Those of us who travel with children at the beginning are quite clueless about what we want or need in the accommodation that accompanies us. We may have been more interested in knowing if there was a jacuzzi in the room, water sports on the beach or a disco, but with the children the matter changes. Little by little we learn about what a child friend hotel should be.
Obviously, this concept will change from one family to another, but what does not change is the way in which a hotel receives babies or children, if it is prepared to receive them well or not, if it requires an important additional financial outlay or not, if its facilities are prepared, if it offers enough information for families ...
We already told you at the time about the characteristics that children-friendly restaurants should have, and this time we will focus on how children friendly hotels should be, which, as you can imagine, have little to do with those other hotels that do not accept children, increasingly fashionable.
Do the children pay? How much?
- It is important that the hotels in which the children are well received specify in their rates clearly which are the rooms indicated for each family, if they have extra beds, cots ... And above all the prices and ages of the children from which That price is increased.
- Needless to say, the fact that establishments charge more for a crib or want to put the family apart in two rooms (charging double) takes them away from the concept of "hotel friend of children."
- However, it is common for hotels to forget these issues on their reservation website and that does not mean that families cannot easily accommodate in their establishment. Therefore, parents who write directly to the hotel to request additional information should obtain a clear response of the housing conditions of the children.
At lunchtime…
- It is well received by families traveling with young children that hotels have specific menus for them included in the rate (or at cheaper prices than an adult menu, if meals are not included in the price).
- Of course, these meals cannot be based, as is often the case, on pre-cooked, fried and lower quality food than the older ones eat. On the contrary, the children's menus should take care of the quality and variety, including abundant fruits and vegetables, natural juices, balanced dishes ... In short, with the characteristics of the healthy children's dishes that we talk about with the children's friends restaurants.
Infrastructure and services
- The rooms and common spaces must be adequate for the transit of children, with the relevant security measures, protection in the plugs, ramps, railings ...
- In relation to the previous point, adequate furniture is imposed: sufficient availability of high chairs, cots or extra beds ...
- Service baby carriage rental I think it is a big forgotten in hotels that receive a lot of international public. Traveling by plane with a cart can be uncomfortable, and that the hotel has a loan or rental of strollers would encourage many families to take care of carrying their own.
- Children-friendly hotels have a specific program for children and for the whole family, with activities aimed at their care, entertainment and / or learning.
- The hotels that are friends with children must not only have these services, but they have to specify on their website the activities aimed at children, if they have a nursery service, children's pools ... In short, explain everything that may interest to parents, even if they are not interested or do not use some of these services.
- Many of the activities of these hotels are free (entertainment, shows ...), included in the room rates. The prices of other activities such as childcare, specific workshops ... should be affordable to become a real possibility for families who want to use them.
- The hotels have additional information (brochures, guides ...) about activities, museums and leisure aimed at children who can be visited near the establishment, in the same town or surroundings.
In short, we see that the conditions that a hotel must meet in order for us to consider it a friend of the children are very diverse. That it brings them all together may be a matter of utopia, but we wanted to approach that “ideal” hotel for families. We usually find ourselves, rather than with facilities, with difficulties in finding accommodation when traveling with children, and we would like this not to be the case.
There will also be parents who consider that some aspects of those listed are superficial, or that we have forgotten others. We encourage you to share with us what is your ideal hotel to travel with the kids.
Photos | prasad.om and Deborah Leigh (Migraine Chick) on Flickr-CC
In Babies and more | Recommendations and good practices for traveling with babies and children, Traveling with children: accommodation in hotels and apartments, Hotels that do not accept children, The best hotels for pregnant women
