Babyfriendlyboltholes.co.uk

Blurb The most wide-ranging of the three sites, with more than 120 properties worldwide, both catered and self catering. Style is paramount; only pads suitable for boutique junkies with families make the grade. Some though come with a surprisingly reasonable price tag. If mother-and-baby team Sian and Erin haven't checked the properties themselves, they are in the process of sending someone to do it for them. Booking is direct with the property owner.

Example Caserio del Mirador, Valencia, Spain

Sit gazing down the scenic Jalon valley with its olive trees from the view point at the end of the garden and you'll realise what a magical place this is. As goats' bells clang in the distance, it's the perfect spot for a romantic sundowner while the little ones play at your feet in a sandpit.

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The five apartments in this large villa midway between Valencia and Alicante airports offer the perfect adult/child combination. Simple but chic - tiled floors, white sofa and dark wooden furniture - they all come with their own box of toys and books. There is an outdoor pool, though it's neither fenced nor alarmed (the only drawback I could find here) and a trampoline and other outdoor play items tucked into strategic corners around the grounds.

Though you can self cater, you would be crazy not to join the communal table for one of owner Sarah Robinson's excellent meals. An early children's supper, with enough choice for even the pickiest eaters, rolls into a delicious adult's meal using local produce - squid, morcilla, the local blood sausage, lentils, and steak.

The Sunday paella lunch is a much-awaited event, and you can walk it off by heading up the hill to the donkey sanctuary, past wild flowers galore, then back via the tadpole pond. Although the beach is about 35 minutes away and Benidorm with its theme parks about 40 minutes, you'll want to spend plenty of time just drinking in the atmosphere at the Caserio. Starting with that wonderful view, which you can appreciate over a breakfast of home-baked rolls and croissants on your own terrace.

One-bedroom properties from £600-£700 a week, apartment sleeping five £850-£1,050 a week. Dinners with wine ¤15-25, children's meals ¤7.50, breakfast ¤4. Beauty treatments can be arranged.

Verdict Excellent chic retreats with a well-defined range of properties we liked best.

Childfriendlycottages.co.uk

Blurb An advertising portal, so properties supply their own reviews and aren't vetted, although they meet certain basic child-friendly criteria. This website has a wide range of self catering accommodation - 335 in the UK. Bookings are direct with the cottage owners.

Example Weir House, Oxfordshire

If you have the dosh, don't bother looking elsewhere. Weir House offers the classiest self catering out there. Oh, to live in this interior designer's showcase, with its underfloor heated Cotswolds flagstones, antiques scattered throughout rooms furnished in the best fabrics, and where bathrooms come in Carrara marble and beds are either half testers or four posters.

It's self catering, but you can order in excellent ready meals if you don't fancy cooking, though it is a joy rustling something up in such a dream of a kitchen, with everything from a juicer to an ice-cream maker and not one but two dishwashers. Even the welcome hamper includes two bottles of champagne and a mountain of tasty bacon and sausages as well as the more standard items.

Travelling with children becomes easy in a house bulging with potential, with equipment as specialised as a digital ear thermometer and top- quality toys, including a rocking horse and doll's house. Even the cupboard under the stairs holds dressing up costumes and a puppet theatre. The house is a great place for a game of sardines, with its five en suite bedrooms, and then there's the bookcases bulging with books and the 50in plasma television...

Outside, there is a barbecue and croquet and cricket sets in the garden. Weir is one of a dozen upmarket places to stay that make up Bruern Cottages, sleeping families of all sizes. They share a well-equipped games room, play cabin, tennis courts and spa with indoor pool, where even the swimming nappies are free. So it's no surprise that it isn't cheap - a three-night weekend for ten costs £2,140-£4,676.

Verdict The website is a good first port of call, but not specialised enough and no guarantee that every property will be as good as Weir.

TotstoTravel.co.uk

Blurb With 40 properties to suit all budgets in France, a handful in Italy and plans to branch into Spain and the UK, this website works like a traditional tour operator. All featured properties are vetted to ensure they meet stringent safety standards, descriptions inform you of annoying church bells that might interrupt sleep, and you receive a useful information pack. You can also get help a useful overview of places to stay from someone in the office.

Example The Farmhouse, Pau

My son's face lit up as we approached this characterful old farmhouse in the tiny village of Gurs, near Pau, and he spied both a toy tractor and toy motorbike in the garage. It was just the start of a wonderful haul; as we explored within this three-bedroomed property, every cupboard we opened held a different stash - beach toys, other outdoor toys, a whole drawer of DVDs, even bath toys and non-slip mat in the bathroom. There was an amazing amount of toddler equipment, including sunshades for the car as well as the standard sterilisers and booster seats.

It was a shame, then, that there weren't more facilities for adults, with a dearth of comfortable chairs in the rather squashed sitting/dining room and no dishwasher in the double- height kitchen. Perhaps it was all part of the rustic charm, which this beautiful old farmhouse with stone walls has in spades. There are touches of luxury, though, such as in the stunning en suite bathroom with twin granite sinks and roll top bath.

The big downside is that there is neither a pool at the property nor a huge amount to do within a 90-minute radius of Gurs, though if you're prepared to drive, you can visit the beach, Lourdes. It costs £725-£1,150 a week.

Verdict A great website for the security conscious, with some good reasonably priced properties.

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