I took the whole family to the ultimate Croatian holiday home with private heated pool and nearby Old Town

HOT, but not too hot. Relaxing, but not boring

A pool with heating and steps — and not just any old steps, they must be Roman steps.

Local food, but also margherita pizzas on tap. Culture, but not challenging.

Not too far from the sea, airport or supermarket. Not too expensive. Not many stairs . . . 

Trying to plan a three-generation family trip, I realised I wasn’t looking for a holiday home, but a unicorn.

The hunt took our family of five — our sons are a “lively” 11, nine and three — my 70-something parents and my godmother to a villa outside Cavtat in Croatia, a 15-minute drive from Dubrovnik airport (tick).

Cavtat (pronounced Savtat, I learned after a confusing conversation with a waitress) looked lovely, but could it possibly tick all our boxes?

There were blue skies, and our gorgeous white stone villa had a heated pool, those Roman steps and enough bedrooms for the boys not to kill each other.

Add in a higgledy-piggledy garden with wild flowers and a lemon tree at the bottom of our drive — perfect for the G&Ts — and we were good to go.

After a first day splashing in the pool, we managed a pootle down to Cavtat’s main village, a ten-minute drive away.

To the whole family’s delight, you could park cheaply right on the marina, one of many practicalities we came to appreciate during this trip.

The old town lies on a pretty horseshoe bay in the middle of two small pine- forested peninsulas.

With white stone Dalmatian buildings and narrow alleyways, it looks like a mini Dubrovnik but is thankfully smaller, cheaper and significantly less crowded.

This isn’t a coincidence. Cavtat is often called “Old Dubrovnik” as it was once a prosperous Greek and Roman port which was sacked in the 7th century, sending survivors legging it to what later became Dubrovnik.

Whatever its provenance, with a smooth promenade (tick), a cluster of great-value restaurants where you could get pizza and a beer for 8 euros (tick) and a picturesque 15th century church, it was the perfect place to potter around.

The church also houses masterpieces by one of Croatia’s most famous artists, Vlaho Bukovac, who was born in Cavtat.

Bukovac’s house is just off the marina, and one day we dragged the kids inside — admittedly, largely to escape the sun.

It was a blissfully shady change of pace and with just a few rooms didn’t prompt too much whining. Easy culture? Tick.

We quickly settled into a routine: Activities in the morning, followed by naps (for both toddlers and adults) and then lazy afternoons at the villa.

By day three, we girded our loins and got up early to visit Dubrovnik and take the two-kilometre walk around the legendary city walls.

On one side of the walls, which are six metres thick in places, is the vast azure sea, while on the other you peer down into a maze of terracotta roofs, with tennis courts and allotments nestling next to incredible 15th century architecture.

It’s fair to say my three-year-old was unimpressed (despite getting the best view of all of us, riding on my poor husband’s sunburnt shoulders) but he perked up when we dived inside some of the many cool “hole in the wall” bars for a cola. Be warned, they are pricey.

If you prefer to re-energise with ice cream, Dolce Vita serves the best scoops in town. Try the dark chocolate, pistachio and hazelnut “Domino”.

While Dubrovnik deserves its reputation as a must-see, we were all happy to get back to the chilled atmosphere of Cavtat.

Its only downside as a family holiday destination? The stony beaches. But that was nothing some 5-euro watershoes couldn’t fix. When the pebbles get too much, take a boat trip to Sunj bay, allegedly the best sandy beach in Croatia.

Buckets and spades in hand, we hopped on to a speedboat stocked with beers and cans of Fanta, zooming past Dubrovnik and the most expensive villa in town, which David Beckham and Beyonce have stayed in (not together, or this would be on the front page of the paper).

When we arrived at Sunj bay, we found boats can only stop just off the shore, so the boys jumped in and waded through chest-height sea to the beach.

My poor old dad was a bit less enthusiastic. After a brief stint on the sands, we headed to the Blue Cave on nearby Kolocep Island which, as you approach, looks less like a cave and more like a crack at the base of a jagged cliff face.

Pretending to be far braver than I felt, I jumped off the boat and swam towards a gap just a few feet high, shouting for the kids to follow.

Once inside, it was well worth the claustrophobic entrance. A massive chamber opens up with a high ceiling and striking bright blue water — because the cave is lit from underneath, it filters out the red light, leaving only the blue.

Towards the end of the week, we ditched the kids and escaped on our own — just the parents. That’s the best thing about a three-generation holiday: The built-in babysitters.

A white-tableclothed dinner on the waterfront, watching the sun set, was followed by a gorgeous run to sweat out our hangovers the next morning.

The Cavtat walking trail is excellent for those into fitness, wrapping around the peninsula and deliciously shaded by the Aleppo pines.

So, how did Cavtat stack up for a three-generation holiday? My son’s verdict: 9.5/10. Apparently it lost half a point for the bracing sea water.

To be fair, a warm sea wasn’t on my checklist.