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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU about staying with parents V staying in a hotel

53 replies

Wheresthecoffee92 · 24/06/2019 15:35

Person A is from Asia originally, and takes their spouse and children back to their home to visit fairly regularly (once a year or once every two years. The trip is usually around 4-6 weeks long.

Person B wants to stay with their parents in their family home, while visiting. Parents live with grandparents and Party A's sister and baby. It's very important to parents that Person A stays in the house due to traditional reasons (would be seen as upsetting and embarrassing for them if Person A, spouse and children stayed in a hotel - it's bad enough culturally that they don't live in their house all year round!

Person B is fine to visit but does not want to stay in the house. Has stayed there on every other visit and been frankly bored. The house is very crowded with 5 other adults living there and one other baby. Person B is not from this culture and thinks that staying in a hotel would be better because it's more fun for them and the children, and has more of a holiday vibe rather than sitting in the house all day while Person A is recruited by parents to help out with jobs/goes to visit old friends. Person B cannot go out without Person A (due to transport and safety reasons) so is 'stuck in the house' if Party A goes out alone.

Party B feels that staying in a hotel would be much more fun for them and the kids as there would be a pool, a play area, a bar/restaurant, etc. Says the family could still visit parents every day, but could also have more of a holiday experience if staying in a hotel.

Person B is also concerned because Person A's parents home is not at all childproof - front and back door are left open between the hours of 7am - 7pm due to this being necessary to cool the house. Front door leads to a driveway with no gate and so easy access to the road (roads in this country are even more dangerous than usual and also more sinister problems like child snatchings which have been a problem in the city in the not-very-distant past) and the back door leads to a sheer drop with a small rickety staircase in the middle to lead down to the garden. The house is also not baby-proof with wires galore, no baby-gates on sharp, tiled stairs etc. At the bottom of the garden is a huge lake with only a very low wall between the garden and the lake, which also isn't safe.

Person B feels resentful that when Person A goes out without them, to help with jobs or for whatever reason (this happens often, almost daily) they will be left in the house and unable to relax because of the dangerous setting which means Person B is constantly on edge and that they and children have to just wait in the main living area as the rest of the house and garden is unsafe. This gets boring for them very quickly.

Person A thinks that the best solution is to pay for the house and garden to be childproofed. Person B says that if this involved nothing but buying a few baby-gates etc then they wouldn't mind, but realistically it would involve walling in the garden, putting up a front gate, sorting out the sheer drop, building new steps in the garden, and would cost around £2000.

Person A says this is no problem as they will probably inherit the house and land one day so it's not a waste of money, and that if they pay £2000 to childproof it, they can stay there every year.

Person A says it's ridiculous to spend £2000 doing work to someone else's house and garden and it's better and will be more fun just to get a hotel. Spending £2000 to stay somewhere they don't want to stay doesn't really appeal either!

Person A thinks Person B is being a bit selfish and not understanding their culture, which says that Person A and Person B should both be living in the house, not just living in another country and coming back for holidays, so this is the least they can do! Person A feels that their parents will be deeply hurt and embarrassed if they take a hotel. They think it is just a few weeks of the year, and they should suck it up.

Person B understands and doesn't want to hurt Person A's parents but wants to have a relaxing holiday too, as they work hard all year and as they can only afford one holiday a year, they think the trip should be a compromise of what they all want.

Person B says they and the kids are bored being stuck in the house, and as it's not childproof theyre always a bit on edge. There's no privacy and although they have their own room to sleep in, during the day this is a communal room so no private space during the daytime hours at all. Person B appreciates that Person A does try to make the trip fun, but finds staying in someone else's crowded, non-childproofed house, having no privacy, and feeling stuck indoors most of the time to not be a fun holiday which quite frankly they feel they deserve after all their hard work the rest of the year. It's not a short holiday (if it was a week or so it would be different of course) and Person A's family don't speak good English so although there are people around constantly, they feel a bit bored because the conversation is always in the native language which isn't much fun either.

I think it's pretty obvious who Person A and Person B is - but I wanted to attempt to be a bit neutral! (Not sure I've done a great job of it though!) Who is being unreasonable and WWYD?

OP posts:
HermioneKipper · 24/06/2019 15:38

Person B is obviously not being unreasonable. But I do feel for person A - must be hard for them, although they need to put their partner and children first in this situation. So I would say the hotel is the best compromise all round

AryaStarkWolf · 24/06/2019 15:39

4-6 weeks in a hotel would cost an absolute fortune, both Persons must have great bosses aswell to be able to take so much time off work

Anyway i digress, i don't know, it's a tough one, i can see it from both sides really. Probably a little more on person B's side though (if you can afford a hotel for that length of time.

How about a compromise and spend some time in the house and some at a hotel?

Sallycinammonbangsthedruminthe · 24/06/2019 15:40

Hotel all the way!

EssentialHummus · 24/06/2019 15:42

Ouch, I’d hate to be B! Some time in each I think. And stairgates a-go-go for the doorways.

BuzzShitbagBobbly · 24/06/2019 15:48

You - aka Person B Grin are NBU.

I have similar family 'expectations'.

I have found that you need to basically rip the plaster off. Do it all in one big hit the first year, with the hotel and pool and whatnot for the kids. Get A to be more fair in their time-split (although accepting they are spending time with family as well).

And rant and rave about how fantastic this trip is and how much you enjoyed it non-stop while there and when you get back. How much better it was for everyone not to be burdened with you for all that time - really lay it on thick as win:win for everyone.

Next year it will be a LOT easier as you've already set the expectation of it being brilliant and perfect all round for everyone. You're essentially challenging them to deny you that.

Purpleartichoke · 24/06/2019 15:54

I hate staying in people’s homes. I strongly prefer hotels. I love my in-laws and they have a generally child friendly home, but staying with them for a month would seriously impact my mental health.

I’m also really concerned about the comment that it isn’t safe for person b to
Go out without person a. That right there means the trip should not be happening at all. If an area is not safe for one of the partners and/or the children, then traveling to the area should be stopped.

MrsSpenserGregson · 24/06/2019 15:55

Person A stays with family 5 night per week, grows a spine and explains to his family that Person B and kids are staying in hotel and it's not up for discussion. Person A joins Person B in hotel 2 nights per week. Person B and kids visit Person A's family several times each week. Person A can also take the kids to visit the family as many times as he wants to while Person B chills out in the hotel spa. Sorted.

StealthPolarBear · 24/06/2019 15:57

I'd be person b, much prefer a hotel to staying in someones home.

Expressedways · 24/06/2019 15:57

If I were you person B I’d cut the visit down to 2 weeks and do 1 week staying with family, 1 week in a hotel. If A really expects visits to be 4-6 weeks, that you have stay with their family in an overcrowded, non-baby proofed house and then frequently buggers off for the day leaving B stuck in the house I’d refuse to visit at all, because seriously, fuck that.

jennymanara · 24/06/2019 15:58

My parents would be so upset if we did not stay in their house when we visited but instead in a hotel. To them it would be saying we don't care about them at all and a major snub.
Surely the obvious think to do is talk to them about the things in their house that are dangerous. Not sure why you have to go as far as walling in a garden? Can't you just have the kids indoor and take them out somewhere else to play outside? You will need a car.

AryaStarkWolf · 24/06/2019 15:58

If A really expects visits to be 4-6 weeks, that you have stay with their family in an overcrowded, non-baby proofed house and then frequently buggers off for the day leaving B stuck in the house I’d refuse to visit at all, because seriously, fuck that.

Yeah actually.

Whathappenedtooursummer · 24/06/2019 16:00

Safety and happiness of dc should take priority over cultural non conforming...

jennymanara · 24/06/2019 16:01

Sorry just seen it is not safe to go out by yourself? I am assuming you mean it is not safe for a woman and kids to go out alone? That would concern me and puts a different complexion on it.

But I think this is difficult because it would be my family that would want us to stay with them, and I know I could not upset my parents by staying in a hotel.

Can you get a daypass to a hotel type complex? Then your DP could drive you and the kids there in the morning.

Guadalquivir19 · 24/06/2019 16:02

Book a holiday let for the summer holiday with a pool if possible. That way you get the privacy & experience of a holiday rather than an enforced obligatory family visit. An apartment/ villa might be cheaper than booking a hotel for 6 weeks. Book lots of trips to tourist places with your partner and children. Mix it up with visiting family so you get the best of both.

Lweji · 24/06/2019 16:02

The trick is to show interest in getting to know the rest of the country and aiming for a proper holiday, rather than just visiting family.

Stay one week (or a few days) at the beginning and another few days at the end with the relatives, and head off elsewhere in the country (or nearby country for the beach/culture/experience holiday.

TremblingFanjo · 24/06/2019 16:04

I'm with person B.

PregnantSea · 24/06/2019 16:05

FFS just say DH and I please, it's tedious muddlin through "party A" and "person B" stories.

Anyway, YANBU at all, absolutely go and stay in a hotel. I'm amazed you've put up with this for as long as you have. 4-6 weeks is far, far too long to be in your in-laws crowded house. I would have gone insane by now.

Lweji · 24/06/2019 16:05

There is also the possibility that said parents say they want them to stay with them, but would actually be relieved if they stayed elsewhere for most of the visit.
Most house residents will probably find visitors for several weeks just as tiring if they're honest.

Lweji · 24/06/2019 16:06

Also, on the second paragraph, and the first time Person B is mentioned, I think you mean Person A. Wink
It makes it all even more confusing.

forkfun · 24/06/2019 16:08

I can empathize, but I think you should also consider that your kids are bicultural (and perhaps bilingual). The situation sounds less than ideal, but I know that for me it's hugely important my kids experience my culture too, in a family setting, not in a hotel as a tourist

jennymanara · 24/06/2019 16:09

Lweji Don't bet on it. My parents would love for my whole family to move into their small house in a heartbeat.

DillyDilly · 24/06/2019 16:10

If I was person B, I would join person A for the last two weeks of the trip and would be more than happy to stay back in the UK with the children.

CalmFizz · 24/06/2019 16:10

Do you actually want to be on this trip in this country?

I’d be offering a hotel or a solo trip.

jennymanara · 24/06/2019 16:11

Your DH should not be going off for the day leaving you alone with the kids. Surely you could all go out places together? Unless you mean he is going to the mosque/temple or to visit sick relatives in hospital?

jennymanara · 24/06/2019 16:13

I also think when you marry and have kids with someone from another country, you can not always do things as white British people would. What you are mainly getting on this thread I suspect, are the views of people who have no understanding or appreciation of the culture of your DH.