Suggestions for multi-family vacation in August - Resort or Private Villa?
 

I am planning a multi-family holiday for a week in August 2013 and could use some help. There are 7 families (20+ people total) attending, including 13 adults and 8 children (mostly under 10 years old). Families are traveling from both England and East Coast of U.S. We are all well-travelled, adventurous and looking to spend quality time together. Our budget is generous. I'm debating whether to choose a resort or villa and trying to narrow down a location that has enough interest for both adults & kids. Any suggestions are very welcome! Thank you!

I'm traveling with a group of friends starting next week and we've rented a villa in St. Jeannet on the French Riviera for a week. There are 8 of us, but many of the villas are much larger. We found it through HomeAway. We opted for a villa over a resort so we could get together in common rooms whenever we wished, cook together, etc. With a resort you are thrown in with a lot of other people (of course) and getting noisy or staying up late together might be difficult. Not that we're rowdy (all middle-aged), but we wanted the exclusivity of having our own place, own pool, etc.

There are a lot of advantages to staying in a villa when there are many children in the group, but one downside is the disparity in accommodations. Who gets which room/s? Do you draw names? Does everyone pay the same amount even though some rooms are bigger/nicer? If staying at a resort, each family would select exactly the accommodations they want.

We were part of a large family stay at a villa in Tuscany a few years ago. No kids, all adults. Maybe because these were all relatives, there were some displays of attitude that wouldn't fly in a group of friends. Anyway, we weren't together as a group very often, and at the same time there was only complete privacy if we left the property. We decided we wouldn't do the villa thing again.

You could find an estate with several houses, such as this one http://www.altabella.com/
Or see the agriturismos and ask to rent a specific aisle of the building.
However,I fear that finding a specific solution to your specific demands requires early planning somewhere in January for the coming year.

Villas! Several of them, all very close to each other preferably (walking distance). And the planners get first dibs on the rooms. :)

The Algarve in Portugal, the French Riviera, the Emerald coast of Sardinia all would be suitable. For this type of thing, I prefer the beaches.

Villas; but you must get some staff in, even just to get the cleaning sorted and a few "special meals" otherwise you end up with ruffled feathers.

Chateau Dumas (or Dumb-ass as one friend calls it) does these things near Cahors.
http://www.chateaudumas.net/

I like the idea of 2-3 (or more) separate villas for a group that large: that's a lotta people under one roof!
That would be my preference over a resort where, as MelJ says, it's hard to find common space for everyone to get together. However, as Jean says, expect disparity among the accommodations-- something to talk about before you book a place, as in who gets the "master bedroom", etc.
I just returned from a trip to France with only two friends, and there were "issues" with this in the house we rented.

It sounds like a wonderful trip; happy planning!

Regarding a disparity in accommodations, we charged by the bedroom. For example, in our case, we divided the four bedrooms by the cost of the villa, making each bedroom $1125 each. My husband and I will take one at total cost. Two single gals will split one at 565 each. All the rooms come with something speciL, either an ensuite bath or a balcony a sitting room or even a separate kitchen. Truly, none of us care which room we take since it's to sleep only and all beds are the same. We had one single guy back out because he wanted his own room at 565. No divas allowed!

So if you go for one villa, look at the accommodations carefully and charge accordingly.

Great advice! Thanks for all the help.