What are the little things that make a big difference on a family day out/ holiday/ meal

[carriemumsnet]

Hi there,

I've been asked to speak at the British Hospitality Association conference next week, where there will be top folks from restaurants and cafes, hotels and travel and theme parks/ attractions and I'd love to know from you what are the little things that make a big difference to your enjoyment of a family day out/meal out/ family holiday or hotel? What makes a place feel welcoming to families, what makes you want to go back? Who is getting it right do you think and why? And what could they do a lot better (apart from making it all much cheaper!). I can't promise to fit everything in but think it's a great opportunity to let them know what we think.

They are also talking about whether you would encourage your child to take a job in the hospitality industry (or would take one yourself) and if not why not? So any thoughts on that also welcome.

Thanks so much as always.

[carriemumsnet]

Thanks everyone for all the feedback. I'll build in as many of your suggestions as I possibly can.

Thanks again

[PussCatTheGoldfish]

Yy to larger toilet cubicles.

If you have a kids activity week eg over half term, and families have already paid a lot in entrance fees, make all the activities free.

We were in Cornwall last week at the Eden Project and the lost gardens of Heligon and they were both really good for this.

[Checklist]

Benches at regular intervals! We went to Oban last year, having been there 2 years previously. They seemed to have removed all the benches from the seafront! Elderly and disabled people, who are still part of the family need to sit down when they are tired! I really don't care about initiatives to discourage homeless sleepers!

[PorridgeAgainAbney]

I'd love it if there was at least something DS could order off the menu as he has some food allergies and it makes him so happy to order something instead of me handing him a lunchbox with his food in it.

Some places are great (Harvester and a couple of local cafes are our go-to places) but some still seem to think that allergies are either a non-issue lifestyle choice, or so unusual that you'd think our DS was the first child with an allergy. We had a lady in M&S once tell us that even though there was nothing he could order from their menu, he wasn't allowed to eat some pitta and hummus that we had bought in their food hall 5 minutes earlier!

[UpOnDown]

Colouring sheets and high chairs that are easy to wipe down.

[MyHairNeedsASnip]

Bella Italia are fab for this. Kids menu's in 3 sizes, beige n chips or a smaller pasta or pizza dish off the main menu, colouring sheets and a fancy crayon and their drink in a little bottle with a curly straw they can take home. We all really enjoy going there.

I would like larger toilet cubicles and paper towels as well then it would be perfect.

[scampimom]

I love:
Kids menus that have two "tiers" for under-5s and over-5s (or similar), so the portion sizes are different

Waiting staff being nice to kids makes a HUGE difference, and they have the biggest impact on the dining experience. other little things they do in ASK Italian, for example, is bring vegetable crudites as soon as you sit down with a little one, ask if you want the kid's main brought out with the adults' starters, and bringing the bill quick so we're not all sat waiting impatiently with the LO not understanding why we can't go!

Family areas - so you're not worrying about disturbing other diners/guests without kids, who are entitled to a meal in peace!

Working in the hospitality industry is hard work and badly paid, but it does give you a good work ethic, and it also makes the rest of your working life seem like a breeze in comparison!

[nailslikeknives]

Another Carluccio's fan here although I think it's always the staff who add the things that make me return somewhere. Taking little kids out to eat can be a faff so anyone who eases that gets my thanks.

e.g.

A Slug & Lettuce waiter who remembered us from a visit 2 months previously and brought the things I'd forgotten to ask for as he knew I wanted them last time, namely 2 cold bowls, straws, a few extra napkins. I tipped well and also told the manager what a great employee he had.

DS2 used to evacuate a week's worth of bowel movement in one go When he did this in Carluccio's the lovely, lovely waitress stayed with my 2 yr old for 10 mins while I sorted the baby's poonami (in the loo, obvs). I knew her from previous visits. She chatted with him about his food until I came back. We went when it was quiet but still, what an amazingly kind touch.

Bringing kids' food quickly but not just one kid's - both or nothing!
Breadsticks or something to nibble.
Letting me order straight away.
Being nice to my kids.
A pack with colours, stickers, something to make.

[LBOCS2]

My main bugbear is outside space.

If there's a play area, outside eating area or garden, it needs to be properly enclosed for me to feel comfortable. And by properly enclosed I mean with a self closing gate and chicken wire or mesh in the bottom 2/3ft of a standard post and rail fence. Not open to the car park, or the road, or into the restaurant straight past the kitchen, or with a gate that keeps being left open by other parents.

I haven't actually found one single restaurant or pub which has managed this, despite advertising themselves as family friendly.

Oh, and I LOVE the fact that Zizzi not only do an under and over 5's kids menu, but also offer a small plate of pasta for about £2 for weaned babies - who really don't need three courses.

[OlennasWimple]

Asking whether we want the kids food bringing out as soon as it is ready, or whether we want the meals to come out all together

[venys]

Oh yeah in addition to my son getting out of the hotel room , I realise I never have found truly preschooler friendly accommodation even in purpose built family resorts. Eg Centreparcs have under counter ovens and no stairs gates to enclose kitchen, one cottage we went to saying it was family friendly had loads of china knick knacks on low windows that we couldn't hide them all before the excited children got to them , plus no stair gates on internal stairs plus a massive thing of laundry powered in an open cupboard at floor height. Lalandia had great outdoor space but gardens not fenced in so kids could wander off on the roads at any time. I actually find finding suitable accommodation stressful. You can't just provide a high chair and a cot and say its family friendly. They are actually the least of our worries. One good thing we have found is doctors / nurses at resorts that you can see on the day. We have had many ear infections on holiday including a very stressful ambulance ride in Mallorca due to no painkillers to get fever down and a subsequent serious febrile convulsion.

[Joinourclub]

I hate it when kids meals are brought out on a boiling hot plate. "Watch out its hot" - yeah , my two year old is really going to take notice of that.

I like:
Jugs of water available
No ice in kids drinks
Kids cutlery - we LOVE Wagamamas kids chopsticks.
Kids meals that are not just something and chips (again , LOVE Wagamamas)

[MaverickSnoopy]

One word - Ikea.

Toilets accessible for children, good baby changing, accessible high chairs, plenty to occupy children, a good menu...I could go on....

If they could replicate that I would be there with bells on.

[YesILikeItToo]

It is usually easier to discover the dog policy on a hotel website than it is to find out if they can accommodate babies and toddlers.

[BarbaraofSeville]

Agree with you on the toilet paper dispensers hamwich, they're always useless and difficult to use, but I think sadly, if you put normal ones in, people steal the toilet paper.

It probably also runs out very quickly and would require intervention to be replaced.

[1hamwich4]

Oh, and those stupid toilet paper dispensers that mean you have to struggle to find the end. Or the ones that mean you have to rip out a massive wodge altogether because they are so tightly packed.

[1hamwich4]

I've been regularly annoyed by the amount of toilets that are unusable for small children.

Ok a teeny tiny loo is unrealistic to expect but there's no reason for any of these issues:

Cubicle too small for an adult to assist

Filthy floors/walls

Sinks too high/water too hot/pressure too high/taps too difficult to operate/soap too high or too hard to operate

Noisy hand driers that are too high for a child to use even if they aren't screaming in terror/pain at the racket. Either that or they are so feeble there is no way you can get a toddler to wait around long enough to get their hands properly dry. They often seem to be installed just above baby changing tables for a lovely extra 'surprise' when you put your child down as well.

[GriseldaChop]

One thing which would be great is if you're out for a meal for the children's meal to come first. It gives me time to cut up, etc and get them sorted so that when mine arrives we can all start together. Quite often the child's meal seems to be the last one to come out so you've got a little one thinking they've been forgotten and a full table with no room to manoeuvre plates!

[Spikeyball]

Accessible toilets that are big enough to get a wheelchair in and space for several carers. Bigger places having a changing bed with hoist for disabled children ( and adults).
Theme parks having a calming space/ chill out room for those with sensory difficulties that is specifically for them. Space for wheelchairs/older children's buggies in cafes and restaurants. The option of booking tables. Staff having disability awareness.

[venys]

As pp said, high chairs that are same height as table or trays. Plus child sized cutlery and glasses. And as others said the standard beige and chips,.and brownie and ice cream is pants..we don't eat this at home, so why choose it when out?.My kids love things like noodle dishes, donburi, quesadillas etc but they never come in child sized portions.

My son also has a learning Disability and as such many places are no go areas for us despite being previously well travelled pre kids. He loves to explore and won't sit at the table very long so ideally we need somewhere engaging and closed in for him to play in like a.decent sized soft play while we eat. Hotel rooms that are kid safe as we found he got out once and was wandering naked in the foyer once Hotel rooms with actual listening service so we don't have to sit on the balcony when kids are asleep watching everyone else having fun below us. Actually I despise hotel rooms for this reason and now only get places with actual bedrooms. With full sized beds as we all co sleep anyway. If you have a children's club then put the sessions on all at the same time. Last place we went to our kids of different ages had to go to different sessions so there was no time off for the parents as we always had the other child to look after?!

Lastly I wish someone would set up a staycation company where we just hire chefs and a cleaner for a week. I find these days that going away is an expensive faff that never really delivers what you have at home.

[LockedOutOfMN]

Haven't read the whole thread so sorry if I'm repeating previous posters' suggestions.

In restaurants and cafés, we would choose places where we could pay for food or drinks upfront. Places that accept credit cards are essential.

Also having one of the restaurant staff to seat customers is a bonus; we went to a great café in the Yorkshire Dales which did this and it made us feel really welcome as on that occasion we were a large group (9 of us) and not to have to go round begging odd chairs from different tables made the whole experience more relaxing.

Clean toilets. Sufficient toilets if it's at an attraction or somewhere where there is likely to be a high number of visitors needing to use the loo (suggest unisex to avoid the popular problem of much longer queues for the ladies').

[Akire]

Plastic cups for children who have outgrown baby cups at 3/4/5 but next size up is a giant glass with ice (even when we asked for none) and a straw. The kids will still try and pick it up and inevitable tip it all over the table or themselves. A jug of water/squash and small cups would be great.

Ditto cutlery that a under 7 can fit in their mouths, you can't eat much food with just a tea spoon yet adult size are huge and heavy.

More than one tiny napkin per person, ideally being kids food first so you have few minutes to sort, chop, before yours starts getting cold.

[buckeejit]

Pay first so you can just run out when done-so much better for everyone. Plastic glasses for dc. If giving colouring pencils make sure they're sharpened once in a while. Yest had a meal out & out of about 60 colouring pencils, only 5 were useable, grrrr!

A few toys & books in a corner go a long way

[KatherinaMinola]

Paper towels in the toilet as well as / instead of really loud hand driers - many small children hate these.

Yes - this!

As Vonklump says above, great service - which means making small accommodations for customers (eg making something that isn't actually on the menu but is a very simple combination of things that are on the menu - fish fingers with mashed potato, for example, rather than with chips).

As PP say - speed of service, plastic cups and plates, child-sized cutlery. Clear labelling of allergens. Antilop with tray. Very clean - preferably large - toilets. Nice waiters. Milk as an option rather than squash/juice. Low-priced set meals for dc.

Puzzle sheets etc are much appreciated by small dc.

Wetherspoons and Pizza Express are very family-friendly IME.

For hotels - the option of booking a standard double rather than a family room, when you have a co-sleeping toddler (with perhaps a small extra charge for breakfast). Usually there are only a few "family rooms" available, but if you don't actually need the extra bed this shouldn't be a problem.

For hotels generally it's all about getting the main things right (clean, attractive, great showers, great breakfasts, great service) and then the little touches on top that make you remember the place (fancy soaps, really nice china, butter curls).