Which Costs Less for a Family Vacation?

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One might be tempted to answer, “Of course having your own private luxury villa with multiple bedrooms, your own private pool, large dining and living room areas, and a full kitchen is more expensive than staying at a luxury hotel.” But if you spend some time comparing the costs, you may realize that staying at a villa may actually be less expensive if you are vacationing as a family with children.  

Below are some vacation scenarios to compare both options. Villa and hotel prices vary. We will compare one of our luxury, moderately priced villas in Marbella, Spain, to a luxury hotel in the same city. The villa is called the Marbella Villa Vista. It is a newly refurbished luxury villa with four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, a heated private outdoor pool, a full kitchen, an ocean view, and much more. It can comfortably sleep eight. The parents stay in the master bedroom while the children sleep in the three other bedrooms. 

The cost is $1420/night for a seven-day stay during August. We offer lower-priced villas but will use this one in our comparison. This villa will be compared to the luxury hotel called El Fuente, also located in Marbella. The room can sleep three people - one king bed for the parents and one single bed for a child. For argument's sake, we will assume the room can sleep two children with the addition of a cot. The cost of this room is about $717/night. There are less and more expensive hotel rooms, but this is a good comparison when comparing levels of 

Luxury. You will note that the same basic comparison logic plays out even if the hotel room costs less - say $500/night. Below are some vacation scenarios: 

1. A couple on vacation - no kids with them.  In this scenario, staying at a hotel will be less expensive. $717/night vs. $1420/night. 

2. Two parents with one child. Only one room will have to be rented, so the hotel is less expensive than the villa. But no privacy for the parents. 

3. Two parents with two children. One bed for the parents and the kids share the other bed, or maybe a cot is added for the second child. Less expensive than the villa, but privacy for the parents is even more limited. 

4. Two parents with three children. At this point, it becomes more difficult to have just one bedroom for the five of you. You can try putting two children in one bed and asking for an extra cot for the third child, but things start getting difficult space, patience, and privacy-wise. So if you decide to rent two hotel rooms - one for the parents and one for the three other children, the price then goes up to $1434/night - about the same price per night as having your own private villa with four bedrooms. But if you opt for the villa, not only will parents have their own private bedroom, but so will each child as well. What a treat!   

5. Two parents with four children. It’s obvious that you will need at least two bedrooms in a hotel - one for the parents (if you want privacy) and one for the four kids. They will have to share beds, of course. But think about it…four kids in one hotel room? It seems like the recipe for disaster and arguments. “Mom Rachel is teasing me!...”.  And if you put one or two kids with the parents, say bye bye to privacy. 

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But in the villa parents will have their own private bedroom, while the four kids can comfortably stay in three different bedrooms. So only one child shares a room…each one has his own space, and things are nice and peaceful. All those benefits for the same cost as renting two hotel rooms. 

Even if you rented two luxury hotel rooms at $400 night where the total cost is $800/night, we still see that the cost/bedroom of the villa is less at $350/night. In addition, the value received per dollar spent heavily favors the villa with all its extra benefits described below: 

• Private pool. No tsinuit/modesty issues like at a hotel pool. What a relief, everyone can have fun. 

• Full kosherized kitchen. You can eat when you want. You can even opt for your own kosher chef to prepare your meals. 

• Privacy - your own private villa and master bedroom so you can enjoy family time without so many people around. 

• Plenty of space for you and the kids. The kids will have a place to play board games and just have fun. Parents can relax, enjoying the ocean view from their private pool area. 

• No neighbors. Kids can play and make noise, and you don’t have to worry about disturbing other people in the next room. 

• The washing machine comes in handy. 

• Pool hours - there aren’t any!   

In summary - for a family vacation - the luxury villa offers more value for the dollar and is often even more economical compared to a luxury hotel. 

World Reserve offers luxury private kosher villas with chefs at the dream destination of your choice, taking care of logistics, kashrut, chef, and other details to make your dream a reality. Visit www.bookworldreserve.com 

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