Mr_Senor

We'll be staying in the Portsmouth/Kittery area of New Hampshire/Maine for 3 nights in September with our 1 and a half year old.

This will be our first official vacation with the little guy, and we're not sure what to do about the lodging situation.

Before he was born, we'd typically stay at B&B's - but now that he's around, we thought that perhaps getting two adjacent rooms with a connecting door in a chain-type hotel would work best, as then we would not also be forced to be quiet or go to sleep at his 8-9 bedtime.

Reality is, though, that we'd then literally be paying for two rooms, and at the prices in that area, even for a budget-ish type hotel, we're looking at nearly $1,000 for the 3-night stay - way too much.

We located a great, kid-friendly B&B in the area, and while they have adjacent rooms, there is no connecting door, unfortunately.

I'm probably answering my own question, but it is totally unsafe and ridiculous to have him stay in a locked separate room once he goes to bed, even with baby monitor, right? What do most folks do in this situation, keep him in their room and just suck it up with the early bedtime?

Would love to know how other first-time parents handled this vaca conundrum...(or if anyone has a recommendation for a decent yet inexpensive chain with adjacent rooms in the Portsmouth area!)

Thanks!

emcash

Personally, I would not be comfortable having my toddler in a separate room unnattached from my room. We have a 2 year old and what we do when we travel with her is get a suite. We then set up the crib or the pack n play in the living area of teh suite.

WannabeinaMontserrat

We were also avid B & B goers prior to children. Since we both loathe hotels, we now opt for apartments, condos, cottages, etc. unless no other options are available. If you do a suite type hotel you can always put them in the bedroom in their pack-n-play prior to when you want to go to sleep. Our children have never had trouble sleeping wherever & once they are out, they are out for the night.

Ackislander

Suite hotels are the best idea.

sumi

Have you considered renting a condo or maybe a suite? Maybe a little more expensive but usually cheaper than renting two rooms.

I guess I'd think twice about a second room with a separate entrance, especially in a motel with exterior doors. With my son, if he woke up in the middle of the night or early in the morning and found himself alone in a strange room, he would probably have tried to look for me. Since you wouldn't be able to chain or bolt the door from the outside, you would run the risk of him getting outside on his own.

LJ

I am not a fan of B&B's for a bunch of reasons, but particularly with small children. When we traveled with little ones, I liked the privacy of a hotel or motel suite.

The trouble with B&B's is the noise factor. Their walls are not sound-proofed the way that hotels are, being after all, mostly just converted private homes.

There is nothing less holiday-feeling than trying to shush a restless toddler at midnight or 6 am.

dmlove

Honestly, I can't imagine a worse idea. I'd sleep with 5 people in the same room before I'd put a toddler in a separate non-connecting room.

Mr_Senor

OK got it, toddler not in separate room, understood. It was our gut, too, of course.

So recommendations are condos or suite hotels - all pricey .

Argh.

bnbtraveler

Most of the condo rentals in that area do require a week stay, BUT you may just want to check some of the real estate places. There is Bragdon and Rivers By The Sea, both in York. I am sure there are others, but those are the ones that come to mind. The market is softer this year (I own a condo in York, not a rental this year though) due to the economy and they may have different policies about minimum stays this year.

joebear

Well, kids do make everything cost more!

We tend to do Doubletree, Embassy suites, or any type of junior suite you can get that has a sitting area. Those work better with one sleeping others not..

In a pinch, I would do a nice bed for you both and a rollaway for him. That way you could have the space arranged to you liking.

dfnh

Check the Hampshire Inn in Seabrook. It's a couple of exits south of Portsmouth right off Rt 95. Their website says 18 miles from Portsmouth. You have the slower option to go up Rt 1 to avoid the toll. I haven't stayed there in quite some time but our organization holds meetings and weekend seminars there. I think it is independently owned. The one room suite that I stayed in was basically a giant room with sitting area, frig, etc. Another time it was a 2 room suite with a bedroom in one room and a sleep sofa in the other. I think there may have been 2 tvs. The evening snacks were nice and so was the continental breakfast. There's a couple of nice family restaurants in the area.

alwaysafrica

Hi!

The sleeping situation while on vacation is certainly quite a dilemma - one that we've been quite familiar with in the recent months! As first-time parents of a 1 year old - I can at least tell you what we've done on our few weekends away and also what we're planning on doing for our upcoming trip to California (we leave on Saturday for 16 days!!!).

First of all, let me just say that our little guy is such a good sleeper - from about 8 months onward, he has slept 11-12 hours straight every single night (sorry if this sounds like bragging , I just thought a little context would be important!).

For our trip to California, we have rented one-bedroom suites in every place we're going. I told my husband that I thought it was worth the extra money - so that we could feel sure that we were giving our little guy a good sleep environment and also because it will allow us to enjoy our vacation just the two of us after our son goes to bed! What's the point of spending thousands of dollars on a vacation (which we would have been spending even to stay in one room altogether) and having no alone time whatsoever and having to go to bed at 8:00? I figure it's worth it to spend even double on lodging to get the added benefits... So, we're staying mostly in one-bedroom suites in such hotels as Somerset Suites, Doubletree Suites, etc. In Yosemite, we've rented part of a duplex condo unit, which gives us a sitting area and kitchen... and then, on Hwy 1, we've rented a one-bedroom cottage. I think how it will work is that we'll put him to sleep in the separate bedroom and enjoy the outer room(s) during the evening, and then quietly head into the bedroom when we're ready to go to sleep...

About a month ago, we traveled to Montreal for the weekend (about a 6-hour drive from our home in Toronto). Since we're about to embark on an expensive California vacation, we knew we couldn't afford to rent suites for that weekend as well. We were going there to visit friends and we found a B&B about 1/2 block from their place and so we booked it. We too were concerned about having to go to bed when he did (8:30 or so) - because realistically, our son is a very light sleeper and so we knew we couldn't be quiet enough for him to stay sleeping unless we went to sleep. Here's how it went...

First of all, the B&B set-up was better than perfect. They put us in an upstairs room that happened to have the upper sitting area right outside of it - with couches and stereo etc. So, we'd put our son to bed and then hang out out there. It was amazing. So, in that way, I'd recommend looking for a B&B with the same sort of set-up - it's like getting a suite, but for a lot less money. Unfortunately (because he was overtired from our travels and because he's not used to sleeping in the same room as us), this was the ONE night that our son woke up in the night, saw that we were sleeping right there and really cried for quite a while, I couldn't soothe him. I must admit that I was feeling awful about keeping all of the other guests up in the middle of the night for an hour - but the next morning, they honestly said that they didn't hear anything!

So, there's our experience... hope it helps you. I know that I wouldn't be comfortable with our little one in a totally separate hotel room (and I agree that he could wake up totally freaked out) - and so although I know that suites are expensive, I feel so good about our decision for so many reasons. I'll be writing a trip report about our California trip once we get back at the end of June. If you'd like - watch out for it and I'll let you know how it went with the one-bedroom suites!

emcash

BTW- not sure if anyone posted this, but many B&Bs won't even let bring kids-- I know that is the case at many B&Bs and inns in Newport.

RoamsAround

as one of the previous responders pointed out when you have children you have to alter your traveling habits as there will be additional costs and certain places like B&B's, Adults Only Resorts, etc. may no longer be appropriate for you. Also, please, be considerate of other guests - no matter how cute or well behaved you think your child might be chances are the other guests won't be as enamoured of your child as you are.

Now for some practical hints - there are plenty of "family friendly" hotels and resorts. While having your toddler share a room with you is not ideal, most likely it is going to be your least expensive option. Suite hotels like Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn & Suites, etc. offer you a seperate sitting area where you can relax while your child sleeps in the adjoining "room". A more expensive option is to get adjoining rooms. True you pay for two rooms but you'll have the comfort of having a room to yourself while the knowledge that your child is safe in the room next door (you can secure the deadbolt lock on main door to the child's room for added protection. Our adult children always get adjoining rooms when they travel with their toddlers and it works very well they just don't stay at 4-star and 5-star hotels as it's not in their budget.

Many resort areas have condos available for rent and they are perfect for families. They are not cheap but many are not too expensive and you have the convenience of extra living area and seperate bedrooms for not much more than the price of multiple rooms in a similar level hotel.

The point is you have lots of options if you adjust your budget and "star rating level" to meet your budget. In other words, you may have to lower your room expectations a bit now that you have a child.

We had to do that 35+ years ago when our children were young and they have to do it now. There's no shame in staying at a "Hampton Inn" as opposed to the Ritz. Be realistic in your search for accomodations and you'll find something that suits your particular budget.

MBnancy

What's wrong with a Pack and Play for them to sleep in? Put it in the corner of the room and keep the TV low. We put blankets on the edge of the P&P to help block out light.

leavingsoon

I just wanted to chime in having just had a horrible experience with new parents of three little boys in an expensive resort in Hawaii.

When I pay over $400 a night for a room in Hawaii, I want to wake to peace and quiet. Instead, I woke to 5am toddler boys screaming from their lanai about the birds. Weare all excited about the birds, yet I would have loved to have heard those birds and not the boys.

I was so wishing they were in a condo or someplace where the boys could have gone out in a yard to play instead of onto the terrace where they wrecked my expensive peace and quiet.

You are obviously a thoughtful person to ask about this, but on behalf of other people who also stretch their budgets to have some peace and quiet, and in refernce to other children who are undoubtedly less well behaved, please do consider family-oriented properties with the little ones, or at least, as parents, be aware that although you have grown immune to the sounds of screeches and yelps, strangers are disturbed by them, especially at 5am.

We are all paying for a nice experience. My coffee drinking doesn;t impact your kids' vacation, but his or her tantrums and your non response do impact mine.

Rant over.

alwaysafrica

Our toddler is going to sleep in a pack n' play, but he'll be in the separate bedroom until we're ready to go to bed. I know that apparently some toddlers do sleep with their parents right there, but knowing my son, there's no way that he would sleep in it with us in the room. MAYBE once he was sleeping, we could tiptoe around and read with a small light on (maybe!), but there's absolutely no way he'd fall asleep with us in the same room...

wliwl

Sleeping with little kid(s) in our hotel room made us miserable. We usually tried to stay in a suite hotel; kids in the living room.

But we changed our traveling habits quite a bit once we had kids, so that we'd all have fun together.

Renting a cabin on a lake was always their favorite trip - and mine too, because they were happy we were all happy.

emcash

alwaysafrica, you are wise to want to do the suite thing. it makes for a much more pleasant trip for everyone involved!

djkbooks

Can you adjust your dates or location? Rates drop significantly right after Labor Day or right after that.

There are lots of reasonably priced condos/suites in the Yorks, Ogunquit, Kennebunkport, Wells Beach, all just north of Kittery/Portsmouth, when the rates go down.

I totally agree about staying away from B&B's, even if they're family friendly.