Wherever you are in the world, choosing a family-friendly hotel for your vacations can take a lot of research and diligence. If you are travelling with young children, you want to look for a hotel that welcomes loud, noisy children running around the lobby instead of frowning at them. Even if a hotel advises to be “family-friendly”, they may not be so accommodating; you have to do proper research when choosing the right hotel for your family.
When you are traveling with children, they are always the main concern. The hotel that you choose shouldn’t just be ready to accommodate children, they should have provisions to entertain them.
Newborns, toddlers, preschoolers, school-going children or teenagers – when you are traveling with family, the right hotel can make a world of difference in your stay. Here are some of the most important qualities a hotel needs to have when you have children with you.
- Accommodation Per Room
Most hotels vary on the number of residents they allow per room; some of them have age limits. Usually, families of four with young children can easily share any standard hotel rooms without additional costs, but some hotels might not allow more than three people in a room. In such cases, you either have the option of booking two rooms or booking a family suite.
It is the same if you have three or more children, i.e. if you are a family of five or more. If this is the case, the only option for your family is to book a suite, either with separate bedrooms, or separate beds for the younger children in the same room.
Therefore, it is very important that you always research the rooms in the hotels you want to stay, and check the number of people they allow per room. If your children are very young – all below age 10, with a toddler – you can find hotels that will allow all of you to stay in a single room, without having to book a suite at triple the rent.
- Large Rooms
With children, you need to always book larger rooms for yourself. Hotel rooms are not just for sleeping, but becomes an activity center when you are traveling with multiple children. In some hotels, rooms have barely space left after they’ve put in a bed and a desk. While those are fine for business trips and solo trips, family vacations require bigger rooms. Always check for the size of the room you are booking, which should be available on any of the websites you are using.
Even when you can’t afford a suite for your stay, look for hotel rooms that have enough space for your children to run around. Look for couches and chairs separated from the bed, a closet big enough to hold all your luggage, a separate desk for room service orders, and more importantly, the distance from the TV to the bed. Too many family members mean a lot of luggage, a lot of shopping and many personal belongings, and you’ll need a large closet and storage spaces for everything. All this is possible if you book a large room.
- Kid-Friendly Breakfast
For just a small increase in the rate, you can get buffet breakfast for every resident staying in your room. With young children, you’ll need a very good option for breakfast every morning. If it’s a buffet, your kids can choose what they feel like eating by themselves. It saves a lot of hassle on ordering and waiting for your food, especially if you have a busy day planned ahead.
Besides, many family-friendly hotels actually prepare special breakfast and brunch for children, with cakes and cupcakes decorated in their favorite cartoon characters, nuggets and mini pizzas – everything that kids love to eat. If you have fussy eaters in your family, even they’ll love these special breakfast options.
- Location
The hotel you choose to stay in should be in the middle of everything; this includes family-friendly restaurants, game zones, and playgrounds you want to take your kids to, local attractions worth visiting, food courts and shopping malls. You can also save a lot of money if the hotel you are staying at offers free shuttle service to nearby locations.
Choose a hotel that is walking distance from the beach if you plan to go there every day; it’s the same with hospitals if you are traveling for medical purposes. Children hate it when they have to stay cooped up in a taxi for a long time, so it helps if everywhere you want to visit is close to your hotel.
- Playground, Activity Centers and Kid’s Clubs
You don’t usually get outdoor playgrounds in hotels, but some of the family-friendly ones might have indoor playgrounds, game zones, activity centers or Kid’s Clubs for the younger visitors. These activity centers or playgrounds can keep your kids busy for hours, and entertained enough so that they don’t whine or fuss. You can even keep your older children engaged in different activities while the parents enjoy a massage or a quiet cup of coffee by themselves.
These activity centers and Kid’s Clubs are also a great way to keep your children entertained in the evenings you prefer not to go out and need a quiet time resting.
- Swimming Pools
Hotel stays aren’t complete without a dip in the swimming pools, and it helps if there are multiple ones. Some hotels and resorts have a special pool designed for children, which are usually shallow and safe for the young ones. You can even use these swimming pools for children younger than two years old, as they are extremely safe.
If your children love to swim, check out the condition of the hotel pools before you make a booking. Pools should be cleaned and refilled regularly, with an adequate number of lifesavers around. Children would also need to wear swimming costumes to get into these pools, so you need to remember to bring them with you.
- Reasonable In-Dining Facilities
Kids can get hungry at any time, so you need a hotel with a 24-hour room service that has a kid-friendly menu, as well as a hotel restaurant that you can access anytime. While all hotels have these, they are also extremely expensive. With a large family and multiple children, you need te prices to be reasonable and affordable. When choosing a hotel, you can actually check out the menus and the prices from the hotel’s website, or you can message them for a menu. If you know what a meal is going to cost you via room service, you can be prepared better.
- Kitchenette/Coffee Stations
You can usually get a kitchenette in suites, but a simple coffee station can be extremely helpful. Most hotels provide an electric kettle and a selection of tea/coffee, which you can make cereal for your baby, instant noodles for yourself, instant soup, a hot drink and of course, coffee and tea. Sometimes, hotel rooms also come with a small microwave oven, which is quite helpful if you want to heat up outside food or cook microwavable food.
Some other small yet pleasant gestures by some of these family-friendly hotels can make your children very happy, indeed, such as welcome gifts for the children, a small toy when you check out, board games in the room, cartoon channels or DVDs for the TV, kid-sized robes, complimentary milk, juice and cookies, and other such thoughtful gestures. All these attentive details are sure to bring a big smile to your children’s faces and make their stay a great one.
When traveling with your family, it is always a good idea to put a lot of time into your research and find the right hotel for you and your children. This could make a world of difference to your holiday and make wonderful memories for the future.
