Tui Magic Life Calabria - All Inclusive

Fantastic hotel, nice amenities and sports. Lovely meals and safety location.

This was billed as an all inclusive 5 star hotel on the beach. There are a few things I must clear up. This is a strange review for me as I was affected by external factors (nothing to do with the trip directly), however, I will try to stick to the facts of the matter. However, these are some of the things I wish I had known before booking.  Location  While the hotel is located in Pizzo, it is rather remote. Nothing of significance is within walking distance, so you can't just pop out to the shops or to a restaurant as there is none of that around. Basically, you will need to depend on the hotel for everything you need. Adults only section. The resort is divided in two.  One section for families and the other section for adults only. As expected, the family section is loud and caters to families with young children.  We paid €15 per person per day for an upgrade to get access to the adults only section while keeping our room on the family section (we had a 15 year old and the adult section is for 16 and above. There are a few things to note. Food and drinks are much the same in both sections.  While the adult only section is more quiet, there were a few children (so it may be possible to book with under 16's) While guests at the family section are not allowed to use the adults only section, guests at the adults only section have access to the entire resort. Room We booked a family room and it was spacious and nice. There are no suits, but the family rooms are split level, so our daughter had her own separate area/ apartment.  While we tend to opt for suits when we travel, this is more than sufficient for our needs. There is no turndown service or room service, but the room was cleaned daily.  Star rating I can't consider this a 5 star hotel. Perhaps a 4 star but definitely not 5. I can see the aspirations to gain 5 star rating, but it's just not there yet. There were sufficient language skills for us to get by, and the staff were friendly and responsive, but they are just not on that 5 star footing ad yet. The beach  The pebble beach is located about 200 metres from the hotel and is accessed via a walk through a lovely wood with loads of amenities.  We were there in July, so the pebbles were scorching.  One important point to note is that there are loads of jellyfish and they sting. After my wife was stung and my daughter scared, we decided not to use the beach.  If you don't want to be stung by a jellyfish, stay out of the water.  Price In my opinion, this place is overpriced! You pay for 5 star service in Italy and there is a certain expectation. This place did not deliver at that level. I'm not saying that it was bad, but for this price, we would have a much better deal in Gran Canaria or Morocco or Turkey! This place is boarding on prices for the Caribbean and is not able to compete It's lacking a sense of “Italian-ness” and that's the best way to explain it All inclusive  As all inclusive go, we found this one to be lacking

We have just come back from TUI magic life in Calabria and overall we had a really great time. My children (11 and 7) really enjoyed the food and the splash park and staff were super friendly and welcoming! The rooms were also very clean plenty of shaded sun beds etc. I have only left 4 stars simply for the fact that I really do think they need another one or two life guards around the main swimming pool! It’s all one level and so my kids couldn’t stand up in it. Despite both of them being strong swimmers I just didn’t want to take my eyes off of them in the pool - because of the size and shape of it and the shrubs and bushes around it, it’s just not possible for one lifeguard to be able to see the entire pool! So I did feel like I had to either be in the water with them or watching them when they were in the main pool. The splash park did have more than one life guard and that was great! Overall though we had a really great time and I would definitely consider going back!