When travelling as a family, we usually prefer to stay in apartments or cottages. Having a separate space for the little one to sleep in, access to a kitchen, and space to let him roam without worrying about impacting anyone else’s trip, just makes life easier.
But I adore a stay in a luxurious boutique hotel or a design-led B&B, and I was definitely not ready to give this up when The Baby arrived! Hotel trips are definitely not quite as straightforward as pre-Baby stays, but we have now stayed in multiple hotels with him, and have nailed down some top tips to make it more relaxing.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT HOTEL
There are lots of “baby friendly” hotels out there, but a few go above and beyond to also make a stay with a little one enjoyable for the grown ups too!
The Ickworth, Suffolk, UK – 1,800 acres of National Trust parkland and Italianate gardens with 90 minutes of free childcare a day for under-8s, and babysitting service available. Spacious rooms and suits, on site restaurant, spa, indoor pool, outdoor playground, tennis courts, games and cinema rooms.
Fowey Hall, Cornwall, UK – 90 minutes free childcare per day, in an Ofsed-registered creche and baby sitting services available. Indoor and outdoor pools, with a quiet beach close by. Family friendly spa, and gorgeous children’s library. For older children, a milk butler service (yes, really!), daily storytime with milk and cookies and cinema screenings with popcorn, would have made this a dream stay for me when I was little!
Elea Suites and Residences, Crete – apartments-meets-boutique hotel vibe! A focus on slow living, with 1, 2 and 3 bedroom suites with separate living and sleeping spaces and kitchenettes make this an excellent option with a baby. There is a gorgeous communal pool, with breakfast and lunch available at the pool. I think this is a real hidden – and amazingly affordable – gem.
The Unbound, Amsterdam, Netherlands – gorgeous cabins and suites set amongst nature that make it hard to believe you are only 20 minutes from the centre of Amsterdam. Separate living and bedroom spaces, with rooms service and a seasonal on site restaurant. Sauna, spa and hot tubs available!
The Peligoni Club, Zakynthos – even before The Husband and I had even decided we might want children one day, we wanted to stay here! It’s an extremely appealing mixture of self-catering villas, meets 5* hotel services! Creche available from 4 months, with in-villa babysitting services available. The food in the restaurant and cafe is superb. Have a look at my guide to Zakynthos for more ideas on what to do whilst you are on this gem of a Greek island.
Sonnwies, Dolomites, Italy – family only, mountain wellness hotel? Yes, really! The babies club is as chic as you would expect – wooden toys and spacious Scandi vibes. Five pools cater to varying levels of adventurousness, and parental relaxation needs! In winter, the hotel itself has a 900m-long ski run with a lift that’s free for guests to access, and ski lessons can be booked for 2.5-year-olds and up. There is even an on-site farm for the littles to get involved in looking after the animals…
CHOOSE THE RIGHT ROOM
Check with the hotel what room configurations are available. Some may have corners or dividers that allow you to create a bit of a nook for the baby, or at least a bit of separation to try and disturb their – and your! – sleep less.
In destinations where accommodation prices are more affordable or if your budget stretches, book rooms with flexible space. Some will have separate dressing rooms or walk in closets that could be used as a baby bedroom.
CONSIDER THE BATHROOM…
Set up the travel cot in the bathroom to create a separate space! We have used this trick a few times, and provided the set up of the hotel is conducive, it has worked really well to get us all a better night sleep. Clearly you need to go to the loo very quietly in the night… or use communal facilities outside the room!
SLEEP AIDES
We borrowed a Slumberpod from friends to try out, and were really impressed. It is effectively a blackout tent, that sits over the top of the travel cot. I was really skeptical but it was excellent and are definitely considering getting one of our own. Given the price, the slumberpod is only worth it if you travel frequently (or live in a studio apartment like our friends). There are other brands out there offering similar blackout pods at lower prices, but I can’t recommend any from personal experience. If using a sleep pod, remember that it will be hotter inside by as much as 2 or 3 degrees, so dress baby accordingly.
A portable, rechargeable white noise machine has been a bit of a game changer for sleep for us. Giving The Baby a consistent sleep environment has made a huge difference to how he settles where ever we are. This is especially helpful when we are sharing a room in a hotel, as it can help mask the noise of us, and reduce the chances we wake him.
STERILISING BOTTLES AND BABY KIT
If use bottles, or want to sterilise any of your baby’s items, it can be hard to know how to manage this in a hotel without access to your usual sterilising system. I think the two easiest options are microwave sterilisers if the hotel can provide access to a microwave, or sterilising tablets if not.
At home we have an excellent microwave steriliser, but it is too bulky to take with us. Instead, we pack these microwave sterilising bags which have been game-changingly easy! The bags take up barely any space and can be reused 30 times to sterilise breast pumps, bottles and other baby items. There are multiple different brands and prices available. We also find the MAM Self Sterilising bottles to be very useful for travel given the simplicity of ensuring they can be easily sterilised.
Where we won’t have access to a microwave, we use Milton tablets to sterilise essentials. One tablet in 5L of water can be used for 24 hours to sterilise items.
PACK YOUR KINDLE!
If you are going to sit quietly in a darkened room you might as well make the most of the time to devour a great book! The low light of a kindle (or another e-reader) is less likely to disturb a sleeping little one, than a TV or laptop screen.
And if all else fails…
Embrace the early night! If you are anything like me, the extra chance of sleep is going to be more than welcome!
Be sure to check out my other tips and tricks for travelling as a family – as well as my destination and adventure guides for choosing where to head with your little explorer!
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