Hotel holiday with 2 year old

[Askyfullofkindness]

Hubby wants to book a summer holiday to Dubai.
Our dd will be 2. It will be in a hotel room. I have reservations about it. Mainly she will need to go to bed by 7-8pm so it will mean me and hubby sitting in a hotel room every night in silence 😂 she will also still be having one nap a day probably by that time so will still need to keep a semi routine.

Has anyone ever been on a hotel holiday with a 2yo? Are we crazy to even consider it? I don’t want to stress her out or stress me out but at the same time I really think she would love parts of the holiday too. Would you just scrap routine and go with the Flo for a week? I think I’ll find that really hard.

I've taken my son (2.5) to lots of hotels including in Dubai.

I would go wit the flow. Dubai is a good place to do this as with the time difference you can keep your routine on UK time and put her to bed a few hour later and wake up later.

Is it a possibility to get a baby sitter a few nights so you can go out? We did this and it was arranged by the hotel so we felt comfortable with it.

Depends on the child IMO. Mine were W nightmare, they had to be in a routine or it was just painful for everyone. I'm very envious of this that have kids that will nap in the buggy through dinner or eat a later dinner. We did eurocamp type holidays for several years for this reason. At least we had a deck to sit out on in the evenings and could bbq or cook when we wanted to after they were asleep.

We can do a night or two in a hotel but anything more than that would be impossible with my two. We normally get an apartment so we can take it in turns for one of us to get up and the other to have a bit of a sleep in. Also means we can sit and have a few drinks, watch whatever we want without worrying about disturbing them.

@HeyDuggeesFavouriteSquirrel Oh this is good to hear. Does your DS have a strict routine at home? My LO struggles to sleep anywhere but her cot. Did you do naps in the room? Or just in a buggy ok the go?

We did this, for our child they really 'needed' a proper bed/cot nap at their normal time. So we would get up early and have fun all 3 of us until approx 1pm. Then either me or DH would go back to hotel room and get toddler to sleep. That person would then sit on the balcony and read / chill / nap. The other person would enjoy an hour or so of peace sunbathing at the pool. Then by 2.30ish toddler was awake / refreshed / happy and we had a lovely afternoon and ate dinner on toddler schedule at about 5/6pm. Bath and bed at a pretty normal time maybe pushed out by an hour or two max. We would then sit on the balcony with snacks and relax ourselves.

We have a strict -ish routine at home (though not at the moment as my LO refuses to sleep but he was fine then!). My boy mostly sleeps in his cot too and we did go back to the room for naps. He's not great on the go but will have a short sleep.

I’d try to use the time difference to your advantage and have her stay up late. But if you know she’s not a good sleeper in the pram and thrives on strict routine then I’d only go if I could afford to pay for a suite in the hotel and/or if I could find somewhere with a nice balcony. I wouldn’t go all that way and spend all that money to spend 2 hours every afternoon and the whole of the evening sat in silence in a dark room.

Once took 2 babies to Milan. Slept in pj's in buggy while we ate out! Slipped effortlessly into cots. Change in routine can sometimes form a great new one!
The hotel staff made cots with a new soft toy in every day!!

Dubai is really hot in summer, about 40 deg. A different time of year might be better for playing in the beach and in the pool.

Summer? Dont go. Its blisteringly hot, and you wont be going anywhere that doesnt have aircon with a toddler.

We always found the middle east had lots of suites (we lived in the region for 5 years) so always had a mini kitchen and sofa for evening use.

When in summer? From April to October it is well into high 30s and above. Everywhere indoors has aircon but you could be anywhere in the world.

Why do you need to sit silence?
Is your home entirely silent when your child is asleep? Isn’t she used to noises, like the tv or you having a conversation?

Why don t you try a weekend in UK first premiere Inn
See how staying in a hotel works for you and your chikd
Do a practice run closer to home
Nice spa hotel?
Or just cheap premier inn
So you know
If you need apartment or hotel can work