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Original poster

Do you share a bedroom with your kids on holiday?

45 replies

TerrysNo3 · 06/01/2015 15:17

DH and I have taken a holiday each year with the kids but always gone for villa/apartment type breaks so we can each have a room. This year we are looking at a more resort based holiday and the one that I like (along with many others) seem to have one big room for 4 people.

I'm just wondering if this is totally normal and we should just share with the kids for 10 nights??

Thanks :)

OP posts:
SnowLondon · 06/01/2015 15:18

Ofcourse it's normal... Bit strange question imo

NoLongerJustAShopGirl · 06/01/2015 15:20

It is normal - but we don't holiday like that if we can at all help it...

You tend to have the room - that is it... you will spend every late evening/night evening in one room with your kids... enough to drive me nuts.

flowery · 06/01/2015 15:24

No way. Not a relaxing holiday that way imo, so we just avoid anywhere that only has that arrangement.

It is normal, as in lots of people do it, but we haven't since DS1 was a few months old.

Original poster
TerrysNo3 · 06/01/2015 15:24

There is a balcony so we can escape the room a little Smile

OP posts:
lynniep · 06/01/2015 15:25

I think its pretty normal, but we don't/won't do it. My idea of hell having to share one room with my kids on a holiday. They HAVE to be in their own rooms. We need a separate space to chill out in the evening.

cococandyfloss · 06/01/2015 17:15

I think lots of people do it so yes it is normal but I think if you are used to the space it may take a little getting used to -especially for 10 days. Fine when you are out and about during the day but imagine it wouldn't be very relaxing at night time? How old are your children?

Pagwatch · 06/01/2015 17:21

Our holidays are fabulous and a bit sad. Wherever we go I share a room/villa with DD and DH shares with DS2

DS2 is 18 and DD is 12. Ds2 has special needs.
It's the only way we can work it really. I think people assume we are lash wankers having two villas - obviously doubles the cost- but it's the easiest way. When we have had a room or the four of us it's been a bit grim.
On the plus side, a water villa to share just with DD was heaven.

I'd love to do the regular thing but it's not really on.

YoullLikeItNotaLot · 06/01/2015 17:25

We did it last year. It was ok. Not hideous. We were not actually in the room during the day apart from maybe an hour to snooze away from the sun. I think if we'd had awful weather or there hadn't been much to occupy us we might have struggled but we were fine.

Heels99 · 06/01/2015 17:33

We have done it the last two years as we wanted to go to more expensive locations. Before this, I too would have said no way, but it has been fine. Both times we have had a large room with balcony.
Dcs tend to stay up later and when we go back to room we have sat out in balcony or gone to bed ourselves as its been quite late. Not much difference to being in separate rooms.
Dcs have sometimes gone out for dinner with the kids club or to evening activities without us so we have had time alone in the room or we have got them ready, they have gone off to evening kids events and then we have been able to have a more relaxed getting ready in the room.
It wouldn't have worked when they wee little and it won't be appropriate when they are teens but works fine for us at the moment and saves a lot of money!
We also share when saying in London, disneyland, etc etc

I can't see the disadvantages as long as you have a lovely balcony to sit court on if the dcs do go to bed earlier.

PingPongBat · 06/01/2015 17:35

We've done it a few times and it's been OK-ish, but DH snores after a few beers (i.e. most nights on holiday) so the DCs don't like it. DS is 15 & DD 13. Last year we were in a hotel which had 2 sleeping areas separated by the bathroom - one double & one bunk, but these are really hard to come by & we got the last one available. We're trying to find a villa or apartment this year, partly for privacy from other people, but partly for privacy from the DCs! Again hard to find something suitable, lots of 1 bed apartments where the DCs could sleep in the twin bedroom and there's a double sofa bed in the living area which DH & I would have to use Hmm. Not ideal.

There seem to be loads of triple rooms in hotels in Europe, but hardly any quadruples, which is very annoying.

Heels99 · 06/01/2015 17:36

Why are people saying you will spend every evening in the room with kids? We are out having dinner, drinks, strolling round etc.. Who spends their holidays sitting in the bedroom of an evening?

MyballsareSandy · 06/01/2015 17:38

No, this is the reason we've avoided set ups like this. I like my kids to be in a separate bedroom. How on earth are you supposed to 'get it on' if your kids are snoring away on a sofabed next to you Hmm.

Not just that, I'm an early riser generally and like to put the kettle on and have a read/ipad etc. Can't see how that would work in one room without disturbing everyone.

Liberated71 · 06/01/2015 17:38

For me it's a matter of necessity- not great with two teenage boys but better than no holiday at all Wink

PrimalLass · 06/01/2015 17:40

No. I'd hate it.

Tollygunge · 06/01/2015 17:42

Really annoyingly bloody centre parks MAKE you book a room for kids over 2. Ours would never comply with sleeping alone on holiday, so we're stuck with a 4 bed villa for the 3 of us.

MrTumblesBavarianFanbase · 06/01/2015 17:43

Not all children do well staying up late Heels - even on holiday. One of mine manages ok, other two get very wild/ silly/ loud/ prone to tears and accidentally hurting themselves... and then fall asleep sitting up - only the youngest is physically small enough to be restrained in a pushchair (which I know works for some people).

MrsFlorrick · 06/01/2015 17:43

Depends on how much we are spending. We sometime go for a 2 bedroom hotel suite but it's ruinously expensive.

You can sometimes get what's known as junior suites which have a separate living area so you essentially have a bedroom for you and the living area for the DC.

A few places also have family rooms which have a main bed room and small living area and small almost box room style bedroom with bunk beds for DC.

Or interconnected hotel rooms. But you're paying for two rooms (Four Seasons do half price deal on second room but still). Two bed suite or junior suites are cheaper and works as well.

NoLongerJustAShopGirl · 06/01/2015 17:46

When we had young kids we did spend the evening in the room- we ate at 6ish and went to room - in this country there is not a lot else to do (esp if wet/windy and kids are knackered from a full on day), then settled kids down and watched some crappy tv and all had an awful night's sleep because kids are noisy!!

Now the kids are older we can do the strolling about of an evening, but it is so much nicer with our own space. They have outgrown the crappy put-you-up beds of the chains like Premier Inn - so we have to get 2 rooms anyhow - which means it is usually cheaper to rent a cottage.

MrTumblesBavarianFanbase · 06/01/2015 17:47

We self cater - the family room thing is "normal" if you want to stay in a hotel I believe, but we tried to book a family room a couple of years ago and couldn't get one for 5 people, so I assume it's really only "normal" if you have a maximum of 2 children...

Hulababy · 06/01/2015 17:49

In a hotel then yes, we share with 12y DD. Although the room we have booked for February does have a sliding door to partition the double bed from the sofa bed - got a good deal.

Its not ideal really, ep as DD is getting older, but it is usually an awful lot dearer to get a hotel room with a separate bedroom.

We do villa and apartments for our bigger two week holidays wherever we can as it is better for us to have more space.

MirandaWest · 06/01/2015 17:52

It's one of the reasons I prefer self catering. Although I can manage a hotel room with the DC for a few nights we all prefer our own space.

flowery · 06/01/2015 18:09

"Why are people saying you will spend every evening in the room with kids? We are out having dinner, drinks, strolling round etc.."

You don't have much of an imagination do you?! My kids are 7 and 5 and they need significantly more sleep than I do. If they go to sleep much later than 8.00pm they are tired and grotty the next day, which doesn't make for a very pleasant holiday. Dragging them out late "strolling" or for drinks would be disastrous.

Heels99 · 06/01/2015 18:19

But then you are sitting in a different abedroom anyway, which isn't much different to sitting on a balcony?

kissmyheathenass · 06/01/2015 18:21

We share.Last year dh and ds had the room next door to me and dds and I really missed chatting with dh when the dcs were asleep.

We dont sit in the hotel room in the evening though, our dcs are happy to be up till 11 or midnight which is perfect for us. When they were younger we tended to do self-catering as it suited us more.

juneau · 06/01/2015 18:26

If you stay in a hotel then yes, this is normal. However, my experience of sharing a room with kids is not a positive one and being stuck in a room, even a room with a balcony, gets old very bloody quickly IME.

How old are your DC? If they're little then that probably means an early bedtime and several hours of being stuck out on that balcony. I always look for a place which has family suites i.e. a mini-apartment consisting of two rooms, so the kids can sleep in one while the adults relax in the other. Having just done this for seven nights over new year though I'm starting to think that even that isn't ideal. In the summer we tend to SC so we get a proper apartment to live in, which is much better.