PUT that croissant down immediately. Haven’t you been reading the papers lately, with the depressing news that a third of men will be classed as obese by 2010? Even more startling, according to the Health Survey for England, is the fact that the bleak prospects apply to children as well — in four years’ time 22 per cent of girls and 19 per cent of boys will be grossly overweight.
In fairness it’s not entirely the youngsters’ fault. Watching TV, playing computer games, surfing the internet and lack of exercise — not helped by many schools selling their playing fields — have all contributed to the problem, alongside poor eating habits. Our youngsters are now said to have a worse diet than their Romanian counterparts.
Small wonder then that parents are increasingly looking for holiday homes where their children can have fun, get fit and try out new experiences. Add in a few parent-friendly attractions and you’re on to a winner. It also means, if you’re investing in a bolthole abroad, that the place will be much easier to let if there’s plenty for people to do.
Mike Coyle, of Premier Resorts, which sells holiday homes in resorts worldwide, says: “In the past, second homes tended to mean just swimming, golf and perhaps tennis, but increasingly families are looking for more adventurous pursuits. Now any self-respecting destination needs a gym, a spa and stuff for the kids to do as well. With a second home abroad, the average family can do much more in the way of exercise because it’s so much cheaper. In our resorts you simply don’t see fat children. Not ever.”
Bricks and Mortar has found several holiday destinations that offer a magnificent range of activities — including dog-sledding, hiking, fishing, golf, horse-riding, downhill and cross-country skiing, skating, cycling and sailing. It sounds exhausting just thinking about it, but look at it this way: if you can drag the kids away from the television for a fortnight they’ll be fitter and healthier — and so exhausted that they’ll go to bed when they’re told.
Advertisement
CANADA
There’s something to do all year round at Le Grand Lodge, Mont-Tremblant, a lakeside boutique hotel where you can buy one, two and three-bedroom furnished apartments. In winter you can ski, of course, but there are allegedly more than 200 other activities (presumably these include eating and drinking).
The resort is on Lake Ouimet, a lake where you can swim and where you can also hire boats and canoes, and go fishing. Hop on the cable car at dusk and you may even spot a bear bumbling about in the undergrowth below. The development is next to Quebec’s largest national park and the serviced apartments are sold on a freehold buy-to-let basis. There are seven golf courses, a spa and, best of all, a babysitting service. Mont-Tremblant is an hour from Montreal international airport. A one-bedroom, fully furnished, fitted and air-conditioned apartment starts at £92,969.
Advertisement
Premier Resorts, 020-8940 9406, www.premierresorts.co.uk
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
The place isn’t all Mickey Mouse and junk food. It also has excellent beaches, and sports and leisure facilities galore. There’s also basketball, baseball, and bowling and that rarest of American sports — walking, even if you choose to do it around shopping malls or theme parks. For $1.3 million (£687,000), you can buy a five-bedroom house in a gated community at Phillips Landing, Orange County. The property has its own gym and a large swimming pool; near by are lakes for sailing and other watersports and 12 tennis courts. Mind you, the place is so big that you could get fit just by trotting from your bedroom to the swimming pool.
Coldwell Banker Team Realty on 0871 7801180, www.coldwellbankerteamrealty.com
CORNWALL
Advertisement
There’s no excuse for lounging on the sofa in north Cornwall. Buy a cottage at Hustyns, a 90-acre development within easy each reach of Rock and Padstow, and you can swim, hit the running track, play tennis or croquet and send the children to their own activity area. Hustyns is a short drive from the golf courses at Trevose and St Enodoc, and some of the best beaches on the Cornish Riviera, so it’s worth digging that surfboard out. The cottages, starting at £400,000, all have three bedrooms and three bathrooms. They are also fitted with hydromassage baths. The company pledges a ten-year leaseback scheme giving guaranteed rental returns of 6.5 per cent, so you can sit back in the suds and ring the bell for the 24-hour butler service without feeling too guilty.
CLC Country Homes, 01764 661075, www.clccountryhomes.com
BULGARIA
Get your skates on — this impressive new complex of apartments at the popular resort of Bansko has an amazing outdoor skating rink, which in summer is converted into several tennis courts. Cunning, eh? The skiing in Bansko has been well-thought-out, so buyers (and their children) have the pistes right on their doorstep and each flat has plenty of storage for ski equipment; but for non-skiers and children there are plenty of other things to do. Come summer, families can explore the walking trails, go paragliding, mountain biking, fishing, horse-riding or hop on a hired bicycle. There’s also a lovely spa with three swimming pools.
Bulgarian Dreams, 0800 0112750, www.bulgariandreams.com
Advertisement
COSTA BLANCA
A bespoke development in Javea, between Valencia and Alicante, may sound bustling now, but it will be a lot busier next year when Valencia becomes home to the America’s Cup. By then the place will be inundated with yachties in bow-tie deck shoes, but you can still walk off a week of tapas with a trip to the Huerto del Cura, an enormous Mediterranean garden in the heart of the palm forest of Elche. OK, so kids don’t like gardens, but they can run around in safety and look out for wildlife. Near by are plenty of water parks — I know they are not everyone’s cup of tea, but frankly I love floating down a water ride, firmly seated in an inflatable doughnut. So do you, if you’re honest. Oh yes, and the kids will love it too. Picardo Villas cost from €2.4 million (about £1.62 million).
Spain & Property, 0800 0326407, www.spainandproperty.com