It's your money, your vacation. You can choose your own accomodations if you don't feel comfortable with what they are trying to line up for you. I would prefer an actual website where I could see the place and know it was a legit place to rent.

I think they are trying to tell you that 2 weeks in their tiny cabin with your family is too much. Rent the other house for a week and spend the second week somewhere else.

But do you want a vacation away from them? I think it is strange to spend all of your vacations with them every year. It sounds like they are controlling and you and dh are ok with that because they pay. I couldn't stand vacationing in a cramped environment like that. What do you want?

Anonymous wrote:it sounds awful to say what you are essentially saying - if its free, we'll hang with you guys. if we have to pay we are going somewhere else.

I thought about that too, but what it comes down to is what DH pointed out - if we are paying for a family vacation, we shouldn't feel guilty about picking where we want to go. If my IL's had a certain vacation budget and they had to choose between spending it in a hotel near our house or going somewhere of their choosing - remember, we see them a lot - I wouldn't expect them to come to us.