Pros and cons of a villa holiday

[DanceMumTaxi]

Just thinking ahead to next year and we’re considering hiring a villa. For a good while now we’re done big AI resorts in Turkey, usually 10 days. We’ve always had a great time (including this year) but more and more we’re noticing that we’re not really making much used of all that AI offers. DC are 12 and 9 neither are bothered by kids clubs and we don’t watch the entertainment. They like the water slides but went less as the holiday went on. We’ll have a drink but certainly not big drinkers. This year we felt like the room was a bit on the small side, and we got fed up with the buffet even though the food was good. Sick of hearing kids iPads, crying children, people smoking outside, the queues. Also fed up with getting up at the crack of dawn to get a sunbed. This is one of our main reasons for getting a villa. One family secured 7 beds on the first day and left all their stuff on overnight for their whole holiday. This was by a quieter pool not the main activity pool so no staff moved them. Next year we’re considering renting a villa, but the main thing putting me off is that we don’t want to be driving and they all seem quite far away from amenities. I’m also a bit concerned about having to food shop, clean, cook etc. I do want a break, which AI provides. We would eat out but definitely not all the time. We’d be happy to use Taxis to/from a town but I’m a bit concerned that this might be tricky to organise? We wouldn’t want a big lively resort. Also not sure if we’d afford it. Budget is around 6.5K for everything (including spending money). Also considered SC apartment but then that doesn’t solve the sun bed situation. Happy to hear any thoughts or experiences anyone has. Thanks

We’re definitely considering this, but the 7am sun bed dash would still be a problem.

@MotherofPearl not set on anywhere in particular. We’ve been to quite a few big AI resorts in Turkey, but would go anywhere really. But don’t want anywhere very commercialised. Would hate a load British/Irish bars along a loud ‘strip’. Years ago before children we went to Molyvos in Lesvos. More recently we’ve been to Side in Turkey, which was lovely too.

We went on our first villa holiday this year with my family (seven of us in total) and it was great! We booked it through Airbnb and made sure to book one in walking distance of restaurants etc. my sister was worried that she’d be stuck cooking but it wasn’t like that at all - went out for a couple of meals, took turns cooking in the villa for a couple of nights and also got a takeaway delivered one night! It was great, everyone had their own space but it was also really nice to have a social space that you wouldn’t have in a hotel! We went to Calpe and it was lovely, really enjoyed it!

@Ladedahlia I think I can get all that in June -but table tennis might be the issue as places that have that tend to be more I’ve found in rural or semi isolated areas - more common in France too -

We're the same and our kids are still young enough that they probably would enjoy the entertainment etc in an AI. But they get a lot of joy out of just running around the piazza's etc in the evening.
Massive pro for me is being able to chuck a load of washing on if anyone needs it - my son was car sick several times en route to the airport on our side. Super handy to be able to throw all that in and dries in seconds on the balcony.
Personally I think I would find AI limiting, I enjoy exploring and trying local cuisines. And whilst we do drink a good bit, I much prefer a couple of 'nice' glasses of wine than all I can drink bottomshelf.
I've priced it out the last couple years and definitely think we would end up spending double in AI, even with eating out every night. We were in the south of Spain this year and eating and drinking out is still dead cheap; particulary if you do tapas etc.

Depends how much money you have or where you want to go some places do allocated sunbeds for the holiday

Table tennis would be nice but not a deal breaker.

We’re just back from a beautiful villa in the South of France. We often alternate holidays between villas and 5 star hotels. It’s so lovely to have the pool to yourself and not hear other people’s conversations or children’s iPads! If you can find a villa within walking distance to a village, then eating out / shopping is easier and more relaxing. Last year we had a villa in the Algarve and Ubers were very cheap. We got a good deal on car hire this year in France. Only downside to villas is cleaning the kitchen and loading the dishwasher everyday! But it’s a small price to pay 🤣 One year, we had a villa with a housekeeper. She came everyday, cleaned, made our beds and did our washing! She even baked cakes for us. The dream! That was the ultimate 😊 But not many villas come with housekeepers. However, you can ask for a mid stay clean/ linen change at lots of places. My tip would be to book somewhere with AC, makes such a difference.

We love a villa holiday - nicer and cheaper too. Lots of space so you have somewhere pleasant to relax during the day rather than having to be out all the time or crammed into a hotel room. Go to local restaurants rather than pay for overpriced resort food, and sit with a glass of wine in your nice garden/terrace in the evenings.

We tend to cook very minimally - so just make simple things like salads, bread and cheese, pasta with a quick sauce, so that it isn't too much effort, and eat out every couple of days. We hire a car so we can explore the area, go to different towns and beaches, and also means we can do a big supermarket shop. In most countries there is much less traffic than in the UK and driving is easy. If you don't want to drive, you'd need to look for a villa on the edge of a town (we tend to go for somewhere outside that has more space and a lovely view, but isn't walkable) - they do exist but you may have less choice and so need to start looking earlier.

The villas we've used get serviced every few days, so cleaning is minimal.

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I wouldn't want to drive on holiday though as I want to be drinking

We mostly use the car in the day to visit attractions/towns/beaches or to do a supermarket shop. Not having it for that would be quite a pain as it would really limit us to a small area and we wouldn't be able to get to know the region. And the best beaches are usually not the ones in town.

We tend to go out for dinner every couple of nights, in which case whoever's driving might have a small glass of wine over the course of the meal. But then there's nothing to stop them having another glass or a beer later on when we're back at the villa. And on other nights we eat in or pick up something like a rotisserie chicken that doesn't need us to prepare it, and then we can both drink more if we want to. And there is often a restaurant within walking distance, it's just a shame to have to be confined to that one every time - again, often the really memorable restaurants end up being the one in the tiny village at the top of the hill.

But neither of us are big drinkers. If it mattered more to us, we'd probably book a villa on the edge of a town and just use the car in the daytimes.

Villa Plus villas tend to have table tennis.

We have hired a villa for many years including when the children were small. My husband and myself still hire one now they are brilliant. We get a decent sized shop as soon as we arrive them just call at the shops for fresh milk and bread

On the desktop version of Google maps you can also search for villas if you click on 'hotels' and then toggle to 'holiday rental' and use the filters. Booking directly or with AB&B / Booking.com will get you a better villa for the money tho there's no ABTA coverage & some reports of IT hacking with Booking recently. We've booked independently all over the world from pre-AB&B days & been ok tho we only book with at least 3 yrs of reviews, check all recent reviews, check on street view, Google name of villa / owner & 'scam' etc.

If you're comparing areas & weighing up villa vs hotel costs, Numbeo Cost of Living is a great website for comparing food, eating out & travel costs in different countries.

We have only ever self catered - my daughter is autistic and needs her own space and neither of us are big drinkers or into nightlife. We've done self catering apartments, caravans, euro camps... and several villas too. I have some food allergies so can't eat at a buffet anyway and there's no chance we'd all share a room.

When the kids were little it was lovely as they'd go to bed in their room and we'd have the whole space to ourselves. Now they're the same age as yours (9/12) and it's even better as we can hang out or not throughout the trip. Everyone benefits from some space in our family!

I really love grocery shopping in other countries - agree with most above, we don't really eat complicated food. We tend to eat out one meal a day depending on what we want to do, and then have the other at home. We get veggies and fruit and various meats / cheeses / olives. We like to look for farmers markets or similar and go get delicious/fun stuff we can't find here in Scotland.

We absolutely love having our own pool but of course can't always afford it. It's the perfect scenario for us though!

How I do it is look at skyscanner and price out different flight options and then go see what I can find on booking / airbnb or a local option (though I'm now going to check on some of the recommendations here!) and see what lines up for my budget. Sometimes we spend more on flights for a cheaper stay, sometimes it makes more sense to balance it differently (typically it's more expensive to get to Cyprus and then cheaper once we are there, etc)

My husband doesn't mind driving though so that helps! I almost never do as it's more money to have two drivers and I'm not a big fan of driving anyway.

We really loved our Eurocamp trip to Belgium last year but that's the budget friendly option so might not be a great stepping stone from an AI holiday.

Been doing villas holidays for years. Often Lanzarote, Portugal, Turkey and mainland Spain. It’s the best! Stock up at Supermarket, cold meats, salads, cheese, drinks etc. Eat out in the evening and sometimes have a few nights in having a BBQ. We tend to book flights as soon as we see a reasonable price, then find accommodation, transfer book separately or grab a cab from the airport.
I also reverse google the accommodation to check it exsists as there have been scams. Tend to use VRBO but have used villa plus( it’s got a good filter for not need a car). Villas were a blessing with the kids and even though they’re in there 20’s sometimes still come on holiday. We wouldn’t go back to hotels as you have sunbed wars and don’t think I could do extended time in one room with DH😁. This month we have 11 nights in Lanzarote ( DC aren’t coming this summer) and it’s £1900 for the 2 of us, with it for your own space and pool.

Another pro for a villa is the laundry facilities - we only ever go hand luggage only as you don’t need to take clothes for every day of the holiday (you’re mostly in swimwear anyway!). Putting a couple of washes on takes moments, it’s not drudgery!

Oh yes! No queuing for bag drop😁

This area of Playa Blanca is only a 15 walk into the centre
Check out this place in Playa Blanca I found on Vrbo. https://t.vrbo.io/BzIUV2rxNVb

its also near the new Lidl’s and Aldi. Lanzarote also has a decent and cheap bus service if you want to visit other parts of the island.

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I've always dreamed of AI so I don't have to cook/shop etc, but the issues you mention (plus price) really put me off. Sunbed dashes, people obsessing over alcohol, and loud annoying kids is not my idea of fun! We usually holiday in the UK, but this year we have a villa in Spain. Booked in about Jan I think and we bought flights (BA) shortly after.
We're going with extended family so will share cooking/shopping etc responsibilities. We don't drink a lot so no problem driving out to restaurants in the evening, although walking distance would be preferable.

Thanks everyone. So many helpful suggestions.

Re flights, if you're willing to risk it, sometimes you can get them a lot cheaper within the 4 week window of flying. Last year we flew Dublin to Malaga, family of 4, for £450 in mid August. Booked it three weeks before departure. Used Avios this year and booked in January so not so nerve-wracking!

Don’t think I could hold my never to do that. You got a fantastic deal though.