OP here. Thank you for all of the creative suggestions (and appreciate everyone being so normal / not snarky… phew). I have some great ideas to research this weekend.

Similar to prior poster, but we live in CA now and enjoy the Famiy Vacation center. There’s a nice mix of family time and child care time and I don’t have to cook all week.

https://www.alumni.ucsb.edu/vacation/family-vacation-center

It's not at all luxurious, but the best, most relaxing vacations we had with little kids was Deer Valley Family Camp. Might be full for the summer but sometimes they have a spot open up in the first or last week. The kids go off with counselors every day so parents have free time to relax. All food is pre-set menus served family style so what to eat requires zero thought or discussion.

https://www.deervalleyymca.org/

Won’t it be insanely hot in Aruba and Mexico over the summer?

Anonymous wrote:Get an AI where they give you a butler to unpack your bags. That level of "inclusive" will be what you're looking for.

I don't think 5K for the week will allow them to afford a butler.

All inclusive in Costa Rica or Mexico. Barcelo is a good cheap one. Look at last minute vacations through Apple Travel or Southwest Vacations. I think they would fit into your budget since you'll travel in the off season.

Get an AI where they give you a butler to unpack your bags. That level of "inclusive" will be what you're looking for.

A lot of people on these boards hate Mexico and all inclusive resorts, but with kids at your ages, that is exactly what I would do.

We have loved a couple of trips to Villa del Palmar in Cancun. They have one bedroom suites with full kitchens and a washer/dryer with 2 bathrooms. It is a smaller resort, which I find is often better as far as quality for all inclusive resorts go it you aren't willing to pay for the absolute highest end. We loved the food and the kids club was great, don't know how old your preschoolers are. My sister's 4 year old loved it and my 8 year old also had a blast.

We would order room service breakfast every day (included in all inclusive) and have breakfast on our patio every morning and then spend the day between the beach and pool and DH and I would take turns on naps and get solo beach or pool time. We did end up using their babysitting services for a parents night out and we were pleased.

I was also thinking Florida, someplace like Rosemary Beach, or Kiawah, SC (Kiawah is awesome bc they have organized kids’ activities every day, but you could also ignore and chill on beach if you prefer- also sufficient restaurant choices but not so many that there is decision fatigue, and all the villa rentals have kitchens- rent through Kiawah Island Resort bc that is how you get access to pools, tennis and golf). I’d try to do these in June/July as it gets very hot both places in August.

white stallion ranch

If your kids are good flyers, I’d consider Aruba. What about San Diego area?

Anonymous wrote:A cruise is the obvious choice when it comes to an easy vacation.

Sounds like a nightmare w / kids that young. Can’t send them to the kids club, can’t go in pool if not toilet trained. Crawling over the kids in darkness? Yeugh.

You could look at the Omni in Hilton Head….I don’t think it has laundry though.

A cruise is the obvious choice when it comes to an easy vacation.

We had a good time at the Sandpearl Resort in Clearwater Beach on recommendation from DCUM. They have one bedroom and two bedroom suites that come with kitchen and laundry.

We did a long weekend there and combined it with an overnight stay at Legoland, which might be perfect for your kids' age.

Looking for recommendations for a summer vacation (1 week) where I don’t have to think. Pretty flexible on the actual week.

Ideally, I don’t have to clean, I don’t have to cook, I don’t have to make my bed. Wherever we go makes it easy for two parents and two preschoolers. It has been a loooooong year already and I need somewhere peaceful as DH and I gear up for the busy time of our jobs.

Hoping for something with at least 1 bedroom with a door. Probably a pipe dream but would love a little kitchenettte and laundry? Lodging and food budget roughly $5K for the week. We have plenty of points, flying out of Boston although open to driving. Both sets of our parents are down the cape and we would prefer to do our own thing. It feels like we can do “better” than dropping $3,500 on a dump in Narragansett. If we leave the area then we won’t have any family popping in.

We did Sonder last year in Toronto. So much fun but we were on the go. I don’t want to feel like I should be cleaning.

I feel like a resort is the play, maybe Aruba?