1st Wedding anniversary - going away with DD- ideas please?

[Pavlovthecat]

We would like to go away for a couple of days, something that can involve some romance, but will be taking our 2yo with us, as no-one to look after her for two days (possibly one night, but not two).

So, can anyone give us some ideas? ie, childminder options for one evening? places that do childminding/creche services?

We are in Devon, and don't anticipate venturing to far from the south west as its only for a couple of days...

sitters can come to you wherever you are, including hotels. Check out their website

maybe somewhere like this?

gilly - can they? There is a site where you can get registered minders?

TMMJ - oh wow that is perfect! We can get some time off in the day and have a meal in the evening!

And to be honest, its nice having her with us, as long we get a break. She is our family, and our marriage was a celebration of all that is good in our life. She is a significant part of that good. I have not braved the cost yet.....here we go!

Yup www.sitters.co.uk

You have to pay a membership fee, but they can come out to a hotel etc if they have sitters available in the area you are going too. Best to book as much in advance as you can though if you are having an evening meal out etc.

Some hotels do also offer a babysitting service, but you don't necessarily know who you're getting and they are not necessarily experienced or have been police checked etc.

Gilly

gilly - the one linked by tmmj is uses ofsted approved nannies who work in their day centre - so I am guessing they would need to have been checked properly? I would of course look into it properly.

And I will check out the website above, what a great idea!

pavlov-are you going to book it? it looks fab doesn't it?[sigh]

Its quite pricey, BUT it is our 1st anniversary and we did not get any time without DD when we got married, would be lovely to be able to include her in some of the celebration but not all, and it includes dinner, which means we wont have to go too far with DD being babysat.

I shall have to run it by DH, and spend some time convincing him, but I think it fits the bill perfectly.

What si your budget? If you want to splash out I can help?

It was my 30th last weekend and we took 22 month old DD to Cowley Manor in Gloucestershire. It was gorgeous. Huge old house, amazing grounds, luxurious spa, lovely restaturant.

It is not a child obsessed place but they do a free children's tea from 5.30-6.30 and they make kids feel very welcome. We asked for a room within baby monitor distance of the dining room. They have extra strong baby monitors. We got a lovely bi groom with a huge bathroom. We acutally put DD's cot in the bathroom so we could have privacy. Each night we had a lovely dinner with the monitor on our table.

DD loved the grounds, the ducks, the cheep, the pool, the food. And we had a smart weekend away with romance and pampering .

artichokes, that sounds lovely too, I shall go look at the website.

I have not really thought too much about budget to be honest. I am sort of thinking, find what I like, then see if we can afford it! (or rather, find what I like, convince DH we can afford it )!

Its a similar price to the one by TMMJ - which is probably doable, and looks great too!

I shall let DH look and we can have a think about them both.

Any more gratefully received too!

We honeymooned at Calcott Manor which is also in the Cotswolds and also lovely. I think it is in the same price bracket but a tiny bit cheaper. In addition to baby listening they have a creche (plus childrens' tea etc).

DH and I had a long discussion about Calcott vs Cowley. We decided the level of luxury is slightly greater at Cowley although both are very nice. The spas are both gorgeous. Cowley's house and grounds are more impressive and their communal areas are more welcoming. Calcott's food is slightly better except for breakfast where Cowley was perfect!

Ah shame, Calcott Manor Looks lovely too, but nothing available in Sept at all!