The Resort grounds and pools are lovely - but with an almost 90% German occupancy the food, entertainment and staff were all German orientated. It was such a shame as had been to Sardinia with Citalia last year and was looking forward to the fresh fruit and salad. Food a real let-down - tinned fruit and very little fresh. Salad leaves at dinner brown and could have been leftover from lunch. The rooms were big but quite bland - nothing in the fridge and you had to pay for use of room safe! Unfortunately a lot of electrical faults - blackouts at dinner - luckily we had served ourselves and were sitting down. Happened about 8 times - rooms had no electricity for an hour one evening - and some rooms no water too. It was unhappily for us not the Italian experience we had hoped for - but more like a week in German holiday resort.

We first visited the Garden resort four years ago on the recommendation of friends and had a thoroughly enjoyable week, so much so that we wanted to return the following year, only to discover that Thomson's no longer offered the holiday, nor did any other tour operator. So we were delighted when we stumbled across the holiday being offered by Cosmos and decided to book immediately.

It was nice to return. And of course our children, being 6 and 8 adored the swimming pools. Which brings us to our first niggle. Probably because it was towards the end of the season, but the pools, particularly the bigger one, were rather grubby and in need of a lick of paint. More disturbing was that the bigger pool turned an ominous shade of green in the middle of our stay, and whatever chemical they added to kill the, what I can only assume to be, algae, made swimming in the pool impossible because of the burning sensation to the face. And given the lack of swimmers it was evident that we weren't the only ones who suffered! Luckily the smaller pool didn't suffer from the same problem, so the children were kept happy!

Staff: I totally agree with another reviewer who commented that the bar staff were rude. We tried on all occasions, out of courtesy, to order in Italian ... and generally got surly replies. The cleaning staff were all very friendly, as were the staff in the main restaurant. The reception staff, depending on who you got, were a mixture of the two extremes!

Food: We thought the food, given that it was being produced on an industrial scale, was excellent. The salads were all all pretty samey from day to day, but everything was freshly produced. Although the restaurant was descended upon by about 300-500 at mealtimes there was never really any waiting time, and everything more or less worked like clockwork. It was also good that the pizza restaurant stayed open until 1030pm, for a little snack before bed!

Entertainment: to be honest, although the 'animation' staff more than tried their best, the entertainment, particularly the evening show, was fairly mediocre. Obviously they were catering to a mostly German audience, which perhaps might explain a difference in sense of humour. The shows from four years ago were much better!

Other gripes: on the last two days of our holiday the hotel suffered powercuts. The first of those two days the water in our room turned brown and the stench the next morning of sewerage was quite unpleasant. On asking the reception what we should do we were only told everything will be ok in one hour, which, to be fair, it was. But we were put off using the water in the room for the rest of our stay.

Final word: It seems a fairly negative review ... but we did have a good time, and will return. Just disappointed the standards have slipped from our first visit - and taking the icecream out of the all inclusive (apart from at lunchtime on the beach), is a real travesty! Now hope that by leaving this review that someone 'on high' at the Garden Resort will read this and try and make the necessary changes to bring the resort back to its former glory ... oh, and Cosmos, please, please, please change your tour rep next year, the one for 2011 was hopeless!

We chose this as it was a resort on offer and the all inclusive price worked out much cheaper for 4 of us than any other option. We're glad we did. Although the early flight was tough, it was all on time and the transfer time to the hotel of 15 mins was ideal with small children. The hotel is clean and we only made use of the pools, so can't comment on the kids club etc, although we did meet an English family whose child loved it. The food is fine but not very exciting, so not gastronomical tour of italian cuisine (only tomato and cheese topping in the pizza restaurant!) which was disappointing, but we never had any trouble finding something to eat for everyone.

Cons were the check in plans were awful, just 2 people available to check in a bus load of hot, tired people - and then the room wasn't ready - which had happened to many others the week before too. The pools are great but they are dirty and need an overhaul - floor is peeling and brown "tide" marks round the edges. They need to maintain the rooms as much as they do the lovely gardens. It's all a bit tired and needs a lick of paint.

Pros - despite being a bit grubby the pools were really good for children and the large shallow area for the very young was a godsend for us. Gave them some independence but where you could watch them. Gardens are lovely and the bar areas are relaxing.

English are in the minority, but was never a problem, to be honest there was a good mix of all nationalities but Germans are the majority. Reserving sun beds? We always found somewhere without having to set the alarm! The entertainment is not too over the top, we did enjoy the daily aerobics- and you have to get used to being bellowed at as you go into meals - but they're just wishing you a "bon appetit".

Not sure if it would really be a four star hotel.

All in all we had a great time and the children loved it. We had had enough after a week though and were ready to come home. It really is a resort geared towards sunshine, I'm not sure what you would do if the weather wasn't in your favour as there isn't much in the locality.

Definitely recommend for families.

Now called Rocco Nettuno Garden (not to be confused with the nearby Rocco Nettuno Tropea), this is an excellent place for a summer family break. Fantastic pools, a lovely walk through a pine "forest" to a pebbly beach, clean though basic rooms, and good eating options.

The restaurants: these have come in for criticism on other reviews: we don't agree - our experience was that they are catering for lots of people, in short timeframes, and they do a fantastic job. The buffets are excellent quality and the variety (over 1 week) was good.

The staff: all perfectly lovely and friendly and typically Italian. Of course, there is the odd surly person talking on their phone whilst handing out towels - but so what.

The guests: a good mix of German, French, Italian and a few Brits whilst we were there. Of course the kids' club etc is mainly focused on the Germans, but we were happy to have our child with us during our family holiday! (as were almost all others). You have to fit in with the German propensity for early towel reservations by the pool (8am) and queuing for dinner starting (7pm), which was no problem for us, as early risers and early diners.

Would recommend: wonderful boat trip to Aeolian Islands including Stromboli; early morning run through the pine forest; lots of time in the pool and at the beach; take your own pillow as they are a bit feeble; being early for the pool and dinner!

Final comment, Gatwick to Lamezia flights were an unusually pleasant experience - Lamezia is a tiny airport, all very easy; the flight times were great; and we even got out of Gatwick within 20 mins of landing.