We probably don’t need to spend too long telling you whether we liked Tenuta Primero Grado Family Resort.
We stayed here last year. We liked it enough to recommend it to my wife’s parents. This year we came back together, booked two lodges for a week — and when our seven nights were up, we decided we weren’t quite ready to leave and extended our stay for another two.
That’s probably the review in its shortest possible form.
Tenuta Primero Grado Family Resort sits on the lagoon just outside Grado, in Italy’s Friuli Venezia Giulia region. It’s a big family resort with its own beach, Waterland pool complex, restaurants, supermarket, kids’ entertainment, sports facilities and enough going on that you could quite easily park the car when you arrive and not touch it again until you leave.
We know this because that’s exactly what we did the first time we stayed here.
Unfortunately, we’d also been occasionally opening the car to charge things, turn lights on and generally use it as a very expensive power bank. Seven days later, the car had enjoyed its holiday so much that the battery had gone flat.
This time we did manage to leave the resort a few times — including trips into Grado and Aquileia — but one of the things we still love about Tenuta Primero is that you don’t really have to.
Our stay at Tenuta Primero was independently booked and paid for. It was not sponsored or provided in exchange for coverage. This review is based on our family’s own stays at the resort. As always, all opinions are our own. Some links in this article may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you make a booking or purchase through them, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a stay at Tenuta Primero?
→ Check current accommodation prices and availability for your dates.
Quick Take: Tenuta Primero With Kids
Best for: Families wanting an easy resort holiday with pools, beach and activities all within walking distance
Location: Around 7 km from Grado, Italy
Our stay: 9 nights, 30 August–8 September 2026
Accommodation: 7 nights Lodge Superior + 2 nights Lodge Elite Panorama
Our favourite things: Waterland, pedal boats and sandbanks, kids’ entertainment, easy resort layout and early mornings on the beach
Worth knowing: The lagoon is extremely shallow, tides make a big difference, mosquitoes can be noticeable and natural shade on the beach is limited
Would we return? Yes — we’ve already returned once.
In this review
Lodge Superior · Our two-night lodge upgrade · Waterland pools · Beach and tides · Pedal boats and sandbanks · Eating at the resort · Kids’ entertainment · Cashless wristbands · Grado and Aquileia · What to know before booking · Our verdict · What to pack
Why We Came Back to Tenuta Primero
This stay was very different from our first one.
We’d booked it well in advance because my wife’s parents were joining us, whereas much of the rest of our European trip had been planned somewhere between “the day before” and “we’re in the car, where are we sleeping tonight?”
We’d also just come from around two weeks of camping in Croatia.
Going from a tent to an air-conditioned lodge with two bathrooms, a dishwasher and a proper deck seemed a little too good to be true.
We arrived at around 8pm, with my in-laws already settled in nearby, and checked into a Lodge Superior close to the new Waterland pools and a small playground.
The location turned out to be brilliant.
Within a couple of minutes we could be at the pool or the beach. One of us could take a child swimming while somebody else headed to the beach. I could disappear with the laptop for an hour, my wife could do something else, and everyone was still only a few minutes apart.
For us, that freedom is one of Tenuta Primero’s biggest strengths.
Our Lodge Superior
We spent our first seven nights in a Lodge Superior.
Ours had a double bedroom at one end, a separate children’s bedroom, two bathrooms, a living and kitchen area, air conditioning and a large furnished deck outside.
The kitchen had pretty much everything we needed for an easy family stay: fridge, hob, microwave, dishwasher and the usual kitchen basics. We also had one of the little stovetop espresso makers, which was put to considerably more use than some of the other equipment.
Outside, we had a dining table and chairs as well as a separate outdoor lounge setup with a small wicker-style table.
After living under canvas for the previous couple of weeks, it felt luxurious.
Possibly too luxurious.
Not long after arriving, one of our daughters ran straight into the closed glass sliding door.
In her defence, we’d spent the previous two weeks in a tent and hadn’t really had a front door.
Then our older daughter did it.
Then I very nearly did it.
At that point, we started parking one of the kids’ scooters in front of the glass as an unofficial warning system. Either that or we kept the curtain partly closed.
Problem solved.
The air conditioning worked extremely well — our lodge was almost chilly when we first walked in — and we had no issues with cleanliness. The accommodation was spotless when we arrived, and throughout our stay we constantly saw cleaning staff working around the resort.
We didn’t use the communal bathrooms much because we had our own, but the ones we did use while coming back from the beach were clean, as were the toilets around the restaurant and other public areas.
→ Compare Tenuta Primero accommodation options and current prices
We Extended Our Stay — and Moved to a Lodge Elite Panorama
Our original booking was for seven nights.
The day before we were due to leave, we wandered into reception and asked whether there was any chance of staying longer.
Our Lodge Superior wasn’t available, but a Lodge Elite Panorama was.
Even better, we paid €111 per night for the final two nights — a last-minute special, rather than a standard rate.
Prices at Tenuta Primero vary enormously depending on dates and availability, so I wouldn’t expect to simply turn up and find the same deal. We appeared to get lucky with a last-minute opening during the September shoulder season.
We didn’t need much convincing.
The following day we loaded most of our belongings into the car, carried the rest across the resort and completed the entire move in about half an hour.
The Lodge Elite Panorama was another step up.
It was right near the water and beside the supermarket, with a roomier, more premium-feeling living and kitchen area and a rooftop terrace that became one of our favourite features.
Even the shower had colour-changing LED lighting.
Was this necessary?
Absolutely not.
Did the kids think it was brilliant?
Of course.
The kitchen also had a pod coffee machine, with compatible pods available from the supermarket.
The rooftop terrace was the real highlight. We got some great photos and DJI footage from up there, and it gave the accommodation a completely different feel from our Lodge Superior.
For €111 a night, we thought we’d done exceptionally well.
Primero Waterland: A Huge Improvement
One of the biggest changes since our previous visit was the pool complex.
By our 2026 visit, the new Primero Waterland was open, with several different pool areas catering to different ages.
There are more than 2,000 m² of pools, including children’s areas, slides, a spray park, swimming and wellness pools and a river pool.
The river pool became one of our favourites.
The water was warm, and we spent a ridiculous amount of time floating around it with the kids.
The children’s areas worked particularly well for our youngest. The softer surface underfoot made the inevitable slipping and falling considerably less dramatic, while the little slides were enough to keep younger children entertained without everything needing to be a giant waterpark ride.
There’s also a small kiosk around the pool area selling things like ice creams, paninis and snacks, so you don’t necessarily have to head back to your accommodation every time someone announces they’re hungry.
Pool loungers
One thing worth budgeting for is pool seating.
There are areas where you can put a towel down, including grass farther back, but if you have younger children and want to sit close enough to keep an eye on them, paying for loungers can become quite useful.
We found the free options immediately beside the pools fairly limited.
Our Lodge Superior was right beside Waterland, which was extremely convenient.
It did come with one downside.
When we first arrived, the music around the pool seemed LOUD.
It wasn’t particularly our taste either, and on the first day we wondered whether being quite so close to the pools had been a mistake.
Oddly, after that we barely noticed it. Either the volume came down or we adjusted to it, but it never became a significant problem during the rest of our stay.
If you’re particularly sensitive to daytime music, though, it’s something I’d consider when choosing where in the resort you’d prefer to stay.
Aqua Fitness, Beach Yoga and the Evening Pool Party
There was plenty going on around Waterland besides swimming.
We regularly noticed aqua fitness sessions taking place in the pool, with guests joining in, and during my early morning walks I’d often pass yoga sessions being held on the beach.
I never joined in myself, but there were normally perhaps six to twelve people doing the beach yoga during our stay. Judging by the laughing and chatting at the end, nobody looked as though they’d regretted getting out of bed for it.
One evening the entertainment programme also moved to Waterland for a pool party.
This ended up being one of those simple holiday things the kids loved.
After dinner, instead of winding down for bed, everyone put their swimming gear back on and headed to the pools. Waterland was illuminated, there was music playing and the kids could swim after dark while we sat nearby.
During our stay this happened on a Wednesday. Programmes change, so I’d check the current entertainment schedule rather than planning your holiday around Wednesday night specifically.
The Beach: Very Different From Croatia
We arrived at Tenuta Primero after spending several weeks swimming around Croatia.
And if I’m comparing the water alone, Croatia wins.
Around Istria and Pag we’d become used to incredibly clear, deeper water where you could put on a mask and spend ages snorkelling. At Tenuta Primero, the lagoon is very different.
It’s sandy, extremely shallow and in places grassy or weedy.
Initially, I found it a little disappointing.
But after a couple of days we started appreciating it for what it was rather than comparing it with Croatia.
There were no rocks to negotiate. No water shoes. You could throw a towel onto actual sand and walk straight into the water barefoot.
For young kids, the shallowness was a major advantage too.
At times it felt as though you could walk forever without reaching genuinely deep water.
During our early-September visit the beach never felt packed either. We always found plenty of room to put towels down and never paid for beach loungers.
There were lifeguards positioned along the beach during our stay, and there are also organised areas with umbrellas and loungers if you prefer them.
We’d heard jellyfish can occur around Grado, but we didn’t see any during our trip.
There’s not much natural shade
One thing I’d plan for is shade.
There are a few trees growing along the beach and, particularly if you’re down early, you may be able to find a shady spot underneath them. We generally managed without too much trouble during our September stay.
But I wouldn’t rely on it.
If you’re travelling with younger children or planning full days at the beach, a lightweight beach umbrella or portable sunshade would be extremely handy.
Need some extra beach shade?
→ See lightweight UPF 50+ beach sunshades on Amazon
What about dogs?
Something else that may matter depending on which side of the dog debate you’re on: the main family beach isn’t the designated dog beach.
There’s a separate area for guests holidaying with dogs, which gives dog owners their own beach option without the main family area becoming somewhere you’ve constantly got dogs wandering around children’s towels and sandcastles.
Check the resort’s current rules if you’re travelling with a dog, particularly around leads and water access.
Check the Tides — Even Before You Book
The tide makes a massive difference here.
We quickly developed a fairly simple holiday strategy:
High tide = beach.
Low tide = Waterland.
Swimming was considerably better around high tide. As the water went out, the lagoon could become incredibly shallow.
That’s not necessarily a negative, though. At low tide the beach and lagoon become a completely different playground for kids.
If you’re booking well ahead, I’d even have a quick look at the Grado tide times for your dates.
I wouldn’t plan an entire holiday around the tide table, but if you’re choosing between two sets of dates and swimming at the beach is important to you, having high tide fall at useful times during the day can make a surprising difference.
→ Read our complete Grado with kids guide, including beaches, parking, things to do and practical tips.
Hire a Pedal Boat and Find Your Own Sandbank
We hired pedal boats twice from the Kitebar during our September 2026 stay, paying €8 for 30 minutes. That was what we paid during our visit; check the current rate when you arrive.
Our first trip was around high tide and was straightforward.
The second was closer to low tide.
At points, the lagoon became so shallow that we were almost at the stage of getting out and dragging the pedal boat.
But the best part is farther offshore.
There are sandbanks out in the lagoon, and depending on the tide you can reach one, get out and effectively create your own temporary private beach.
We have photos from our trips that show this much better than I can describe it. It’s a strange feeling standing on sand some distance offshore with the resort back in the distance.
And take your snorkel
This was also where our opinion of snorkelling at Tenuta Primero changed.
From the main beach, I still wouldn’t compare the snorkelling with the crystal-clear rocky water we’d just come from in Croatia.
But once we took the pedal boat out towards the sandbanks, we regularly had our masks and snorkels with us and saw plenty of fish — including some surprisingly large ones.
You could often see them clearly from the pedal boat.
Underwater they were much quicker to disappear than the fish we’d been watching around the Croatian rocks, so you had to be quick, but we actually had a lot of fun snorkelling out there.
So I wouldn’t describe Tenuta Primero as a classic snorkelling destination.
But throw your masks into the pedal boat and you might be surprised by what’s swimming around the lagoon.
→ Looking for a snorkel set? See this Cressi travel set on Amazon.
Taking phones or cameras out on the water?
→ Keep them dry with a waterproof roll-top dry bag
If we were doing the pedal boat again, we’d check the tide first. Go closer to high tide if you simply want an easy pedal around; time it lower if exploring the sandbanks is the goal — just not so low that your pedal boat becomes a wheelbarrow.
SUPs and other watersports were also available from the beach area, although we didn’t hire them ourselves.
The Kitebar Became a Regular Stop
The Kitebar ended up becoming one of our regular stopping points.
Coffee in the afternoon. A beer. An Aperol Spritz. An ice cream for the kids.
It was an easy place to stop without having to turn it into a proper restaurant visit, and during our early-September stay we could almost always find a table.
The Kitebar is also where you can organise things such as pedal boats and SUPs.
The Sandcastle That Survived the Tractor
One of my favourite little moments happened on the beach.
The girls and I had spent some time building a sandcastle.
They asked whether the tide would destroy it overnight.
I told them probably not — we’d built it far enough back — but every morning I’d watched a tractor drive along the beach smoothing the sand, so I explained that our castle would almost certainly disappear under that instead.
One of the girls said maybe whoever was driving would think it was cool and leave it.
I suggested we shouldn’t get our hopes up.
The next morning I took my usual early walk down to the beach.
The tractor had levelled the sand everywhere around it.
And left the girls’ sandcastle standing.
Sometimes the smallest things are the bits kids remember.
Sunrise Became My Favourite Time of Day
I’m normally the first awake on family holidays.
Around 6 or 6:30am, I’d make a coffee and walk down to the beach before everyone else got moving.
I found a spot on some steps leading down to the sand and it became my morning office.
I’d sit there with my coffee, answer emails, catch up on work back in New Zealand, take a few photos and watch the resort slowly wake up.
During our early-September stay, you could actually watch the sunrise from the beach, appearing off to the left as you looked across the lagoon.
The exact position obviously shifts throughout the year, but if you’re an early riser, it’s worth making the effort at least once.
People would begin jogging along the beach. Staff would prepare things for the day. The tractor would appear to smooth the sand. Some mornings the beach yoga group would begin setting up.
Then I’d head back to the lodge as everyone else was waking up and we’d wander over to the supermarket for bread.
It’s probably the part of Tenuta Primero I miss most.
The Supermarket Is Genuinely Useful
Resort supermarkets can sometimes feel like somewhere you reluctantly buy an emergency bottle of milk at twice the normal price.
We thought the Tenuta Primero supermarket was considerably better than that.
You’d undoubtedly save money doing a big shop at a larger supermarket outside the resort, but we never felt the on-site prices were outrageous considering the convenience.
More importantly, it stocked pretty much everything we actually needed.
There were normal groceries, drinks and alcohol, toiletries, mosquito repellents and creams, swimwear, sunglasses, hats, toys, cards, inflatables and assorted beach gear.
There was even a small postal counter where we noticed stamps for sale — handy if you’re one of the increasingly rare families still organised enough to send postcards home.
The morning bread run was particularly popular.
There could be a five- or ten-minute queue as everyone arrived looking for fresh bread, but once you knew that, it was simply part of the morning routine.
We’d grab bread and whatever else we needed, take it back to the lodge and make a simple Brotzeit-style breakfast before deciding what to do with the day.
Mosquitoes and Wasps: Come Prepared
Mosquitoes were definitely noticeable during our early-September stay.
They don’t particularly bother me, but one of our daughters was bitten quite a lot. We used plenty of insect repellent and had mosquito candles outside the lodge.
Wasps were noticeable too.
They weren’t anything like the numbers we’d experienced back in Bavaria that summer, where eating outside could sometimes feel like defending your lunch, but they stood out because we’d just spent a couple of weeks in Croatia and had barely seen one.
Numbers can change enormously from one summer to another, so I wouldn’t describe this as a particular Tenuta Primero problem. It’s simply something we noticed during our stay.
→ See travel-friendly mosquito repellent sprays on Amazon
Eating at Tenuta Primero: Buffet or À La Carte
We self-catered plenty of meals, but we also ate at the resort’s main restaurant twice.
You can choose between the buffet and an à la carte menu.
The setting is excellent, with a large terrace overlooking the water.
One useful thing to know is that the very front tables closest to the water are down a small set of steps and are used for the à la carte section.
That makes sense — buffet diners would otherwise spend the evening climbing up and down the steps every time they went back for another plate.
If having one of those very front waterfront tables matters to you, book the à la carte option.
We chose the buffet, which worked particularly well with kids.
There was a good selection of hot mains, which changed between visits and included meat and seafood dishes, along with salads, cheeses, cold items and plenty of fresh fruit.
For children — or adults having one of those days — there were familiar choices such as fries, nuggets and fish bites.
There was also a full pizza station with different pizzas available.
I particularly liked being able to grab a slice alongside whatever else I was eating, especially when there was sauce on the plate requiring something bread-like to deal with it.
There’s even a little warmer/toaster setup if you want to heat your slice again.
Desserts during our visits included plenty of fresh fruit along with cakes and pudding-style options. Ice cream wasn’t part of the buffet when we ate there, but you could buy one separately.
Service was good on both visits. The restaurant was busy, but the buffet was continually replenished and we never had a problem finding food.
As tends to happen with buffets, our main complaint was that we repeatedly ate far more than any reasonable person needed and then had to roll ourselves back towards the lodge.
Kids’ Entertainment Was a Genuine Highlight
We didn’t use the kids’ club to its full extent.
Our days were usually full anyway, so we never really dropped the girls there for an entire day and disappeared.
But every interaction we did have with the entertainment team was excellent.
There were mini discos and organised activities in the evenings, and the entertainers seemed genuinely enthusiastic about involving the children rather than simply completing a scheduled performance and leaving.
They’d sometimes stay around afterwards kicking a ball or playing with the kids.
We also noticed staff making an effort to connect children with entertainers who spoke their language. German-speaking staff made a particular effort with our girls, which helped them feel included.
Something else we hadn’t expected was seeing familiar faces.
At least two of the entertainment team were the same people we’d seen during our stay the previous year.
Whether they remembered us is another matter — they must meet thousands of children over a summer — but our girls remembered them, and there was something pretty cool about coming back a year later and seeing some of the same people.
Some evening entertainment took place around the main bar and stage area, which was our preferred setup. Parents could sit with a coffee, cocktail, beer or wine and still watch what the kids were doing.
Other events were held downstairs below the restaurant.
That worked if you were already eating upstairs, but you couldn’t actually see the children from the restaurant. With younger kids, one of us generally needed to head downstairs, where seating was more limited.
For us, the bar/stage arrangement was considerably better.
Bikes, Sports and Other Things to Do
There is bike rental within the resort, with a surprisingly wide range available.
We didn’t hire bikes on this visit, but we had used the rental setup during our previous stay. Options included normal bikes, bikes with child seats and various family pedal vehicles.
The resort also has tennis and other sports facilities, a games area aimed more toward older children and teenagers, and electronic and arcade-style games including air hockey.
On the water you’ve got pedal boats, SUPs and the Primero Splash Bay inflatable obstacle course offshore.
We didn’t use Splash Bay on this trip, so I can’t give a meaningful firsthand review of it.
Want to Hire a Boat? Watch the Wind
Boat rental is also available around the neighbouring marina, and we’d planned to hire one ourselves.
The Bora had other ideas.
The rental operators told us conditions on the day we’d chosen were too dangerous to take a boat out.
Initially, looking from shore, we wondered whether it could really be that bad.
Then we noticed something.
There wasn’t a single boat on the water.
Normally there were boats everywhere.
If hiring a boat is high on your Grado list, my advice would be don’t leave it until your final available day.
Look at the wind forecast several days ahead and speak to the local rental operators. Conditions can obviously change, but the people we spoke to seemed to have a pretty good idea ahead of time which days were likely to be suitable and which weren’t.
The Bora can completely change your plans.
Getting Around Tenuta Primero
Despite being a large resort, Tenuta Primero was easy to navigate.
Most of the main routes are asphalt or otherwise paved, with some gravel sections. Our youngest daughter took her scooter everywhere and managed perfectly well apart from a few rougher patches.
Cars, bikes, scooters and pedestrians share many of the internal roads, but traffic was never heavy during our September stay and vehicles generally moved slowly.
Security felt good too.
Vehicle entry uses number-plate recognition, while your resort wristband gives you pedestrian access through gates and into areas such as Waterland.
It’s worth keeping the wristband on rather than leaving it in the lodge. If you wander out towards the marina and then want to get back through a pedestrian gate, you’ll need it.
How the Cashless Wristband Works
The wristband also operates the resort’s prepaid cashless payment system.
You need to load money onto it before spending around the resort.
We topped ours up using a credit card at reception, and my suggestion would be to put a reasonable amount on while you’re already checking in. You can always go back and add more later.
Once it was set up, it was extremely convenient.
Between gate access, Waterland and payments, the wristband became something we simply put on and left on for the holiday.
If you’re travelling with children, I’d ask reception how spending permissions work across family wristbands when you check in, particularly if you don’t want the kids independently discovering an unlimited supply of ice cream.
You Really Don’t Need to Leave
This might be the biggest compliment we can give Tenuta Primero.
On our previous seven-night stay, our car didn’t move once.
This time we used it more because we wanted to explore.
We went into Grado a couple of times, visited Aquileia and I made an emergency electronics expedition to Villesse after deciding to buy a DJI action camera.
But none of those trips was because we’d run out of things to do at the resort.
A fairly typical resort day for us started with my early coffee on the beach, followed by a supermarket bread run and breakfast at the lodge.
Then we’d check the tide.
If it was high, we’d often head for the beach.
If it was low, Waterland usually won.
Someone might head off with one child while somebody else did something completely different. Later we’d regroup for lunch, perhaps hire a pedal boat, stop at the Kitebar, go back to the pool and eventually figure out dinner.
Then there was usually kids’ entertainment in the evening.
Nothing particularly complicated.
And that’s exactly why it worked.
Visiting Grado and Aquileia
As easy as it is to stay inside Tenuta Primero, it’s also an excellent base for exploring this corner of northeastern Italy.
Grado is only around 7 km away, and we visited a couple of times during this stay.
We’ve put everything we learnt from our time there into a separate guide:
Planning a day in Grado?
Read our Grado Italy With Kids: Beaches, Food and Family Holiday Guide for beaches, parking, restaurants, things to do and practical family tips.
Aquileia is even closer than you might expect and is absolutely worth visiting — particularly if you’ve got even a passing interest in Roman history.
We spent a day exploring its archaeological sites and found it considerably more interesting with the kids than we’d expected.
→ Read our family guide to visiting Aquileia
Flying into Trieste?
→ Compare rental car prices at Trieste Airport
→ Browse family activities and tours around Grado, Aquileia and Trieste
Our Final Day — and a Rather Sudden Goodbye
After extending the holiday by two nights, eventually we really did have to leave.
We packed the car, checked out and were allowed to leave the vehicle inside while we enjoyed the resort a little longer.
The plan was simple.
One last drink at the Kitebar.
One last ice cream for the kids.
The weather had other plans.
There had been thunderstorms forecast, but when we checked out it wasn’t particularly bad.
Then, almost instantly, the wind arrived.
Staff started pulling down umbrellas and grabbing anything that wasn’t attached to something heavier. The beach bar shut rapidly.
One unfortunate member of the activity team appeared to have been preparing for yoga on the beach and suddenly had mats flying through the air.
The sand started blowing.
Our final ice cream was officially cancelled.
We got into the car and decided this was probably nature’s way of telling us the holiday was over.
Within minutes of leaving Tenuta Primero the rain became so heavy that we had to pull into the neighbouring marina and stop. Other cars were doing the same because visibility had become almost nonexistent.
After our earlier weeks camping in a tent, there was one overriding thought:
Thank God we’re not sleeping in that tonight.
And, strangely, the storm made leaving easier.
The kids hadn’t wanted to go.
Now nobody was suggesting we turn around.
What We Didn’t Love
No resort is perfect, and there are a few things worth knowing before booking Tenuta Primero.
The sea isn’t the place I’d choose if your priority is deep, crystal-clear water straight from the beach. It’s an extremely shallow lagoon and can be grassy or weedy.
That said, getting out towards the sandbanks with our snorkels completely changed the experience for us.
Mosquitoes were noticeable during our stay, as were some wasps.
Natural shade on the beach is limited.
Poolside seating could also be better for families who don’t want to pay for loungers. There are places to put a towel farther back, but when you’ve got younger children swimming, you often want to be close enough to watch them.
And if you book accommodation immediately beside Waterland, expect some daytime music and activity noise.
None of those things significantly affected our holiday.
But they’re worth knowing before you arrive.
What We Loved
Tenuta Primero works because family holidays don’t always work particularly well when everyone has to do the same thing.
Here they don’t.
One child can swim. Another can go to the beach. Someone can sit with a coffee. Someone else can disappear for an hour. You can hire a pedal boat, wander to the supermarket, grab an Aperol at the Kitebar or do absolutely nothing.
And everyone is still only a few minutes away.
The accommodation was clean and comfortable. Staff were consistently helpful. Waterland was a huge improvement. The kids’ entertainment team impressed us. The supermarket was genuinely useful. We enjoyed the restaurant, the beach had plenty of space during our September stay, and we never felt like we needed to get into the car just to find something to do.
Most importantly, it was easy.
And family holidays with two kids aren’t always easy.
Would We Stay at Tenuta Primero Again?
Yes.
We’ve already done it twice.
The first stay convinced us to recommend Tenuta Primero to my wife’s parents.
The second convinced all of us to stay longer than we’d booked.
That probably says more than any score out of ten could.
If you’re looking purely for dramatic, deep, crystal-clear Adriatic swimming, there are better places. We found plenty of that during our travels through Croatia.
But if you want a sandy beach, ridiculously shallow water for younger children, a very good pool complex, comfortable accommodation, kids’ entertainment and enough facilities that you can park the car and forget where you left it, Tenuta Primero is very hard to fault.
Just don’t use the car as a phone charger for seven days.
We learnt that one the hard way.
Thinking About Booking Tenuta Primero?
We’d happily stay here again. Check prices for your own dates, and compare the different lodge options — location within the resort can make quite a difference depending on whether you’d rather be close to Waterland, the beach or somewhere quieter.
→ Check Tenuta Primero prices and availability
→ Read our complete Grado family guide
→ Read our Aquileia family guide
Useful Things to Pack for Tenuta Primero
You don’t need anything particularly unusual, but based on our stay these are the things we’d make sure were in the car:
- Lightweight beach umbrella or portable sunshade — natural shade is limited.
→ See lightweight UPF 50+ beach sunshades on Amazon - Snorkel masks — especially if you’re taking a pedal boat out towards the sandbanks. → View this Cressi set on Amazon
- Dry bag — useful for pedal boats, SUPs and beach days.
- Mosquito repellent — we definitely used ours. → See travel-friendly mosquito repellent sprays on Amazon
- Water shoes — not essential at Tenuta Primero’s sandy beach, but useful if you’re combining Grado with Croatia or rockier parts of the Adriatic. → Browse lightweight family water shoes on Amazon
