Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

What do you do when you stay in a hotel room with a baby?

74 replies

Ceebee74 · 09/08/2007 08:40

We are going away this weekend (for a couple of nights in the UK) for the first time with DS (13 months). He is usually in bed by 7-7.30 which we could probably push back to 8. But as he is sleeping in a travel cot in the hotel room, what are me and DH meant to do? Can't watch telly, can't have a light on to read - what do other people do? Do we just have to accept that we will have to sit in the dark until we are tired?

I know this is probably a stupid question but I am interested in what others do and any tips so me and DH can still enjoy ourselves without being in bed at 8 o'clock!

OP posts:

aloha · 09/08/2007 16:20

Take a baby monitor and go downstairs for a drink and a meal. Otherwise what on earth is the point of going away?

PrettyCandles · 09/08/2007 16:27

I'm with Aloha and Spockle here. It's what we've always done, and I don't see that recent events change anything. We stay in the hotel and we use the babylistening service or our own monitor.

pointydog · 09/08/2007 16:30

why you going to a hotel?

s-c so much better

pointydog · 09/08/2007 16:32

oh I've caught up.

hmmmm. You didn't think it through, did you?

Spockle · 09/08/2007 16:36

With sc you have to sc. QED. Most of the fun for me is a nice meal someone else has cooked.

pointydog · 09/08/2007 16:43

but they are all in one room, spockle.

The nice meal ain't gonna happen

Spockle · 09/08/2007 16:56

We've always had just one room and been OK sneaking bak in after the lovely meal and a bottle (or 2) of vino, kids out for the count. Things may change now they're getting a bit bigger. Esp. as DD1 takes more clothes than me and she's still only 4....

debbiewebweb · 09/08/2007 17:06

We're doing the same in two weeks time for the first time ever we're going to share a hotel room with dd's 5.4yrs and 2yrs. We're staying in a holiday inn after a day at legoland so I guess the kids will be knackered, but that means keeping them up late probably won't work. I've always found the idea of sharing a room pretty horendous, but couldn't find an alternative this time, so erm we'll be reading by torchlight I guess.

crokky · 09/08/2007 17:11

Put the travel cot in the bathroom. You can still have a nice meal - get room service and eat it in the room!

JodieG1 · 09/08/2007 17:12

spockle - I just wouldn't ever leave them alone. Many reasons mainly in case they wake up and get scared/hurt themselves. It doesn't sit right with me to ever leave my children alone in a hotel room. I see other people do and that's up to them, I'm not judging anyone else it's just not something I feel cofortable doing.

JodieG1 · 09/08/2007 17:13

Oh and I wouldn't go away unless it was in a cottage or similar while the kids are younger. We're only going Legoland for 2 days so 1 night in a hotel which is doable.

Fennel · 09/08/2007 17:23

We tend to put the baby in a buggy and go out with it (preferably sleeping). It works Ok with just one child. I did have good sleepers which might have helped here.

Now we have 3 we often still take the youngest on our nights out and "romantic" breaks. Due to the paucity of people prepared to babysit all 3. Dd3 is going to be accompanying me and DP on our nights out til she's abouut 16 at this rate.

oneplusone · 09/08/2007 17:28

When on hols we used to put DD to bed as per normal and once she was fast asleep transfer her into pushchair and take her out to us to dinner in restaurant. We'd check with restaurant beforehand that it would be ok and they usually always reserved us a nice quiet table in the corner.

DD usually always slept right through the meal and usually only woke up at the end when we were going home anyway.

Had an absolutely lovely anniversary meal like that in Australia a few years ago, but now we have DS as well we've given up on going out!

FrannyandZooey · 09/08/2007 17:37

We do this with ds and we have always had a low light on to read, and just gone to bed early. You could always use the time, in a traditional holiday pastime with your husband, of course

(I mean Scrabble )

aloha · 09/08/2007 18:47

If you have a monitor and they wake up you go and settle them, just like you'd do at home. They are only 'alone' in the sense that they are 'alone' at home IMO.
Door locked, monitor on, you just downstairs.

Original poster

Ceebee74 · 09/08/2007 18:51

Lol Franny - it would have to be a quiet 'game of Scrabble' though

Thanks for all the suggestions - I am another one that just wouldn't dream of leaving DS in the hotel room whilst we went downstairs (again, nothing to do with recent events and not criticising anyone for it - just would not occur to me to do it and I don't want to do it)

Guess the bathroom idea is the best one - lets hope that it is big enough for the cot!

The plan is to go out for a meal together - again not criticising people who do go out for a meal without their children as that is their choice. Me and DH both think that we are on a family break so our view is that we will have tea as a family (even if DS's idea of eating out involves throwing all his food on to the restaurant floor )

Then come back to the hotel room and have a couple of drinks (the room does have a mini-bar).

This may not have been the best idea I have had but given the choice of this or no holiday/break at all this summer - I think this is preferable.

OP posts:

aloha · 09/08/2007 18:53

I'd actually much rather stay at home than share a room with my kids, but each to their own and I hope you have a lovely time.

JodieG1 · 09/08/2007 20:38

I don't think it's the same at all as you don't usually have strangers in your house for a start. Also downstairs in a house is generally closer than downstairs in a hotel. As well as that mostly you can hear, well we can, our dc's from downstairs without a monitor (even though we use one) and there's no way you could do that in a hotel. It takes me about 10 seconds to walk upstairs or less if I need to settle any of them, a hotel would take a lot longer, minutes I would estimate. As I said though, each to their own.

Spockle · 09/08/2007 20:44

If you possibly wangle a room with a balcony, that can work quite well too (if it's warm & not raining...!)
DD1 is so used to staying in hotels she just treats it like staying at a friend's house and settles really well; if she wakes up she just talks into the monitor & knows Mum or Dad will come.

aloha · 09/08/2007 20:46

The last time I stayed in a hotel and had dd in our room, we could hear her breathing on our monitor. I can't hear that much at home. And the door was locked and we were two floors up at the front (our bedroom at home is up a similar number of flights from the kitchen at home) and more at the back, as were at the seaside. If she cried we could have been there in two minutes. I doubt she would have spontaneously combusted in that time.

Spockle · 09/08/2007 20:51

I guess the point is, it's fine if you're use to it (parents and kids), and maybe a dreadful thought if you're not....but IMO it is best to get everyone used to it as early as possible, otherwise you won't have a decent holiday/short break/snatched night in a hotel again until the kids are teenagers!
The thought of sitting in a hotel room with the kids all evening trying to be quiet...!!!!!

JodieG1 · 09/08/2007 20:58

Aloha - I'm not criticising you or anyone else for leaving your dc's in a hotel room alone but it's just not for me. I have a new build house with thin walls so it's easy to hear everything, not breathing obviously but I can through the monitor. I'm not trying to be supercilious or anything either as I realise other people do different things and as I said I'm not judging them for their decisions. I think me being very AP adds to my decisions in this matter.

Spockle - we plan on going to cottages so we can go downstairs and be loud hehe, plus it's good to get some early nights as well hehe.

northender · 09/08/2007 20:59

Whatever you decide ceebee have a lovely time

BettySpaghetti · 09/08/2007 21:08

If you're thinking of putting the cot mattress in the bath just be aware that a lot of hotels just have showers, not baths. It might be worth phoning to check .

The Holiday Inn we stayed in a couple of months ago only had a shower.

Heathcliffscathy · 09/08/2007 21:10

am with aloha.

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread