Please help - Thailand or Vietnam next Easter??

[eminoxford]

OK, so my one and only sibling (sister) lives in Australia, we live in the UK. Between us we have 4 DC (she has DS almost 5, DD 2; we have DS 4 and DD 1 and a bit) - we had a long standing agreement to meet halfway next Easter for her 40th b'day but we are having real difficulty deciding where to go (plus, we can't really afford it, but I think we will just bite the bullet and do it anyway).

We also need to factor in our parents (Mum, 65, Dad, turns 70 next year) - so in total 6 adults, 4 kids.

I am overwhelmed with all the options (which island/resort, villa or hotel, etc etc) and I really need some advice.

Obv we have the loooong flights to contend with, so we need something that will be relatively straightforward to get to at the other end.

I can't see we'll do it for less than £4k for around 10 days holiday?

Villa has the advantage of us being able to relax together as a family once the kids are in bed, but disadvantage of needing to shop and cook as a large group (unless we had a villa that came with a chef but then more ££).
Hotel had the potential advantage of more facilities like kids club/better pool, more likely to be near the beach?

I was thinking maybe Koh Samui/Phuket, but also like the idea of Vietnam (Hanoi/Halong Bay/Hoi An - from reading other threads here...but maybe too much mucking about in a short time frame).

We are driving ourselves slightly insane so any help gratefully received!
Thank you!

We have stayed here www.kohjumbeachvillas.com and I would really recommend it (if it fits in budget). It is the only place we have ever gone back to and I would love to go again. As it is a cluster of villas you get the advantage of the space and privacy but also the shared amenities - shared pool, a (very reasonable) restaurant etc. The restaurant would also bring food to the villa when the children needed to be in bed so that was great. It's also right on the beach. More importantly it was one of the warmest and most friendly places I have ever stayed - for us it had just the right combination of beautiful surroundings and amenities but also a wonderfully welcoming and caring atmosphere. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is a bit of a trek to get there but that is part of the fun and they organise it very smoothly so you get from the plane to their minibus to the private long tail. It is also not for people who want a lot of entertainment/activity though there is plenty to do in terms of snorkelling/diving/exploring the island. It feels like a 'real' place not a resort.

Hanoi, whilst lovely, probably wouldn't be so good with the ages of your children and being a big group - the roads are pretty manic. And it's quite a long drive (4hours ish) on bumpy roads to Halong bay.
Have you looked at Ko Samet? It's a bus and short ferry from Bangkok.
It's a tiny island and could meet your needs. Obviously ko Samui and Phuket are further flights so if you go mainland coastal you'll keep your costs down.
I've heard Hua Hin on the mainland coast is quite nice but I've not been.