No children at Vanya Vilas !!!
 

Just found out no children at this Oberoi hotel. We can get rooms at Sawai-Madhopur Lodge, but they have no swimming pool. What will the kids (7 and 4) do all day between park tours? Is there a problem with children touring the park? Recommendations needed on places to stay. Tiger Moon Resort is another possibility. Has anybody on this board stayed there or seen it. My family is fussy about accomodations so we need a very comfortable place. Help!!

Wow, no children at Vanya Vilas? (Perhaps I should extend my stay!)

While I am sorry about the situation that this puts you in personally, I, for one, do not like spending $400+ per night at a hotel/resort/game lodge, and then be forced to share a gameviewing ride with children. I don't know how appropriate it would be to take a 4 year old and a 7 year old on a game drive when there are deadly animals around. I think that it would put not only the children at risk, but each individual that shared the vehicle.

In most game reserves in Africa, I don't even think that 4-7 year old children are allowed to go on game drives. I do know that sharing a game drive with children between 10-17 years old at Djuma Vuyatela in Sabi Sand Reserve, South Africa, was a true challenge, and I would not look forward to doing that again, especially when you reduce the ages even further.

Not to sound like a troll, but I wish there were more places that did not allow pre-teen children. Usually, the more expensive the place, the less you have to worry about children, but that would not have been the case at Vanya Vilas, for example, if not for this policy (nor was this the policy at Djuma Vuyatela which was about $550 USD per night in low season). Just my two cents.

I believe I have read your previous posts, and that you are going in December and January. You will not need a pool during those months, as they are too cool for outdoor swimming. I have stayed at Sawai Modphur and really enjoyed it. It is not as luxurious as I would imagine the Vanyavilas is (it was not built last time I was in Ranthambore), but I think it has so much charm. The mail lodge is the former hunting lodge of the Maharajah of Jaipur. It is in 19030's art deco style. There is a huge veranda for breakfast and tea. There is a large lawn there for croquet and other sports. I believe there is badminton and a tennis court. The staff can probably arrange for baby elephant rides, etc. I don't think your kids will be bored here.

I prefer the tents to the regular rooms (esp the row of motel-like rooms at the back, I would avoid these.) However, if you want to be in the same room as your kids, you might ask about the suites in the main lodge itself. These either have two bedrooms or have a living room which is large enough to put two cots in. You may be able to fit two cots in one tent, but it would be fairly crowded.

I don't know Tiger Moon, but had looked it up a few months ago in response to a question form a previous poster. I would say that the Sawai would be superior.

You should probably contact the hotel to determine if there is an age limit for children on wildlife rides. I do recall there being older children than yours on various drives. As I have mentioned before, I don't think your 4-year old could do two drives a day, as they last 2-3 hours.

Cicerone, thanks for your reply. I will contact SW and see if they can work things for us. Vany Vilas has a heated pool, but we are excluded. The children are very well behaved and have traveled a whole lot. I do not worry about them being quiet and still on a game ride, but 6 hours a day may be too much for the little one. We will plan to stay just two nights at SM and so it shouldn't be a problem. We do try to stay at places which have activities for kids, but that is not always possible. I will contact the hotel and see if they can arrange the rooms as you suggested. According to an aticle in a few year old British edition of Traveller Magazine, lots of Indian kids tour this national park. But I will check further about age requirements. Making these plans is aways more complicated than one expects. Thanks for being so helpful. I'm sure more questions will follow.

there is another tent property called sher something. cannot find exact name. more exclusive than vanya vilas. owned by a royal scion.