Top 10 hacks to make a hotel room feel more like home
Traveling with a Little is hard, but so worth it! We love taking family vacations to a location where we rent a VRBO home, and that makes it easy to keep the Little used to her routine but also explore new places. But we have also stayed in hotels, and that gets a bit tricky. So here are my tips to help a hotel feel more like home:
Book a room with a kitchenette.
It's a little more expensive to stay at a place like Homewood Suites that has a kitchenette, but we have found it actually saves us more money than choosing a standard room. With a kitchenette, we make our own coffee, warm the baby's milk on the stove, store fresh food in the full size refrigerator. I have also been known to sneak an extra hard boiled egg or yogurt cup from the continental breakfast bar to store in our room for Little's snack time later. We bring our own wine and groceries along with plenty of healthy options for the Little to graze on and then we can just have a picnic lunch on-the-go. We save money by only eating dinner out and we feel healthier too. We stayed at a room on the Miracle Mile in Chicago that didn't have a refrigerator or a microwave (I didn't even know that was possible anymore) and that made it difficult to get by with a Little! Thankfully it was really hot and she drank her milk cold, but it was a bit rough to get by. Check what amenities your room will have before you book.
Tip: if you find yourself in a room without a fridge, call the front desk and ask if they have one. We paid an extra charge but they sent an employee up with a mini-fridge and he rolled it right into the corner and plugged it in. Still no access to a fridge? Fill your ice bucket and stash milk bottles in there! It may not last all night but it will buy you a couple hours.
Use a towel at the bottom of the tub.
The thought of soaking in someone else's bathtub really grosses me out, so I definitely don't want to put my Little's bare booty on the bottom of a tub where numerous strangers have stood with their dirty feet. Short of bringing along the inflatable tub we use at home, I chose the option to lay a hand towel at the bottom of the tub and sit Little on that. She has also taken a bath while standing the whole time which was even easier! But at the end of the day sometimes it's nice to sit and soak, and that's where the towel came in handy.
Tip: anything can be a bath toy! Styrofoam coffee cup, hotel shampoo bottle, get creative!
Don't hesitate to ask for an extra sheet or towels.
In my experience, a hotel crib mattress is wrapped in a standard clean white sheet, but the Pack-n-Play is sent bare. I used to pack my own sheet, but now I just stop by the front desk and ask for a sheet and wrap it myself.
Tip: This is literally a tip... If the hotel sends someone to your room to bring an extra sheet or towels for your Little, it's polite to tip them a buck or two. Sure the cost of those things should be included, but the employee still had to do a little extra work. It's also polite to tip the cleaning staff since kids tend to be messy and they'll have to do more work and extra laundry.
Bring a can of Lysol.
If we go to a house then we bring along our pack-n-play. But if we're flying to a hotel, we rent one of their cribs or pack-n-plays, it's just so much easier. But I also bring along a can of Lysol to spray the whole thing down and try to fight against some of the germs and who-knows-what from other kids.
Tip: if you use essential oils at home, like a diffuser or a drop of lavender on your Little's pillow, bring it along! Familiar scents are immensely comforting for kids.
Bring a small night light.
This is great for you because it will help keep you from stubbing your toes in a dark and unfamiliar room, but it obviously also provides comfort for your Little when they stir in the night.
Tip: if your Little has a specific soothing machine they prefer, bring it along. Otherwise save the space and just download a lullaby or white noise app on your phone to help lull your little one to sleep.
Stash plenty of snacks.
A bored Little is a hungry Little. Bring tons of snacks so you're not left desperately trying to find a vending machine, or Heaven forbid, cashing out some of your 401k to buy snacks from the mini bar in your room.
Tip: if you have a mini bar, tape that door closed so your Little doesn't see the goodies and help themselves during the 10 seconds you happen not to be looking.
Use the coffee maker for bottles.
Need hot water to make formula? Don't forget your room's coffee maker is essentially a hot water dispenser! Get ice and/or use room temp bottled water to bring the temp down to a safe level for drinking.
Keep bottles clean with travel size sanitizers.
I've mentioned before how much I love my folding drying rack with collapsible bottle brush. I used it for months to clean bottles and parts after pumping at work and now I take it any time we travel. I also love these Micro Steam Bags if your room has a microwave because you can stuff everything in there with water and zap away the germs!
Bring plenty of scented disposal bags for dirty diapers.
Oh how we take our Diaper Genie for granted until we're stuck in a small hotel room and realize we can't mask the smell of a dirty diaper. Bring plenty of scented disposal bags!
Tip: stash tied disposal bags in the ice bucket in the bathroom, close the door and run the fan. That will help quickly blast the smell out of your room! It also keeps your Little from discovering them and pulling them out.
Use painter's tape for impromptu baby-proofing.
Our Little is at the stage where she loves to explore everything. We encourage that heartily, until we're in a hotel room with a heavy TV on top of a wobbly dresser and she insists on opening all the drawers at once, coming perilously close to toppling the whole thing on top of herself. Now I travel with a simple roll of blue painter's tape so that I can close drawers and cabinets without causing damage to the furniture.
Tip: pack a couple outlet covers for safety too!
What else would you add to this list? Find me on Facebook and let me know!
www.Facebook.com/ListsForLittles
Book a room with a kitchenette.
It's a little more expensive to stay at a place like Homewood Suites that has a kitchenette, but we have found it actually saves us more money than choosing a standard room. With a kitchenette, we make our own coffee, warm the baby's milk on the stove, store fresh food in the full size refrigerator. I have also been known to sneak an extra hard boiled egg or yogurt cup from the continental breakfast bar to store in our room for Little's snack time later. We bring our own wine and groceries along with plenty of healthy options for the Little to graze on and then we can just have a picnic lunch on-the-go. We save money by only eating dinner out and we feel healthier too. We stayed at a room on the Miracle Mile in Chicago that didn't have a refrigerator or a microwave (I didn't even know that was possible anymore) and that made it difficult to get by with a Little! Thankfully it was really hot and she drank her milk cold, but it was a bit rough to get by. Check what amenities your room will have before you book.
Tip: if you find yourself in a room without a fridge, call the front desk and ask if they have one. We paid an extra charge but they sent an employee up with a mini-fridge and he rolled it right into the corner and plugged it in. Still no access to a fridge? Fill your ice bucket and stash milk bottles in there! It may not last all night but it will buy you a couple hours.
Use a towel at the bottom of the tub.
The thought of soaking in someone else's bathtub really grosses me out, so I definitely don't want to put my Little's bare booty on the bottom of a tub where numerous strangers have stood with their dirty feet. Short of bringing along the inflatable tub we use at home, I chose the option to lay a hand towel at the bottom of the tub and sit Little on that. She has also taken a bath while standing the whole time which was even easier! But at the end of the day sometimes it's nice to sit and soak, and that's where the towel came in handy.
Tip: anything can be a bath toy! Styrofoam coffee cup, hotel shampoo bottle, get creative!
Don't hesitate to ask for an extra sheet or towels.
In my experience, a hotel crib mattress is wrapped in a standard clean white sheet, but the Pack-n-Play is sent bare. I used to pack my own sheet, but now I just stop by the front desk and ask for a sheet and wrap it myself.
Tip: This is literally a tip... If the hotel sends someone to your room to bring an extra sheet or towels for your Little, it's polite to tip them a buck or two. Sure the cost of those things should be included, but the employee still had to do a little extra work. It's also polite to tip the cleaning staff since kids tend to be messy and they'll have to do more work and extra laundry.
Bring a can of Lysol.
If we go to a house then we bring along our pack-n-play. But if we're flying to a hotel, we rent one of their cribs or pack-n-plays, it's just so much easier. But I also bring along a can of Lysol to spray the whole thing down and try to fight against some of the germs and who-knows-what from other kids.
Tip: if you use essential oils at home, like a diffuser or a drop of lavender on your Little's pillow, bring it along! Familiar scents are immensely comforting for kids.
Bring a small night light.
This is great for you because it will help keep you from stubbing your toes in a dark and unfamiliar room, but it obviously also provides comfort for your Little when they stir in the night.
Tip: if your Little has a specific soothing machine they prefer, bring it along. Otherwise save the space and just download a lullaby or white noise app on your phone to help lull your little one to sleep.
Stash plenty of snacks.
A bored Little is a hungry Little. Bring tons of snacks so you're not left desperately trying to find a vending machine, or Heaven forbid, cashing out some of your 401k to buy snacks from the mini bar in your room.
Tip: if you have a mini bar, tape that door closed so your Little doesn't see the goodies and help themselves during the 10 seconds you happen not to be looking.
Use the coffee maker for bottles.
Need hot water to make formula? Don't forget your room's coffee maker is essentially a hot water dispenser! Get ice and/or use room temp bottled water to bring the temp down to a safe level for drinking.
Keep bottles clean with travel size sanitizers.
I've mentioned before how much I love my folding drying rack with collapsible bottle brush. I used it for months to clean bottles and parts after pumping at work and now I take it any time we travel. I also love these Micro Steam Bags if your room has a microwave because you can stuff everything in there with water and zap away the germs!
Bring plenty of scented disposal bags for dirty diapers.
Oh how we take our Diaper Genie for granted until we're stuck in a small hotel room and realize we can't mask the smell of a dirty diaper. Bring plenty of scented disposal bags!
Tip: stash tied disposal bags in the ice bucket in the bathroom, close the door and run the fan. That will help quickly blast the smell out of your room! It also keeps your Little from discovering them and pulling them out.
Use painter's tape for impromptu baby-proofing.
Our Little is at the stage where she loves to explore everything. We encourage that heartily, until we're in a hotel room with a heavy TV on top of a wobbly dresser and she insists on opening all the drawers at once, coming perilously close to toppling the whole thing on top of herself. Now I travel with a simple roll of blue painter's tape so that I can close drawers and cabinets without causing damage to the furniture.
Tip: pack a couple outlet covers for safety too!
What else would you add to this list? Find me on Facebook and let me know!
www.Facebook.com/ListsForLittles
It was such a good post. Visit Removals near me. Thanks for sharing.
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