What types of accommodation to choose for your next vacation with baby? Are there suitable family accommodation options that you haven’t thought about or never heard of? Should certain types of accommodation with a baby be prohibited? Learn how to find your way around the abundance of accommodation on offer thanks to a good overview and you’ll multiply your chances of having a great vacation with your little ones tenfold.
To choose your vacation home, you must first learn how to find your way around the available offer. On the other hand, you must also learn to identify your needs and update your possibly hidden or ambivalent desires. With these two cards in hand, making the right choices becomes much easier. You’ll also be more daring and avoid disappointments. And finally, a great reward awaits you at the end of this learning process, which fortunately remains within everyone’s reach: the pleasure of a successful family vacation!
The offer of vacation accommodations is plethoric. This is to be welcomed, but one often feels uneasy and doubtful about this multitude. How can we see clearly in all these names and categories of accommodation? How not to lose sight of the essential when faced with the latest trends and marketing innovations in the sector? How to compare the different types of hosting without getting lost in countless details? Should certain types of accommodation with young children be automatically excluded?
The good news, let’s say it right away, is that in all accommodation categories you will find offers suitable for families with babies. If you liked certain types of accommodation before you had children, don’t despair, you will certainly be able to continue to use them! And conversely, if you have never tried certain types of accommodation before, there is still time to go through their doors!
On the other hand, it is true that in each category of accommodation, there are establishments adapted to the needs of families and others less or not at all. Indeed, you have to face the fact that some establishments choose not to make any particular effort for families, or even openly exclude them (for example when they target a clientele of singles or couples in romantic mode). Fortunately it is generally easy to go elsewhere, there is no lack of choice today!
In the end, depending on your personality, you may, over the years, use the whole spectrum of accommodation possibilities with your children. Or you may choose to focus on a few preferred options. Whatever your choice, you will make it from now on with full knowledge of the facts, and not by mimicry, default or lack of knowledge of what exists.
1) Hotels, clubs and vacation homes
Hotels are by definition establishments where one can stay for a few days while benefiting from certain services: cleaning, reception, breakfast, etc. The list of services imagined by the hoteliers (company or association) is immense, and varies from one establishment to another. The shape of the accommodation and the atmosphere also vary. So there is something for almost every taste and every budget.
All types of hotels can welcome you as a family. You will also easily find establishments that provide baby equipment (cot, high chair…) and that make a notable effort to better satisfy families with babies. Predictably, the most upscale hotels will often be those where you will find the best services and the greatest number of amenities for you and your children.
2) Homestay and between individuals
It is the most common form of vacation accommodation for families and has been for a long time. But it has taken off again and the offer has diversified over the last ten years or so, thanks in particular to new web platforms that put consumers and individuals in touch with each other to provide accommodation such as rooms, apartments or houses, as well as camping (garden in the home) or mobile accommodation, which we will come back to later. Indeed, these platforms simplify, secure and facilitate the trust necessary for these direct relationships between individuals.
The welcome can be warmer and more authentic. In any case it is not standardized. The furnishings and accommodation are not standardized either. This is what makes the charm of this formula, but which can also sometimes be disturbing if one has not given enough thought in advance to what one wishes.
The practical modalities vary from one website to another, even if the ideas of collaborative economy and disintermediation are at the basis of their operation. The result is often lower costs, although some rentals can also be relatively luxurious and expensive.
3) Camping
Camping is often an inexpensive form of accommodation. One is closer to nature… but the comfort is also more summary. Camping also has many followers with the family, even if with a baby, sleeping difficulties and rudimentary comfort can be disheartening.
4) Mobile accommodations (boat, camper van…)
Mobile accommodations allow us to both move around and stay during our vacations. It is also an interesting option to consider with a family with a baby. In particular, we gain in simplicity (business stays close by and we don’t have to unpack and re-pack) while allowing more exploration and adventure since we can move almost every day, not necessarily quickly, but just enough to “see the country”.
Also note that you can take advantage of some long trips to sleep one night, whether by train (preferably a sleeper train in this case), by plane (especially since a baby weighing less than 10 kg can benefit from a baby carriage on some long-distance routes), or by bus (in some countries, they are comfortable and you can manage to sleep properly with your children). This can make the journey faster for the children and also save a night’s accommodation.
It’s up to you
A good overall vision, as in all fields, allows you to develop your intuition and decision-making ability. Our brain needs it to organize the information it receives on a daily basis, more efficiently and almost effortlessly, because a large part of information processing takes place in the background, almost unconsciously.
Thanks to this article, you are now better able to process all the information you receive in your daily life about vacation accommodation (testimonials from friends, reports, blog posts, etc.) and this information will now enrich each other and become more consolidated rather than confusing your mind. As the months go by, other information and details will be able to be added to your understanding of the different possibilities available to you in terms of accommodation and finally strengthen your decision-making capacity rather than undermine or destabilize it.
You now have a solid overview of the different types of accommodations you could use for your next vacation with your baby. Sometimes hotels, clubs and residences that come in many variations will appeal to you with all their services. Other times, you’ll prefer the charm or the more economical side of home-stay accommodations. Still other times, you may be tempted by the adventure of camping or mobile accommodation.