Restaurants don't open till 7 - kids tea?

[NewtothisFBK4921]

We plan to go to Rixos Abu Dhabi in January but I see the restaurants don't open until 7pm, loads of all inclusive seems to be the same. What do you all do about kids tea when on similar holidays? Ours are 1 & 4 and they're passed out asleep by 7pm...

Will they not adjust their times on holiay, getting up later or an afternoon nap?

If they’re all inclusive you can get food all day?
Failing that, it will be really hot, a good afternoon nap, and they’ll be up til 9! It is holiday after all!!

Won't they just adjust because of the time difference?

Which Rixos are you staying at? I am at the one on Saadiyat Island atm.

Probably change plans to a good old British seaside resort with rock pools and sand castles and reasonable eating times that would better suit a 1 and 4 year old.

This!

Abu Dhabi not great for kids

The time difference will work in your favour, 4pm here will be 7pm there won’t it?

I'd book a different holiday, it's not rocket science.

To be honest there's 3 hours time difference, so 7 there will only be 4 Uk time, so won't be much different to your usual routine.

I agree wholeheartedly.
The travel and time difference is going to upskittle your schedule anyway, as it the hot weather. You'll probably be out and about mornings and late afternoon, with a siesta early afternoon, avoiding as much midday sun as possible with little ones. No one in that climate is going to want to eat until 7, which is why you won't be catered for until then.

When we went to a resort where the restaurants didn't open till 6:30 we just compromised on the time difference and acted like it was an hour earlier than local time. Toddler was still pretty tired at dinner time, but it worked okay, especially in a buffet restaurant where we didn't have to wait for food to come.

Put them down for a nap and adjust their routine on holiday?

Pick up extra food at breakfast and lunchtime (a croissant, bread roll, yoghurt or fruit or something) and put it in the minibar fridge. A one year old is presumably not eating much at teatime anyway (take some pouches?). The four year old can have a big lunch and smaller tea. Or an early teatime snack and then a later dinner.

I wouldn’t want to be in the hotel room with sleeping children every night from 7pm on holiday. Most people with children give them an afternoon nap (even when they don’t normally) and stay up later.

A good old British seaside resort with copious amounts of rain.

In January? Sounds absolutely miserable.

Abu Dhabi temperatures are lovely in January. Highs of 24/25. Not sure why people are writing like it will be some kind of extreme temperature..

@Longdueachange I have never heard the word "upskittle" before but I love it and will be stealing it for myself. Thank you!

Abu Dhabi is 4 hours ahead right? So if you eat your dinner at 7 out there then it's 3pm here. Just don't adjust them completely to the time difference. When we go to Greece (2 hours ahead) we act like we're on Uk time so the kids get up at 8am Greek time, we have dinner at 7 and then they go to bed about 9.

Abu Dhabi is 3 hours ahead. Don’t adjust to the time difference and you’ll be just fine - I doubt the kids will want dinner 4pm and to be asleep at that time?

Are you just going to sit in your hotel room from 7 every night?

Do they not have a snack bar?

We never adjusted DS’s bed time when we went to Dubai. So he would be staying up till around 11pm to midnight every night.

Dubai is very child friendly, so there will be many kids out and about late in the evening.

You adapt to what is customary in the place you're visiting; that's part of the point of going somewhere different, isn't it?

If you can't or don't want to adapt then it's better to find somewhere that meets your needs. So, when you're looking for holidays, decide what you can and can't compromise on and then start your search.

What is it that's drawn you to Abu Dhabi?

Not much of a holiday for anyone if the day is over by 7pm. Adjust your routine or wait until they are older to go there!

I went to a different Rixos last year but I’d imagine they’d be similar? We could get food literally 24 hours a day? The restaurants had opening times but when they were shut the bars served food