Europe AI resort holiday for 5 - do t even know where to start ...

[AnythingNotEverything]

Google isn't helping me at all today We've never done a resort holiday so don't know what we're doing. We normally do city breaks or UK cottages so this is all new to us.

I'm looking for a resort based, all inclusive holiday for the family - 2 adults, 1 teen, 2 toddlers (2 and 1).

I can't figure out the accommodation at all - I want to be able to put the little ones to bed and play cards on the balcony with teen, and also possibly watch resort (cheesy!) entertainment with youngest asleep in pushchair. The tour operator websites don't seem to have2/3 bed rooms. Don't hotels have interconnecting rooms any more? Does that make it a really expensive option?

Someone suggested that there were resorts with bungalows but again these don't seem big enough.

Maybe self catering somewhere like Puerto Pollensa would be better?!

Totally clueless. Please help!

Budget is about £3k, possibly more like £4k for the right holiday, and we want to travel the first week in July 2016.

We found that a two bedroomed apartment in a hotel complex worked well when DC were small.Plenty of room and flexibility. They seem to do this in the Canaries more than other places.
If you can watch the entertainment from the balcony it means it will be very loud. If you don't mind that then Parque De Paz in Tenerife does 1,2 and 3 bedroom apartments and you can either self cater or go AI. We stayed there when DC were early teens and it was just right. It's low budget though.
A bit more up market and with lovely bungalows and AI is Club Playa Blanca. We went at Easter when DC were 13/15.

Much more expensive but fabulous is Olympic Lagoon resort Cyprus. We had a bungalow with fenced garden and private pool plus AI and choice of restaurants. DC would go there again but it's expensive.

Ooh - thanks SecretSquirrels I'll cost this places up

Plenty of hotels do still have interconnecting rooms, but don't always seem to advertise it.
It's worth calling and talking to tour operators - Sovereign for example

If you want good value for money AI hotels, then Turkey is probably your best bet - there are loads of modern complexes along the coastline. They aren't all characterless either if you shop around. The main problem with these is that they tend to be out of the town centre, so there may not be that many places you could walk to if you wanted to get out of the hotel.