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Something is shifting in the way families are travelling.

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The annual holiday for four is becoming a holiday for eight. Or ten. Sometimes fourteen.

Grandparents are coming. Siblings are coming. Best friends are coming. The cousins are taking over the pool.

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And honestly? We love it.

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Because after years of trying to squeeze proper family time somewhere between work, school, clubs, Sunday football and the occasional chaotic roast dinner, families are realising that perhaps the greatest luxury of all is simply having everyone you love in one place.

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Preferably somewhere sunny.

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Welcome to the villa era

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We’re seeing more families looking beyond the traditional hotel and asking us about something completely private.

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A beautiful villa. A big pool. Enough bedrooms that nobody has to share with Grandma. A kitchen that will almost certainly be used mainly for opening wine.

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And absolutely no need to reserve six sunbeds before breakfast.

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There’s something wonderfully easy about it.

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The children can cannonball into the pool without you silently apologising to the couple trying to read beside it. The baby can nap upstairs. Grandpa can disappear into the shade. Someone can put lunch together at 3pm because nobody was hungry at 12.

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There are no breakfast closing times.

No dress codes.

No “shall we meet in reception at seven?”

You just… live.

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But this isn't necessarily self-catering

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This is where villas have changed.

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Because choosing a villa no longer has to mean arriving at the supermarket on day one with two trolleys and spending the week arguing about whose turn it is to cook.

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The new villa holiday can come with all the good bits of a hotel, just without everyone else.

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A private chef for a few nights. Breakfast prepared in the morning. A fridge stocked before you arrive. Housekeeping. Poolside massages. A boat waiting at the harbour. Someone else sorting dinner while you open another bottle of rosé.

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Private space, hotel-level touches.

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Now we're talking...

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And then there are the memories

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There’s something different about holidaying together under one roof.

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Slow mornings around a huge table. Grandparents actually getting uninterrupted time with the grandchildren. Cousins making up games in the pool that nobody understands. Long dinners outside that carry on far later than planned.

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Someone inevitably gets far too competitive over cards.

Someone falls asleep on the sofa.

Someone says, “We need to do this every year.”

And suddenly, you realise this is the stuff everyone will actually remember.

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Bigger isn't always more expensive

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This is perhaps the part people overlook.

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That incredible villa you've been scrolling past because it looks wildly extravagant?

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Divide it between three families. Suddenly the private pool, six bedrooms and ridiculous Mediterranean view start to look a lot more interesting. Particularly when you're comparing it with booking multiple rooms or suites at a luxury hotel during the school holidays.

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So perhaps 2027 is the year to widen the group chat.

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Bring the grandparents. Invite your siblings. Get the friends involved.

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Find somewhere beautiful, shut the gates behind you and have the place entirely to yourselves.

Because sometimes the best family holiday isn't about getting away from it all.

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It's about getting everyone together.

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Family Luxe Travel Co.

Because the villa will be beautiful, but it’s having everyone together that you’ll remember. The kids won’t be little forever, so stop saying ‘one year we should’ make 2027 the year you do.