Hotel holiday with toddler?

[GuessHowMuchI]

Hi all,

I'm booking a European city break for my DH's big birthday (this year but trip will be postponed to 2022). We will probably take our baby who will be about 20 months by then.

Due to pandemic we've never been anywhere with our baby yet, even out for the day. Please could anyone advise what things I need to bear in mind when choosing a hotel room and booking the trip? (In terms of a hotel holiday with toddler?)

Thank you

Is there a reason you are set on a hotel? If you will have a 20 month old next year, I assume your baby is still quite small. Toddlers need a lot of space to run around and blow off steam. And they eat at weird times and it isn’t necessarily easy to eat out at a restaurant with them (actually I can’t imagine the hell of doing that 3 meals a day...it definitely would not make for a relaxing birthday treat!). I would get a flat and self cater. It’s likely cheaper and will be nicer, meaning you can have separate bedrooms and you have a kitchen.

I took my 1 year old to Barcelona and we definitely needed to retreat to the flat to get out of the heat every afternoon. We had a roof terrace and he could run around up there as needed. We still ate out but it was once or twice a day and especially in the evenings when he was exhausted, we could go to the market and get some food and then he could play on the terrace and I could relax.

I agree with @mindutopia that self catering is a good idea. We have been away to a hotel with a 13 month old and it just wasn’t enjoyable as once they were asleep we couldn’t make much noise and there wasn’t enough room for them to play.

I would self cater at that age too. There are normally companies where you can hire baby/ toddler equipment too, to save you traipsing everything with you.

You could stay in an apart-hotel. Then you have the option to stay in if the toddler isn't on restaurant form. But hopefully you still have some hotel facilities too like a pool.

We had a city break in Lisbon, there was a traditional hotel which also owned some apartments next door so we could have the flexibility of self catering with the use of the hotel facilities as well.

Please could anyone advise what things I need to bear in mind when choosing a hotel room and booking the trip?

Don’t book a hotel. Self catering? Grand. Apartment? Awesome. Hotel? Nooooo!

Another vote for self catering and eating out. If nothing else your 20mo may not play ball in the evening and sleep in a buggy so if you want to kick back other than in a darkened room, having a bedroom door you can shut whilst you kick back with fancy takeaway is great.
If you're set on a hotel, just check if they provide a travel cot and sheets or if you need to bring them. Some hotels have listening services but I've not ever used them as they're just remote monitoring your kids. I know friends who have in smaller hotels. And make sure they do early morning breakfast for the toddler 😉

Another one for an apart-hotel. Best of both worlds.

I think you need to rethink what a city break is like with a toddler as opposed to child free.

As a couple I would want to spend hours in museums, art galleries, having coffee, having lunch/wine/cocktails etc.

With a child you will find your day scheduled around the child. So if they are an early riser - then you want to be able to get breakfast when it suits you, be able to get out early and come home for lunch/nap - or maybe they will be a child happy to sleep in the buggy for a few hours. Then when they wake they will want to be active before their tea/dinner time - which is often earlier than continental hotels/restaurants. So you either feed them in a cafe and you eat later - again works if they are a good buggy sleeper - or you all find somewhere to eat dinner early - or you self cater.

It is do-able. It can be fun - if your expectations are in line with a young child. I would look for a city on a coast or lake - you will find a mix of culture and beach/park/play park fun for all of you.

I have stayed in hotels and SC with my lo since 3 months of age.

Personally I have never had any issues with hotels. And they have usually given me more of a break tbh as I can go and have breakfast when convenient, same with lunch or dinner.
Travel cot, either own or hotel provided. At 20 months I always took the buggy or pram in with me, so I could strap lo in to for any activities that required lo being upright. Or for me to dash to the bathroom (I'm a lone parent).
Take toys. Take oodles of snacks. I always allow extra clothes as lo will inevitably crawl and play on the floor and I wouldn't want the same clothes in bed.
It sounds lovely.

Went away for one night with my 18 month old. He absolutely would not go to sleep, countless walks round in the buggy etc he was so used to having his own room it was far too much excitement us all in together. Eventually at about 11pm we put him in the (tiny) bathroom in the dark in his pushchair. Asleep within a minute. Don't know why we didn't think of it sooner. Moral of the story is separate rooms if you can and space to run around/not feel like you are disturbing others!

Do you need to book now? Because when I had a small baby the idea of a city break seemed manageable. Stick baby in sling, walk around, see the sights, feed them the odd bit of bread in a high chair while we ate in restaurants... lovely.

You couldn’t pay me to take a twenty month old on a city break in a hotel, even leaving aside the covid stuff. They notice where they are/that things are different, they want to walk and touch stuff not sit in a buggy or be in a sling looking at cultural stuff, they won’t sit nicely in a restaurant while you have leisurely meals, they eat at times of day not necessarily compatible with continental European restaurant hours, they want breakfast absurdly early in the morning, they need to sleep in the evening so you just end up reading in the hotel bathroom at 9pm.... honestly, if I wanted a romantic or relaxing city break I’d leave them behind and if I wanted a toddler friendly holiday I’d book an air b&b/self catering place in the U.K. in an interesting town with a beach, a petting zoo and some National Trust places.

You and your baby of course maybe different, but personally I’d go on some small trips and days out in the U.K. and see how it goes before you commit to booking something abroad for a year’s time. Or find a willing babysitter.

My daughter is 15 months old and we've taken her on some short hotel breaks and have a few more lined up. The things I'd consider would be:

Beds - if you co-sleep then you'll want to make sure the bed is big enough. My daughter is still in a sleeping bag and we use blankets when we sleep with her so we needed room in the bed for pillow barrier so she doesn't roll off, daughter in her sleeping bag and then me and DH sharing the duvet.

Space away from the bedroom eg a balcony or living room if you go for a suite. My daughter sleeps really late so it wasn't too much of an issue for us but if your baby goes to bed at 8pm then it would be quite miserable for you to sit in silence and darkness while they sleep.

Things to do. At this age they're too big to sit happily in a push chair for long - my daughter wants to be up and walking around anyway, I assume most toddlers are the same. But also she's too young to bribe with "first we walk nicely around the art gallery then we'll go swimming later". So we just do activities that she enjoys - beach, pool, park, softplay, zoo, etc.

Restaurants we find are fine. We don't have long meals anymore but she's fine. Either she's in the mood to sit and eat a bowl of chips or whatever or she's not and then we put cocomelon on for her. I used to judge parents whose kids were on their tablets but 🤷🏼‍♀️ you do what you have to do! Take plenty of snacks though. Most hotels have fridges so you can buy some fruit/cheese and also bring some baby biscuits or pouches if you're lucky and you're baby will eat them. Next time we go away I'm going to take some powdered porridge that mixes up with water to feed her if she won't eat anything else.

We’ve done all inclusive hotels twice with our toddler - first at 11 months and second time just before she was 2. It was perfect for us as we didn’t have the hassle of finding somewhere to eat and DP and I would take it in turns to get our dinner and help DD which meant we both got a hot dinner.

If you’re looking for a hotel with a pool, the type where you walk into it like at the beach is good as toddler can splash around in it with a few toys. A toddler pool that is really shallow so they can walk around in it is also good.

We took reins for our DD as meant she could walk around but was easier than holding hands. She is happy to nap in her buggy so she napped whatever we were up to. A sling is also useful for the airport before you get the buggy back as it’s easier than carrying them - I also used it sat on the plane whilst DD was asleep as meant my arms were free.

Activities that buy you some time while having a meal or a drink are useful - we took colouring with us and also the iPad. Like a PP I used to judge people who did that - not any more!

The balcony was useful for evenings when DD was 11 months as she went to bed early and wouldn’t settle in her buggy in the evening so we sat there and took it in turns to go to the bar to get drinks. Just before she was 2 though she stayed up late with us and then had a really long nap in the afternoon which was bliss. I was worried about it ruining her routine once we were home but it was fine.

If your son has formula, think about the logistics of preparing it. Pre-made is great but my DD refuses it. We took a thermos for keeping boiled water hot for making feeds. We also took a plastic jug, lid for it and water bottle so that we could boil water and cool it for DD to drink. That said, the second time we were away she completely refused to drink her milk - must have tasted different.

Good idea about apart-hotels. I'll have a look. We've no-one to look after baby so will definitely be going as a family. It's what my DH wants anyway. The city in mind is nowhere near the sea, but trying to find a place with a pool is a good idea.

Oooo tell us which city you are planning and maybe someone will have been with a little one.

Due to pandemic we've never been anywhere with our baby yet, even out for the day.

I would try and make it as easy as possible and a full break in a hotel isn't that. I know it's for your husband's birthday but if you want any kind of a decent holiday I would 100% book it around being somewhere child friendly and it's more likely to be enjoyable for you if your child is catered for.

Not a chance I would have done it with DTs, but my stance would have been the same with just one.

Same shit different location springs to mind but even harder in a hotel.

Where will they sleep - you need a suite or at a minimum a balcony if you need to get them into bed.