To think hotels are very child unfriendly

Nah you were taking the piss, I would have complained myself if I was next door to your room you at 7 (ISH), you SERIOUSLY underestimated how loud your little darlings were "excitingly screaming" at the crack of dawn.
Letting your kids run riot in a lobby "letting off steam" is poor parenting. Surely one of you could have looked after 2 small kids when the other checked in.
Expecting the pool staff to break the rules for you because you have already been complained about is entitled as feck.
You haven't a leg to stand on.

@5128gap

People are intolerable of any disturbance that's excessive or inappropriate to the environment. So a rowdy group of adults in an otherwise peaceful pub would absolutely be subject to raised eyebrows from those wanting a quiet drink.
However I do think some of the intolerance arises from the gradual erosion of adult only spaces. At one time children and pubs were entirely separate things, so the problem wouldn't have occurred. Obviously parents are fully entitled to take children to pubs now they are permitted to, but given there is a huge choice of places that are both more fun and more geared up for children to enjoy, it does beg the question why they want to.

@ZeroFuchsGiven

Pubs are not made for children I absolutely would would be rolling my eyes at kids making a nuisance of themselves in a pub.

The UK culture has changed and most pubs are welcoming of families now. At one time women weren't welcome in pubs but times change! And I was not talking about children making a nuisance of themselves, of course that's unpleasant and the parents should deal with it, I seen children do very little like laugh out loud once and heads whip round and lots of frowns. I have also had people on other tables constantly watching my children almost as though they are monitoring us. Obviously not all pubs are like this and some people are more easy going, but it happens. I have also watched groups of people (well men usually) talking and laughing really loudly (not necessarily being rowdy just noisy) so that those around them have to raise their voices to be heard and you do occasionally get that one very loud person. We took ours out for meals in pubs and met friends with children there because we like going to nice places to eat and have decent food and our dc seemed to enjoy it, learnt how to behave in public and were well behaved. Several times we were complimented on their good behaviour.

It does have family rooms and it does say it is a family friendly hotel. It does, though, also have 'Adult Only' areas and 'children's areas' in the wider hotel facilities. It is very expensive though and many people could not afford it, let's be honest!

I simply was making the point that staying in a hotel with dc doesn't have to mean switching the lights off & sitting in the dark all evening because dc are asleep.

I really do get where everyone is coming from with not wanting to be disturbed by young kids in hotels, and I would be very paranoid about bringing my 2 year old to a hotel.

However, I will also say that in my personal experience, it’s been other adult guests that have been more of a problem. Noise late at night/early hours, or loud sex through the walls as just a start.

This 'unless the children have SEN' caveat I keep seeing all over MN is also completely ridiculous in most cases.

Even, and especially, if a child has additional educational needs, they need parenting and to be taught what's acceptable behaviour and how to follow routines appropriate to the environments they are in.

They're not a lost cause who should be expect to be disliked. They need extra help.

Jesus Christ, the poster has clarified in the thread that her child is disabled and this was a last minute trip where she needed someone to stay due her father dying. Have some compassion fgs.

YABU to lump all hotels into one, as if every hotel were the same

Obviously YABVVVVVU to let your kids run riot in the lobby.

I suspect if someone in another room complained about noise, you are really kidding yourself about the amount of noise your dc were making

Having adult only swim at times in the hotel is to be expected and very sensible. I can't believe you are complaining that the staff wouldn't let you break that rule, just because you are entitled enough to think the rules don't apply

I do agree that most hotels aren't suitable for dc, and I consider that to be a good thing. I've done my years of "child friendly" things. I now want my time away to not be disturbed by other people's children - especially those poor children whose parents think the world ought to revolve around the children, rather than the parents, actually parenting.

I would never choose to book into hotels with dc that age - it is not really relaxing to make sure small dc aren't disturbing other guests. We always booked somewhere we could self cater. Nowadays there are many more options and it is so much easier to book places that are suitable for small dc.

They defo still cater for families

gleneagles.com/stay/family-rooms/

Bit late when you are already in the hotel though, isn't it?

Even if it is a family friendly hotel that doesn’t mean children are free to run riot and disturb others!

have you been to gleneagles??? Ignoring the fact its £750+ for a room.

Yes, I have repeatedly said the type of family hotels I have linked are not cheap. They are not the Premier Inn but nonetheless they exist...

Yes they are but surely that’s the point? Hotels are for adults unless it’s marketed as a family hotel

But there are also adult only hotels? Surely people can go there if listening to children is so awful.
I wouldn't mind them running around in reception

Self catering or holiday cottage.

1. When we were checking in after a long drive the kids were letting off a bit of steam. I know how that sounds, but they were just running around a bit, not getting in anyone's way or anything. Two people who were sitting on couches reading newspapers got up and left, one sighing heavily and one giving us a dirty look.

Disappointing about the pool but the employee wouldn't be allowed to make exceptions for you.

are you seriously recommending Gleneagles as a family friendly hotel? I don't know what planet you live on, but it's not the same as mine. And yes I've stayed there

Yes, unless it's changed since we stayed there!

The scary thing is is that these snowflakes that are being raised will be the ones looking after us in our old age.

The fact that you tried to still enter the pool during the adult only times and argue with the staff member suggests to me that you’re probably being unreasonable with the other stuff as well. Separate slots for kids are very normal and sensible.

Hotels can be quite hard going with young children- timings just don’t tend to fit that well with other guests and sharing a room can be a bit stressy at the best of times.

I thought the same when I read that. I also wouldn’t have thought that the Blakeney Hotel is particularly family friendly either!

This post wins the entitlement of the year award.

Inconvenience 2 sets of people so your two year wont be disturbed ? Ffs !

You say ‘I know how that sounds’, but I don’t think you do.

Your version of ‘letting off steam’ is clearly other people’s ‘unruly kids making a bloody racket’.

I have kids, but I generally go to hotels to relax, if not for work. It pisses me off when kids dominate and make a complete racket in a calm space. My gym/spa resort is now overrun by unchecked children these days and so I won’t be renewing my membership.

I’m not particularly ‘kids should be seen and not heard’ but in luxury, expensive, adult spaces, I am. There’s lots of wonderful hotels that really cater for families, try one of those.

We’ve had fabulous stays in Spain, Portugal, Italy and southern France, where it is both high end and family friendly.

Perhaps if you policed your children better people would not walk away from them of call reception about them. There is no way someone called reception over one squeal and as for the 'running off steam' business kids are not meant to run around hotel lobbys no matter what the reason. As for early morning adult swimming I think it is perfect and me and dp choose hotels that a pretty much kid unfriendly when we go for a weekend break for this reason. I dont want to go to a pool for a few morning laps and have kids messing about in it. I think you need to look for more child friendly hotels in future.

I’d have thought of you were going to shower and wash your hair you’d do it in the morning after a swim. (Water phobic so it makes no odds to me.)

My child has never woken up early unless ill. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Some people seem to confuse ‘family friendly’ for ‘no parenting required’.