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If you are for a healthy lifestyle or dream that your children will love sports, you should go to Turkey with the whole family. Why? Let’s tell you now.
A brass band marching briskly along the embankment, a bright locomotive rides behind it to the groovy melodies, the children sitting in the trailers waving from the windows, smiling from the top of their mouths. Parents run next, trying to photograph or film all this miracle. Then – fireworks, cake, congratulations. And this is not the birthday of some golden child. This is the opening of a football academy for children vacationing at the Rixos Sungate Hotel.
When idols teach
It would seem, well, how can you learn to play football in a week or two of vacation? It turns out you can. You should have seen with what passion the kids ran across the field! Some looked no more than five years old, but they behaved like seasoned players. And the parents, of course, were imbued with:
“Aristarch! Block the gate, Aristarchus! Don’t let him in! ” – the mother of one of the players ran along the field. And she explained, smiling from ear to ear: “I am a professional fan.”
The welcoming speech at the solemn ceremony was made by Derya Billur, CEO of Rixos Sungate:
“Since football is one of the most popular sports in the world, we opened a football academy. We believe that this initiative is important for the physical development of children, as it encourages them to start playing sports and love it. “
The academy has a powerful trump card in favor of the opinion that for a short rest, children will have time to really fall in love with sports. After all, the team’s coaches are real stars. Master classes during the season are conducted by Alexey and Anton Miranchuk, Dmitry Barinov, Rifat Zhemaletdinov, Marinato Guilherme, Rolan Gusev, Vladimir Bystrov, Maxim Kanunnikov, Vladislav Ignatiev, Dmitry Bulykin.
“We believe that a real professional should be involved in every business. If this is a chef in a Mexican restaurant, then this is a Mexican who absorbed all the subtleties of cooking national dishes with his mother’s milk. If a massage therapist, then a certified specialist with experience. If you are a football player, then you are a legend of sports, ”the hotel representatives say.
The team of trainers is headed by an athlete who really managed to become a legend – Andrey Arshavin.
“A lot of children come to the playground. They really like it. And we, as masters, can really teach them something, give them something in terms of the game, ”says Andrey and is immediately distracted to sign a shirt for one of the young players – the boy looks at the idol with shining eyes. For him, a meeting with a star is such a cool gift, for which it is just right for parents to wear it in their arms.
The next day, training on the field begins in the morning. Children come even before the mentors to warm up. Moreover, the elders are happy to tinker with the younger ones: a 13-year-old teenager who came here from Riga enthusiastically chases the ball with the first-graders.
“For kids it is very important when the elders perceive them as equals and take them to their team. This is very motivating. Not to mention communication with peers from different countries, it broadens the horizons like nothing else, ”the athletes say.
Children from seven years old are offered to study at the football academy. And for those who are smaller, there is the Rixy Kingdom children’s center, where you can leave your child for a few hours, and he will not be bored: there is a theater, and educational activities in a playful form, and entertainment, and games, including pool.
A vacation that will never be the same
Turkey, as analysts have found, leads the rating of countries from where tourists most often bring extra pounds on their sides. The insidious all inclusive does its job. But it seems that this will change soon. Experts more and more often note that Russians are gradually beginning to perceive vacation not just as an opportunity to eat off, sleep off and get plenty of sunbathing.
“Many people want to continue to lead the healthy lifestyle that they are used to on weekdays. People do not want to gain excess weight, do not want to lose control over the daily routine, want to eat healthy food, ”Rixos Sungate notes.
Therefore, they decided to be a little ahead of their time and set a new trend for recreation: to combine entertainment, sports, healthy food and luxury. And it turns out! And judging by the number of tourists, this trend is really in demand.
In addition to football professionals, the hotel also employs fitness professionals from World Class. There are several sports grounds on the territory of the hotel, including outdoor ones; such a fitness center was opened for the first time in Turkey. Group training goes there all day: from aqua aerobics to crossfit, from tabata to fly yoga, and there is no end to those who wish. And for those who like to train on their own, there is a gym overlooking the sea.
By the way, the coaches here are just a walking motivation to start playing sports: tanned, beautiful, fit. And, what is nice, they are very friendly. And one more motivating moment – it is somehow awkward to gorge on the sides or lazily wallow on the beach while the child sweats on the football field or basketball court. After all, he wants to be the best mom – and the most beautiful.
For fans of extreme sports – its own atmosphere. You can go diving, take a windsurfing or jetpack flight lesson, or even practice mountaineering – there is a special wall for this on the territory.
Unreal concern …
Many hotels on the coast can boast of luxurious surroundings, of course. But the level of care here is simply amazing. It’s not even the water fridges scattered throughout the impressive hotel grounds, the free ice cream stands, and the helpful staff, although this is also the case.
In a food court, for example, hundreds of people are dining at the same time. And behind everyone – literally behind everyone! – watchful eyes follow. If you are done with the main course and are about to move on to dessert and fruit, your cutlery will be changed right away so that, God forbid, you do not spoil the taste of the watermelon by cutting it with the same knife as the steak.
Cosmetics in the rooms are not some kind of mass market, but products developed specifically for Rixos.
“So you can’t buy them, are they only available here?” – we asked disappointedly. Frustrated – because body lotion, shampoo and hair conditioner are as gentle as the kiss of an angel. I would like to bring home such a miracle, but …
And the beach? Sun loungers are scattered in various places – under the open sun, and under the awning, and by the pool, and on the lawns under the pine trees (this, by the way, in our opinion, is just an ideal place for relaxation!) the places where vacationers enter the sea are lined with special pillows. They are needed so that you do not accidentally hit a pebble at the bottom, do not hurt yourself on a sharp shell. You can, of course, go into the sea in shale, but this is already the level of a village beach somewhere in the Far East, and not a five-star hotel.
… and the cult of beauty
And about the most dangerous thing about all inclusive luxury – food. Surprisingly, almost all dishes in local restaurants are healthy, ideally suited to the principles of good nutrition. Except, of course, for desserts. Almond baklava cannot be called dietary, but even the strictest trainer will allow you to eat a small piece in the morning, if you later work it out in class. And why is it needed at all, that baklava, when there are such amazingly tasty fruits!
Breakfast cereals are cooked here without sugar, everyone can add it to themselves right on the plate. Or maybe not sugar, but honey or eggplant jam, dried fruits or nuts. Several types of omelet, seafood, olives, vegetables and herbs, cheeses and yoghurts, fish, poultry, grilled meats – this is just a paradise for adherents of proper nutrition. In general, you can get better only if you really want to.
And also – massage. There are a dozen of its types in the local spa: Balinese, stones, anti-cellulite, lymphatic drainage, sports … By the way, even after a classic massage you come out a couple of centimeters slimmer: it perfectly removes swelling and tones up. True, spa services, like a beauty salon, will have to be paid additionally. But you can always get a discount if you bargain. They love to bargain in this country, so do not hesitate. And in no case should you deny yourself the pleasure of lowering the price if you go shopping in the shops on the territory of the hotel! Fine Turkish textiles and local brands can be bought here, which is much better than regular souvenirs.
The cherry on the cake is the sea. Beautiful, warm, crystal clear sea, from which you just do not want to leave. Swimming in seawater is a great way to get rid of swelling and looseness, and tighten the skin and strengthen the muscles. It has been noticed from personal experience – there is no morning swelling under the eyes, while at home in the morning you have to drive off bags with patches, creams, ice cubes and God knows what else. It’s no wonder that after a seemingly beach holiday, you come back as an improved version of yourself.
By the way
The hotel is also proud of its animal friendly status. Cats roam freely around the territory – big-eyed, big-eared, flexible. Especially often, for obvious reasons, they are on duty at the tables in restaurants.
“We do not let them inside the hotel, but we don’t drive them out of the territory either,” the employees laugh.
Hotel information
Rixos Sungate is a premium resort located in the outskirts of Belbedi village about 40 minutes’ drive from Antalya.
Rixos Sungate has been honored with the prestigious Best Entertainment Hotel in Europe from the World Travel Awards. Also in 2017, the hotel received the Quality Management – QM Awards for the best entertainment hotel management.
The hotel has an exclusive spa center with Turkish bath, steam room, sauna, Cleopatra massage rooms and various types of Asian massages, skin and body care programs. VIP massage parlors work even on the hotel’s beach.
In addition to large buffet-style food courts, the hotel has restaurants of Turkish, French, Aegean, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, Chinese cuisine. The Mermaid restaurant deserves special attention – it is located right on the shore, and in addition to fish and seafood dishes, guests also enjoy a magnificent sea panorama.