LOOKING at thousands of holiday deals all day, every day, you start to spot patterns and see certain bargain resorts always cropping up.
But let’s get one thing straight: cheap does not automatically mean good value when you factor in some of the other forgotten costs.
When I’m digging through deals at On The Beach, I’m ALWAYS looking at the practical realities.
Like what the hotel actually offers, whether you’ll be stranded miles from the beach pushing a pram up an incline, and how much cash you’ll burn through on snacks and dinners once you arrive.
So I’ve crunched our booking data and matched it with years of deal-hunting experience to bring you eight proper bargains that are actually worth it.
And these aren’t just cheap on paper – they’re places I’d genuinely spend my own hard-earned cash on.
1. Els Llorers Apartments, Lloret de Mar from £190pp
Lloret sometimes gets pigeonholed as a party spot, which means people overlook what makes it a useful budget holiday: beaches, plenty of places to eat and enough going on that you don’t need to pay for an excursion every morning.
You can have a great week’s holiday built around a beach bag, some brilliant spots to eat and a wander – that’s a fairly strong itinerary in my book!
I’d look at Els Llorers Apartments, where having your own kitchen gives you control over the spending: breakfast in, lunch out and cold drinks in the fridge.
There are pools, children’s play areas and it’s set in a quieter area around a kilometre from the beach, which gives you some breathing space from the busiest part of the resort.
The booking data backs up the budget credentials: three-quarters of the packages analysed were below £300pp – that’s the sort of consistency that gets a hotel straight onto my radar.
The deal I found is seven nights self catering from £190pp, including flights from London Luton on April 13, 2027. A week away for under £200pp is never something to be sniffed at.
2. Colina da Lapa, Carvoeiro, Portugal from £145pp
Carvoeiro is the side of the Algarve I’d suggest to someone who wants a relaxing week, with a gorgeous beach tucked between cliffs and some of the best food the region has to offer.
And my hotel pick, Colina da Lapa, suits that approach to a tee, which is an apartment and villa complex near Carvoeiro, with gardens, outdoor pools, tennis courts and self-catering accommodation.
I’d choose it for space and a decent little base, while allowing some budget for getting around.
What caught my eye with this one originally was the breadth of affordable departures, with deals from a whopping 23 UK airports.
And a bargain becomes considerably more useful when you don’t have to rely on a major airport for flights.
January and February produced the cheapest prices here, so I’d consider those months for exploring and eating out, with a good chance of some welcome winter sunshine.
The deal I found is seven nights’ Self Catering from £145pp, including return flights from London Stansted on February 2, 2027.
That’s about £21 per person per night for the flights and accommodation combined, and for someone who wants an inexpensive change of scenery, that definitely deserves a look.
3. Tildi Hotel & Spa, Agadir from £245pp
If you want a proper winter escape with a relaxed pace and some winter warmth, Agadir is somewhere I always recommend as Morocco‘s beach capital.
You can explore, because Agadir is also packed with culture, but you can also have a day where your main achievement is getting up in time for lunch.
My hotel pick here is Tildi Hotel & Spa, a four-star option close to the beach.
And the location is why I love this one, because being able to get out on foot makes a holiday easier and helps avoid the drip-feed of transport costs.
I’d look particularly closely at the B&B packages – breakfast included gives you one meal sorted, while leaving you free to try different places later on.
In the booking data, Tildi’s packages were 30 per cent below the average Agadir B&B deal throughout 2026 – that’s a useful saving to know about.
The deal I found includes seven nights on bed & breakfast from £245pp, with flights from London Stansted on November 20, 2026.
Breakfast sorted, beach nearby and a week out of the usual routine before December takes over. Bosh.
4. Phenicia Hotel, Hammamet from £275pp
Hammamet is one I’d consider when the goal is to stay somewhere nice, eat well and come home feeling like you’ve had a proper break.
There’s a beachy coastline and an old town to explore, but don’t feel like you can’t keep the pace pleasantly low with a little wander, a little shopping, a long sit-down (no medals available for doing too much, right?).
Phenicia Hotel makes sense – it sits between gardens and the beach, with direct beach access right out the hotel.
That gives you somewhere lovely to spend your days without constantly paying to go elsewhere.
This is also where the guest feedback deserves a mention: 4.6/5 on Tripadvisor from more than 10,000 reviews – a very reassuring detail when the price looks particularly tempting!
And here, I’d prioritise Half Board.
Having breakfast and dinner included makes the week’s spending easier to judge, especially if you’re going mainly to relax.
The deal I found is seven nights’ Half Board from £275pp, including return flights from Liverpool on March 4, 2027 – that’s flights, a week in a beachfront hotel and two meals a day for under £300pp.
5. Sunlight Garden, Side from £350pp
Side is a good choice for someone who likes a beach holiday but also likes a splash of culture on their jollies with ancient ruins as well as an old town and a massive list of places to eat.
And all of this gives the week a bit of variety without requiring you to organise expensive excursions.
My hotel pick here is Sunlight Garden, particularly if you’d rather get the main holiday spending sorted before you arrive.
There are two main outdoor pools, a separate slide pool and children’s pools, all in a gorgeous setting.
The beach is around 500 metres away, with a shuttle service available too if you don’t fancy the walk.
But the value argument here is definitely picking the all inclusive board option, taking all the stress out of having to find a spot for meals.
The deal I found is seven nights on all inclusive, with flights from London Gatwick on May 5, 2027 from just £350pp.
That works out at £50 per person, per night for a week where your meals and drinks are covered.
6. Gorkem Hotel, Ovacik from £330pp
Ovacik is criminally overlooked in Turkey – you’re inland rather than directly on the beach, so this is a different proposition from booking a seafront resort.
But I’d choose it as a base for exploring the surrounding area, mixing pool days with trips towards Oludeniz and evenings out.
Gorkem Hotel fits that simpler style of holiday.
The pool and mountain setting are a big part of the appeal for me, but I’d be booking it for a relaxed, good value base rather than a long list of luxury extras.
The bed & breakfast basis makes sense here, because you’ve got the first meal of the day covered, then the flexibility to go out for lunch and dinner rather than feeling you should stay at the hotel to get your money’s worth.
Its 4.6/5 Tripadvisor rating is also worth talking about – it’s not easy to get a score like that at a budget hotel.
The deal I found is seven nights’ Bed & Breakfast from £330pp, including flights from Birmingham on July 1, 2027.
I’d keep some spending money for exploring and eating out, because that freedom is a large part of why I’d choose it.
7. Pebbles Resort, St Paul’s Bay from £185pp
Malta is somewhere I’d happily consider outside the main beach season if you wanted to keep the cost way down.
There’s more than enough to build a week around exploring, eating and getting out along the waterfront, and you can use St Paul’s Bay as your base to mix slower local days with trips further afield.
My pick here would be Pebbles Resort hotel, particularly for a winter deal.
It has an indoor pool open throughout the year, alongside an outdoor pool, plus a fitness centre and a hot tub – useful facilities when you’re travelling at a time of year that might involve the occasional change of plan.
But the timing is what makes this recommendation really work – January packages were around £178pp in the analysis, considerably below the hotel’s overall median.
That’s why I look at when a hotel becomes good value, rather than deciding it’s permanently cheap or expensive.
The same place can make much more sense on different dates. The deal I found is seven nights with bed & breakfast from £185pp, and includes flights from Liverpool on January 22, 2027.
A week in Malta with breakfast thrown in for under £200pp? I’d happily start planning a few days out around that.
8. Surfing Colors, Corralejo from £265pp
Corralejo is one I’d put forward for someone who wants beaches, places to eat and enough life around them to enjoy going out in the evening.
It also gives you access to Fuerteventura’s famous scenery and the option to try something more energetic than just turning your sunlounger towards the sun.
Surfing Colors hotel definitely fits that sort of holiday.
It offers a heated swimming pool, free yoga classes and access to surf and kite lessons. Yeah, really!
You don’t have to become a surfer, but it’s a useful choice if you fancy a relaxed hotel with a few things to get involved in between pool sessions.
The deal I found comes in at £265pp for seven nights on a room only basis, including return flights from London Stansted on December 5, 2026.
And, personally, I’d much rather spend that week deciding where to have lunch than standing in a Christmas shopping queue wearing a damp coat.