Eleamare Resort

This was our second year at the resort. The location suits us really well, though the beach lets the place down. I’d put more attention into the pool area, with extra umbrellas and loungers, activities during the day and afternoon, and some evening events too. Breakfast had plenty of everything. The food, though, didn’t feel up to seafood standards, and simpler dishes would sometimes be welcome. I’d also broaden the activities to include children aged 0-3, and it would be nice to see more groups of young people alongside all the families.

The evening shows had us laughing so hard we left with tears in our eyes. The entertainers made our days, from the beach in the morning to the pool in the afternoon. Huge congratulations to the whole crew: Erica for her singing and choreography, Chiara for being such a fun wild card, sweet Ginevra, Josy with the X club, Sara running all of Futurlandia, Raffaele organizing tournaments, Rocco on the music, magician Auro, Ermanno with the canoes, and Sabatino, who always made us smile. Special praise for Raffaele, magician Remix, who amazed us with his tricks and made us laugh with his crazy jokes, and for Giosuè, who managed the entire team. You were all wonderful! We stayed with our two kids, ages 7 and 4. The property is brand new and very clean, right by the beach, with a pool, soccer fields, tennis, paddle tennis, green volleyball, a children’s play area, and a small gym. Every staff member was kind and helpful, from housekeeping to the 24-hour reception.

The resort’s best feature for us was how compact it is. The sea, pool, paddle court, soccer field, restaurant, and reception are all close together, unlike huge resorts where you have to walk hundreds of meters. With my four-year-old boy and two-year-old girl, I felt comfortable with the layout. It’s right on the sea, and I highly recommend it based on my experience. There was a small issue with our room location when we arrived, but Mrs. Monica quickly connected me with the manager, Melchiorre, who sorted it out in under five minutes. I respect him a lot, he’s always there for me. The sea was very clean in the last week of August, though sometimes rough. The food was decent and there was always plenty available. Housekeeping deserves top marks, and the well-prepared entertainment crew kept us laughing with their evening shows. Raffaele, you’re top notch. The sunsets are hard to describe, and around 6:30 PM everyone gathers to enjoy the atmosphere and the soft music Elea Mare plays.

The location is the one real plus: the sea and pool are just steps away. The entertainment staff were kind and clearly cared about the children, and the other staff were helpful too. But the shows and activities were very basic. They had one holy party, and we even had to pay for the paints for just 10 seconds of celebration. We booked three rooms, but they weren’t handed over until almost 6:00 PM, despite the agreed time being 4:00 PM, so a paid day was lost. The restaurant’s glass walls mean that people seated beside them, as we were, have breakfast and lunch in direct sun, with temperatures around 40°C and hot glasses and cutlery. When we raised it, the manager said we could leave if it didn’t suit us because there was no solution. The buffet was very basic and repetitive, with food reused from lunch to dinner and dinner to the next lunch. Leftover chips, for example, went into eggplant mushrooms the next day, and the previous night’s chicken curry became potato salad for lunch. Our room linens were dirty: yellow marks on the sheets, stained, holed, filthy towels. I documented it all in photos. The loungers were on a slope from the second row back, so you had to hold on or slide down and couldn’t relax.