These hotel pool rules were bonkers

I'm all for adult supervision and responsibility but potentially 4 adults for 2 children is more than most people would have with them in a family group. Unless the child has special needs and requires more supervision, then one adult should be enough per non-swimmer and surely teenagers don't need an adult each?

With no lifeguard then it sounds very normal if one of your party got in trouble you would need someone to take charge of each child and if a parent got ill with a non swimmer it makes perfect sense.

Drowning is a very, very quiet affair. Please be very glad that the hotel took this seriously.

Does that mean a family of four can’t go in the pool unless they find two other adults?!

sounds crazy. I've never heard that before.

She means yes it was the royal lion…I think. Anyway, the pool area looks lovely but if you’re booking there check beforehand cause I don’t take 4 adults or lifeguards on holiday with my family 🤣

Must be pinewood then…..?!
Why not just say??

1:1 for non swimmers is not a bad idea, but once they can swim competently 1:2 is enough and for teens it’s more about monitoring behaviour than safety (well keeping them from doing stupid things). We are 2:1 for dsd due to special needs and I have to be 1:1 for dd (also sen but less severe)

They don't trust that children will be able to swim. The ratios seem out though. I'd expect one adult per one under eight and one adult per two over eights. That's what I grew up with.

It’s the only one I can see mentioned on this thread and OP says it’s been mentioned. Pinewood is not a “hotel”

@NConthe
im not sure it’s the Royal Lion - just because the OP said it was £400 a night so assumed it was one of the more posher spa type ones?

Well yes absolutely. I understand what "parental supervision" is. My point being that, at Bounce Below, it's 4-5 different levels staggered in a massive underground cave and is actually impossible to spot your own child once they bounce off!

So for the majority of the one hour they were in there, I couldn't actually see them so would have been unable to spot if they were doing anything wrong or not!

I just meant that some of the rules are completely non-sensical.

You were there to supervise to make sure they followed the rules about large humans (adults, late teens, basically anyone heavy) not jumping in the same place on a net at the same time.

When we were there 2 (fairly substantial) adults ran through the cave gap onto the net we were on and did a giant bounce in the middle together as they went through. My (under 10) DD was bouncing in the edge as they ran in.

The result of her landing just as they hit the bottom of their landing together, was that she might as well have been jumping off a 6ft wall onto concrete. She was on crutches for a fortnight because of the damage to her knee ligaments - we were lucky she didn't break a bone.

That's why you were supervising to make sure your 16 year olds actually followed the rules. Unfortunately they can't pluck out which adults also need supervision at the point of entry 😡

As for OP's pool...I've stayed at campsites with enormous pool areas where those ratios wouldn't be a bad idea ;) But in the context of exclusive use of the pool & no-one else to piss off, it's bonkers!

Absolute madness.

Although I think a lot of these rules are nonsense! During the summer we booked the Bounce Below at Zip World and I had to "supervise" two 16 year olds. On what is essentially a trampoline. And is actually that big that you can't even see them anyway. So I just sat in a freezing cold cave for an hour staring into space. No idea what I'd have done if anything had happened to them either. Absolutely fucking pointless.

make sure you mention this in your Trip Advisor review so future families do not book here

Wtf… again, crazy world… Pretty soon all adults under the age of 30 will require two chaperones over the age of 60 if they choose to leave the house just in case they contemplate a silly decision. 😆

I prssume if a child drowns no one will try and sue because everyone is chatting and drinking and all thinking another adult is supervising?

Yeah, it does. It sounds.like management were being arseholes because they didn't want kids in the pool.

Can you share the name of the hotel please? I would really really like to avoid it, this would ruin a trip!

Not just twins though, also two parents and two singleton children (if one is / both are under eight years old).

So the standard conventional/ traditional/ stereotype of a family as seen in every advert for "family" holidays/ days out is also excluded!

2 adults for 1 child swimming is bonkers, but perhaps relates to their insurance? Maybe due to problematic pool design, or historic events?

Rules for eg 8 varies, even in a lifeguarded pool, DC had to go through a proficiency test to check they meet a basic swimming level and can float and tread water to swim without an adult.

Lifeguarded pools still have regulations about adults in the water, plus your lifeguard holiday companion wouldn’t be covered by their insurance as not employed to do it.

Totally bonkers. One would think
that the arrangement of booking the pool would be so that families could swim together. Instead this was prohibited. I hope you made it clear that you wouldn’t have booked had they told you of the conditions beforehand and that you won’t be going there again.
And nor will any of your Mumsnet friends.

I can’t find one mention of it on reviews for the Royal Lion but I’m assuming that has to be it.

Surely they are just digging in now rather than admit the staff on the day misunderstood the ratios?

It’s impossible that a family of 4 haven’t appeared wanting to use the pool surely?!

Sounds like insurance insistence