as they were full

Activities available at both Gunton and Corton include, learn to dance or sing, joy of painting, Norwich shopping, Mississipi broads cruise, Sandringham fayres and Newmarket races.

Warners offer everything under one roof for the mature adult with comfortable accommodation, the food was well cooked and a reasonable standard and there are plenty of activities to make clients stay enjoyable and fun. For more information contact Sue Tooke on 01243 377211





Blogs to follow - Emsworth Travel staff are due to take the following trips 2011

Deb - Venice/Lake Garda Aug
Sue - Bansko/Greece Sep
Sue - Gambia Oct
Sue - Sharm, Egypt Nov

Parga, Greece trip 2011 - Debbie Gee

5th June - 12th June Debbie Gee Travel Consultant
Recommendations on my recent trip to Greece.

I flew to parga in Greece which is on the mainland with Sunvil Holidays. The flight was from London Gatwick with Tor Airlines which took 3hrs 30 mins , then an hour transfer to the resort of Parga.
I can recommend the Achilleas Hotel which is directly on a secluded beach. A very pretty hotel with stunning views from the Atrium bar which is up some steep steps. The breakfast terrace overlooks the pretty cove. Just a few minutes walk  and you are in the centre of parga with plenty of bars and retaurants, many of them with stunning views.
It is very reasonable to eat out in this pretty harbourside resort. You can chose from harbourside bars and restaurants or take a walk through winding old town streets where you can find small typically greek restaurants and shops. From the harbour front you can get a water taxi to the few other beaches and coves along this coastline. There is a daily boat trip to Paxos (well worth a visit) and on a thursday a ferry runs to Corfu. There is also a very nice but steep walk through the olive groves to a very nice beach called Lichnos beach. This holiday can be as relaxing or as adventurous as you want it to be.

Valtos Beach is just around the bay from Parga beach,you can take a
leisurely walk there , or take one of the water taxis from the Parga
waterfront.

This is the view from parga waterfront, a small island with a beautiful
Grecian church, They hold a number of weddings here  for most europeans to marry in.

This is the Achilleas Hotel in Parga it has its own beach and is only a five
minute walk to bars and restaurants and the harbourfront.

Beach at Achilleas hotel

View from one of the many bars looking out over Parga harbour

This was one of my favourite restaurants in parga , great service,
beautiful views, and lovely food; views of the castle can be seen from here.

Paxos Harbour taken on a day trip from Parga

view from entrance to the island of Paxos

Bansko ski apartment, Bulgaria



We have an uninterrupted view of the Pirin Mountains from our balcony



We own a 2 bedroomed/2bathroom 4 star duplex ski apartment in the lovely ski resort of Bansko overlooking the Pirin mountains and surrounded by 3 mountain ranges.  Bansko is in a Unesco heritage area.  It is just 5 minute walk to the ski lift and has a spa complex in the building comprising a pool, jucuzzi, sauna, steam room, gym, childrens room.  It also has a small reception area and bar. We also own a car parking place for your convenience.  We have airconditioning/heating but the added bonus of an open fire for those cosy nights in. There is an ice skating rink and bowling just 5 mins walk away and 5-7 mins to the centre with shops.  There are restaurants all around Bansko and in the summer months there are activities such as horseriding, golf, hiking as well as a full excursion programme.  It is also just 1 hour drive to the greece border. The price for rental is £250 in the period 16 Apr to 14 Dec sleeping up to 6 and £350 in the winter 15Dec-15 Apr. Tel 01243377211 or email travel@emsworthtravel.co.uk

Turkey apartments

One of the views from complex looking towards Yalikavak





Another view to greek islands



Main pool with restaurant/rooftop bar in distance



One of the bedrooms leading out to balcony






Lounge/dining area





View from one of our apartments





One of our favourite restaurants who will pick you up and drop you back to Hillview if you eat there and you can chose the restaurant or beach to eat and watch the sunset.

  Having just returned from our apartments in Turkey, I can report that everything is looking lovely with bouganvillia and banana trees in abundance and everywhere looking very established, clean and tidy.  The weather was lovely with temperatures generally in the upper 20s and the views were stunning over the greek islands and down into Yalikavak. See facebook EmsworthTravel for up to date pictures.  They are just installing wifi for free use throughout the site, and although certain areas were poorer than others, they are putting in another 3 lines to deal with these problems.  I was able to use phone all the time and laptop most of the time. They are purchasing 2 new pieces of gym equipment (a running machine and stepper). We have 2 x 2 bedroomed apartments (one with second shower room en suite) and roof terrace. The complex has gym, sauna, 8 pools (1 indoor), 2 waterslides, small childrens play area, ground chess, tennis court, restaurant, bar and roof terrace. Prices are from £250-£350 see http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/bodrum/79737 for bookings call 01243377211. blog to follow is Debs trip to Greece ......