Sleepy Kids Welcome at these Family-Friendly Accommodations

By: Colleen Lanin, The Travel Mama
April 20th, 2009

Many motels, hotels, resorts, and even some bed & breakfasts are making strides to not just tolerate, but to welcome their youngest guests. Many offer welcome kits at check-in, kids’ camps resplendent with child-friendly activities, and children’s menus in their restaurants.

Last week on the Travel Mamas home page we asked, “Which hotel do you think is most child-friendly and why?”

Kathy McVeigh, a mom of two young children, praised the Four Seasons for providing amenities for the kiddies such as chocolate chip cookies delivered with milk, baby-proofed rooms, a diaper genie, bath toys, and swim diapers.

Another mom, Gracia Kitelinger, recommended Embassy Suites. She said, “They have large two or more room suites that are great for nap time. Baby can sleep behind a closed door while the rest of the family hangs out in the main room. Makes for a more pleasant time for all. Also, your stay includes a breakfast buffet every morning.”

Fellow Travel Mama Holly Sears Chisholm suggested, “any hotel with a kitchen or kitchenette and a refrigerator – there is nothing worse than washing your baby’s bottle in a hotel bathroom sink. Yuck!” If you agree, you might like Residence Inns by Marriott, which feature full-sized, fully-equipped kitchens.

Motel chain Travelodge, encourages families to stay with them by offering Sleepy Bear Den rooms decorated with a teddy bear motif.

Hotels with kids’ camps provide a break for mom and dad while the little ones delight in activities like arts and crafts or movie night. Examples of hotel chains that offer camps for kids include: Beaches (23 months through teenagers), Club Med (four months to 17 years), Four Seasons (five years and older at most locations), and Hyatt (age three to 12).

Camps aren’t just for kids though. Take a peek at Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel Magazine’s Summer Camp for All, which lists specialty camps for families that focus on a range of activities like space exploration, performing arts, hockey and horseback riding.

For a list of family-friendly bed & breakfasts, visit Virtual Cities Travelers Choice Welcome Lodging Directory. For more accommodation tips, check out About.com’s Top 10 Hotels and Resorts for Family Vacations. If you have high-end tastes and deep pockets, go to Five Star Alliance’s list of the World’s Best Child Friendly Luxury Hotels.

 

Do you know a child-friendly motel, hotel, resort or bed & breakfast that you’d like to recommend to other Travel Mamas? Leave a comment about it below! 

For more information on this topic see:

• List of Child-Friendly Accommodations

• Sleep Tips

* * * *

Tags: bed & breakfast, Hotels with Kids' Camps, sleep tips

 Subscribe in a reader - or - Subscribe to Travel Mamas by RSS Email

This entry was posted on Monday, April 20th, 2009 at 11:25 pm and is filed under How to Travel with Kids, Interviews & Guest Posts, Where to Travel with Kids. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.