Alpha Mummy's favourite kiddie holidays

In our ongoing quest to find hotels that are fun for our kids and also allow us to go out for dinner, order a bottle of wine, and talk endlessly about the kids, we visited the Grand Hotel a couple of weekends ago.

The Grand is an old-style seaside hotel in Eastbourne. In its Mirabelle restaurant they actually bring out main courses under silver serving domes that they lift with a flourish. It's not cheap - rooms for two parents sharing with a child start at £215 bed and breakfast - but we talked to several parents staying there who thought it was the best in town. It's part of the Elite group of hotels, who also run Luton Hoo, Ashdown Park and Tylney Hall. At first glance it looks like it will be too stuffy to countenance small guests, but we found it very friendly and it has an outdoor heated pool.

You can see more of the hotel and its facilities in this video. Watch the Alpha Mummy video review of the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne.

Also, check out the AM community's list of best child-friendly holidays ever, started by Caitlin. If you haven't already, post your tips or add your latest finds if they're not already there. Below, a list of some of the favourites.

* Paris Plage and Paris for a day - Caitlin

* I can definitely say that a day pass to Butlins is great - Jane

* Featherdown Farm Days - India (I visited a Featherdown Farm in Wiltshire and loved it.)

* Center Parcs - Caitlin, EM and others

* Marazion in Cornwall - Gipsy

* Lighthouse cottages owned by Trinity House through Rural Retreats - KK

Find more and see all the comments from Alpha Mummies who know what makes a good holiday.

Read Caitlin's blog about the importance of 'Us time'.

Trolling for more ideas? See Times Online's Family Travel section.

Comments

[Sho]

We pay our children for washing up, setting the table, etc. when we're in a gite. It works out really well.

[Margot]

Self catering, even with takeaway meals, means that someone still has to set table, wash up, source and order food, make beds, tidy up and find things for children to do. I can quite understand why people are happy to be 'ripped off' by hotel rooms! Unless it is *very* good, self catering can feel just like being at home, only with worse equipment! A hotel is a break because you don't have to think about the boring realities of day to day life at all. If I am really knackered, I'd much rather have three days in a hotel than a week in a gite.

[JJ]

ps- I can heartily recommend countrykids.fr for both the children and the parents. They throw in 2x evenings of babysitting / adventure activities for all / a petting farm / gorgeous accommodation. Bliss.

[JJ]

We've just got back from a few days at Woolley Grange, one of the spectacularly mis-named Luxury Family Hotels group. I hate to sound like an ungrateful hussy after being taken away for a birthday treat but o my, the GUILT at knowing how horrendously poor husband had been ripped off for a seriously grotty hotel with some toys and a garden but NOTHING (really, nothing) for the adults. The child friendly thing probably works there for seven year olds, but with a toddler, the fact they put the stair gates on the 5th step instead of the 2nd made our room a constant nerve test. They do have a creche which you can leave your child in for up to two hours - but there is absolutely nothing for adults to do in those two hours within the hotel itself. They provide a few bikes for kids, nothing for the adults. I suppose you could chuck the 7 year olds off the trampoline for some fun. So drinking cups of tea & reading the papers are what they press as fun holiday activities for adults and even leave half drunk cups / pots of tea scattered all over the tired living rooms just to encourage you.

we escaped and spent the last night at Calcott Manor up the road and it was like entering nirvana... THey do amazing last minute rates and it is quite possibly the closest thing to heaven on earth with a small child

[Lindsay]

Cuba is fantastic for kids especially if you go to Havana. They love kids, there is music everywhere and many of the bands would let my kids have a go on the maracas or the drums too. The Vinales Valley has neolithic rock structures, tarantula nests (get a local to show you!) guided horse riding even for tiny ones and eagles soaring overhead. It's just beautiful. Plus you don't get hassled in the way you do in the rest of the Caribbean.

[Debbie]

Another great city for a family holiday is Singapore. Long way I know but great stop off on the way to Australia or asia. We had a fantastic time there with the kids last year on our way to England and had the best time. The zoo is outstanding, its got beaches, lots of shopping, fun things for the kids, really safe and they all love kids. Everyone is so polite and helpful, even staying at a very upmarket hotel we were made to feel incredible welcome. By the way Holiday Inns are great for kids as they always eat for free, which saves heaps of money.

On the Los Angeles thing - not sure the weather is always great, when we were there it rained non stop and all the freeways were flooded and ground to a halt!

[LM]

Claire - that looks beautiful! I wish, oh I wish, but we won't be in France for at least 2 years...

[LM]

Vancouver's a great city - fantastic aquarium, I agree - but don't go in the autumn/winter unless you love rain. The climate's as bad as Seattle.

I'm with the self-catering crowd. It's how I grew up & having done a couple of nights in hotels with our child (weekends away), I know why my parents did self-catering & why we prefer it too. Hotels are hard for children; probably OK for teenagers, but hard for children, and when you're on holiday (or on business) it's challenging to be tied to the hotel restaurant hours. And as J said, the space is more relaxing.

We rented a gite last year with all my family & loved it (also loved being in France after too many years away).

If you're travelling further afield (I know, with the credit crunch & the obsession with carbon footprint, it's unlikely), Los Angeles is a brilliant city for children. The beaches are marvellous, there are tons of interesting attractions besides Disneyland: natural tar pits with dinosaur remains/museum attached, Hollywood sightseeing if you want, Disney (of course), boat tours, whale-watching, train, art, science, natural history, cowboy museums, to name a few. And the weather is always perfect. And the desert is only a 2 hour drive if you want to see that too.

[Debbie]

Looks wonderful Claire, we'll look you up next time we make it back to the UK. What a beautiful looking place and we love child friendly and baby sitting!

[Claire King]

Jen - thank you - OMG the Featherdown Farm looks so much fun!

Debbie - you would be most welcome, I'll do an Alpha Mummy discount!

http://www.giteking.com/index.html

[Sho]

My favourite child friendly holiday (even when I was a confirmed "never having a child" person) was in southern Austria in a vegetarian, organic hotel.

It's called Biolandhaus Arche (in Kärnten - I think that could be Corinthia in English?) and it is unbeatable for friendliness. They offer saunas, massages and other things - the first time we were there we woke up with sheep in our bedroom.

[anon]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Travel-Babies-Children-Guides-Reference/dp/1843537044/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218114300&sr=1-1

This is quite a helpful book, giving hints on things like local etiquette, if travelling to more exotic places.

[LizG]

Just did our first 'big' holiday with our 5 year old and we went to Vancouver in Canada. Top holiday, incredibly child friendly city, parks with play areas, water fountains kids can play in, safe cycling or roller skating everywhere. She loved the mountains, beaches and the child based attractions like Science World and the Aquarium. I'd recommend it thoroughly.

[Debbie]

Sharing a room with a child or two is not my idea of a weekend away or a holiday. We will do it for a couple of night if we are enroute somewhere else, but for the main holiday a separate room for the kids is a must as far as I am concerned. Self catering is the way to go - I love the sound of the Gite, maybe we can come and stay next time we are back in Europe for a few weeks!

[Jonathan Dawid]

I've stayed with my kids at almost all the Elite properties (including the Grand Hotel) and if you can afford them, they really can't be beat. They are the only genuinely family-friendly 4* and 5* hotels I know in the UK, simply because kids are welcomed in all areas and at all times while the service is impeccable. Not like another so-called "luxury family hotel" chain where kids are barred from the dining room...

[Jennifer]

D'oh! Link to the AM list of child-friendly holidays is fixed. Sorry about that!

[e]

menorca is really good for family holidays. a good package deal is very cheap. most people there are pushing buggies, and all the restaurants cater for families and children. most of the hotels offer kiddies discos etc too

[AC Start]

For a chic but family orientated break by the seaside you can't beat the Avalon Beach Hotel in Bournemouth. Check out their website... it's a warm welcome, New England Style! I would recommend it any day and the food is amazing! http://www.avalon-beach-hotel.co.uk/index.html

[KM]

Is it just me, or should it be trawling, not trolling?

[J]

Claire I have to say I agree that with small children you really cant beat a gite.

I have never managed a relaxing holiday in a hotel with small children, but maybe thats because I am used to lots of space at home.

[Claire King]

Please excuse me in advance...but can I blow my own trumpet a little here, for once?

I run a self-catering gîte in the south of France, for less than half the price per night in peak season we can sleep two families, and self catering is half the fun.

We live next door to the gîte and we offer babysitting service so parents can go out with peace of mind, but actually just sitting on the terrace with wine and the BBQ looking at the mountain isn't half bad.

We haven't holidayed with the children yet, except for gallops back to the UK to see the family, but if we did, a shared gite or chalet with friends or relatives with children would be just my cup of tea (glass of rosé).

I did try to follow the links to perhaps a more appropriate thread but they all point to the video. I think if I were going to holiday in a hotel I would want it to be a grown-up only affair. It seems an expensive way of doing things and not much space for the children, plus I wouldn't leave the children in the room so they would have to be kept up later than usual, less grown up time to relax etc.

Now we've finished renovating the gîte I'm REALLY up for a holiday, so if the links could be mended please , Jen, would love to see the tips!

[J]

The price of a hotel room is one of those weird things like the price of new cars, where we seem to have accepted a very odd idea of what is expensive.

£215 for a shared room overnight, and brekkie? when you can rent an entire flat for a week in Eastborne for less than that?

Why are hotels so expensive in the UK? and what makes it worth the money? with dinner for all of you (I'm assuming you dont leave the children alone in the hotel room) that makes, what, £300?

For that price you could go selfcatering and live entirely off expensive takeaways, and get all the extra space, and your own bedroom, free.