Read about Mumsnetters favourite things to do while on a family break away with Luxury Family Hotels

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This sponsored discussion is now closed. Thank you to all who took the time to post below.

We all need some rest and relaxation every now and again. A short stay away might just be the break that you and your family need to recover from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and can provide the perfect opportunity for the whole family to do activities that you wouldn’t normally get the chance to. Whether you’d like to spend your time playing board games, hiring bicycles, exploring the local towns or enjoying the facilities at the Hotel Spa, Luxury Family Holidays would like to hear from you.

Here’s what Luxury Family Hotels have to say: “Here at Luxury Family Hotels we know how important family time is and so our aim is to create places for families to make life-long memories. Whether it’s a family swim or bike ride, adventures in the gardens or exploring many of the wonderful days out near any of our hotels, every family will find something to enjoy together.”

Where in the UK would you like to go on a break away? What would your typical day look like on your family holiday? Do you have a perfectly planned schedule of the activities you plan to do? Would you rather go on a coastal stroll or a walk through the open fields of the countryside? Are there any activities that you would like to do together as a family on a UK break away which are not currently offered by hotels you’ve stayed at in the past?

Everyone who shares their favourite activities on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky MNer will win a two-night bed & breakfast stay at the Luxury Family Hotel of their choice*.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!
MNHQ

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*The prize is valid for redemption until 11 December 2020 (excluding school holidays and bank holiday weekends). The prize is valid for two adults and up to three children and is subject to availability at the time of booking. It is non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash.

Where in the UK would you like to go on a break away?

We like to escape to the Country. Really get back to nature. Somewhere with a big lake or forest.

What would your typical day look like on your family holiday?

A late and lazy breakfast (after a long lie in)
And then getting stuck in to an activity or adventure. Lunch out on the go and then back to the hotel for a brilliant dinner. In the evening, games or quizzes for all of the children. No tech in sight

Do you have a perfectly planned schedule of the activities you plan to do?

Half and half. It’s nice to have at least one planned activity and day but it’s equally important to have a morning or afternoon to relax, especially in a luxury hotel

Would you rather go on a coastal stroll or a walk through the open fields of the countryside?

Open fields for sure.

Are there any activities that you would like to do together as a family on a UK break away which are not currently offered by hotels you’ve stayed at in the past?

Yes, I would like to see more evening entertainment. Not the tacky kind but family quizzes and competitive games where families compete against each other.

Give us A sandy beach and a cafe and our holidays are sorted. We love being outdoors playing . If not somewhere sandy, bug hunts, hide and seek, trees to climb and space to run around are key. We like to be somewhere within a few hours of London, preferably south coast.
We are not planners but prefer to wing it depending on how we feel.

Its good to take in some of the local attractions but really what we enjoy when we are away us spending time together. Simple things like using the hotel pool and going for a walk are always great when we have no time pressures and everyone is relaxed.

We love a break to the coast. Playing out on the beach or outdoors in the countryside. But if it’s a UK break there needs to be plenty of indoor activities that we can do in case it rains. I always feel more relaxed if I know there’s a plan in case of rain.

We like family breaks for a long weekend within 2 hours of drive from west London. Spacious accommodation is important to us because we spend a lot of time indoor as our child still naps and likes to read dozens of books before bed.
We also enjoy outdoor activities like playing on the beach, swimming , walking in the woods, watching and feeding animals. Our child loves vehicles, so riding a train, a bicycle, a golf buggy, or taking a boat would be his highlight of the day.
We typically book one activity only per day because we don't want to hurry and children can be unpredictable.
Nice food within walking distance is also a must. Ideally the hotel would have a couple of restaurants (offering different cuisines) or be located near a busy high street.
Sometimes we go with grandparents, so interconnecting rooms and apartments/lodges are preferred.
We have been to centre parks a few times, and I would love to find a hotel that is as child friendly (offering swimming and children's playground or soft play) and does better on food.

I really want to love UK breaks but struggle to find anything that really ticks all of our boxes. We want to be outside as much as possible with plenty to do, so sports, pools, mini golf etc. I'd really want something like the facilities of a great Eurocamp but in a hotel setting - at Eurocamp we've had splash parks, horse riding, cycling, climbing walls and loads of activities but I'd prefer to be in a lovely comfortable hotel with a fab breakfast and choice of dining options. I want there to be a choice of casual and formal dining, not just one restaurant for every meal. I want food stalls out on a beach and a place to grab a drink without returning to the hotel. I'd love spacious accommodation, including a balcony, with great facilities.

Where in the UK would you like to go on a break away?
The seaside.

What would your typical day look like on your family holiday?
Leisurely breakfast while we discuss the plans for the day, then out to do something, picnic lunch, afternoon activity and back late afternoon /early evening for a chilled out supper, bath and bed.

Do you have a perfectly planned schedule of the activities you plan to do?
We plan a general outline but it's not rigidly stuck to.

Would you rather go on a coastal stroll or a walk through the open fields of the countryside?
Coastal stroll with ice creams.

Are there any activities that you would like to do together as a family on a UK break away which are not currently offered by hotels you’ve stayed at in the past?
We usually stay in self-catering as there's more freedom and space in an apartment. Would like more apart-hotels with kids' activities.

Key to enjoying any of this is a proper night's sleep.
We have never been back to a Luxury Family Hotel after leaving bone crunchingly tired from the combination of ancient lumpy mattress, child travel cot that should have been condemned and was totally inappropriate for use (the bottom had sagged so there was a central post pushing up and the rest falling away like the roof of a big top. No mattress supplied to go on top of that) and the atrocious sound insulation that meant we heard every drunken return from the restaurant at night and every screaming baby during the night and in the morning. Can't enjoy any of it if the basics aren't covered.

We love a hotel with a pool. It’s something fun we all enjoy together. Our dc are 3 and 5 so just being at a hotel and all sleeping in the same room is a big adventure. They love a hotel room picnic and then curling up to watch a film at bedtime together.

As grown ups we love a bit of time for room service and a glass of wine once they’ve finally dropped off!

We love to go to the Lake District.
We have places that we do, whilst we're there I keep a list of my phone and we chat every night about what we're going to do the following day.
The children are fully involved and love getting out and about in the great outdoors.
For us a great holiday is about spending time together and relaxing.

We like coastal areas. Bonus points for interesting historical landmarks!

Usual day starts with a casual breakfast and then we will have looked up places of interest in advance and we head off there.

We don’t tend to stay at the accommodation except to sleep. If there’s a decent restaurant attached or cafe we will usually give it a go.

It’s all about broadening horizons and enjoying time together.

We tend to stick within a 2 hour drive of our home for a short break, which includes Cheshire, North Wales, Lake District, Lancashire and Shropshire. We do love to explore the UK but with two little ones we only tend to travel further if going for 4/5 nights upwards. We're off to Cornwall for a week in the summer.

We love days out - national trust is always a huge hit, digging on the beach, short walks, playgrounds, local attractions such as zoos or museums or parks. We like good food - nice pubs or farmers markets. In the past we've visited farm parks, steam trains, country walks, castles, aquariums, small villages for a wander, beaches. Anything that keeps the kids happy!

It's always hard to find the right room type. We have a baby and a 4 year old and so don't want adjoining rooms, we'd prefer a one bedroom suite with a sofa bed in the living area. A booking system / website that makes clear exactly what room types are suitable is very useful and helps narrow down our options.

Hotels which provide a little treat for the kids are lovely - we've had soft toys before or cookies or fruit in the room. We've also been provided with bathrobes for the little ones and toys for the room. Child toiletries are a nice touch. In one hotel we stayed in you could request a toilet seat or potty which was useful. Enough towels in the room for everyone (was a problem at one hotel).

We like an indoor pool, particularly one with a children's splash area and a few toys or floats. A DVD player in the room with a dvd library in reception is good or a tv interface where you can play your phone through the tv. A small play area with some books / duplo / train table or similar would be great.

Meals available at family friendly times - restaurants that don't open until 6:30 are always difficult, we're thinking about bath times then! Breakfasts that start early or an option to have something delivered to the room. If there's a turndown service, an option to choose a time window so it doesn't interrupt sleeping children and we don't miss it completely.

Visit all the local attractions and go to a beach

I'm a planner so would see what is a 'must do' in the area then plan a schedule to fit it all in! Family meals together and not having to cook are a huge bonus!

Coastal over countryside every time. Probably because I live in a very rural area as far from the sea as it's possible to be. Luxury room with squishy pillows and billowy duvets. Lots of room for everyone. Help yourself breakfast so everyone can choose their favourites. One planned item per day and hopefully a swim/play in the pool. Extensive choice of soft drinks at the bar and nice food for the kids that doesn't involve nuggets/fish fingers/sausage and chips - coz they need to be eaten on a bench facing the sea.

I love planning our breaks and will always do lots of research before we go. I look for plenty of family friendly activities and take some rainy day activities with us.

Want a pool definitely and hotel facilities. Like to be close to the beech. I find the room set up in hotels quite difficult. I have 3dc. Older 2 can share, but if youngest is in with them, she is so annoying the others do not feel like it's a holiday. We'd like an apartment set up within a hotel.

We love exploring, finding out the history of places. A mix of outdoors, museums, good food and nature. To then return after a busy day to luxury accommodation, where the evening can be spent relaxing as a family with a glass of wine.

Family holidays are now with teens so there needs to be a plethora of things for them to do. Access to a spa from age 14 would be a start as DD would love that. Most are aged 16 or over. Many of the gyms are the same so my mid aged teen can’t access these facilities but doesn’t want to do the children’s activities now. Water sports are always welcome. Places of interest nearby to visit are also welcome.

We love things to do on site / walking distance so we don't always have to get in the car, enjoy exploring and finding things out, so STEM type experiences or attractions / national trust, being outdoors. Nothing too commercial or crowded. We like having our own space once the kids have gone to bed and they like to make friends with other kids

Anywhere by the sea that is accessible by train. Having vegetarian options at breakfast and coastal walks keeps us happy.

Cycling, SUP, kayaking, exploring and eating!

We love to take it as it comes: boardgames in front of a roaring fire in winter, long walks or hikes with dog and children and family swims - indoors or outdoors!

We love staying somewhere with a pool, near a beach in the summer, but also like city breaks in the colder weather when we can explore museums, aquarium’s, wildlife parks etc. Like being able to watch a family film in the room after the evening meal.

Agree with pp that access to spas and gyms at a younger age would be great.

Swimming or beach is a must for us. We live inland so love the novelty of a beach. We live in a rural location so on holiday we like a bit of buzz. Lots of things to do nearby, bonus if can use our national trust of hs passes!