Win a two-night bed and breakfast stay at a Luxury Family Hotel

[HannahGMumsnet]

Hello folks - we've got another competition for you!

Luxury Family Hotels are famed for providing families with stress-free and relaxing UK breaks which are fully focused on spending quality time together and taking some time out to relax.

With multiple locations across the south of the UK and prices starting from £329 for two-night stays including breakfast and dinner, it's the ideal time to book your break - and you can find out more here.

This year they're celebrating their 30th birthday, and to celebrate they're giving one lucky Mumsnetter the chance to win a two-night bed and breakfast stay at a Luxury Family Hotel of their choice.

To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is let us know your top tips and tricks to ensure you and your family unwind properly on holiday. Whether that's making sure you turn off notifications for work emails, or getting out and exploring nature or simply remembering to pack the tablet charging cable, we want to hear it.

We will be picking a winner at random on Monday 22 July 2019 - good luck!

The prize is valid for redemption until 28 March 2020 (excluding school holidays and Bank Holiday weekends). The prize is valid for two adults and up to three children. The prize is subject to availability at time of booking.

We always like to take our time to get going so holiday mornings always start with a leisurely breakfast and no rushing! I like to book a place where the children have things to do on site, like a pool or a games room. Then we'll visit local places, but not always for a whole day, so that we get lots of time just to relax too. Booking an online shopping delivery for the first night of a self catering holiday has been a godsend too!

We always make sure the place we stay has a pool and breakfast included. That way we can all eat a big meal at breakfast and just have a snack lunch at a museum or something, before returning to the hotel to swim before or after dinner. The swimming tires the kids out so they fall asleep fast giving us a little alone time.

No work email or iPad. I put my out of office on email saying I will not have any access to emails while I am out and won’t respond until I return...and I mean it. I work more than full time so every second I have on holiday with them I want to be “present” and not worrying about the dramas unfolding back at the office.

banning mobile phones for a few hours each day!

My tips are to plan ahead of time for packing, travel and any activities or trips out, then once there relax and enjoy the change of scenery. Be flexible with routine when away so you aren't constantly clock watching, phones away and plan some time to focus on your children, but also for some time alone, even if it is just an hour!

Only booking places with childcare to give us a bit of a break (works both ways - 2 year old gets tired of us too!) and not self-catering only as I want to be cooked for!

The best way to relax is to ensure the first night's dinner always booked so there's no faffing about when you've spent ages travelling and everyone is hungry. I loathe the food hunt, so it is best eliminated!

Also, have a loose idea of places you want to visit/things you want to do so there's no indecision or time wasted when you are actually off.

Keep the beach bag in the car incase it takes your fancy, complete with talcum powder for post beach de-sanding.

Forget timescales and let the kids stay up late, enjoy their company and hopefully they will sleep in late!

My top tip is to have things planned that both my children will enjoy and look forward too.
Also take snacks along, mini activities such as colourings books/jigsaws etc so there's always something to do.

Planning is super important for me. Partly I get lots of joy from the anticipation of the holiday, but I also know how much easier it makes the holiday when we arrive. I understand that some people find too much planning stressful, but for me I like knowing how to get around, where to go for days out etc, especially as we sometimes go away with other people and you can spend all morning trying to agree what to do.

My top tip is when you pack, use your collection of supermarket bags (coz we always remember to reuse and never end up with 40 of them in the house....) Or sandwich bags to create separate outfits inc a nappy, cardigan/jumper and any accessories for each child. Pack them all in the suitcase and when it's time to get dressed, hand each child/adult dressing child, a bag. Saves rooting around everyday and you know what's clean too. Then use bags to pack up dirty washing in colours, whites etc for easy washing when home. Bags can be reused throughout holiday too.
Works well for hospital bags too 😁

I always get a stack of leaflets about local attractions and read bits out to the family. They tease me, we go to one or two things but we feel like we know the area really well Also one year I also got a bus timetable which DD read aloud while the tent leaked. Happy times.

I prefer not to plan and just go with the flow. That way it's less stressful and there isn't any expectations. You never know what the weather will be like and people's moods, tiredness etc so I find not making plans is easier for us.

My top tip is to chose somewhere that has something everyone will love. For the children I want somewhere they can let off steam so a large garden or grounds, a swimming pool or near to an outdoor attraction. For us I want lovely accommodation that I can relax in and great fun to enjoy.

I make sure I research enough places to make sure that where we're going we all will enjoy. I have three boys and the youngest is just turning 1. Needs to be plenty to do for them but also somewhere good to eat and unwind too.

I also make sure I'm super organised with packing so all we have to do is relax and unwind when we get there.

We like planning and booking some activities but also making sure we have some days where nothing is planned and we can just chill. I always take a surprise toy and book for DD so I can produce it when she says she's bored and wants something new to do.

Absolutely agree with no driving. Anything outdoors is great for our son but for the most part we are happy lazing around with board games (and a glass of wine for the grownups). Somewhere peaceful, I'm not into the whole kids club stuff really.

Plan what you are going to do before you leave do plenty of research first and foremost and just make the most of every moment making memories!

Clever packing. Early starts with pre-planned pitstops (never service stations). National Trust membership!

We minimise electronics during the day, only using them for pictures. The children leave theirs at home. We play a different board game every night with the winner picking the next one and lastly get outdoors every day. We get the kids wrapped up or stripped down depending on weather and go for a bimble, sometimes we'll plan a walking route with parks along the way and sometimes we'll let the kids pick the route. Not following a strict routine and going with the flow helps aswell.

Finding somewhere off the beaten track and local to eat.

Staying somewhere with food and drink facilities in walking distance! We usually go self catering and having food pubs or restaurants in walking distance makes all the difference so we can have at least one meal out with a couple of glasses of wine as no one has to drive. A hotel with a bar and restaurant even better!

I spend a lot of time researching the area, planning days out and things to do. I always have a loose itinerary in mind before we go, which is a good job because DH hasn't a clue! The cheaper the better as spending lots of money can be stressful in itself - we're big fans of National Trust and much prefer natural stuff to theme parks.

I always make a big list of everything we need to take and don't tick anything off until it's safely in the bag - worked a treat so far!

So reading all the tips you must either

Be very organised
Or
Don't plan in advance

I guess it's what suits your family best. Sometimes we go away with my friend who has Downs syndrome and it suits her to know exactly what we are doing when.

Also re. the no tech thing - for teenagers the opposite applies. Make sure there is wifi and charging points!!!

We never dared anything else than self-catering so far but this thread reminds me that perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel and we can soon try hotels. We still would need adjacent rooms though ideally connected by a door and these are hard to find. We went to a hotel when DC was a baby and the other guests were so lovely but I was rather tense especially at dinner because at this time DC was usually not his best. Otherwise a beach, pool or playground in walking distance is a must and some sightseeing for the grown-ups.

I make sure I won't mind how much money we will spend eating out and buying random toys as and when necessary!

And I pack all the essentials and apart from that, go with the flow and the weather.