What are your family's holiday non-negotiables? Win a £200 voucher

[EllieSmumsnet]

Every family has certain things they look for when booking a holiday, whether that's a brilliant kids' club, a splash pool, an easy walk to the beach, short flight times or simply staying within budget.

We'd love to know what are your family's holiday non-negotiables? What features, facilities or little extras help you choose the right holiday, and what makes a trip feel like a great fit for your family?

• Share your must-haves and tips in the thread below by 01/07 to be entered into a prize draw.
• One lucky contributor will receive a £200 VEX voucher for a store of their choice.
• Don’t forget to vote in our poll below.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Insight T&Cs apply

Clean and modern hotel rooms/apartments.
Quality of food, ideally a mixture of local cuisine and more familiar stuff.
Decent pool areas and water slides.

Wheelchair accessibility but family friendly too, eg. no care home vibes!

Private showers and changing rooms

No shared facilities eg toilets and showers. A space to sit. Places to eat with good food and places to go to close by for day trips but also things to do (playground, pool) very close by

Our family holiday non-negotiables are a pool, somewhere safe and walkable, and enough things to do that a 12-year-old doesn’t get bored after two days! We love being able to stroll to restaurants, beaches or local attractions rather than spending the whole holiday in taxis.

A comfortable flight time is a big plus, but what really makes a holiday special for us is a mix of relaxation and adventure. One day might be by the pool with a book, the next exploring a castle, trying local food or finding a hidden beach.

Has to be within walking distance of a small town - I always check maps and then Trip Advisor to see what is said, and I always mention it in my reviews. Only stung once when we couldn’t walk anywhere and had to get in a car to buy bread/visit anything/go for a walk.

Unfortunately with the cost of holidays these days money is a factor, there’s less and less in our price range. We also look at proximity to the beach, nearby shops/restaurants, the ambiance and of course reviews.

A king size bed.

A safe resort in a safe area and a shallow pool where my toddler can paddle

For us it’s location, near the beach even if it has a pool, not too far from the airport for transfers and a range of restaurants if you choose not to eat with the hotel.

A large pool with lots of slides and lifeguards at each end - with sun loungers which cannot be reserved at 6am.

Easy access to shops and restaurants.
A clean apartment or cottage that has the facilities we have at home as a minimum. We’ve just returned from a short break in an apartment described as luxury. It wasn’t.
Plenty to see and do a reasonable drive away.

A pool with activities during the day and evening entertainment for the kids at night. That's it.

I try to go on recommendations from friends and family who have been to a particular hotel or resort - I dislike google and trip advisor reviews. So for me a verified review is high on the list

pool or sea or both

Adults only!
After 35 years of having our kids on holiday with us (which was lovely) , i dont want to have to put up with other people's kids!!

Good pool with plenty of sun beds and no loud music
On the beach - ideally private with loads of sun beds
nice surrounding areas to go for walks
all inclusive
proper beds in family rooms - not sofa beds
air con

Great food and lots of sporting activities for my energetic teenagers.

An all inclusive where the kids can graze all day, and we can all meet up for dinner, not worrying about money and paying for things at the bar or cafe- wristbands all the way.

water slides with a big pool. Good food and entertainment!

In a package holiday, I am looking for:

• separate bedrooms
• a seating area in the room
• an attached or nearby waterpark or theme park
• activities my kids will enjoy
• ideally walking distance to beach
• interesting day trips available
• cocktails on the AI

Quiet, away from busy resorts. Walking distance to beach and restaurants. Enough sunbeds so that there aren’t sunbed wars!

I am quite picky when it comes to going on holiday, as in my brain, I believe I shouldn’t be paying for anything that is less comfortable than being at home.

first I look for a town with a nearby hospital that welcomes tourists, then I look for hotels within walking distance/or private access to a beach. From there I then look at reviews to ensure all food is correctly labeled for allergens and that people have been able to get help from the chefs or cooking staff to avoid certain allergens when necessary. I look for reviews to see whether there’s been recent outbreaks of illnesses and how the management team have responded to these. Then I come to the rooms, I like to be able to upgrade to ensure my children and I have separate sleeping rooms in the same room, and all have real beds rather than anyone having a sofa bed. I then look at what there is to do in the hotel, places that specifically mention teen hangouts are always a winner as lots of hotels cater to younger children and adults, but forget teens. I also check if there are any hidden prices in the all inclusive after ending up in an incredible hotel once, and then finding they charged every day for the bottled water they supplied to our room.

although these are a lot of things to think about, I honestly never have difficulty ticking all the boxes and finding affordable holidays.

WiFi

great pool or waterpark definitely! We dont get the weather here often to enjoy a pool. So we definitely want to make the most of it on holiday, and DC love water slides etc, so its a must for us every holiday