3 bed apartment, on a complex, all inclusive - doesn't exist?

[RaspberryCoulis]

Thinking about booking a summer break for us next summer 2022. We have three teenage children who really aren't up for all sharing a room together for a fortnight.

We are looking for a package deal given the current situation - I am confident that by 2022 we will be travelling as normal but want that package guarantee and refund.

Looking for ideally a three bed apartment or suite or something - would consider a 2 bed with a bed in the lounge at a push. As kids are older they would prefer a resort with stuff going on around the pool during the day and other kids to socialise with - not necessarily kids' clubs as they're past that stage really.

Not Benidorm. Not Turkey.

All-inclusive ideally, more of a holiday for me too but would consider a a self-catering villa/apartment on a complex with a communal pool and "stuff" going on for the teens.

Really struggling to find anything suitable at all, 5 of us crammed into one room or small studio apartment for a fortnight isn't happening.

Which company is this? I'm single and never book AI precisely because whenever I've looked into it they always charge for rooms on the basis of double adult occupancy although you get about 12 quid off for the child flight ticket.

This was with Tui on certain hotels - I booked in January for May next year. they were doing really good discounts on the booking and free child places and no single room supplements

Thanks! I'll look into that!

Eden Resort in Albufeira is an all inclusive resort with 1&2 bed apartments plus sofa bed in lounge, plus a number of villas on site. We went with jet2holidays in 2019, no complaints

Paradise Fun in Tenerife have apartments with an all inclusive option.

Various pools (some adult only) entertainment and a leisurely walk down to Los Christianos.

The food was great when we went.

@ohidoliketobe

Eden Resort in Albufeira is an all inclusive resort with 1&2 bed apartments plus sofa bed in lounge, plus a number of villas on site. We went with jet2holidays in 2019, no complaints

We really don't want a sofa bed....

Budget blowing but a three bedroom Villa at Daios Cove, Crete fits the bill. The all inclusive package there is amazing.

www.sani-resort.com/en_GB/sani-suite-collection-rooms/item/porto-sani-three-bedroom-family-suite

Something like this?

My eldest 2 are 17 and 18,so we have probably had our last big family holiday as they will no doubt be doing their own thing next year.Which is good,of cours but ....,sad we missed the last 2 due to Covid.

I would book a villa, to be honest OP, even if you manage to find a 3 bed all inc, it will be cramped for a fortnight. We did all inc when our DS were young, but once they got to 12 switched to villa holiday. More private and a lot more space.

A bit of a curveball but hey ho...... we took our teens to Sydney which is excellent value in August and pleasantly warm and sunny. We stayed in the most spectacular 3 bed apartment at Meriton Suites Bondi Junction. Bus to Bondi Beach takes 15 minutes where there are lots of lovely restaurants.

Australia is definitely a curveball! Don't fancy the flight. Australia definitely on a bucket list but once we've retired and can go for a month - without the kids.

It's really difficult - yes on one hand a villa would offer lots more space but that comes with the downside of having to cater for yourself. Even if you eat dinners out you still have to go to the supermarket for drinks, breakfast things, ice cream. And it would just be our family.

On the other hand yes in a hotel the accommodation would probably be smaller but it's more of a holiday for me as it's always me who has to devote the headspace to thinking about what everyone's going to eat. There would be other people the same age as the kids to mess about with in the pool or play video games with in the kids' club.

I'm not totally anti self-catering holidays, we've booked 10 days in Dorset for this summer and we'll be self-catering. My usual rule on self-catering holidays is that I don't do "cooking cooking" but am happy to bung some pizzas in the oven mixed with barbecues, takeaway and meals out. And two of the kids are quite nifty in the kitchen so will help out.

Still think there's a real gap in the market for larger units for families with older kids...

There’s a gap in the market for family friendly accommodation full stop. Family rooms are often a king bed with a double sofa bed for the kids. And for airlines and most hotels, once your child turns 12 they are classed as an adult for pricing purposes.

I used to work for one of the big international hotel chains and the reason is simple. These sorts of rooms are only needed in the main peak holiday season - so about a quarter of the year. The rest of the time they cater for couples or those with very small children who don’t want or need lots of space. There has been a real move to make more rooms interconnecting when new hotels are being built or old ones refurbished to give the flexibility. But you can’t always guarantee interconnecting rooms in case one room is out of service. You therefore find that the sort of accommodation you are after is eye wateringly expensive.

Mauritius. Beachcomber, Heritage and Constance all do villas, AI packages and have plenty for everyone to do.

Why don't you book a 1-2 room apartment and a twin room for the older 2 at an apart hotel?

I nearly always used to book two rooms, one a double and one triple (for my 3 DC) if I was going all inclusive. No one ever moaned about rooms, TBH we were hardly in our rooms. My middle DC enjoys reading on the balcony so that frees up space.
We’ve cruises lots of times with teens and that works really well because you can pick the exact cabins you want so you know you’ll be next door to each other. We open up the balcony divider to make one large balcony.

Check out Pine Cliffs in the Algarve and Aphrodite Hills villas in Cyprus. They're both on complexes and there are on site restaurants and bars etc.

Has the eldest said they want to come? Surely most 16yos would rather have the house to themselves for two weeks? Makes it easier then to plan for 4.

No, they all want to come.

I think we've found something which works for us - one double room for the adults and a "family room" which is larger, partitioned room which is like 2 rooms in one.

A triple would be OK at a push but trying to find a room which is a genuine triple with three separate single beds at a resort and hotel we're interested in is very difficult. Most are either doubles and a single, or twins and a sofa bed.

There was more accommodation set up for multiple adult groups in 2 or 3 hotels in resorts like Ayia Napa, Magaluf, Benidorm, obviously pitched to the young adult sharing market. Definitely not what we want.

We're not after all our luxury and a long flight to the Caribbean or Indian Ocean doesn't appeal. We have been to Mexico in the past and although it was great, we're looking for mediterranean this time round.

Anyway, think we've settled on Menorca.

Once you’ve booked your Menorca trip could you post or PM me the details please OP. It really is difficult to find this sort of accommodation. I’ve only got 2 DC but a seventeen year old girl and a fifteen year old boy understandably aren’t keen on sharing for a week or more.

Improvements on booking search engines to help look for this stuff would make life so much easier. Booking.com, which I otherwise rather like, has a box for “number of rooms” in apartments which literally doesn’t work at all.

That sounds lovely
My older teens will only consider coming with us if I say the magic word Disney
And I wont be 🤣

We have four teens (12,13 & 16 twins) and have booked three rooms and let them have their own room.

Well done, what you’ve found sounds perfect.

I know this is an old thread - but I’ve looked through some of the replies and wanted to add one - because this is what I’ve also been looking for

Festival in Salou has apartments and a hotel all inclusive.

We’ve been and it’s great - just wanted to add to the list!

Here