Something in between self catering and hotels - does this exist?

[Ohforgoodnesssakess]

Shamelessly using aibu for traffic…

we’re trying to organise a holiday with extended family. Those family members are introverts who hate being around other people on holiday so we usually rent a holiday home somewhere in the middle of nowhere and do self catering.

however, with kids, this involves a whole lot of cleaning/cooking/laundry and isn’t much of a break imho.

I know they would love the all inclusive aspect of having meals done for them etc.

is there some kind of halfway holiday between these two options that I’m missing? So not a room in a busy hotel with a crowded pool, but maybe self contained apartments with private pools on site somewhere…?

pipe dream maybe but asking the mumsnet hive for ideas 🙏

Look for Aparthotels! You get varying ones with different facilities but we have stayed in a lovely one in Germany with a living room and kitchenette, you get breakfast and then aside from that fend for yourself.

An American style motel?

There are heaps of hotels with their own villas.

you can also go all inclusive

Book a private holiday home and hire a local cleaner/cook. The owners of the home might know someone who can come in to set up breakfast and clean. Maybe also cook dinner or just a list of restaurants that deliver.

Can’t you just rent a villa in a resort rather than a remote one? Then you get the benefit of your own space but access to local restaurants etc?

They do exist but its harder to find one that has its own pool, in our experience.
The ones we did find were eye wateringly expensive (but then we were looking at peak school holiday period).
Which country?

I am currently in a villa in Bali with our own pool. I haven’t lifted a finger in two weeks. Yes, we don’t have children with us this time but staff come clean, do our wash up, sort our laundry etc. We don’t want meals prepared but when our kids were younger staff would come and prepare breakfast and would have cooked any meals we wanted. Eating out is cheap, even for really nice restaurants, and you can hire a nanny to come to the villa to look after your children if you want. Day trips, nanny comes with you. We have done the same with kids in Thailand and Vanuatu. If you want the best of all world it really is the way to go and before the critics descent we tip at a level that makes everyone very happy so it is a win win.

@PeanutButterOnToad ooh this sounds interesting - how did you go about booking that if you don’t mind me asking?

Really? I’m a hotel novice but have never come across those before!

How is that different to a (cheap) hotel?

That was to @Quitelikeit sorry

Happy for any country with sun tbh..

A French Chambre d'hotes could fit the bill

If you Google for catered or serviced villas you’ll get lots of companies that do this. (I can’t recommend any, never tried it but sounds like my idea of heaven….)

Look at Aphrodite Hills. Villas but with a "village" that has restaurants and some music in the evening. I think you can pay for additional cleaning.

Villas in resort tend to be super expensive especially if you want own pool.

I would probably look for a villa but try to keep the effort down in other ways. So for example get a villa near to restaurants and reckon on eating out for most meals. There may be a meal delivery service or even an in house chef available locally.

Cleaning, if you ask the villa company they might be able to sort an extra clean or two for extra £. They may know a laundry service too.

Another option is to look at small rural hotels like Agriturismos, some of these are small enough that it would be mostly your group there. And they are quiet.

Do you want childcare/kids club as that does tend to be tricky outside of the big hotels, there are a few options though.

Following for more information on @PeanutButterOnToad s holiday, that sounds amazing.
We've generally booked villas within a hotel complex which gives a good balance of both worlds. Quite often you can even get takeout from the on site restaurant so you have the option of reading at your bills but no cooking too.

I know they have the private villas in a lot of the luxury all inclusive hotels in Belek, Turkey. Worth having a quick search on the BA website. However, as another poster mentioned this comes at a premium! Have you got a budget per person @Ohforgoodnesssakess?

kapparesort.com/en/

here’s an example of something you might like!

looks amazing!!!

if you don’t like it Google

hotels with villas

heaps available all over the world

Some larger hotels/resorts have a self-contained cottage on the premises (eg the gate house / the farm house) where guests can self cater and use the hotel's facilities including restaurants.

We have just spent a week at Aphrodite Hills and it was a brilliant compromise between resort and villa.

There is an AI hotel onsite, but also villas with private pools and apartments with shared (but not crowded) pools.

There is a 'village square', with a few restaurants, a Costa and a Hagen Dazs which were a favourite for our boys.

Even though it is self catering, you can book bed and breakfast or half board I believe. Mid week clean/ towel change is included.

There is also a reception desk if there is a problem. We had a late flight home, and reception arranged a 5pm check out. They also have a lovely lounge and shower facilities if you need them.

We found it the best of both worlds are were really pleased we didn't opt for the AI hotel in the end.

Holiday Property Bond

www.casalidimargello.it/index.php?lang=en

We stayed here in 2016 highly recommended

Merton Hotel, Jersey - nearly what you want. Great apartments (was amazing for extended family plus friends) but large indoor to outdoor pool and food, bar options from the hotel.

We actually have something a bit like this in Montenegro, 5 self catering apartments with a private pool and a local chef offers full catering services. Check out Palma Gora Aparments if of interest