Finding the Perfect Family-Friendly Hotel
A little while ago, my family took the opportunity to explore the beautiful state of Arizona. Having Family Fun in the Sun, we encountered breathtaking Sedona Scenery and thoroughly enjoyed the south rim views of the Grand Canyon. Although family road trips provide wonderful lasting memories, traveling with children can be quite the hassle; for this very reason, finding the perfect family-friendly hotel is a MUST when traveling with small children. Planning upcoming holiday travels? Follow this guide when choosing family-friendly lodging.
I received a Residence Inn gift card in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.
How to Find the Perfect Family-Friendly Hotel
Functional Room Set-Up: Look for hotels that offer spacious rooms with partial separation. If you’re anything like my family, separation when sleeping is a must (we are all very light sleepers). Being able to have the kids sleep in a separate space will help everyone have a more comfortable night sleep. Not to mention, spreading out after a long car trip always rejuvenates my family!
Convenient Amenities: Choose a hotel that offers amenities that will help you feel right at home: free wifi, exercise equipment, a pool for kids, television, laundry facilities, grocery delivery, etc.
Plenty of Food Storage: Traveling with children often means traveling with an abundance of snacks, milk, and juice. Make sure the hotel room provides a fridge and cupboards to store your food.
Free Hot Breakfast: The last thing you want to do is drag sleepy kids out of bed in order to find a restaurant for breakfast. When choosing a hotel, make sure they offer a free continental breakfast – this often saves time, money, and it’s extremely convenient!
Pet Friendly Surroundings: If your family is anything like mine, pets are a huge part of the family. If traveling with your furry friend, choose a hotel that allows pets – this will save money on a pet sitter!
Because all of the criteria mentioned above is vital when traveling with children, it didn’t take me long to see that staying at Marriott’s Residence Inn during our family road trip was a perfect match.
After visiting the sites of Arizona, we decided to head up to Vegas for a few days. We felt right at home staying at the Residence Inn in South Las Vegas. There were MANY things that my family appreciated about our stay:
First and foremost, the spacious room provided the perfect amount of separation for a quiet night’s rest. We were able to put my son in a pack and play in the living room area and enjoy a quiet rest in the other room. In fact, we all slept so well, my son refused to get out of bed the next morning!
Having a full kitchen was an absolute dream! There was an abundance of space to store my son’s milk, juice, and snacks!
Residence Inn’s outdoor entertainment area was incredible! It truly felt like a spa-like resort. My husband loved the sports court and my son spent hours swimming in the pool.
Although there were countless things my family loved about this hotel, it was the small touches that really set Residence Inn apart from other hotels: a jar of mints in the room, a friendly hotel staff, an outside fireplace, free grocery delivery, healthy breakfast options, complimentary Paul Mitchell products, etc. Talk about great service and low rates. Travel this holiday season with comfort and ease by staying at Marriott’s Residence Inn. Be sure to visit Residence Inn to find a location near you.
What an awesome hotel. I look for one that has a kitchen or kitchenette so that we don’t always have to pay to eat out.
Awesome! Kitchen area is cool.
I love that it has a kitchen and it is pet friendly
I need a vacation really bad and this looks like a terrific getaway!
Oh I need a great vacation. This looks like just the place. I like the free breakfast too.
We always try to accommodate family in our house, but it is getting harder with the family growing every year. This is good advice.
Those are some really good tips. I will keep them in mind next time I travel.
I always get hotels that offer breakfast because its hard to get all 4 of my sons up to breakfast at the same time and I have to have a hot tub to help my fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis because it helps me enjoy my vacation.
I like Hotels that have Hot Breakfasts, instead of “Continental Breakfasts.” It saves time, money and the hassle of getting everyone up and ready to go out to breakfast.
I have found that staying somewhere that offers, at the very least, a microwave and fridge, makes taking a vacation much more inexpensive! Having a full kitchen is even better.
The food situation is a HUGE factor because food can really break the budget quickly if you are always paying to go out to eat. The fridge and storage are really important because being able to have snacks and even simple meals is a money saver.
that looks like a great place,but the budget has to be right for me..lucky for me i dont have a family tagging along…looks nice though
I look for kitchen facilities if we are staying more than a night or two.
A good breakfast that is included in the cost sometimes makes up for lesser services!
Even though we don’t travel with kids anymore I still prefer to stay at places that are filled with families. Nothing more fun for me than to see all the happy little people and remember when….
I always check for amenities when hotel shopping.
Residence Inn is perfect for family travel; always clean. I like the kitchen especially for quick snacks and stuff. I am the breakfast eater; so my son and I have our free breakfast while my husband gets ready. Great post!
I just more or less go by recommendations from others – but these are wonderful tips and I feel better prepared to find great places that I didn’t know about. This inn is wonderful!
I go on vacation every year. My son is autistic so I have to find the perfect place that he will feel comfortable in. Thanks for the pointers.
Nice hotel! I always look for free breakfast also.
good tips and looks like a nice place!
We stay at Residence Inn, whenever possible. Our next choice is Courtyard. We are a Marriott family – have been for years and years. Oh, how I miss getting employee rates, when my son worked for them {sigh}, but we’ve stayed loyal.
I have not stayed in a hotel with my family before, but seriously love this list of ideas on how to find the right place to stay for the family. My plan is to visit Florida in 2 years with my family – starting to save now!
I look for wi-fi connection, pet friendly, free continental breakfast and a kitchenette. This looks like a very nice hotel and love the fact that there is a full kitchen because one rarely finds a full kitchen in a hotel.
Looks like a great hotel with everything you need!! And more…. A kitchen rocks!
That looks like a nice hotel. Perfect for Kids and a family.
I love a hotel that has a pool, room service and a large bathroom. We have stayed at Residence Inn a couple times and have always been happy.
Having a kitchen inside the room is a must for us. Lots of room for the kids to run around and be kids is important, too.
40 years ago there weren’t all the family friendly places like this one (at least not in our price range)
That looks amazing! I love the little waterfall at the pool too.
I always look for somewhere with breakfast and a good pool! Especially if I am going to actually be spending time at the hotel!
That hotel is beautiful and the pool is totally awesome. I love that the room has a kitchen. Perfect for saving money on drinks and snacks while vacationing.
I like a hotel that offers a breakfast. It is nice when you are busy but want to eat before heading out.
this is cool and fun
I could use some time away in a hotel for the weekend. Sounds really nice especially after the holidays.
Storage and a free hot breakfast. Those are two must haves for travelling with kids.
Great hotel, looks amazing! I’ll have to remember this one, as we hope to go there in the next few months. Free breakfast is a must for us too!
This sounds like a great place to stay! I like that they are pet friendly.
A functional room is SUPER important. We stayed at a hotel with a really weird layout once. It was… less than ideal.
My and my husband’s three dogs, Grump, Franklin, and Hilo are our family, so a pet friendly establishment is a must!
I never think about the Plenty of Food Storage aspect until I’m there and then I always kick myself! That is a crucial aspect of picking the right hotel!
I like all the amenities this hotel offers. The Hot Breakfast is always a welcome sight.
I always look for a toddler/wading pool. Also free breakfast is a bonus!
The free breakfast is always a nice bonus, but I especially look for nice accomodations and reasonable prices.