Read Mumsnetter reviews of Tots to Travel resorts

[EllieMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the users that tested out the Tots Exclusive Experience resorts for a week. This was open to all UK MNers with children under the age of 5.

Non-testers in order to be entered into a prize draw, where one MNer will win a £200 voucher, please answer this question: Share your golden tip for going away with babies or toddlers!

Here is what Tots to Travel have to say: “At Tots to Travel we believe that every family with children under five should be able to holiday wherever they want, in the style they choose and in locations they love. It’s why we’ve developed our own Tots Exclusive Experience resorts. To give you those little extras that go a long way to address the specific needs that only parents of babies and toddlers face when going on holiday. With locations ranging from idyllic countryside retreats to blissful beachside escapes, there are plenty of places to choose from.

We are committed to giving every parent the confidence to go anywhere with their little ones, by providing everything you need for a seamless and stress-free travel experience. Tots Exclusive Experience resorts combine a whole lot of holiday know-how with a sense of fun, plenty of play, essential baby and toddler equipment, safety and a level of care that you won’t find anywhere else.

Each of the seven Tots Exclusive Experience resorts comes with the same Tots quality and family focus to make sure your holiday really is one to remember.”

Testers please answer the following questions:
- Which resort did you attend?
- Did you have all the Tots Essential Kit that you requested in your accommodation?
- Did your accommodation suit the specific needs of a family with children under five?
- Did you find the in accommodation play corner age appropriate and engaging?
- Did you find the Tots Play Zones age appropriate and engaging?
- Did you find the Playmaker activities age appropriate, varied and engaging? (Green Garden, Villacana Resort & Vale da Ribeira only)
- Did the Tots Guarantee of the Essential Kit and accommodation safety checks make you feel more at ease about holidaying with young children?
- Were you able to relax, recharge and reconnect as a family?

Selected testers will be required to leave their feedback on a thread on Mumsnet and fill in a short survey. Everyone who leaves the required feedback will be entered into a prize draw where 1 MNer will win £100 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

Non-tester: use time differences to your advantage to alter bedtimes. The med is usually 1-2 hrs ahead so that's an easy win - keep the kids on UK time and you naturally stay up later.

Combined with a bit of 'we're letting you stay up late for a treat' and you can easily make bedtime 10pm or later which makes it easier to eat at local dinner time!

Oh another one: IKEA blue bags make great beach/pool bags. Big enough to carry everything for the whole family but easy to search thru to find what you want...

Non-tester. My golden tip is i-spy books. Work well for train journeys, etc. Make sure they have a window seat!

Non tester here, my tip is not to expect this to be a chance to catch up on sleep and get some relaxation in. You probably know this already but the positive approach is to see it as a change..which I like to think is as good as a rest sometimes!
Try to stick to a similar routine - it really helps steer away from that 'too tired to sleep' phase which is awful!

Non tester
golden tip for going away with babies or toddlers - pack their bag first and well in advance, make a check list and ensure they have familiar toys and clothes and foods etc.
Take all opportunities for a nap together, share music and be social, your baby will pick up on your good mood and hopefully be less anxious.

Non-tester - I wouldn't manage without a list of what to pack! There's a generic list on the computer that I print out (and edit where needed) to keep us right. On the occasions I don't bother I inevitably forget something crucial (like my pyjamas....) Clearly that's not specific to travelling with toddlers, but there's just so much more to remember when small people are involved.

• Which resort did you attend?

Lemon in Brittany, France

• Did you have all the Tots Essential Kit that you requested in your accommodation?

We had everything we could possibly need already in the house. I requested a few things but found far more useful things than I would have thought to request. For example, there was bath toys (my kids loved them, I always forget to pack any). The baby monitor was also appreciated, I don’t use one in my small house, but really appreciated it in such a large house. My four year old loved the night light, we’ve bought one for our house now. We would have needed a bus to bring all the cool stuff we used in the house.

• Did your accommodation suit the specific needs of a family with children under five?

The accommodation more than suited the needs of a family with children under five. The safety equipment (stair gates, bed rails, steps to allow little ones to reach the sink) made life so relaxed. We’ve never had a more enjoyable holiday.

Little things like the dishwasher, washing machines and drying lines (also salt, olive oil and bin bags) took all the stress out of the children having accidents (my daughter is particularly keen on dipping her clothes in tomato ketchup at the moment) and made self catering a really easy option.

• Did you find the in accommodation play corner age appropriate and engaging?

The toys in the house were amazing. Pitched entirely right at the ages of my children (2 and 4). The selection was big enough for the kids to have variety, but not too many so we were tripping over them. They were good quality, so I didn’t have to worry about the kids breaking them.

All the kids loved the super-hero dressing up. There were lots of books which my children hadn’t seen before and the loved them. Our house also had a tepee in it, I had a problem convincing my children they had to sleep in bed and not in the tepee.

It was amazing to find toys they loved, which had the new ‘novelty’ factor. Better than anything I packed.

• Did you find the Tots Play Zones age appropriate and engaging?

My children have never had such a fun week. There was such a wide variety of toys outside - the mud kitchen made a lot of mud pies, my children loved the play houses and trampoline. The heated pool was such a bonus. All around the house there was so many fun things to do that we didn’t leave the gardens for several days.

• Did the Tots Guarantee of the Essential Kit and accommodation safety checks make you feel more at ease about holidaying with young children?

It’s just that bit harder holidaying with small children, you have to pack for every eventuality, it takes a lot of the fun away for me. The Tots Guarantee of the Essential Kit and accommodation safety checks takes all the worry and extra stress that small children cause away. Having tried it I cannot now imagine having a different kind of holiday while my children are small. I can’t imagine how any other holiday could be so relaxed.

• Were you able to relax, recharge and reconnect as a family?

My gosh did we relax! As a family we spent days together playing, eating wonderful food and putting the children to bed late. The house had a great location, so we went to some beautiful beeches and a fun rope park, and we hung out together. The hosts couldn’t have been more helpful, but still gave us lots of space to make ourselves comfortable. We have tried other family friendly holidays before but none have been so suitable for allowing young children to play safely. As a result no others have been so relaxed and enjoyable. We left recharged and reconnected as a family.

I really couldn’t recommend lemon more highly. We are going to book again.

Non-tester tip: pack second-favourite toy to avoid big drama if it gets lost, that way favourite toy is waiting safely at home. And pack plenty of stickers and small snacks. And work out the travel time, double it and add a bit on - it always takes longer than you think, just getting through security is a seemingly never-ending nightmare.

non-tester

Share your golden tip for going away with babies or toddlers!
Don't expect too much. High expectations can ruin holidays when the reality is that you still have to look after a little person, just in a different place. Take things that are easy to enjoy even when you're holding a baby - I recommend lots of books! And a box of wine :D

Non tester

Have low expectations!! Holidays with children are very different! It may not even seem like a holiday - there'll be minimal resting/ sleeping / lounging on the beach etc.
Accept it for what it is and don't plan too much.

Don't stress
go with the flow, don't be hard on yourself when things don't go as planned.
It's a holiday for everyone.

Take "doing things" like Blocks, colouring in etc.
Have a day where the Kids choose a thing they want to do, it's not fun following the rules all the time!

Lower your expectations! It'll be the same shit with better weather

Non tester tip:
Relax, don't expect to do the same things as you did pre children and do take a travel black out blind!

Non-tester. My tip is take a travel blackout blind as the curtains are always so thin. I have in the past improvised with bin bags and masking tape!

Non tester. We had holidays in the U.K. when daughter was a baby and toddler as it seemed easier than going abroad. She cried a lot when a baby and I couldn’t face the thought of her bawling throughout a flight! During car journeys we made sure we had lots of snacks and listened and sang to songs. Now she’s 14 and going on a flight is easy 😂

Non Tester - Best tip carry as less as possible and purchase from new destination. Go with the flow as new places take children time to adjust in.

"non-tester* my advice is to bring some familiar toys and stories for your toddler so they feel the reasurance of familiarity.

And my tip for holidays with children generally is to focus on holidays they will enjoy, and accept it is more a change of scenery than a holiday for parents!

Non-Tester

My golden tip for long journeys or queuing is to take a little bag with a variety of small toys in, sort of stocking filler type things.

We've had great success with small card games in little tins (you can find them at service stations), mazes with little balls in, small colouring/puzzle books, little tub of play dough, tiny Where's Wally? books and small portable games like Heads Up. I also check out the internet for quick games to play like the Alphabet Game. You pick a topic (e.g. fruit), then you have to name a fruit from every letter in the alphabet. Play together or against each other.

Stagger pulling things out of the bag during the day to keep interest going. We then keep them safe for the next time and because they aren't played with in between, they're super 'new' and exciting.

non tester I always take everything we need for the first few days including nappies / swim nappies, so we can settle in before we have to find supplies. we take a travel washing line, stain remover and scrub brush so we can at least hand wash as we go. A mini blow up paddling pool if there is only a shower to make it into a bath. Load up the ipad with shows which helps it be a holiday for parents as well and having a balcony or nice lounge you can be comfortable relaxing in in the evenings makes a big difference when you can't go out with small children asleep.

Organisation and planning ahead but allow for changes to plans!

non-tester

always travel as light as possible, you can always buy essentials (nappies, food, toiletries...) local once you have reached.

or stay within the UK and pack everything in the car, so much easier,

Non tester here:
It’s all about the food, at least when it comes to my children. Well, I’m not nice when I’m hungry either.Pack lots of snacks, pouches for babies and fond ahead family friendly restaurants.

Non tester. Golden tip - patience in spades! Don't expect brilliant behaviour, the children are out of their comfort zone and will test boundaries. Have alcohol on the night!

Non - tester
My tip is don't imagine it will go smoothly. Try to plan everything but final say will have your toddler. Take a lot of snacks and new toys. Try to enjoy your time together (even if it is just stay in the room) because very soon they will want to spend time with their friends.

Non Tester - be prepared to pay extra to get flights at the best time of day to suit your little ones routine. Do not make the mistake of thinking if you fly overnight, they will sleep. They won't! You will get there stressed right out, with an over tired child and will then lose days of your holiday getting them over it and trying to re-establish some sort of normal life/routine. Take the financial hit and enjoy the holiday instead.