Tell me where to go! Multigenerational, short haul, sunshine!

[Sunnyintervalsandshowers]

I am going round the twist. Please someone tell me which hotel/resort to book?!

Looking for a short haul sunny holiday for a family group (6 adults, two children, three rooms). Italy, Portugal, or Spain would be great.

It's my mum's big birthday so budget is £8000 including flights and transfers - a package would be ideal.

We want a nice, classic hotel, which doesn't feel too stuffy for the children but is still quite smart. A pool or beachfront location would be great.

We would like it to be walking distance to a nice area with bars and restaurants.

Please can someone recommend a specific hotel or resort? I've recently been burned with a very disappointing hotel and it's really made me second guess anything I look at!

Shamelessly following as we would like similar.

There must be so many nice ones, but it's so hard without a recommendation! The last place we stayed at had great TripAdvisor reviews...

We have the slight added complication of ds wanting waterskiing, he learned on our last couple of holidays and is obsessed now!

When are you looking to go and duration? That affects the budget massively

Sicily - Syracuse.

Fab food, fab wine, INCREDIBLE history, friendly people, nice beaches
oh and Etna for that extra treat

That's not a big budget for all those people.

@EatingSleeping 23rd May-6th June 2026, looking for 7 days in that period 😊

@Talkinpeace that sounds lovely! Any accommodation you'd recommend?

@loveawineloveacrisp everything is relative, I suppose - any recommendations appreciated! 💕

@Sunnyintervalsandshowers
When we went to Sicily we booked a villa through Vrbo.
Set your specification and check the reviews

This sort of place might work https://t.vrbo.io/Bkkyyt9lYXb

This one looks rough ;-)
Check out this place in Sicily I found on Vrbo. https://t.vrbo.io/al2B8SfmYXb

@Talkinpeace it would be a struggle but we'd manage 🤣

Menorca is wonderful for families.

Cala n Bosch has a lovely marina with some really good restaurants, which are all child friendly, to go to in the evening and a very nice beach. It’s only about a 20 minute drive from the old capital of Ciutadella which is rich with history and culture. There’s some really good family friendly hotels in the resort, and all over the island, unfortunately I can’t recommend one because it’s quite a while since we holidayed with children.

Cala Galdana is another fantastic resort.

Pine Cliffs in Portugal?

@thefairycaravan and @twilightstarbright Thank you both!

Have a look at the Pestana Dom Jaoa in Alvor, Portugal.

www.palladiumhotelgroup.com/en/hotels/italia/siciliacampofelice/grand-palladium-sicilia-resort-spa
this is in Sicily, about an hour from Palermo.
We had a week here in late September and loved the hotel. It's on the beach, has two pools and very good food. (beach is pebbly rather than sand, btw.)
It was AI and not cheap but I haven't costed it for next Spring.

(It was a package holiday with British Airways, flying Lon Heathrow to Palermo. )
No idea why the info on the photos is in Spanish!

Madeira. It has a reputation for being for older people but actually it's great for everyone.

Ooh yes, Madiera, somewhere near Porto moniz

Hotel Triton, Benalmadena. Easy walking, great location, nice marina, quick train to Malaga, Fuengirola so plenty of variety. It’s great for multi-gen hols

Do you want any meals included? Being school holidays it may be fairly tight for ai but b&b should be easy to find. If you can’t find anything on the Mediterranean, don’t forget the Atlantic coast of Spain or France, big if a more traditional vibe I find, less tacky resort feel. As well as packages of check separately booking too, can be cheaper sometimes

All my recommendations are for villas for multi gen holidays but can give you some destination ideas?

As a PP said I also rate Cala Galdana as a destination but for the budget I'd probably look at a villa rather than a hotel, I've stayed at the Floramar, Minura and Audax (really liked the Audax but its adults only) and the rooms we stayed in the first 2 felt a bit too basic (Although maybe we got the cheapest options?). Never tried the Melia though so might be worth a shot.

Puerto Pollensa is also lovely, great beaches and walks and lots of places to eat and a great old town nearby.

Cavtat in Croatia, really beautiful and enjoyed getting the water taxi to Dubrovnik.

Lindos in Rhodes was fantastic for restaurants and snorkelling, although quite hilly if you have anyone with limited mobility.

In Crete we really loved Rethymnon but a long transfer time, and we once stayed in Creta Maris near Hersonissos which was a great hotel and beach however the town itself wasn't that great. Although it did have a harbour.

Neos Marmaris in Halkidiki was a great spot although we did a lot of road trips round the peninsula with that as a base. One of my absolute favourite days of any holiday I've ever had was when DH and I hired a speed boat nearby and made a day of it, even mooring up at a seafood restaurant and snorkelling in some hidden coves. The perfect day.

Hope you find something, please post back if you do though we do multi gen holidays too so always great to get tips.

Have you tried Ai?

Also if you are looking at going late May, just be aware of sea and pool temp. Most hotels in the med don't heat their pools so while it may be warm the pool will be Baltic. Sea temp will be from 18-21 Northern to Southern Med. Again not exactly waterskiing temp (without a wetsuit).

Port de soller Mallorca. Great restaurants, lovely setting, short transfer…..

In May half term if you go any where shorter haul than Turkey the pools and sea are going to too cold to use. Are you after a beach holiday?