I booked a cute boutique hotel last month on the beach for a family trip and couldn’t wait.
But when I walked into our room, toddler on my hip, my heart sank.
The two-room suite should have had it all—little Wes Anderson-inspired design touches like striped curtains, nautical artwork, and marble countertops—but I knew it was going to be a struggle. The property advertised itself as baby-friendly hotel, but one look at the sharp-edged glass coffee table was the first sign it absolutely wasn’t.
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I used to think of my hotel as merely a place to sleep. If I spent a lot of time in my hotel room, I was doing vacation wrong. Now that I’ve got a little one, though? I’ve got hours of naptime, playtime, and bedtime holed up in the safety of a tiny room. Choosing the right hotel room is everything for a smooth trip.
Off the heels of my failure, here’s what I’ve learned about what to look for when finding a toddler- or baby-friendly hotel:
The right sleeping arrangements
Set yourself up for success by booking two queen beds instead of a king if you can. That way you have a designated space for the mountain of baby stuff you’re bringing with you and a place to sleep. If your budget allows, springing for a suite or a balcony gives you the incredible gift of sitting and talking or (gasp!) watching television after bedtime instead of sitting in the dark listening to white noise at 6:30 PM.
Basic amenities for babies and toddlers
Many hotels say they have cribs or pack n’ plays for you to use. I’ve checked in at a hotel only to find out the two cribs available were already in use by other guests. That super-fun night ended with driving around at 3 AM until my son stopped screaming and finally fell asleep. Now, I call ahead and make sure it’s on our reservation if I’m going somewhere I can’t bring my own.
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Some hotels, like the Dagny Hotel in Boston, go all-out with the baby-friendly amenities. Not only was a pack n’ play ready to go when we opened our door, but they also brought up a selection of kids toys to borrow for the duration of our stay. When you make your reservation, call or email the hotel ahead of time to let them know you’re bringing a baby and ask about what amenities they offer.
Tubby time > shower
No one wants to shower with a squiggly, wet, screaming baby to end the day. (Nothing says vacation like everyone in the family crying at the same time.) Many hotels do offer bathtubs and accessible rooms—but like anything, you have to ask. You may have to trade off room location or arrangements, but if tubby time is sacrosanct, call and ask ahead for a bathtub. If they don’t have a baby bath insert available, see if you can find a laundry hamper or bring a portable one.
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It does get better, though. Now, showering in a hotel room is something my toddler looks forward to (and asks about repeatedly throughout the day).
Restaurant(s) that stay open
One of the unexpected challenges of traveling with a toddler is finding kid-friendly places to eat. Like the mom of most toddlers, I never know whether I’m going to get the adventurous kid who will eat anything we put in front of them or the one who will pick at buttered pasta. I try to choose a hotel that has at least one restaurant that opens for dinner at 5 PM (or better yet, never closes) so that we can be in and out before our bedtime.
If it’s a buffet, even better. The AMC Highland Center at Crawford Notch has a nightly buffet that hit the spot after long days playing in the woods or on their playground, with lots of comforting, kid-friendly fare.
Kids clubs that cater to younger travelers
Kid-specific drop-off services like camps, daycares, or babysitters give kids a chance to play all day and parents a little time to themselves, too. My toddler literally vibrated with excitement to meet Elmo and Big Bird at the kids camp at Beaches Turks and Caicos. It made my long-awaited massage all the sweeter knowing he was happy playing with new friends. (He still talks about it months later.)
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But offering a kid’s club doesn’t automatically mean your baby and toddler will be able to go. Many hotels require kids to be a certain age or have completed potty training to access their daycare or camp facilities, so double check before you go. If you do plan to take advantage of a kids’ club (and you should! It’s your vacation too!), make sure you bring medical records, extra diapers, wipes, clothing, and a water bottle in a labeled backpack for them, the same way you would for regular daycare.
“Yes” spaces across the property
A hotel room isn’t really a space where toddlers can be, well, toddlers. That’s why I look for properties that have lots of common areas, ideally outside, for extra playtime. And wherever possible, I book a hotel with at least one pool. (Kids under five shouldn’t go in hot tubs.)
When we stayed at the Wentworth Inn in Jackson, New Hampshire, to get our son on nordic skis for the first time, I didn’t realize that we’d get maybe 15 minutes skiing in. We spent most of the weekend cuddled up in the hotel’s common room by the fire, reading books, coloring, and playing hide-and-seek in their old-fashioned telephone booth. When we needed to get real wiggles out, we bundled up and went out on the lawn to make a snow fort.
Toddler-specific activities and events
Making something “kid-friendly” isn’t the same as “toddler-friendly.” A hotel might advertise a movie night, but even a G-rated movie can be too scary (and too long) for a two-year-old. When I book trips with my toddler, I look for low-key activities I know he can take part in, like sing-a-longs or crafting sessions. My truck-loving toddler giggled for the entire antique fire truck ride at the Winnetu Oceanside Resort in Martha’s Vineyard. Every day at 3 PM we’d saddle up, homemade cookies in hand, for our daily ride.
But know that babies and toddlers don’t necessarily need specific activities for them to be happy. They’ll be just as happy smelling flowers in the garden or pressing elevator buttons. Babies and toddlers will force you to slow down and stay present in your destination, so let them.
What to do if it’s not as baby-friendly as you hoped
The types of hotel rooms I used to book before I had kids just won’t work anymore now that I’ve got a little one who will find every single fragile item you shouldn’t touch in 10 seconds flat.
When we arrived in that Wes Anderson-style hotel room, I threw my little one in the pack n’ play and set to work. Adapting the space to our needs took a little muscle, but I managed to push most of the furniture in the common area to the sides, hiding as many hazards as I could. I blocked out the windows with garbage bags and painter’s tape (next time I’ll bring portable ones) and set up a cooler for bottles and milk. Very few hotel rooms are designed with little kids in mind, so sometimes you have to make do.
The blessing in disguise with all this? It forced my family out of our hotel room and out into the world a little more. We spent most of our day down at the beach when we normally would have trooped back and forth. The rest of the time we hit the pool or ran around playing lawn games. There’s something to be said for loosening up the routine a little bit, even if it meant we were all a little more tired. I ended up with less sleep but more memories, which is exactly what my pre-kid self would have wanted.
