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've done villa holidays since our kids were little. We tend to eat out every night, with the occasional barbecue. I personally love the "nights in" as no drying hair and putting on makeup to go out faff! Kids love to be able to swim in the pool at night too..

Cyprus is great, even if you hire a car, they drive on the same side, so super easy.

I've seen a few other posts about filtering to "no car required" on some of the booking sights which is a great suggestion too.

We've also been to Kalkan in Turkey several times which is now our fave place. They have readily available local taxis that only cost a couple of pounds for when you want to do a big shop or don't fancy climbing the big hills back to your villa! Flights are usually reasonable and villa quality is exceptional.

@DanceMumTaxi canaries flights are often expensive however there is more choice from what I can see of villas at that 2.5 to 4K range - I was admittedly only looking for a week - you might struggle slightly at £4K for 10 - 14 days in summer months

We did a villa last year and AI this year and our children asked for a villa again next year. We normally stay in Calpe in Spain when we go - if you stay close to Calpe rock, there are 4 supermarkets in close proximity including a Lidl and an Aldi. We cook a lot of BBQs in a villa and buy lots of sides such as coleslaw, potato salad, frittata, and also keep frozen pizzas in. If you get a villa with a gas BBQ, it's relatively stress free. There are also shops that sell whole spit roast chickens which make a fantastic lunch/evening meal with some cold sides. Calpe isn't huge though so unless your villa is far back in the hills, you are close to bars/restaurants so no need for taxis. Car hire at Alicante airport offers lots of affordable options too. There are also other towns close by that have lots of supermarkets such as Benissa. Consum and Mercadona are big chains in Spain with lots of variety in the bigger stores. For more affordable options, a villa with a shared pool is an option. They often have private outdoor areas with a pool between 5/6 properties so no sunbed wars and much cheaper than a private pool. Good luck - villas in my opinion are much more relaxed in the long run

Why not hire someone to cook and clean.We have always gone with villas with this included, but I am sure you can hire someone to do the job. I mean you are supposed to go on holiday to relax

We always do villa holidays. We are in Cyprus right now in a villa with a private pool and it’s been great.

My kids are primary age so we get them into bed each night and then DH and I sit in the garden and do dinner on the BBQ.

Everyone has their own space and can do their own thing. DH took the elder kids out quad biking earlier and I stayed back with the toddler, swam and then lazed about inside with Peppa Pig, a bottle of milk for her and a cold beer for me when it got a bit hot outside.

We are in a villa in Mallorca at the moment, and have only done villa holidays since our opposite-sex kids got too old to share a room. We usually do Mallorca, and we never drive - some of the booking sites allow you to add a “car not required” filter when searching, which helps.

I get round not wanting to cook and clean on holiday by…not. As long as you keep the place relatively tidy, no one expects you to clean - most of them send cleaners round at least once a week. Food-wise, we eat out some of the time, and the rest of the time stock up on charcuterie, cheese, crackers, bread, olives, hummus, fruit, salad…stuff anyone can help themselves to when they get hungry.

It’s lovely not having to shares rooms or bathrooms, and having a pool to yourself is sheer bliss. When the kids no longer want to holiday with us, DH and I will probably shift back to AI adult-only hotels; but for now villas are the way to go.

I don’t know Mallorca at all, any areas that are particularly nice? I hate places dominated by tourists which have lost all sense of authenticity. Is there anywhere that feels like a Spanish fishing village anymore with lovely beaches and Spanish food at reasonable prices?

Kalyan is amazing

@Ladedahlia sant elm is really nice as is Andraitx - but they are not the cheapest, much loved by Germans, - Puerto soller would suit as would maybe Porto Cristo if you want authentic, maybe Cala San Vincente or Cala Ferrara - lucmajor, Arts and pollensa and soller ( old towns) all very lovely in a Spanish way but all inland - although coast is easy to access from Pollensa , soller and Arta - but I would say you really need a car at those. In all fairness -anywhere really nice in Majorca ( or Menorca or Ibiza) is developed - even in a rustic way - you are more likely to get the vibe you mention in Greece

Last year a group of us stayed in a villa Puerto del Carmen in Lanzarote. 5 min walk to beach front. It was bliss. It would have slept 8. It had a pool and hot tub and has spoiled me for anything else but if dh and I go away it will be back probably to self catering or maybe a hotel.
I didn't organise it but it was with Jet 2.

Have done both. Hotel definitely has some advantages - no housework or boring stuff like dishwasher loading. Fresh sheets every day. Huge buffet breakfasts 😂

But also some cons to hotels - other people, who can be irritating! Constrained to a smaller space inside. Usually works out more expensive, particularly for bigger families. Even if you save a bit by taking B&B option and don’t go fully AI, you then have to go out for dinner each night, which (this sounds so entitled I know 😬) - not only expensive but sometimes you just want something light and easy rather than a big meal out.

On balance, I would go for villa, despite the possible ‘I do this at home’ irritation over stuff like cooking and house! Own bigger space - much better for larger families. No other people around the pool talking loudly or crowding sunbeds 😂 Own choice of food and opportunity to visit novel foreign supermarkets and street markets to buy it!

@Ladedahlia - areas around Deia and Soller are gorgeous in Mallorca. We used to go a lot and I adore it - but over the past decade or so things have changed sadly. It’s much more crowded and busy, and even the previously ‘secret’, more exclusive places are now absolutely rammed in summer. It’s also pretty expensive. These days I think it would be much better to go in autumn or spring…

We got a villa this year (12 of us, 7 adults, 5 kids). We managed to find a villa in walking distance to cafes/restaurants and opposite the beach in Menorca. But it was hard to find and was ££, but definitely look in menorca (we were in Binibeca). Major pro is having own pool and space. The con was all the cooking and cleaning! We used Villa Plus

Check out Skyscanner for flight prices

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Found good flights to Majorca middle two weeks in August and a town house with a pool on Vrbo. It’s inland but right in a lovely historic town. We can walk to shops and restaurants etc really easily. We’re not huge beach people anyway so inland is fine. It’s also close to a train station so we can use that. Dh said we might hire a car for a few days in the middle to see what it’s like and so we can see a bit more of the island. Flights and accommodation have come in at around 4.5K so still leaves around 2K spending money. Only thing is flights are early and we can’t get into the house until 4pm so might ask the hosts if we could drop bags off. Thanks again everyone.

That sounds great. Majorca is beautiful and really easy to drive round, plus has good public transport.

I hated having a villa - it's not a break for me if I have to cook / clean and make my own bed ! I wouldn't rush to book one again. I also didn't like not having a lifeguard on duty - and my kids like making friends in a resort. I like a good b&b, for me its the best of both worlds - someone else to clean, whislt I can still go out and eat outside.

you might love a villa and it's worth a go hit bare in mind you will be doing everything yourself .

Just done our 4th holiday in a villa - wouldn't go back to a hotel now. We don't really cook - just bread, cheese, ham etc.. for lunch and we go out to eat in the evening. It's great to get up when you want without worrying about the dreaded sunbed wars. We book the villa and flights separately and some villa owners arrange transfers. Already booked next year's villa!

We've literally just come back last Saturday from a villa holiday, we stayed about 15 minutes from Cal A'Dor and it was lovely - happy to share my cost spreadsheet with you if you'd like (I know, I'm one of those people but it helps us budget!) x

We never do any of that in a villa. Don’t cook, either BBQ (DHs forte) or eat simple foods, or eat out. Don’t clean apart from a quick wipe round the kitchen counters every day, and empty the dishwasher every couple of days. Making the bed consists of throwing the cover back up 😁 Most villas have staff that come
in during the week, they’ll clean kitchen and bathrooms, mop the floor, empty the bins
and recycling, and change towels, and sometimes bedding.
My kids are adults now but when they were younger I’d rather watch them myself than trust a lifeguard who’s trying to watch a ton of other people.

If that's Soller, it's a lovely old town. My two adult children still talk fondly about the villa holiday we had there when they were children. The train ride through the orange groves to Palma was fabulous and there's a tram to the beach. If hiring a car for a few days though, I'd go for the smallest you can all squeeze into. The streets in any of the old towns like Soller can be very narrow with tight corners.

If they won't let you drop off your bags early, there're plenty of left luggage storage places around Palma (just Google). You could spend your first few hours there.

We quite like villas but like big pools so now either tend to get apartments or hotel rooms with swim up pools so we have our own terrace and sun beds or get an apartment or villa on a complex so we again can sunbathe on our own terrace or at the pool. If you go to a 4 or 5 star hotel and just do bed and breakfast I don’t think you’ll have the race for sun beds as people are out and about (and more polite) we’ve never had a problem anywhere we’ve stayed but never done all inclusive where people spend their whole holiday round the pool. We like having hotel breakfast and like having a hotel bar for the odd wine or cocktail so we miss those things and big pools at Villas and now think we’ve found the perfect balance.

Yea the big disadvantage is the cooking and cleaning! That’s why I prefer hotels now.

I'm interested in what most people spend on eating out in a week. All of the villa holidays we have had we have only eaten out a few times. If we're taking family on holiday and we have to pay for them too, it becomes exorbitant.

Costa Adeje Tenerife.
lots of great villas
we get Mercadona online shop delivered on 2nd day in case of flight delays. Order this before we leave and get all the larger essentials bottle water etc
taxi click app just like uber and taxis always there within 10 mins
Glovo app just like just eat for all different food takeaways.

we have done it a few times now and it’s been great. kids in pool first thing, no hauling inflatables bags sun cream etc all to sun lounger. And kids can stay in pool to whatever time you wish.