Hotel break with 9 month old

K09

Hi,
We are thinking of going on a weekend break to a nice hotel. Can anyone recommend a baby friendly hotel not too far from dunlin.

We are thinking it might be too much hassle to go as would have to be in room for 8ish for his bed time and don't think we could bring him into restaurant.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks.

TPF2012

Don't do it. Stay at home. Unless you like to be in a hotel room from 8 to 8 in darkness and no noise. We tried it a few months ago, getting home was bliss.

angeldelight

Your best bet would be to book somewhere that does mini suites so you have a sitting area to relax when the baby goes to bed. Alternatively a hotel with self catering properties on site

The_Valeyard

It completely messes up their sleep routine. Would not settle that night. Was hell. If you think your baby will be fine, go for it but we thought the same and that was not a pleasant night.


If you do want to go somewhere, why not Brooke Lodge?

scarepanda

I can't recommend a hotel, but will say if your baby is relaxed and easily settled then go for it. You can't stay couped up at home indefinitely.

In the space of 2 weeks our lo was in Connemara, London and Aberdeen when she was 8 months old and there wasn't a bother with her. She's pretty relaxed and goes with the flow. She's also a good night time sleeper and settled as normal when we were away. Her bedtime is around 9 and we brought her to any restaurants we went to without any issues.

sillysocks

Definitely recommend trying to find somewhere with two rooms so ye don't have to tip toe around in the dark when the baby goes to bed!
It was a while ago but we stayed in Tulfarris a few years ago, hotel is nice enough and the room we were given had a big sitting room and separate bedroom so would have been perfect with kids. There was a dining table and all in the sitting room so you could even get room service when the baby went to bed, or else just do an early dinner in the car either.

Millem

Kellys resort in rosslare is fab! Be warned it's very expensive!!!!!!
If you go full board, baby will be charged €25 per night! I would just go b & b tbh as full board is too much food! They have a baby room with sterilisers, microwaves etc etc.

The room we had was brilliant, it was like 2 bedrooms joined together and had a curtain you could pull! I don't think it was technically a family room as I think they are all on their ground floor and have couch. Not 100% sure though.

NIMAN

I'd be asking myself, "do I really need this break that badly".

I'd never have considered taking a baby on a hotel break.

Lemonposset

Ah here, you can either go out and experience life with a child or you can shut yourself up until they are 18. We have done mini breaks (single room) with our babas. They were never good sleepers, it wasn't the best holiday I ever had, but it was a welcome change from the norm.

We countered the single room thing with a netflix subscription & an earphone splitter which you can plug into any earphone jack. We found they slept through most additional noise like bathroom visits (why do I creep around like a ninja in my house?!). Conjugal relations might be ticky obviously.

I was back to work when my kiddo was 6 months & my work is intense. We have no family nearby & no one to leave the kids with & to be honest I see little enough of them so I didn't want to leave them behind so I could have a break. If we didn't take these breaks we wouldn't have taken any breaks. You've had several good suggestions of resorts here OP but definitely take a holiday somewhere!

jonnybravo

We did it with our baby around the same age and it was fine at night. Like Lemonposset said we just watched Netflix or read our Kindle.

We went to Fota Island which is obviously too far away for you but it was a great weekend.

Also looking to do the same this year in the Newpark hotel in Kilkenny. They have a pet farm which is supposed to be good for kids.

Bacchus

Lemonposset wrote: »

Ah here, you can either go out and experience life with a child or you can shut yourself up until they are 18. We have done mini breaks (single room) with our babas. They were never good sleepers, it wasn't the best holiday I ever had, but it was a welcome change from the norm.

We countered the single room thing with a netflix subscription & an earphone splitter which you can plug into any earphone jack. We found they slept through most additional noise like bathroom visits (why do I creep around like a ninja in my house?!). Conjugal relations might be ticky obviously.

I was back to work when my kiddo was 6 months & my work is intense. We have no family nearby & no one to leave the kids with & to be honest I see little enough of them so I didn't want to leave them behind so I could have a break. If we didn't take these breaks we wouldn't have taken any breaks. You've had several good suggestions of resorts here OP but definitely take a holiday somewhere!

Ah here Are the only options go out with your 9 month old or else stay indoors until they 18 years? That's a completely black and white view of things. I mean, even in the immediate next sentence, you say your babies were never good sleepers. So to you, a hotel break isn't that disruptive. Your set of circumstances do not match every one elses. As a parent of a pretty good sleeper (touch wood she gets back to it once this 8 month sleep regression phase passes), I would consider such a break very careful as it has the potential to disrupt the good thing we have going at home

TBH also, watching netlfix in the dark with split headphones and sneaking to the bathroom, let alone anything else :pac: doesn't sound like a fun break to me. A good way to mitigate this though (as suggested above) is to get a family suite type setup.

I agree with your sentiment btw, it is important to get breaks but it's important to do it on terms that fit you and your baby... your post just seemed a bit dismissive of that (starting with "ah here").

For balance ... what TPF2012's first post after the OP is the other end of the spectrum. Obviously they had a bad experience but that doesn't mean the OP will have the same. Depends on the child. I guess my advise would be (assuming you have a routine) to maintain as much of your routine as possible when you stay at a hotel.

Lemonposset

Bacchus wrote: »

Ah here 😋 Are the only options go out with your 9 month old or else stay indoors until they 18 years? That's a completely black and white view of things. I mean, even in the immediate next sentence, you say your babies were never good sleepers. So to you, a hotel break isn't that disruptive. Your set of circumstances do not match every one elses. As a parent of a pretty good sleeper (touch wood she gets back to it once this 8 month sleep regression phase passes), I would consider such a break very careful as it has the potential to disrupt the good thing we have going at home

TBH also, watching netlfix in the dark with split headphones and sneaking to the bathroom, let alone anything else :pac: doesn't sound like a fun break to me. A good way to mitigate this though (as suggested above) is to get a family suite type setup.

I agree with your sentiment btw, it is important to get breaks but it's important to do it on terms that fit you and your baby... your post just seemed a bit dismissive of that (starting with "ah here").

For balance ... what TPF2012's first post after the OP is the other end of the spectrum. Obviously they had a bad experience but that doesn't mean the OP will have the same. Depends on the child. I guess my advise would be (assuming you have a routine) to maintain as much of your routine as possible when you stay at a hotel.

I was definitely being dismissive of NIMAN's suggestion to never take a baby on a hotel break! I take your point that it would be disruptive for you and your set-up. There are so many things that can disrupt routines - family gatherings, weddings, illness, teething, moving house, travel. I can see why you wouldn't want to add to that unnecessarily. However we took the attitude that it was worth giving it a go.

My kids are not great sleepers but did have a routine and we stuck to that. Family rooms are fantastic but also more expensive. We travel on a budget and single room was all we could stretch to but it ment more money to enjoy activities during the day, great food, great memories & yes early nights with good movies we'd missed out in the cinema & some nice wine. It might not sound like fun to you but it was fun.

helimachoptor

TPF2012 wrote: »

Don't do it. Stay at home. Unless you like to be in a hotel room from 8 to 8 in darkness and no noise. We tried it a few months ago, getting home was bliss.

Yeah would have to agree.

The sister in law, manages a hotel and we've been down quote a few times.
But for most part.. you just sit in your room in the darkness with no noise.. stay at home

Bacchus

helimachoptor wrote: »

Yeah would have to agree.

The sister in law, manages a hotel and we've been down quote a few times.
But for most part.. you just sit in your room in the darkness with no noise.. stay at home

Not even a noise machine for company?

Actually yeah, noise machines are great anyway but doubly so for hotel breaks where there are unpredictable noises that need to be drowned out a bit.

helimachoptor

Bacchus wrote: »

Not even a noise machine for company?

Actually yeah, noise machines are great anyway but doubly so for hotel breaks where there are unpredictable noises that need to be drowned out a bit.

We were there midweek, so generally were given a room away from others (thanks to connections) but it was so boring.

My wife implored me one night to go down to the bar and watch the football :eek::eek:

Thibus

We went to Amber Springs with ours when she was 8 or 9mths old. Brought laptop for watching tv/Netflix when she was in bed, didn't bother with earphones. Kept to our usual nap and bedtime routines. Not a bother,in saying that she was very chilled at that age.
The hotel has great facilities for kids, ball pit, petting zoo and tgebstaff were brilliant .
Can't recommend it enough