To think hotels are very child unfriendly

OP, a lot of people here are incapable of tolerating other people's kids.

If it's any consolation, one of mine is autistic and very hard to 'control,' some of the looks and comments we've had...

YABU

I think hotels are hard work when you have young children unless they are chain hotels in which you would expect a variety of customers- business, leisure, families, etc

I used to be really worried about noise when staying with the kids, and then realised the kids are paying guests too and laughing and playing isn’t offensive noise considering the noise adults make that can be heard through the walls- including loud phone calls, TV etc.

Although I have to admit to asking to move rooms when on a rare weekend away with DH, the room we were given had an interconnecting door and I could hear kids crying/playing/shouting in the next room through this door. I didn’t complain but just asked reception if there was another room as i’d come away for a break from kids! It was a spa hotel though and I was looking forward to sleeping in!

Hmm, OP I feel like the early morning playing noise must have been louder than you are saying. Most people expect a bit of noise from other guests and for it to have been enough for someone to call and complain makes me feel it was probably unreasonable and sustained.

The running round the reception would annoy me a bit but presuming you weren’t there long, I would have waited it out for you to check in rather than leave.

The swimming pool thing, rules are rules, what if after you a load of other people came down with their kids and then couldn’t be turned away as you’d been allowed?

Bottom line is others have also paid to stay there and it seems like you think you have a right to disrupt their stay without them complaining.

Well, no? Just because they allow children, that doesn't mean it's targeted at families. I've been in Michelin starred restaurants that allow children and where I've seen children eating, but that doesn't make them 'family-friendly' - it means they will accommodate your child with the expectation that your child is able to behave appropriately in that environment. Same applies to hotels.

I stopped staying at family friendly hotels because of your attitude.

I have 2 children, they would not run around a reception. If necessary then one parent would have checked in and one brought them to the playground.

7am squeals on holiday are not acceptable. I expect some noise but if your children are loud then head out and run their energy off on the play ground or a exploring walk.

Swimming pools need to offer adult only sessions to facilitate all guests. That hour or two of peace can be the making of a holiday.

Whilst I think your attitude is mild compared to the parents who actively ignore their darlings and inflict parenting to the hotel staff.

Because it’s not a play ground.

other people will be trying to navigate through the lobby, including those who may have mobility issues, and shouldn’t have to work around children being allowed to run free.

if your children need to let off steam you find somewhere safe and where it won’t annoy others for it to happen.

There’s chatter and then there’s 2 children running around being disruptive and not being told to stop.

Hotels are basically for adults, so if you take children to a hotel, you need to take responsibility for keeping them under control.

Nope you are getting confused that some hotels are adults only not all. Plenty of adults can't control themselves. I stayed in a travel lodge once & the noise from drunk adults in the lobby was the only time i've been disturbed.

I have stayed in many hotels with my children over the years from when they were very young and I have never had any problems or felt my children were unwelcome.

1. running around in the reception - how does this look from other's perspectives. If it actually drove people to leave the children were probably being much louder than you think.

2. even in an explicitly family friendly hotel I would be really cross about being woken up with squealing at 7am and I would be mortified if we woke others at that time. That's pretty anti social behaviour.

3. swimming pool - 730-9am for adults only is actually a very family friendly hotel. some hotels only allow kids in the pool for a couple of hours a day. this hotel was giving you the whole day minus 90 mins in the morning for adults to swim in peace.

With your expectations you really need to book something very explicitly family friendly and wait until your children are older before going to a normal hotel. But where ever you go please don't wake up other guests at 7am.

That doesn't follow

Why does everything have to be family friendly? Look for something that suits you, dont expect all businesses to accommodate you! They have their own demographics to cater to.

My kids are late primary and we meter stay in hotels (unless absoloutley essential) because they don't suit our requirements. But hotels are great for if me and dh go away without the kids.

Long journey or not you don't let children run around and squeal in a hotel other people are there for holidays as well my h the same as when people go out for a meal and children run around it's not acceptable.

I think hotels with kids are tricky. I think people are often fairly intolerant when on holiday because like you they think they have paid for a relaxing holiday and are therefore irritated by anyone seen to be impinging on this. Self catering or the bigger, louder places are probably more relaxing for families as you don't have to expend as much energy entertaining them and stopping them from doing things. I think you are also likely to have a much higher tolerance. Your take that they were just letting off steam or it was just one squeal is likely to not be everyone else's take on it.

@Agii quite common in Europe & shock horror dc do also run around there at times 😱

Hotels are basically for adults, so if you take children to a hotel, you need to take responsibility for keeping them under control.

Would be great to have a bit more for the kids, not just crayons and paper.

YABU.

If your children were running around 'letting off steam' in the reception area and playing loudly enough to wake other residents in their room at 7am, I would suggest that the problem is not that hotels aren't child-friendly, but that your children aren't hotel-friendly.

It's a hotel. You and your children are not the only guests. Staying in a hotel involves having some consideration for others. That includes not letting kids run riot in shared spaces and not making a noise at 7am. You are deluded if you think someone phoned reception to complain over a single squeal from your child - their noise was obviously carrying a lot more than you thought. If they really were 'playing quietly' then other guests wouldn't have heard them, would they?

Perfectly reasonable to have adults-only swimming first thing in the morning. It's an hour and a half out of the day when people can swim peacefully without distraction, and they even scheduled that hour and a half at a time which isn't typically popular for people with children.

I haven't been to many with kids, but there was nothing that would help to entertain the children. I visited Sweden recently and stayed in two budget hotels, which surprisingly had a great play area with climbing wall and other old has a few lovely toys under the stairs. I believe it's quite common to have such th

I don't think its unusual to hear noise from an adjacent hotel room or the corridor. However I would be annoyed by unnecessary noise before 7am, and I think many people would be, especially if I was on holiday rather than on a work trip.

These things are all fine. Children running around to ‘let of steam’ is not. That’s selfish and out of order

We are all different, a child running around a lobby wouldn't disturb me and i don't see the problem if they are not getting in the way of staff.

Keep your kids quiet or don't go at all.

🙄

Hotels aren’t selfish people friendly one would hope. If you stay at one then you need to be aware of other people around you not wanting to hear your noise.

uour children shouldn’t be allowed to run around in the lobby nor should they be allowed to be so noisy they disturb others at 7am. That’s on you

Don't you remember being annoyed by kids before you had them? These guys are YOUR project - you can't expect the rest of the world to embrace them too.

That doesn’t make a hotel family friendly, that just means other people booked that hotel and brought their kids.

There really are plenty of hotels specifically geared towards families with young kids. It doesn’t sound like you booked one of those.

I don’t think you can tar all hotels with the same brush of “not being family friendly” just because of this one experience. It sounds like there were adults there trying to enjoy their break and your kids were disturbing them.

What's the big deal about running in a hotel lobby?

Obviously assuming that they aren't running into other people. It's not a library