To not get where everyone sleeps on a package holiday hotel family room?

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What with Covid, I’m just now tentatively looking at holidays abroad and we are now a family of 4. We’ve done holidays as a couple and then with one toddler who slept in a travel cot in same room but we now have us, DD1 who will be 7 and DD2 who will be 18 months. The 18 month old will sleep in a travel cot, but where does the 7 year old sleep?! We’ve stayed in premier inn in the U.K. where we had a family took which had a double bed, a single bed and a travel cot so I was expecting similar (I didn’t dare to dream that separate bedrooms would be an option ). We are happy to all sleep in the same room. But what’s coming up on my searches on sites like Tui and Jet2holidays is either a hotel room or studio or one bed apartment which have either a double bed or two single (twin) beds. In the studio or one bedroom apartment type ones; I have an inkling that the couch converts to a bed? (But can’t find any actual photos of the couches as beds) So do the adults sleep there after putting the kids to bed in the bedroom (less comfortable?!) or does the kid sleep there and everyone goes to bed at same time/adults hang out in bedroom after kid asleep on couch? All these hotels are billed as “family choice” and “family friendly” and have kids pools etc and the rooms come up as “family room”.
Any experience and insight welcome!

Lopesan Baobab
I stayed at the one in Melonara GC
It’s like a huge artificial jungle everywhere
The pool had a little beach and I think there were a few other pools
Only a five min walk to the beach and main resort
We had a standard room and it was huge two double beds and sofa bed

They are a big high end chain mainly in Gran Canaria and there are a few of them all over the island

My tip is- if you are all in one family room with a sofa bed for the bigger kid.. my dd is little enough to not need the sofa bed pulling out. We make up the sofa seat with sheets so it's a little bed and then we can save loads of space and sit on it during the day.

I always paid extra for a separate bedroom. I would sleep in the big bed and the kids would sleep on the bed/sofa in the other/living room. We couldn't manage all been in one room.

Our dc never liked staying up late until they were much older, and would start crying to go to bed if we pushed it much beyond 8pm , so on the occasions we shared a family room we’d just end up sitting on the balcony and then having an early night.

For this reason we much preferred apartments where they could have their own room. We often stayed in El Cotillo In Fuerteventura, which is a lovely small fishing village with a series of really beautiful beaches where you can get an apartment right on the sand. Lots of very good little restaurants that welcome children, and a fab bakery that we’d go to for breakfast. Lovely characterful place.

Much

@rainbowdashsneeze

I always paid extra for a separate bedroom. I would sleep in the big bed and the kids would sleep on the bed/sofa in the other/living room. We couldn't manage all been in one room.

I’m wondering if this will be what I need to do going forwards as they get older. Really adds to the budget though but is a cramped miserable cheap holiday every year worth it over a more relaxed spacious one every other year

This is why we
Go to Holiday Village, there's a dividing door between the bedroom / living room with kids beds and you get a balcony or terrace.

this is why I never do package holidays and do self-catering instead.

Ours are older now pre-teen / teen and and always choose two bedroom rooms.

We have 3DC and always get a suite with two bedrooms or interconnecting rooms. The package holiday will no doubt be showing you the smallest/cheapest room that you can all fit into but if you scroll down it should show other options.

You get much more for your money if you avoid the package resorts and book a self catering apartment. You don’t have to actually self cater if you don’t want to (we don’t) - restaurants/cafes/bakeries are good value in the Canaries and there are some really lovely little characterful places to eat.

@VenusClapTrap

You get much more for your money if you avoid the package resorts and book a self catering apartment. You don’t have to actually self cater if you don’t want to (we don’t) - restaurants/cafes/bakeries are good value in the Canaries and there are some really lovely little characterful places to eat.

Do you have any recommendations of apartments or where to look to book?

I'd agree with self catering but mostly not actually catering, if you know what I mean.

We generally make our own decent breakfast, in Spain I like the ready made tortilla with ham or tomatoes, eat a proper meal out once a day, then have snacks, cheese, bread, ham, olives, crisps, ice cream or similar if peckish between the two meals.

Always stay in walking distance of restaurants and a decent sized convenience store as a minimum, which usually serves most of our needs.

We stayed in a lovely small villa in Playa Blanca Lanzarote, but it probably wouldn't be suitable for you with small DC as there was a small private pool, although the bumpf did say something about pool guards if you had small DC.

villaspuertorubicon.com/en/

Walking distance to shop, bakery, beach and marina with restaurants.

Have a look at Terraza Mar Sun Suites, very reasonable price and good apartment layout for kids, very central for eating out and 10 minutes (child speed) walk from the beach.

@SpinsForGin . I do go on holiday ( pre covid ) but there is never a solution that works .
Villas are full for kids although lots of space and hotels have more going on but all squashed in.
I recall well being on holiday as a child in the same room as my parental, seems weird we spend so much to have worse conditions than at home 🤷‍♀️

[quote gunnersgold]@SpinsForGin . I do go on holiday ( pre covid ) but there is never a solution that works .
Villas are full for kids although lots of space and hotels have more going on but all squashed in.
I recall well being on holiday as a child in the same room as my parental, seems weird we spend so much to have worse conditions than at home 🤷‍♀️[/quote]
I think it's all to do with mindset. I see it as being different to home not necessarily worse. I prefer a hotel as it feels like a proper break - no cooking or cleaning!!

Not been for years so kids were younger, so they got the bedroom at night and dh and i got through sofa bed. I know that maybe sounds like a raw deal for us but it meant they were shut away and we had lounge, bathroom and balcony. Now they're older i think we'd probably all just go to bed at the same time. I'm still not sure I'd reclaim the bedroom though, seems safer having them in there somehow

I think Jet 2 holidays have a search option to include large family rooms.
We always stay at places with 2 bedrooms. In Tenerife we've stayed at the HD Parque Cristobel. Also have one in Gran Canaria. Family suites with 2 rooms. Not top end luxury but we had a great time.
More recently we've stayed at the h10 rubicon palace in Lanzarote and that was 5 star with interconnecting rooms. Very spacious but more expensive! Also in Lanzarote the Relaxia lanzasur club has 2 bed rooms and includes on site waterpark.
Loads of options you just need to research what suits you and your budget. Enjoy!

When mine were little I always booked a 2 bedroom apartment so we could put DC to bed in their own bedroom and not have to faff about with sofa beds and tip toeing about.

DS has slept on many a sofa bed on holiday. As he was light he always found it comfortable. We'd put him to bed and sit on the balcony or terrace while he went to sleep. Once he hit 9 we started to look for two bedroom places and now he's 13 we prefer a full property with two bedrooms via booking.com.or air BnB.

We always did Eurocamp etc. But went out every night for a meal. Means kids get a separate bedroom in a mobile home.

I always do self catered. My DC hate being up late, they just get tearful and whingy, they seem totally unable to lie in the next morning regardless of bedtime. So after a couple of nights they are hideously tired.

We do self catered, lots of meals out.

If you are looking at Tenerife then the Bahia Fantasia in Golf Del Sur may be worth a look, we went pre covid, and stayed in a lovely large family suite which had separate bedrooms, a bathroom and another WC along with a huge balcony.

What I have done in the past is look at the same hotel on its own website or other travel operators. You sometimes get more or better info about the room configuration

We stay at the Royal sun resort in Tenerife. The one bed apartments have a double bed and a double sofa bed. I'd have the adults on the sofa bed as the door and balcony come off the living space. It's a nice quiet hotel with a toddler pool and family pool below. A small entertainment team who play games and things during the day and then do a children's disco and a family show in the evening. All finished by 8:30 you can then stay at the bar or go in to town but I suspect with LOs you'll prefer to do what we did and sit on the huge balcony overlooking the ocean. Its the perfect place for a quiet family stay if you want to be away from the party atmosphere of the main town.

Plenty f coach tours leave the hotel or you can park a hire car in the garage. The main town is down a fairly steep hill so perhaps not great if you have mobility problems.