Luxury hotel for one night or caravan for a week?

[SeasonsOfLife]

I was just having a little debate on this one.
With my family (dh and 2 dc under 4) I prefer having one or two nights away in a luxury family friendly hotel in the UK rather than a whole week in a caravan. Whereas some of my friends would go for the latter and think I'm weird for only opting for 1 or 2 nights. But I think it's quality not quantity. I'd prefer to pay the same price as a week in a caravan, on a nice hotel with a big bedroom, activities for the children, swimming pool, good food, gardens, etc... to be looked after basically.
Opinions please?

Oh you can totally find lovely family friendly cottages - I've been doing it for years! Stay away from AirBnB cos you're right, a lot of people there are basically renting out their own space and it can be a bit of a nervy thing with tinies. Look for people who rent cottages out as part of a regular thing - cottages on farms are often great and the ones set up for kids expect them to be kid-like. We've stayed some lovely places where they took my kids to gather eggs from hens and stuff. Check reviews and be picky but I promise the GOOD cottages are amazing and fine for tinies.

Surely there is something in between? I think children would prefer a week in a caravan. I don't think a posh hotel is the right place for small children - it's the type of place people go with no kids to get away.

Definitely a hotel over a caravan. I would choose a hotel with lots of things to do though or at least something nearby. We have done this many times with dc. I can go for a luxury spa treatment while dh takes dc to an activity. At those ages OP I think you can easily do a hotel over a caravan holiday.

There are different levels of caravans out and sites out there. They are much more fun for children of that age to stay in, but It depends on what you want out of a holiday.

I love a caravan holiday. Especially something like haven when the kids were little. But when we go away, we don't spend a lot of time in our accommodation, so I'm happy with cheap and basic for a longer amount of time than something a bit posher for shorter time. We've just done 2 weeks camping (with electric,couldn't have done without that!) and loved it.

The Ickworth is awesome. I have been to Moonfleet, Fowey Hall and the Ickworth. It is the closest you can get to a holiday with small children, and I feel like I have tried all options, including camping and the caravan. Camping is my second favourite.

I’m with you. I sometimes go to Crieff hydro for the night with the kids. You can use the facilities from the morning of arrival. So we go early, swim, brilliant free childcare in afternoon and I go for a massage/ haircut. Cinema in evening. Pizza delivery from place in Crieff. Hang around till 4 next day, redoing it all. Kids have fun, I always get home feeling really relaxed. Much better than a week somewhere rubbish where I have to do everything I would at home but without facilities like a hoover that sucks or a dishwasher.

I agree with you! If you want hotel recommendations, Four Seasons Hampshire is ahmazing for young families.

We love a caravan holiday and I enjoy making the space nice when we get there. Even the basic ones have plenty of room for what we need and we use them as a base for excursions.

Recently however, PILs booked a smart hotel for a weekend as a treat and despite my reservations about the children, they had a whale of a time and enjoyed the novelty of the hotel restaurant, swimming pool and grounds.

I'd say caravan in sunny/hot weather when you are out and about all the time, hotel if booking out of season as they won't want to leave the luxury!

A luxury hotel would be wasted on my kids and I wouldn't be able to enjoy it. I presume you'd all be in one room? My kids sleep talk and snore and would need to go to sleep early so we'd be sat in the dark waiting for them to sleep. A caravan is a much better holiday for kids, separate bedrooms, lounge space, usually near a beach and a fun pool. Kids love it. When I stay in luxury hotels it is without my kids so I can stay up late drinking cocktails, lounge about reading in a huge bubble bath, maybe go to the spa, read a paper over breakfast. None of these things happen with children in tow.

Two nights away in the luxury hotel. Sans enfants

I don’t think “quality vs quantity” is the right comparison. The hotel simply doesn’t beat the caravan park on measures of quality for all children. Entertainment, for example - Haven is much better quality for a most young children than a hotel. You might not like a cheesy disco and a trashy arcade -but many young children LOVE them!

I think it depends very much on the location- if you're going to be out all day, then why spend money on expensive accommodation.

Also if I have to share a room with DS, then it's less of a holiday so for the last few years we've done 3 star hotels with suites or adjourning bedrooms rather than sharing a room at somewhere swankier.

At caravan sites we tend to go for a lodge rather than a caravan so we get a bit of comfort, but still have the space.

Now DS is 16 he doesn't want to go on holiday with it, so enjoy it whilst they do.