We’ve noticed something changing in our enquiries lately.

More and more family holidays aren’t just Mum, Dad and the kids anymore.

Grandma and Grandad are coming too.

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And the more we plan these trips, the more we think there’s something really special about them.

Because childhood summers go frighteningly quickly. The little ones who once needed help putting their armbands on suddenly don’t. The child ordering an ice cream with Grandad will, somehow, be a teenager before you know it.

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Taking the grandparents isn’t just about having another pair of hands, although having someone happily take the children for an ice cream while you disappear for a long lunch together certainly doesn’t hurt.

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It’s about giving them time.

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Proper time.

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Lazy breakfasts around the table. Grandma teaching them a card game. Grandad being dragged into the pool. BBQs that turn into late nights. The children padding downstairs in their pyjamas in the morning to find their grandparents already there.

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Those tiny, ordinary holiday moments that probably won’t feel particularly significant at the time.

Until one day, they are.

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This is where villas really come into their own

For three generations travelling together, we absolutely love a villa.

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There’s room to spread out when everyone needs their own space, but somewhere for the whole family to come back together.

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The pool is yours. The fridge is full. Nobody needs to rush to breakfast. Someone lights the BBQ, the children are still swimming at 8pm and another bottle gets opened because nobody has anywhere else to be.

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And those evenings can become some of the best memories of the entire trip.

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For one of our families, we arranged a private cocktail-making night at their villa,

cocktails for the adults, mocktails for the children, everyone getting involved. It wasn't a grand excursion or a bucket-list attraction. It was simply one family, all together, laughing around a table.

And perhaps that's exactly why it was so special.

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And Mum and Dad? You get a holiday too.

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There’s another little benefit we shouldn't overlook.

You might actually get some time together.

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A dinner for two knowing the children are having the best night with Grandma and Grandad. A couple of hours beside the pool. A morning coffee that you drink while it's still hot.

Not because you're trying to escape the family holiday but because for once, you have the space to enjoy every side of it.

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The children get more time with their grandparents.

The grandparents get to experience their grandchildren at an age that won't come around again.

You get to watch your parents make memories with your children.

And everyone comes home with stories that belong to all of you.

We spend so much time thinking about where we're going to take our children.

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Maybe every now and then, we should think about who we want standing beside them in the photographs.

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Take the grandparents.

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One day, you might be very glad you did.