I'm not enjoying my holiday.

[Polkadots72]

First family holiday with our 2yo dd 1 week away in a fairly chilled part of Spain. Husband booked it. Hotel not child friendly we are self catering in a bedroom.. No lounge area no kitchenette not even a kettle!

No evening entertainment or other guests in the hotel. Majority of tourists are German so feeling a bit isolated. Getting dirty looks from locals if we dare go for a quiet drink in one of the local pubs or bars so each night we are stuck on the balcony while we wait for dd to fall asleep.. also its unusually cold here at the moment had a bit of nice weather but it's very windy. I know I should be grateful to go on holiday but there's no fun to be had here it sucks and ita BORING!! early flight home will coat in excess of £300 so not really an option got 3 days left and I'm feeling thoroughly miserable... any advice. Please be gentle I've had a rough few days dd is playing up and being sugar nearly every where we go oh and she's frightened of the sand. All there is to do is walk up and down the same strip of shops and bars day after day can't even find a boat trip or anything.

Before we had children, we used to go bed and breakfast to little family run places and spend our days exploring and then find a nice taverna for a leisurely evening meal.
After one dreadful holiday with young children to mainland Spain, that sounds very similar to yours, we tend to book into resort style, all inclusive places in a 2 bedroom family room. There is entertainment for the children and buffet restaurants, with something to suit everyone. Our dc are now 11 and 13 and thus type of holiday still suits our needs as a family best.
Is there somewhere like this you could book into for the last couple of nights, to salvage what is left of the holiday? Should be fairly cheap off season. Try Travel Republic, they often have very good prices and lots of choice.

Hire a car, go down to alcudia, costa picafort magaluf palma nova sooo easy to drive around that island all the roads are numbered get yourself out of the hotel for as long as you can each day. Alternatively is it possible to move resorts? Might be cheaper than flights.

If you want to enjoy this sort of thing with a 2yo= if you want a 2yo to enjoy this sort of thing, you have to be prepared to be the non-stop entertainer, the one that makes the pictures in a Spanish cathedral into a funny story or thinks of a special new game for chasing up to the top of the street. There are some people who actually enjoy this sort of thing. My mother springs to mind. Nothing could have pleased her better than travelling the length of Europe on the train with 4 assorted children.

Otoh there are people for whom this is their idea of hell. If you are in the latter category, you might want to lay off the idea of foreign holidays until your dd gets quite a bit older, or else go for very fully equipped resorts where other people do the organising. (now that would probably have been my mother's idea of hell...)

I haven't RTFT but you can take a taxi or bus to Palma and go for a walk and find some playground for her, there is a very large one under the city walls near the old GESA (utilities company) building, the taxi driver will know where to take you, and from there you can walk right through the city walls into the old quarter, it's nice and the weather is ok today. Or go to the Sa Faixina park, there's another big playground there, then eat at Santa Catalina, which is right next to it, lots of restaurants to choose from, and go shopping or to the Cathedral later in the afternoon. Sa Botiga de Micchele in Santa Catalina is a personal favourite, an excellent Italian restaurant.
Another day you can take the XIXth century wooden train to Sóller (from Palma), visit the village and then take the tram to the beach there. Even if the weather is not beach-compatible it's a nice ride and you can eat there and then go back, there's your day sorted.

OP, holidays with small DC aren’t really holidays, as you have discovered. It’s hard work, performed in a tiny space with a fraction of your usual equipment and your’e SUPPOSED TO BE HAVING FUN don’t you know

They are when you plan them properly and actually make some effort.

I seem to be one of the only people that enjoy holidays with my toddler?! Why do so many people book them if they don't enjoy it?
I love seeing his wee delighted face in the swimming pool or enjoying spending so much time outside.

I seem to be one of the only people that enjoy holidays with my toddler?!

Don’t be ridiculous

We have a 4 and a 2 year old so been going away with babies/toddlers since DD1 was a few months old and always had a great time so I don’t agree that I holiday with a toddler isn’t a holiday.
We always hire a car though so that makes a difference I think. Even if the weather is bad it means we can drive somewhere new and see something different. We also always book self catering apartments, makes it much easier!
The boat trip looks good OP. My DD2 also hated the sand when we went away last summer just before she was 2 so you have my sympathies there! Are there any nice resorts with swimming pools nearby?

@TeisanLap the majority of people on this thread are saying that holidays with babies/toddlers aren't good

oh come you are not being given filthy looks. what utter bollocks.

Honestly, I think the problem here is how you feel about holidays and your general anxiety level, rather than the actual holiday. There's loads to do, and if you don't want to drive, there are buses, but it seems you are doing nothing instead (just walking for five minutes, that's all). Again, why are you trying to cook in a hotel room - a few yoghurt is fine, but given you've booked room only, very some of the local restaurants.
A holiday is very much what you make it, and you come across that you don't like holidays at the best of times, and get easily flustered with planning. Put your toddler in a buggy or a sling and go and explore! Check out what there is to do on TripAdvisor.

@TeisanLap the majority of people on this thread are saying that holidays with babies/toddlers aren't good

That still leaves people who do enjoy them.

Next time trip advisor the life out of any hotel you book and try and find out as much info as possible x

@TeisanLap clearly I meant one of the only people on the thread 🙄 I'm hardly going to be talking about in the whole world.

We had a similar experience with DS who was 1.5years . It was a self catering apartment . It was end of September in Spain and blisteringly hot. All the play areas were metal so unusable. The pools were unheated and even in a wet suit he froze. He point blank refused to eat anything apart from the odd mini magnum and some yoghurt and lost 4lbs in weight in a week. The best bit was going home.

Last year we went to Tenerife with my parents, in an all inclusive hotel with 2 bedrooms. He totally loved it and we are doing the same this year. There were other kids to play with and a mini disco at 7pm!

If it was so hot that the playgrounds were unusuable, its far too hot to freeze in an unheated pool!

I also love holidays with my toddlers! I agree that the key is too book self catering, ideally have a car, and plan easy excursions for every day. That cam just mean a trip to the beach or a wander round the town or whatever. And find easy places to eat - a cafe with outdoora seating is ideal. But yes, sitting in a hotel room with a toddler all day is never going to work!

It sounds crap you have my sympathies. However lesson learnt don't let husband book anything without full consultation in future.

When you get back book centre parcs for later in the year (term time). Cheap and minimum stress as long as you can drive there and back.

God this reminds me of a holiday we had in Florida when ds was 2. DH's back was dodgy the morning we left so he was really careful (I lifted the suitcases, the 2 year old etc). Then the day we arrived ds managed to smash his forehead open on the cot - ended up in emergency room being stitched up and dh put his back out getting to him. Spent the rest of the week with dh flat on his back high on valium trying to get better enough to go on the plane. I was responsible for ds from 6 am till bedtime every day plus minding dh. DS refused point blank to go on the stunning gulf-coast beach - which was really the only thing to do there. Point blank refused. I would walk down with him and he would just march back to the stairs/walk and head back - he hated it. The highlights of my day were sesame street (9-10 am) and going to the local publix with him. And dh couldn't go on the plane home so we had to extend and pay for a new flight. I called my boss to tell him I wouldn't be in on Monday and burst into tears on the phone.

Ha ha, Pallisers! What a holiday.

I am not a fan of Mediterranean beach holidays - with or without dcs - but I don’t understand why OP isn’t eating out. There must be somewhere to eat breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Eating in the room is grim and cooking would potentially get you into trouble. I remember a thread where a poster was going to Disneyland Paris and was asking about the practicalities of a slow cooker in the hotel room . Can you imagine the wrath of other guests having to smell stew fumes? Just eat out, people! Or stay in a proper self-catering place.

TawnyPort obviously I did not literally he froze but his lips went blue which in my mind is too cold. Metal in full sunlight gets far hotter than an unheated enormous pool.

I know you said you went put for dinner yesterday but how are you feeding yourselves? I've a horrible feeling you may actually be self catering in a hotel room. Are you eating in the room stuff you've bought or are you eating your meals out?

Well that’s your DPs fault ... why didn’t he do his bloody research?

Oh and if you ask at the desk they may have kettled you can have - they’re not automatic in European hotels.