To think hotels are very child unfriendly

[Ontheclifftop]

We've just come back from a weekend away in a hotel with dd aged 5 and ds aged 3. Three incidents really made me realise how unwelcoming hotels are to young families:

1. When we were checking in after a long drive the kids were letting off a bit of steam. I know how that sounds, but they were just running around a bit, not getting in anyone's way or anything. Two people who were sitting on couches reading newspapers got up and left, one sighing heavily and one giving us a dirty look.
2. At about 7ish the following morning we got a call from reception to say the people in the next room were complaining about the noise. Again I know how that sounds, but dd and ds were playing quietly with some teddies. DS let out one squeal of excited laughing but other than that they were perfectly fine.
3. Following that call I said I'd take them down to the swimming pool as I knew it opened early. When I got down the attendant said it was adult only between 7.30 and 9.00. I explained about the phone call and pointed out there were only 2 people in the pool and I'd do my best to ensure we'd stay down at the shallow end and not get in their way. But he refused to let us in.

The whole thing really pissed me off. What are you supposed to do with young children in a hotel? If they play quietly in the room someone complains. If you try to use the facilities to keep them occupied, you're told you can't.

AIBU to feel hotels are just totally unwelcoming to young families nowadays?

It would have just made things worse as dd was adjusting to the room we were in so to change would have made her more distressed and it took her 4 nights to calm down enough in that first room.
it was a last min journey and start so we had no other options as nowhere else was available to stay at

Plus it’s a lot easier for adults to move room and understand than a 2 y o with extremely limited understanding who is distressed surely . Had we moved it just would have made it worse for other guests when she was further traumatised by another change

You should NOT be allowing your kids to run amok around the reception area, or make noise early in the morning. And a lot of people wish to use the pool without children shrieking and throwing balls around, so the best time is to block early morning and late evening, as they do in many health clubs.
Life does not revolve around your children. Many have paid a lot for a holiday.

I have a kid (and travel with them lots to hotels etc) and would also be annoyed with your kids behaviour. there’s no need for them to run around in the lobby- they are old enough to understand that they can wait quietly for you to check in and then you take them out to stretch their legs.
There are people in hotels for work (need rest to do their job), celebrating stuff, on once in a lifetime trips and all sorts of other reasons. You easily spoiled someone’s day with loud kids so early in the morning. If the pool is closed, go outside.
noone should be accommodating of your lack of parenting.

I have to admit that when my DC were young, we chose mainly self-catering for that very reason.
A couple of exceptions when we went to hotels specifically marketed at families, which worked well.

^ This.

And I have a young dc…. It’s such entitled behaviour. Control your children. Of course they shouldn’t be running around the lobby, one of you should’ve taken them outside if they can’t stand still for ten mins. Waking up early not much you can do there- watch an iPad for a bit? I’d look for more child friendly accommodation or a suite perhaps.

They're probably sick of entitled parents and noisy children.

Only running around? Ffs.

go to a family hotel, OP.
Last week someone who wanted a quiet spa weekend was torn an absolute new one and told to only ever go to adult only hotels.
Strangely, this isn't happening to you but the other way.

FWIW: If i had been sitting in reception and children were running around? I'd talk to the manager and get it stopped.
Someone wakes me up at 7am on a weekend? you bet I'm calling reception
If i go for a swim at adult only time and some self-entitled parent tries to persuade the staff to let their children in? I'd be making a fuss about that too.

There are loads and loads and loads of hotels that are fine for children. Pick one of those next time.

I don't think you can be annoyed that the hotel didn't make an exception to their adults-only pool times for you. You should check before you book a hotel that it's family friendly.

Don't let your kids "let off steam" in a hotel lobby?

I have been on mn for donkeys years and honestly dont think I read anything so entitled in all those years.

*have

Well I’m not sure what else I was meant to do? Travelling last minute and it was the only place available to stay , nobody we could leave dd with who could care for her with the high level of needs she has and we were just getting her used to the one room we had been given and she did calm a lot by the 4th night ? I don’t think it’s entitled to put the needs of a disabled child before the needs of adults ? We had to travel and we had little time to think as we needed to be somewhere urgently

•Keep control of your kids and don't let them run around in reception
•tell them that at 7am they need to be quiet because people are still sleeping.
•if you can't swim, find something else to do. Adults need time in the pool without kids messing about.

You sound like an absolute nightmare! You refused to move rooms so 2 other parties had to have even more disruption to their stay? Jesus talk about having no self awareness.

And you sound like an ignorant dick. Why are the needs of a disabled toddler the lowest priority, in your eyes?

1. You were VU letting your kids let off steam in the lobby.
2. They must have been noisier than you think at 7am. If I'd been next door to you, I wouldn't have been impressed.
3. Shame the pool was closed to kids at that time. This makes it sound as if the hotel catered more to adults than families?

Don't worry @WouldJustlikeaLatte , you'll get used to this sort of bullshit, a lot of people see those with disabilities as mere inconveniences to their relatively simple lives.

they are old enough to understand that they can wait quietly for you to check in and then you take them out to stretch their legs.

No they aren’t. One of them is 2 🤡

OP I completely agree but the reality is most U.K. hotels are not going to be relaxing with toddlers.

When mine were that age I made sure that I stayed somewhere with space for them to run around, eg caravan park/ rural self catering. It was far more relaxing that way. Now they are older we can do hotels again more easily.

Okay 3 but even so.

Kids running around confined indoor spaces just sets people on edge. Everyone is waiting for a trip, a fall or a collision to happen and the inevitable chaos that ensues.

I am getting the sense this as a country club, country house type hotel with semi spa type facilities.

People do go to these places to relax.

The hotel pool - again I can understand the policy of adults only first thing in the morning. This allows the pool to used for exercise which is impossible if it is full of kids. Even if you kept them at the shallow end, people swimming lengths would had to keep diverting to avoid you.d

Surprised at the complaint of noise in the room. I think in hotels you have to expect a certain level of noise. In my experience it is usually people rowing/fighting that wakes everyone up not children.

There were other children staying in the hotel, so it was obviously meant to be family friendly.

Doesn't make it ok to run around in reception, wake people up with rowdy play or swim during adults only time.

You need to teach your children that the world doesn't revolve around them and that they need to be considerate of other people.

What is ignorant is allowing a child to scream for 4 full nights and disturbing everyone else around you. Yes I would be fuming if I had paid to go away and was stuck next to a screaming child for 3 nights then have to move from a room I had booked and paid for as the parents refused to move from that room.

Having spent several hours awake when the kid in the room upstairs decided to continually jump from the bed to the floor and run up and down, my sympathy is limited.

People spend quite a bit and want to be able to use the facilities and have a bit of peace, not to have young kids use it as a playground.

If you can’t control your kids, go to an hotel that explicitly welcomes families. So older people and couples stay away.

Go on then, how would you have solved this problem for this distressed, disabled child?

It’s not a case of allowing her to scream we tried everything to calm her but the reality was she was out of routine in an unfamiliar place with no real preparation time so it was not ideal