Well, my Nan who is 81 swears by the Hotel Angela in Fuengirola on the Costa Del Sol. Its a short flight, on the flat right on the beach and geared up to older folk with dancing etc. Very few children there, lots of bars & restaurants around & only 20 minuted from the airport.

Also its a half board hotel and the food is excellent by all accounts!

Have a look at some reviews and see if you think it would suit??

Thanks for that. I know they prefer SC but I'll take a look.

Hi Helen, when we were in Fuengirola we stayed at the Hotel Yaramar, excellent, but as your Nan prefers S/C there were some apartments just up the road (still on the flat) that everyone was saying were very good. I can't for the life of me remember what they are called, hoping someone else does?
It will probably come to me......
By the way, the Yaramar is adults only. Linda x

Will the Costa's still be warm in January then? They used to over winter in Majorca, as they both suffer from arthritis, but the weather can no longer be guaranteed there in January, and things start to shut down after New Year.

For January it has to be the Canaries. You won't get too many rowdy types anywhere at that time of the year. Maspalomas/Meloneras in Gran Canaria is a flattish area with some top-class hotels, especially in Meloneras.
Playa Blanca in Lanzarote is nice, also the Matagorda/Playa de los Pocillos area (right near the airport, so has to be flat).

Personally, I would recommend that lovely flat area of Tenerife just between Playa de las Americas & Los Cristianos - for this area they would need to be looking at the Vulcano/Bitacora/Mare Nostrum/Med Palace hotels or if they want self-catering they should look at the Parque Santiago complexes. Click HERE for a map of that area showing the hotels. There are plenty of good bars and places to eat in this area, and most of the New Year revellers will be on their way home and back to work by the 3rd/4th Jan.

My Mum, when she was in her late 60's/early 70's, (and in better health) used to go to Los Cristianos with her friend in winter - she loved it!
And she always came back with a decent tan too!

helen, reckon too that your ma and pa would love tenerife, massive flat walk between las americas and los christianos, they'll have a ball ! bet they're really young at heart too !

Of all the Canary Islands I like Corralejo in Fuerteventura the best.Its nice and flat and has a lot of nice SC complexes near to the town.There are also some lovely restaurants here.

Thanks for all the recommendations folks. I'll be checking them all out. At the moment I can't believe how expensive the holidays are for the beginning of January.

My Mum and stepdad used to like Los Cristianos in Tenerife too

But because it's peak time for the Canaries, prices will be high then...the New Year revellers won't have come home by Jan 3rd.
Is it worth looking at prices for a week or two later, even if your Mum misses being away on her birthday?

I've managed to find some good prices for them for Tenerife and even better ones for Lanzarote. Can't find 10 days Lanzarote but 14 days is coming in around their budget Just have to check reviews on the accom quoted now. By the way I'm Helen T's sis and we've both been roped in to find this hol