Behind Closed doors: Inside a Hotel Room with Kids

Ahhh. Your long travel journey has come to a close, you’ve secured your room keys at the front desk. You’ve made your way through the maze of the hotel corridor and shut the door to your room. The time has finally come to put your feet up and relax, the only problem is you are traveling with your children. You are alone in a hotel room with kids, how do you cope?! Our Research TravelingMom shares some of her real life realizations inside a hotel room with kids after being on the road.

Can I be real with you for a moment? Being a travel writer is so much fun and has afforded my family the chance to do and see things that might not otherwise be our reality.

Pictures aren’t always as they seem

Beyond the beautiful pictures and smiling faces is real life, with kids.

Here is the thing, friend. Everyone deals with the same things while they are on a trip. Not every picture that is snapped on the road is a smiling one.

If your kids are anything like mine, once the door to the hotel room shuts, things start to go downhill.

You aren’t alone with your frustrations

After a particularly rough trip traveling with kids, I posted something similar on my Facebook page. I shared about my kids turning into holy terrors after the door closed to our hotel room.

The responses were overwhelming and to be quite honest made me feel better about myself as a mama.

I heard things like:

“I’m always sure we’re going to break something or get kicked out. Feral I tell ya!”

“I will never forget the night someone called our room from the room below about our bouncing exuberant child. Seriously.”

“I find it ironic that I am yelling at them to stop yelling.”

What you can do to make it easier

I don’t have all of the answers by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, most times I am asking others for their advice on how to deal. Lots of advice has been shared with me and because we are all friends here, I want to make sure you have it too.

Below you will find some of the tips that make hotel life with littles just a little easier.

Ask for a room on the lowest floor

I am quite sure that the phrase I repeat more than any other while we are in a hotel is “stop jumping.” I am always worried that my kids are disrupting the other hotel guests because they can’t walk across the floor in a normal fashion. While you might have to deal with some noise coming from above you, your stress level will be lower. Why, you ask? For me, if I don’t have to worry about my kids making too much noise, then I can breathe a little easier.

Get out of the room

Yes, I know that you’ve just paid a significant amount of money for your room. To save the threats of going home early (yes, we’ve done that), go to the hotel common areas. I have yet to do this, but I will on my next trip. Bring board games, card games, small toys bring anything that your kiddos find fun. Then, take them to that lovely common area in the lobby and make some memories.

Set Expectations

Is your husband anything like mine who wants to immediately flop on the bed and veg? While he deserves every chance to chill out and enjoy his vacation as well, no one wants to deal with a frustrated dad.

In order to manage expectations, set some guidelines. Clear time limits will help keep everyone maintains a better level of happiness. Encourage your kids (assuming they are young enough) to find a spot for their stuffed animals they might have brought with them. Get your kids involved with getting the room organized, while the person seeking the downtime can achieve what they need.

At the end of the day, tiffs and disagreements will happen when traveling. However, if you can put some of these tips in place maybe, just maybe your hotel stay with your kids will go just a little more smoothly. Hopefully one day, the things that were irritants when your kids were younger will be a fond memory to share with them as they struggle with their own children.

What tips and tricks have you developed in order to maintain your sanity in a hotel room with kids? Leave them in the comments below, we would love to hear them!