Alternative to Painless Mesh

[Cool Javelin]

I have a large yard that I want to spread home automation and also remote sensor data to/from a central computer. So, I need a mesh setup that must connect to a router and subsequently to a laptop or Android.

I have been attempting to use PainlessMesh, but really haven't got it working yet.

I've heard about ESP-Mesh, also ESP-now, but I think ESP-now cannot connect to a router (please tell me if I am wrong.)

Can someone show me some good examples to these alternatives? Documentation?

Thanks, Mark.