“Brits abroad” type holiday

[queenofwandss]

Our family holidays are very much “on the beaten track” but we will usually pick quieter resorts in Greece/Spain and we go self catering or we go to France in our car.

I’m (happily) tasked with organising a big group holiday in the May half term. The people we’re going with are into all inclusive hols and want somewhere with plenty of buzz for all ages. I don’t need specific hotel recommendations but I haven’t been to any of the following places and am wondering if they will be warm enough in May?

Salou, Spain
Cambrils, Spain
Albufeira, Portugal
Alvor, Portugal
Praia da Rocha, Portugal

I'd volunteer Puerto Pollensa in Mallorca. We've been May half term and lovely weather. There are AI hotels and the resort is fairly British but beautiful place and not all day breakfast/football bar vibes at all.

Palma is 2.15 ISH from UK.

We like Salou although last twice it was Cambrills we went to which is quieter I really would recommend there, I know some people turn their nose up at the area but it is lovely.

Sicily or Sardinia might be warm enough for comfortable sea swimming in May.

Everywhere on the Spanish coast will be about the same temperature. You will reliably have 25° every day in Mallorca. The sea and pools will still be a bit cool, maybe 21° for the sea, but everything's relative - that's the temperature of the English Channel at Brighton in August.

I know Majorca quite well - what is the name of the place you have found? Some of the hotels in Alcudia are a bit "Marmite".

We did Majorca last May HT and I was in the sea and pool and I am a wuss. I think we were lucky though.

We love an all inclusive , not because we are “brits abroad” but because it’s very good value with fussy children! The choice at dinner time with a buffet style of meal means there is something for the children to eat. I like a nice cocktail in the afternoon and a few glasses of wine.
I would hazard a guess that you don’t mean what you’ve written tbh, at the age my kids are I would always chose an AI over self catering….
Given they must be your friends - I would
suspect that you wouldn’t go on holiday with them if they were the drinking all day, not in charge of their children type of people.
Instead what you might mean is that you enjoy different holidays, have no experience of booking any all inc.
Lanzorote - playa Blanca and Costa tegiuse we love…. PDC not so much.
Majorca - Cal D’Or lovely
Alcudia - okay
Salou - nice
Personally I’d ask their budget then see what is available in it. EasyJet holidays tend to
be v competitive. Once you’ve found a hotel you like so a deep dive into the hotel, facebook groups, tripadvisor etc

I do mean what I said in so much as I want a more “British” resort. It’s not my first choice usually but I have absolutely no judgement of the Brits Abroad people (obviously as long as behaviour is always respectful for the country you’re in!), so I definitely didn’t mean it in a derogatory way.

Me and my DH have 5 kids between us and have done all inclusive, SC, HB, villas, campsites- you name it we have done all different types of hol. Our preference (and our kids’ preference) is SC in Greece. We have been to mainland and a fair few of the islands with the kids and we all love Greek food, tavernas and having a stroll through the towns. We are also really happy jumping on buses to explore different beaches and have hired cars in Spain, France and Italy as well as driving in our own cars to France and hopping around different campsites and Air B&Bs. I am a very confident and happy holidayer in all types of hotels and boards so don’t mind doing an AI as that’s what the others want to do. My kids will still be happy with this and I am happy to compromise.

The people we are going with aren’t like that and they DO want to have English food available, drinks whenever they please, kids clubs, and definitely are not happy to be getting buses or hiring cars. They are very close friends who just happen to prefer different holidays and they will want lots of English voices and won’t want to walk far to get to the shops and beaches.

I was thinking Canaries would be good and have been to all of them apart from GC, but they’d have guaranteed weather and the only drawback is the flight length but that’s going to be the choice for guaranteed weather in May.

I really like easyJet holidays as you’ve said, I think they are very competitive. Unfortunately for this holiday EJ don’t fly from the others’ chosen airport. They’re all equidistant from us so no bother but will likely be looking at Jet2 or possibly Tui.

Please could I ask where you stayed in Salou? I have been nearby but never there itself.

I found a few so was going to offer the group some options. The cheapest is the Bellevue and reviews are mixed but it seems to have lots of facilities- is it worth a punt for a bargain or should we steer clear?

Alas, I loved Sicily and would like to go to Sardinia but this won’t have enough of the other boxes for everyone.

Though if you have any specific recommendations I’d be grateful as we’d love to go another time!

Magic Life Calabria, Italy would work for all of you.

If you read Bellevue in detail you'll notice that good reviews come from Tui guests. It seems that they have the newest block, their own restuarant and facilities away from non-Tui guests. You will also probably need to book via Tui if you want to use the kids club (this is very common with Tui - friends were caught out by this at a hotel in Majorca). Personally I wouldn't go near Bellevue and i'm rather fond of 'brits abroad' AIs.

I really liked the Holiday Village in Benalmadena (we"ve been twice) but it is on the outskirts of Benalmadena so you'd need to catch the bus if you want to go into town (Fuengirola is walking distance but still 20mins)

There's a reason it's the cheapest, let's say. And it's a kilometre at least to the beach - you can get the bus but it's quite a lot with small kids when it's 36°.

Club Mac is also pretty full-on.