Short break recommendations

[Topsy1980]

My dh will be 40 in August. He has 5 days off. We don’t have childcare so I’m looking at a short 4-night break with kids (6 & 4). I had thought Barcelona.. Can anyone recommend places to stay? Or does anyone recommend other locations? Thank you

We stayed in this hotel and really liked the location because it was within easy reach of the city centre and the beach but quite peaceful. www.booking.com/hotel/es/vinccimaritimo.en-gb.html
There are some really original and unusual play areas/playgrounds in the area surrounding the hotel. Some are in the Parc de Diagonal Mar and one of the best is on the shopping centre's large (very) outdoor terrace. The shopping centre also has a Lego Fun Factory. This room offers big buckets of lego and duplo, a screen with videogames, a table with books… There, you’ll be able to leave DC unattended, while you mooch the shops! Next to the fun factory, there's a large pet shop and nearby there's a stand with remote control cars. For 4 Euros, the DC can play for 10 minutes, whizzing it up and down the shopping mall!
Diagonal Mar is a 10 or 15 min. ride on the metro from the city centre. It's right next door to the natural history museum.

I have stayed at that hotel too but personally I would go nearer the pedestrian areas in town for a first time visit with kids.
I like the Duquesa de Cardona or cheaper Catalonia Port ( part of the Catalonia chain, loads of them in Barcrlona) in terms of area. Both have pools.There are a few others nearby if you google map. Across the road from the beach and Port Vell, mostly pedestrianised, close to La Rambla so easy to get bearings.
There is lots of walking round the Gothic area and you are right there rather than traveling to get there and then having to walk round.

I would be slightly reserved about August though. Barcelona is incredibly busy mostly with tourists. I quite like Italy in August as they have that two week holiday thing. This means some of the smaller shops close in the big cities making it fractionally less busy. It's boiling hot but if you don't mind time out in the afternoon, it's easy to stay up late to do tourist things, eat wander round.etc.