 Our website has plenty of reviews of family-friendly accommodations, so we’ve only listed here (in alphabetical order) those that offer specific deals or facilities that would particularly benefit single parent families. We’ll be adding more as they come to light, so don’t forget to return for updates and to advise us of the ones you hve found! Incidentally, don’t forget to check out our cruise and camping sections for alternate ideas to traditional accommodation options. (And don’t be put off by the thought of camping – some luxury campsites these days are better than five-star hotels!)
Some general advice on choosing hotels. When booking rooms, single parents might have to consider pricing (see our note on single supplements in the General Advice section). Some hotels do make certain concessions at various times of year for single parent families, such as relief or reductions in the single supplement. In any event, feel free to bargain with accommodation providers, particularly in the low season; if they have a lower occupancy rate than normal they may well be happy to do a special deal.
When booking accommodation you should without question chose a hotel that offers good kids’ programmes and childcare options, as this will allow you time to yourself. These are becoming more and more common in the travel industry, mostly aimed at children five- to twelve-year-olds, and in the best resorts they can include everything from sports to crafts classes and other activities. Even regular hotels are getting in on the family travel act; Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton hotels, among others, generally have very good kids clubs.
Disney Resorts
Some (not all!) Disney hotels and resorts have onsite kids’ clubs for children between the ages of four and twelve. Hotels also offer in-room baby-sitting for children younger than four, or for those evening excursions by yourself. You’ll find at least one hotel at Disney theme parks in the USA(California and Florida), France, Japan and (from September 2005) Hong Kong offering these facilities.
Beaches Resorts (Caribbean)
Beaches Resorts is a US-based company that operates several all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica and other Caribbean islands where everything from drinks to meals, watersports and nannies is included in one upfront price. Some of the resorts occasionally offer Single Parent Months during which there is no single supplement charge on rooms for stays longer than three nights; there are also discounts of around 30% on room prices at these times. In 2005 the period runs all of May, and from mid-August to the end of October, but dates vary from resort to resort and from year to year.
The resorts have extensive programmes for children of different ages, known as Kids Kamps, offering video games, toys, face painting, pyjama parties and more. The resorts also have play areas, novelty pools and scuba-diving specifically for kids. Cribs, strollers and high chairs are provided; everything is inclusive, but baby-sitting after regular hours attracts an additional charge.
Club Med
Club Med has a Kids’ Club where children can do a wide range of activities from water sports to face painting, puppet shows, trampolining and even trapezing, supervised by trained staff. The nearest Club Med resorts are at Lindeman Island in Queensland, Ria Bintan and Bali in Indonesia, and Cherating Beach in Malaysia, all of which cater to kids from two to thirteen years old. Older children will find plenty of regular watersports and other activities to indulge in. Ask about these resorts’ Single without Supplement deals which generally run from around the beginning of February to the end of October each year.
Youth Hostel Association (Worldwide)
Accommodation at YHA properties is often geared towards families, with family rooms containing bunk beds and often cooking facilities, which makes for a low-cost getaway for those on a budget. See yha.org.au for more details, and don’t forget to link to foreign websites (such as www.yha.org.uk) for possibilities overseas. You could stay in a medieval castle in England or an ultramodern lakeside facility in Switzerland at surprisingly low prices.
| 
