Forte Village Resort - Il Bouganville in Santa Margherita

This hotel offers comfort in beautiful rooms in pleasant surroundings.

When was the last time you wrote a review post a good experience? Probably too long ago to remember. We're often quick to jump on the keyboard when it's been a bad experience and prior to this trip I paid too much attention to some of the negative remarks on here - how silly was I. From the moment we arrived we couldn't have been more impressed. The personal touches, the cleanliness, the facilitates for children, the campus itself, the range of restaurants.... it was a holiday that didn't require any effort, everything was very easy. The beach is huge, the facilitates are far from "tired" as someone else wrote on here and guess what, you're gonna get wasps outside from time to time. But they do everything to ensure a good stay. There's nothing that would be too big an ask. I was able to get milk every night for my baby, I got the cot bed when requested and the room was in the action but not too close to the main pavilion / noise which I really appreciated.

I have very mixed feelings about Forte Village. The positives Beautiful grounds Pools are nice with some really deep ones which the kids loved Family bungalows are comfortable Entertainment is the best we have seen at any resort it’s very professional. Kids club and Nursery are great facilities with lovely staff and included in the stay Lots of academies - literally everything from chess to fencing to rugby to magic. So much choice. Beach was spotless and the water was lovely. Early evening football for anyone to join was a great addition Food was good quality in the buffet The manager Claudia bent over backwards to try and make our stay as positive as possible. We ate at the Belvedere restaurant was exceptional. Truly 5* with great staff I needed an emergency dentist appointment and the staff organised it for me and it was excellent. The men driving the golf buggies round were very sweet! They would always stop to give our toddler a lift. We had some issues with our bill at the end as we had to leave a restaurant due to the time taken to make our food and this was removed. We were also charged for the mini bar which we didn’t use (apart from the m&m’s) and this was refunded. Again thanks to Claudia trying her best to make sure our stay was great. ! But….. You will pay for everything once you get there and it’s very expensive. You can get the 5* experience if you are willing to spend. You get some complimentary water in your room. No welcome drinks it feels like everything nice comes at an extra cost. Which compared to other 5* hotels felt a bit grabby. Most of the restaurants are 95€ a head excluding drinks and they are likely worth it if the Belvedere was anything to go by. However Not all have kid friendly menus. And it would be expensive to eat there multiple times. Bike hire is 15€ a day for a child’s bike Water is 5€ a bottle Soft drinks 6-7€ A Pilates reformer class 195€ for an hour 30mins swim academy session 89€ Mini bar pack of M&m’s 7€ Frozen yoghurt by the pool 12€ Bowling 20€ per person per game Some pools are for the more luxury hotels and their guests. Staff are pretty uninterested and often at the bar you would wait for them to even acknowledge you. One day the pool bar staff just carried on having a row and ignored all the people waiting There are other buffets which are nicer than which you can pay extra for. We were given an upgrade for our breakfast and evening meal and liked the Castello however we then had to pay for drinks which were included at the other restaurant (we only had water) which seemed bonkers! The list goes on…… So while a nice hotel and we did come prepared to purchase activities food and drink the markup is high and with a huge array of options make sure you come with your wallet and a couple of thousand euros to spend.

Overall, great resort. I gave it a 4 instead of 5 because the bungalows are really outdated.

The place is great... as with all good hotels, the staff make it. To be honest, when you are paying what you pay, i thought the rooms were tired and a bit basic.... i got upgraded, which made it fine, but i was initially let down by the rooms. Having said that everything else was great... expensive but great. DONT go if you have to watch the pennies.. best fish and Pizza i have ever eaten ... unbelievable shows at night, and a tennis club that will be everything you could ever want

We had another wonderful stay at Forte. Family travelling - 2 adults and older teenager. This was our 9th trip. We had two bungalows - both spotless clean, comfy beds and everything needed. Bathrooms huge. Love the pool and spent most the time there, lovely food in several restaurants - we love Bellavista for lunch. Adult football in the evening fabulous and husband enjoyed that daily. Big shout out to the staff - overwhelmingly friendly and efficient this year. Really brilliant - and I mean all - cleaners, Gardners and hospitality - everyone was very cheery. Very good evening shows too in Plaza this year. We love Forte, feels familiar and relaxed. It’s a place we can really unwind. Yes there are always things to improve but the positives well outweigh any negative for us. We will return again ..it’s a boomerang resort for us for sure.