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5 Must-Haves When Staying in a Hotel with Kids

When traveling with kids, there are certain things you should always look for in a place to stay. Here are my 5 hotel must-haves when staying in a hotel with kids.

5 Hotel Must-Haves When Traveling with Kids

This post about finding the best deals on back to school outfits is brought to you by a collaboration with Extended Stay America. All opinions are my own.

My husband and I have always loved to travel. It’s something that we love to do together and what we talk about doing once we retire. When we had kids, we didn’t let that stop our traveling. Granted, we do think more about their point of view when we choose a destination now, but we happily include them in all of our travel plans.

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Traveling with kids brings about some special circumstances, though. Now that we’ve been visiting hotels with kids for over 6 years now, I’ve definitely got a list of things that I look for before we book a place to stay.

Spacious Rooms

A spacious room is definitely a must-have when you're traveling with kids.

It’s either a deal breaker or a hotel stay maker. I like my space and if I have to stay in a hotel room with 1 bed with my 2 girls and my husband, that’s definitely a deal breaker. I can deal with 2 beds in the same room, but really enjoy booking a hotel stay that offers a bedroom or separate sleeping area for the kids.

In Room Kitchen

However, I can totally deal with a smaller room if it features a kitchen! When you’re staying in a hotel with kids longer than a weekend, a kitchen is definitely a must. It can get expensive eating out for meals with kids, and we all know how they like to snack all day long, so a kitchen is great for families on a budget.

Having a kitchen in your hotel room makes traveling with kids easier and less expensive.

As soon as we arrive in our destination city we scope out the closest market to buy snacks, fresh fruit, and drinks to stock up the kitchen so there’s no problems with hungry kids! You might think I’m completely crazy with this one, but if we’re driving to our destination one of my favorite things to bring along is my Instant Pot! It’s relatively light, compact, and an easy way to make quick dinners in small spaces!

WiFi

It’s not just for me, it’s for them too. Tablets save the day a lot of times when we’re staying in a hotel with kids – especially if we’re tagging along on one of hubby’s business trips. At the same time, don’t forget the chargers. Instead of bringing a ton of different ones, I like to travel with a multi-plug like this one from Belkin that also serves as a surge protector.

On Site Laundry

I know I don’t have to tell you that kids are messy, right? Having an on-site laundry facility has saved my sanity dozens of times when we’ve been traveling. It also makes it so much easier to pack!

Expert Travel Tip: If I know we’re staying somewhere with laundry facilities, I tend to pack much lighter, with only about half the clothes we need for the trip, and wash once in the middle of our stay!

When traveling with kids, it's a great idea to wash clothes so you can pack lighter.

The best way to do laundry is to pack your own detergent too because that can get expensive when you’re away from home. Pack a few laundry pods in a small container like this one and you’ll be laundry ready!

Breakfast

A hotel with breakfast and free coffee is definitely a must-have when traveling with kids.

It’s the most important meal of the day, but when I’m away from home the last thing I want to do is cook breakfast… even in a room with a kitchen! That’s the reason we always try to book a hotel that offers breakfast within the price of the room.

Pools, Discounts, and Rewards

While it’s not technically a must-have, we definitely scope out places to stay that have an indoor or outdoor pool. It’s a great way to keep the kids entertained when you’re away from home and also a great way to get some exercise when you’ve been in a hotel room.

I also check out rewards programs offered by our favorite places to stay. Since we like to travel a lot, and hubby does a lot for work as well, it works out well and anytime we can rack up enough points for a free stay is a great day!

John Smith

Saturday 17th of November 2018

All of those sound like great ways to alleviate stress on a trip!

wen budro

Tuesday 29th of May 2018

I agree with all of those must haves. It saves money to have a kitchenette and a free breakfast.

Balaji Naidu

Monday 27th of March 2017

All great suggestions.According to me, It doesn’t matter how far you travel or what type of travel you do with your kids, it’s just about having fun together as a family, and if a kitchen makes it easier to you then do what puts you in the positive frame of mind.And yeah, of course, a discount is very much important.

Kim

Tuesday 7th of March 2017

They have so many locations to choose from, I had no idea!! They are everywhere! :)

Kim

Tuesday 7th of March 2017

I would love to go anywhere! lol. New Orleans would be great as I have never been there, or any location near the ocean in Maryland.