Would you stay in the cellar or in a hotel room

[Cellarorhotel]

Dh and I have distanced ourselves from his family for various reasons but we now have a newborn (5 months old in december) and it is his grandfather's birthday in December. He is 93 so likely to be his last. He has always loved his grandchildren and is very excited about any great grandchild. MIL (his daughter) has 4 kids and 3 kids plus partners will be there including us

There are 3 bedrooms plus a cellar where there is a sofa bed. Bedroom 1 is for DH's grandpa, MIL shares a room with single daughter. So last bedroom up for grabs. The last time we were there 2 years ago during fhe same time, it was occupied by sister no 2 and her fiancee. DH's married sister and her husband plus her MIL plus 1 year old stayed at a nearby hotel in 1 room (don't ask me why her MIL tagged along).

We usually book a hotel room but in my early married years we stayed in fhe cellar. I didn't mind it as we were young and skint and didn't have a baby. However that was only for 1 year as we always had enough money that we didn't think much of booking a local hotel for 2 weeks. We had a 6 figure household income and our mortgage was 2% and we went on loads of holidays.

However I have been on stat maternity pay and dh is worried about his job (so worried he is spending lots of time looking for one). Baby is very attached to me so i plan to find a new job where it is easier to fit around childcare and also want to be at home for 9 months. We have a mortgage (1282 for our london flat) and it's been expensive with a baby. We have around 37k in savings but a lot of that is earmarked for the future . Also dh sister is getting married next month so we are also spending money on hotels for that.

Logically we should just stay in the cellar but I remember it being cold (dh says its heated, I only remember it being cold cos the floors are made of stone and I don't wear socks in the house- the steps in that house are really steep so I am never sure why dh wears socks). Dh's family aren't the easiest either, as you can see, given we probably have to stay in the cellar with a baby. Dh asked his mum and she said well your sister is staying in fhe bedroom. At that time her partner was only the boyfriend and he refused to stay in the cellar hence why the other sister with the one year old baby had to stay in a hotel (which i think she could only afford cos the MIL and her went halves). I find being a new mum stressful, the idea of doing night feeds and all with them around is causing me anxiety so much so that I almost want to volunteer to stay in the cellar but yet I am worried about health impact on my baby. It is a converted cellar but mainly used for storage.

It's also over Christmas so an overall expensive time to book hotels..

Get your husband to ask his sister to swap

Wear socks if your feet are cold (Totes and others have grips on bottom)

Take a look at your finances. See what actual spare money you have available. Ring around hotels to check costs and decide from there.

I wouldn't put a newborn in a cold cellar over winter. Adults can wrap up and layer but wouldn't willingly risk putting a newborn in there.

If the hotels are unaffordable (personally, I would borrow from the 37k savings if it really was that important to me) and the cellar is too cold then can you just cancel overnight stays and do a day visit instead.

Just go up for one night if its not too far

I wouldn't be going, wish grandad a happy birthday and do a weekend visit when the rest of family were elsewhere

I wouldn’t stay in the cellar. I’d say baby’s first Xmas at home. I’d go visit Great Grandad another time, for quality time.

We booked the flights. They were cheap cos we used points. Think £120 or something.

I'd probably just stay in a hotel, choose a lovely one and call it our Christmas present to each other. Wear socks and/or slippers when there though, we've stone floors and it's never occurred to me not to.

It's stone floors in the cellar. The rest of the house is perfectly warm

The grandpa used the cellar as his workshop but my dh has always stayed there whenever he stayed over as a kid.

Sorry I can’t get past the 6 figure household income and only 37k in savings.

I would say we want the bedroom or we can’t come or send dh on his own

Is the cellar clean and habitable, other than cold floors? I'd just wear grip socks and warm pyjamas and appropriately dress lo for the temperature if the cellar is generally clean and only for sleeping.

But I like camping and used to do this when kids were small so cold, sparse sleeping areas doesn't bother me

This is the sensible answer, and avoids the family members that are 'happy' to see a baby on a cellar (wtf is wrong with these people?)

We overpaid our mortgage by 30k (so mortgage payments would be lower during maternity leave and also our interest rate doubled) and i had several months of unemployment before so eroded a big chunk. Also spent 10k paying back dh student loan in full so no student loan deduction.We also only had 6 figures from 2022.

check the price at Premier inn. Its cheaper at Christmas than normal, is 'near enough' early everywhere unless you're really in the wilds.

I've stayed in a country hotel over Christmas and it was a lot cheaper then I expected it to be. Check local hotels you may be surprised.

It's one night. Stay in the cellar

Would an air b and b be better for you possibly cheaper than a hotel?

Good God, what a lot of unnecessary detail for such a non-issue. Just book a hotel for the night 🤷‍♀️

We are going for 11 days. The family usually stays for 2 weeks to a months. It's structured around his birthday but no one goes for the day. It's in Europe for a start.

They always say they are going for his birthday but they seem to stay from late November to early January.

11 days

Why can't you wear slippers with your socks? Take some extra blankets.

I don’t see why the cellar would affect baby. It can’t be that cold that it’s dangerous… unless there’s mold I’d just stay in the cellar but make sure SIL knows she’s being a twat not letting the baby have the bedroom.

Why does sister unilaterally get the other bedroom? Doesn't make sense. I'd stay in the cellar I think. Travel cot for the baby.

I wouldn’t have a baby sleep in a cellar(even my now 8 month old), I’d be worried about cold/mould/poor air quality/lack of light impacting their sleep patterns.

I agree that visiting at a different time would be better. It’s disrespectful to put you in the cellar with a newborn, carrying a baby up and down steep steps especially if you need the kitchen or bathroom in the middle of the night.