How a multi-generational stay goes wrong

When a family trip across three generations does not go to plan, it is rarely the destination. The island is beautiful, the weather is perfect and the villa looks exactly like the photographs. What goes wrong is usually something much smaller, and almost always something that could have been seen before the booking was made.

These are the details we look at most closely when a family is travelling together.

The bedrooms are not equal

Ten bedrooms on a listing does not mean ten bedrooms of the same standard. When one couple has a sea-view suite and another is in a smaller room across the garden, it is noticed, and it can quietly set the tone for the week. For multi-generational stays, we look for bedrooms of a similar standard, each with its own bathroom, so no one feels they have the lesser room.

The layout does not suit the family

Grandparents who rise early, toddlers who nap in the afternoon and adults who stay up late around the table all need to sleep without disturbing one another. A layout with separate wings, guest houses or bedrooms on different levels makes this easy. A house where every bedroom opens onto the main living room makes it difficult.

The house is not easy for everyone

A villa on a hillside can have beautiful views and a great many stairs. For older guests, a ground-floor suite, an elevator or an easy path to the pool and the beach can make the difference between enjoying the house and staying in one room. For young children, the depth of the pool, a pool fence and the distance to the water matter just as much.

The service is stretched too thin

One chef cooking three meals a day for sixteen guests, with children eating at different times and several dietary requirements, is a great deal to ask. The same is true of a housekeeping team that works a few hours each morning in a house full of people. We look at the size of the team in relation to the size of the group, and at what the staff can realistically provide.

There is nowhere to gather, and nowhere to retreat

A multi-generational trip needs both. A long table where everyone can eat together, a living space large enough for the whole family, and then quieter corners: a library, a shaded terrace, a second pool or a garden where someone can read for an afternoon in peace.

Every day begins in the car

When every activity is a long drive away, the trip becomes a series of transfers. The best properties for families have something for every generation close at hand: a beach, a pool, a village to walk into, a resort's facilities or a boat at the dock. The family can spend the day in different ways and come back together without anyone spending hours on the road.

The details are left too late

The best villas for large families are secured early, often a year in advance for the busiest weeks of the year. Leaving the search too late usually means compromising on the very things that make the trip work: the layout, the bedrooms and the staff.

A successful multi-generational stay is one where everyone wakes up together, spends the day as they wish and comes back to the same place each evening. Getting there is a matter of asking the right questions before the booking is made.

If you are planning a stay for the whole family, enquire and we will present a selection of properties suited to every generation.

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