Travelling with kids: find a pool for the perfect holiday

My motto for going away with the kids for the weekend in the UAE is "safety in numbers". The more people you take with you, the less parenting you actually have to do and the higher the probability of having 30 minutes of "me-time" - something that barely features in my vocabulary anymore.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I don't love spending time with my little ones but over the last five years the concept of sunbathing or lounging lazily by the pool reading the latest chick lit has completely disappeared from the realms of possibility.

Instead, from 6am to 7.30pm, the day is a high-octane adventure of splashing around in the pool, building elaborate sandcastles, pushing children ever higher on the swings and stopping little hands from scooping cupfuls of gooeyness directly from the chocolate fountain in the hotel restaurant.

Which is why taking a big crowd of parent-pals with you is a great way to guarantee an easier ride, because we can all take shifts. While one parent might offer to take the group of little people off for a session of sandcastle construction, the rest of us can enjoy a break before we volunteer for arts and craft supervision at the kids' club or water-slide action in the pool.

And my favourite hotel for a family weekend away has become the Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa on Al Aqah beach. My vote is not decided by its restaurant-range, plethora of spa treatments or even the family-friendly price - but simply ease of access to the pool. Because, quite frankly, children aren't interested in anything on holiday apart from where the nearest body of water is and how quickly they can get there.

By booking a basic family room on the ground floor, we are equidistant from the pool and the kids' club. Exit the front door and we're colouring Dora the Explorer pictures in under a minute. Slide open the French doors at the back and you can stroll through the lush greenery and jump straight into the pool.

What I love about this hotel is that it doesn't just have one pool, it has three, and that includes a children's pool with a killer water slide that makes the adults scream louder than the children.

And because I'm a great believer in space, the ground floor garden room option has a triple advantage. It also gives the children an area to charge around and let off steam with their mates and the adults somewhere to sit out and relax in the evening while we listen to the snores of our slumbering offspring through the voile curtains after bedtime. For me, that's the closest thing to holiday bliss for a parent with small children.

arayer@thenational.ae

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

RESULTS

4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Yulong Warrior, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer)

4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jordan Sport, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass

5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Conditions $200,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: Jungle Cat, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Kimbear, Patrick Dobbs, Doug Watson

6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $300,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Blair House, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby

6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $400,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: North America, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

7.30pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 $250,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner: Hawkbill, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young