We were reassured by comments on this site and we weren't disappointed - we got back yesterday after 2 wonderful weeks (but there is a but at the end) - the hotel was spotless, we had a brilliant room on the ground floor overlooking the main pool and garden area with two small beds for our children (2 and 4 years). Towels seemed to be changed most days, breakfast was great, staff all loved children, the Thomson superfamily reps were all good with the children - it really was set up for families, the clubs and entertainment were spot on, Ryan is destined for stardom and Tom was the best children's rep I've ever seen. Here's the but: we went on 6 May - and found we could use all the facilities like the playground and pool easily, but I'd hate to see this place in August because you always get anti-social behaviour everywhere that British people go on holiday; whilst we were there the soft play area meant for children under 36 months was vandalised by older children, and towards the end of the second week the children's pool was cloudy (nice to see adults using it to wash their feet) and the litter was building up in the gardens. The rumours about ear infections are true, you need to bring ear plugs with you for kids or adults. I think it might be a general pool problem as I got an eye infection. And I couldn't see why singles obviously out for a Club 18-30 type experience would want to be at the hotel. But we had a great time. Very impressed. Info that might help - all ceiling fans have been removed, so its air conditioning (at extra cost) or nothing! You can close a patio type door at night closing off your room completely, or use slatted shutters which make the room pitch black inside but are cooler. Not sure if they would keep out insects, although because of the time of year we went, we didn't get anything in the room. Fridges are in most rooms, we didn't need one but if its important to you then pre-book it. Supermarkets sell pretty much everything for babies but at a premium - baby wipes and nappies are much more expensive, we regretted not taking enough for 2 weeks. Gemellis is cheapest for baby things. If you go into Zakynthos town, the area near the monastery has best tavernas and shops - don't eat on the main road at the harbour, we had the worst meal there. There's a wonderful tourist bus shaped like a little train which young children will love, takes you up to Argassi (past the Symposium Piano Bar which provided us with the second worst meal!) Kalamaki Beach Taverna is fantastic if you like Greek food, but the beach was full of oil deposits under the sand, you don't know until you sit down. There's a lot of plastic waste washed up, soon added to by plenty of cigarette butts. There are jelly fish but not every day. If they are around then you have to keep out of the water, children need beach shoes and you have to watch them paddling as there were plenty in the shallows. Crystal Beach is better, ask for directions at Exotica reception, but you have to pay for sunbeds 7 euros. Best restaurant was Kepos, opposite Crystal Beach. We hired a car from Merliz on the main strip, they spent half an hour fitting really good child car seats and testing them, children sat in them and had straps adjusted, they gave us maps and various tips. You won't get service like that at most of the other hire places. We were advised not to take young children on any of the excursions and we were grateful for the advice; although another couple did take their baby on a boat trip (not booked through Thomson) and saw 2 big turtles, they were the only people to see turtles in the 2 weeks we were there! Trips can be long, boring and expensive, often difficult to get children on and off boats and coaches etc. Car hire is currently c. 80 Euros for 3 days. All the restaurants are good, you'd have to try hard to have a bad meal. We thought Hera, Michaelos, Boun Amici and Teseros were particularly special. We used the hotel pool bar for lunch a few days and it was fine, not sure why people have said its expensive. If you are travelling with young children, you really are in for a treat, you'll get lots of help and special treatment pretty much everywhere. The only thing to avoid is the Greek night at the Venus hotel, ho ho! If you can afford it, a private taxi back to the airport on the way home is about 8 euros and if you have prams, toddlers, etc., its the best 8 euros you'll spend! (PS - you can already see Kalamaki becoming like Laganas, real shame).

Someone has said earlier, don't bother shopping around, go straight here if you have small children, excellent baby seats, they spent a long time fitting them correctly, car was better than ours at home!

We loved this restaurant - our children generally freaked out and broke glasses, screamed, threw bread etc and we had to pay and leave early but they didn't make us feel uncomfortable, we were sorry we couldn't get back as it was near the end of the holiday (although they were probably quietly pleased?!!)

We loved this place, we all had pizza/pasta (went twice), our children aged 2 and 4 were up to their usual tricks with lots of drink spilling and general hysteria but we were treated like kings, our little girl played with the owner's daughter, went in the kitchens etc. They couldn't do enough for us and the food was fanastic.