Saturday
Jun072008
What is a family hotel?
Saturday, June 7, 2008
We are a family that likes to travel. Travelling with one infant was always easy. He slept with us and even a double bed would do for the three of us in a pinch, so pretty much any standard hotel room would do. Now with two kids, finding an appropriate hotel is a bigger challenge. I've found that the tourism industry's definition of a family hotel is not the same as mine.
To the tourist industry it seems that a family hotel means:
My idea of a family hotel is somewhat different. I don't want to leave my kids somewhere for the day or even in the evening. I don't want a crib and may not need a cot. I want my kids to eat something other than junk food.
So what am I looking for in a family hotel?
I guess I'm asking for the moon, because this type of hotel is hard to find. When I do find some of the things I'm looking for, the others are missing, or it is not at a location I am interested in. Or it is way too expensive. I recognize that a suite should be more expensive than a regular hotel room, but when I do find a hotel offering those facilities, it usually isn't in an all inclusive package, so the whole thing would end up costing about 4 times as much. Sometimes I know a hotel offers different options for families, but they won't let you book them online, so you end up not being able to take advantage of online pricing and get gauged when you call to book.
Anyone want to open an attached parent chain of resorts? If you do.....let me know. We'll book with you!
To the tourist industry it seems that a family hotel means:
- There is a "baby club" and "kids club" where you can deposit your little ones for the day while you and your significant other go off to do adult things.
- There are babysitters available in the evenings so that you can have date nights.
- They provide cribs or cots in the room as needed.
- There are plenty of french fries, soft drinks, and ice cream available.
My idea of a family hotel is somewhat different. I don't want to leave my kids somewhere for the day or even in the evening. I don't want a crib and may not need a cot. I want my kids to eat something other than junk food.
So what am I looking for in a family hotel?
- Suites that have a bedroom that is separate from the living area so that my husband and I can put the kids to bed and still have somewhere to sit and relax after the kids are sleeping without having to whisper and sit with all of the lights off.
- Ideally a king-sized bed plus a cot that can be pushed up against the king or two double or two queen sized beds. Perhaps an option to have a bedrail put up on one or more sides of the bed(s).
- Interesting activities and facilities for the children. Things like a kids pool with waterslides. A nice playground. A great beach with some family type of boats. Activities that we can participate in as a family, instead of dropping off the kids and leaving.
- Nutritious, but still child-friendly options on the menu or at the buffet.
- Enough high chairs in the restaurants because I don't have a stroller with me to use instead of a high chair.
I guess I'm asking for the moon, because this type of hotel is hard to find. When I do find some of the things I'm looking for, the others are missing, or it is not at a location I am interested in. Or it is way too expensive. I recognize that a suite should be more expensive than a regular hotel room, but when I do find a hotel offering those facilities, it usually isn't in an all inclusive package, so the whole thing would end up costing about 4 times as much. Sometimes I know a hotel offers different options for families, but they won't let you book them online, so you end up not being able to take advantage of online pricing and get gauged when you call to book.
Anyone want to open an attached parent chain of resorts? If you do.....let me know. We'll book with you!
Reader Comments (5)
Seeking advice!
We will travel this summer and need help with our new little roller. I will be sleeping with her alone in a hotel bed. Any suggestions? How can I do this without a partner? Any product that travels well? Thanks! Janet and 5-month-old Izabella
Hi Janet,
Thanks for stopping by! There are a few products that I am aware of, but haven't used personally (so I can't necessarily recommend them and would suggest that you do your own research on whether they are appropriate or not). They are:
1) Safety 1st portable bedrail: http://www.epinions.com/reviews/Safety_1st_Portable_Bed_Rail
2) Bed Bug Bumper Travel Set: http://www.gobedbug.com/GOPAGES/travelsets.htm (view other pages on the site to see what the actual bumpers look like).
3) Tres Tria Pregnancy Pillow and Co-Sleeping Bolster: http://www.tinybirdsorganics.com/organiccotton/organic-cosleeping-body-pillow.html
Hope that helps!
Thanks! I ordered the Bed Bug Bumper Travel Set. I will have the chance to test it out on my trip to the Dominican Republic at the end of this month.
We travel a fair bit, and we've become professional "family-bed-makers", it's funny as soon as we arrive in a hotel room, our toddler runs off to play with the phone and we do some contortionistic mathematical calculations to work out the bed!
Littlepixie is prone to rolling off beds at night, especially as she will happily climb over us as we sleep, so we put the mattresses on the ground. Fun and games :) Sign us up for your attachment parenting hotel chain, can it have lots of good non-alcoholic beer in the bar for us nursing mums?
How about some virgin Margaritas as well? :)