Guide to choosing a family friendly hotel from  stickyfingerstravel.com

The range of family friendly accommodation and family friendly hotels has improved significantly over the last few years and there are now many options for families including standard rooms, family rooms, interconnecting rooms, suites and self-catering accommodation. Many hotels in Ireland and abroad have excellent childcare facilities, kids clubs, babysitting and child friendly sporting and leisure facilities with lots of things to see and do with the kids.

Word of mouth is a great way of determining whether a hotel would be suitable. Where possible try to look at previous reviews by families (not teenagers who want to party all night) and do ask your friends or check out a forum such the mykidstime MyChat forum or the forum on stickyfingerstravel.com

If you have a young baby, a double room with a travel cot is likely to be your preferred choice. If possible do try to get a larger room as a small travel cot in an average double room will reduce significantly your navigation space around the room. For families with older children interconnecting rooms or junior suites can offer a good option as well as larger family rooms. Some rooms can accommodate up to four in a family with two adults and two children on a pull-out couch. This can sometimes be a squeeze and you should check the square footage of the rooms where possible. Check the pricing for children in their own room as there is usually a discount if they are travelling with their parents. Hotels with self catering beside them are also a good bet but do check if there is a charge for using any hotel facilities.

Top tips for family friendly hotels

• Check the facilities the hotel will provide and in particular if there are cots and high chairs available and any cost for supplying them. If there are none, it is generally a good indication that the property is not geared for babies and small children you are probably better staying somewhere else.

• Check what type of rooms available including family rooms, interconnecting rooms, suites, apartments or self-catering facilities.

• If the hotel offers babysitting, check what this means and the qualifications of the babysitters. Some hotels offer a baby listening service although, this will mean that your children are in a room by themselves without a responsible adult. That is something that does cause us as parents ourselves reason to question the suitability of this. Pre book your babysitting directly with the hotel and get confirmation in writing.

• Many hotels are now providing childcare facilities and kids clubs. This can be a great chance for you to have a couple of hours off and have a swim, a massage or a coffee with your partner or by yourself if you are a single parent. Whether you use this facility will generally depend on your comfort levels and we would suggest that you look into this carefully when you are on site. You will find some good suggestions for hotels with kids clubs here in Ireland on stickyfingerstravel.com.

• Ask for any special family packages or discounts. If you do not ask you will not receive and families are a really important market for hotels both home and abroad.

• Check that there is a bath and not just a shower as a bath is an essential for many families especially with young babies and toddlers.

• Enquire about family activities and facilities in the hotel and in particular family activities and things to see and do for the kids in the local area for families. Check that they operate when you are going to be there as often facilities can be seasonal

• Enquire about family eating times, children’s menus or children's meal times and whether there is a policy of excluding children from the restaurant at a certain time. Also ask about special children's menus and if your children have any allergies, the ability to accommodate these.

• Try to choose a hotel that is near things to see and do with the kids.  There are plenty of suggestions for things to do and events on stickyfingerstravel.com but do ask also when you are there as local knowledge is invaluable.

After all that effort enjoy the break and relax with the family!