Holidays- villa or all inclusive?

[Seaseasea]

Hi, looking to book a holiday this summer (first time in a long time thanks to some luck!) wondered what people’s opinions were on villas vs all inclusive hotels?

We have two children who will be 1.5 and 5.5. I like the idea of a private villa so that we can chill once they’re in bed and would hire a car, but AI seems so easy?

Any advise would be really appreciated! Thank you

We have done both. Personally we have never seen the appeal of a private pool as both our DC are sociable and would end up fighting after more than a few days alone together. AI worked well from say ages 5-8 we didn’t holiday abroad before these ages. Both DC met and had fun with lots of friends, pools had a larger fun splash activity, DC both enjoyed taking part in early nightly activities and we loved watching them. DD is a fussy eater so both kids got to pick and choose from different foods and they both enjoyed the free ice creams and drinks. I got a break from constantly tidying up after them and thinking about meals.
When eldest DC was 8 they asked to go somewhere maybe a bit quieter so we found a lovely apartment with a quiet shared pool on a small safe family orientated complex with multiple nationalities (only a small amount of children) we put together breakfast and lunch ourselves and ate out every evening. It worked very well.
When they got to secondary school age we now Holiday in nice hotels with big rooms, separate bedroom, lovely breakfast and cleaning and eat out at night small amount of other young teens to socialise with and some organised activities by the pool to dip in and out of, nice beach close by. This now works well.
Enjoy your holiday whatever you decide OP for us if the DC are happy it’s a happy holiday all round.

Unless you have a lot of spending money available, the reality is that villa holidays usually involve more work. There is at least some shopping, cooking, washing-up to do. For us, we would far rather do this and have space, peace and privacy and be able to eat etc at our own schedule. I quite enjoy the supermarket shopping (we usually go to France) and it's not the same amount of work as being at home - there is far less stuff to tidy for a start. We even do laundry. Personally I prefer doing a bit while away than having to face a mountain when we get back. I also clean the house when we leave as the French cleaning charges can be really expensive and I'd rather spend the money on a day out.

However, I can see that if you wanted your holiday to be all about relaxation, this wouldn't be the sort of holiday you would choose. I think a villa holiday where you ate most meals out and had a cleaning service is possibly the best of both worlds, but that requires a fairly healthy budget.

Also when younger we always insisted on a siesta all round after lunch as a break from the mid day sun, for us to relax and have some afternoon delight and so the kids wouldn’t be too twisty staying up a bit later.
Both were in a good routine at home but deviating from this on holiday didn’t unsettle things when we got home.

DippyAvocado one of the reasons we started using villas is that they always seem to be less than AI for us. I am picky about places but whenever we've priced up AI for the 6 of us it's been 6-8 grand usually closer to 10 as I want separate bedrooms for the kids or apartment style.
Our last villa holiday was around four thousand and we ate out/bought restaurant food in 2-3 times a day, never said no to ice creams/cold drinks when out and about and went around in two taxis to most places.

I agree, notso. I can't afford AI. The costs with a villa + eating out depend on how expensive restaurants nearby are, I guess. In France, it's expensive. In Greece or similar probably not so much?

We do villas because I’m anti social and hate buffets (Disney hotel was a pleasant surprise). With little ones it’s nice being able to have a nap in the day, some time out of the sun, a tv and music system. Sitting round a pool with hundreds of other people fighting for a sunbed and being splashed are not for me. I wouldn’t stay in a villa without a dishwasher or washer (we only take hand luggage do I put a wash on). It’s not a chore. I prefer a chair to a lounger. I may do ai when the kids are teens but I can’t face it yet.

We have always done sc since we had children but for the first time we are considering AI this year. The dc are 10 and 14 and the Oder one really fancies giving it a try. I’m not so sure, the thought of queuing for a buffet or fighting over sun loungers plus all those (shudder) people who might SPEAK to me fills me with horror.
However, I have said I will give it a go. We are considering Greece and trying to find a smallish hotel with really good food if any one has any suggestions

Sounds like villas are best suited to is anti-social folk .

us

We tend to go AIbut get a suite or family room with either a private pool or shared pool with other suites so still nice and quiet. Suits us perfectly as we have the best of both worlds

Villa in a complex or near a village. With a hotel room you are stuck in the dark trying to be quiet once they are in bed. In a stand-alone villa you are stuck driving out for meals or self-catering. With a villa like I suggest you have the kitchen to chop fruit for snacks or prepare stuff for the baby and a nearby restaurant for meals.

I'm torn on this one...I love the privacy and space of a villa and lack of set mealtimes, fighting for a sun lounger. I love being in the pool at 6.30pm without worrying about getting back up to the room for showers to be back down for set dinnertime.

On the other hand I love a nice.hotel where the kids are always entertained and you don't have to cook, clean or push a trolley round Lidl, or worry about running out of milk.