Pickleball holidays

There is something very special about the small hotel/ beach club Bucca. Having stayed before I was really worried that the evening A la Carte (or lack of it) in the evening would spoil my holiday. I really did miss it, however once I dealt with the buffet as a menu rather than as a buffet, I managed to feel as though there was a little bit more variety.

So if it’s something that worries you don’t go for a bit bit of everything make a choice and stick to it!. undoubtedly there is a similarity now between lunch and evening meals and it removes one of the differentials between missini and Bucca. I didn’t meet anybody there who preferred the buffet so hopefully Nielson‘s will listen to customer feedback. There are some definite highlights though, the ice cream is truly delicious, the fresh fruit, aubergine imman and variety of vegetable all stand out. Fish however was a bit of a disappointment and was always over cooked (with the exception of the salt baked salmon.
Cocktail tasters were so tiny we didn’t bother with them- a small ice cream might ve a better alternative.
The activities we took in this time were much more varied. Having recently given up Netball I was looking for an alternative sport and picked up a racket for the first time since at school (50 years ago). They are much lighter than they used to be! The instruction was patient kind and encouraging and it’s fair to say that I am now something of a tennis convert. My other half went to pickle ball which was thoroughly enjoyed and seemed to be very popular amongst the other guests too. He went to Windsurfing classes and progressed well , however it was felt by most in that group that it would be better to start classes in the morning a little bit later to enable there to be a little bit more wind and possibly to have lunch therefore a little bit later too. That would give the benefit of people being able to be a beginner on watersports and a beginner on racquet sports. Maybe something to think about. I enjoyed the competitive sailing and due to unseasonably high winds managed to hang out of the edge of a cat which I thoroughly enjoyed (according to the helm we hit 18 mph) very exciting stuff. I also enjoyed the yoga and Pilates. However, I’m not sure if I’ve been brand-new to either of these the instruction would’ve been quite enough to keep me safe. I also discovered my ‘granny’ breast stroke was all wrong too!!All in all I can’t think of a holiday that would better this one- unless it skipped the evening buffet!

Brilliant holiday. All the teams were amazing, from the sailing, tennis and biking teams, to the waiters and bar staff to the cleaners. They couldn’t have done more.
We did lots of activities every day. Bike rides, guided and non guided, (including e-bikes sometimes which were relatively cheap to hire), tennis lessons, pickle ball, sailing (including RYA Level 1), joyride in a catamaran, kayaking, paddle boarding, table tennis, yoga, Pilates, swimming.

Loved the pickle ball courts and enjoyed learning to play pickle ball. Barnaby was very helpful on the first morning giving us tips and teaching us the rules.
Joined in the tennis coaching. It was a treat having Mark Petchey helping with the coaching. The young coaches were very polite, helpful and knowledgable esp the two Georges, Harry and Barnaby - they also made the group lessons fun.