Back in 2016, The Points of Life wrote an article asking “Should kids be allowed in hotel lounges”. I’m not going to link to it, because the entirety of the article was the word “No”. While I have met Alex, who runs the site, and I think that he is a nice guy, I will say that this article irritated me because I was hoping for an actual article instead of a single word post.
Of course, Alex and I are in different life situations and so probably have different perspectives on this (or any) situation. Since there was no detail in the post, I can only assume that he was in a hotel lounge and had a negative experience with kids. When this post ran originally, Alex did respond but I would still be interested in his or any other opinions.
The case FOR kids being allowed in hotel lounges
The argument for kids being allowed (or banned) from hotel lounges is a very similar argument to those who argue for having “child-free” flights. One big difference is that an airplane can be considered transportation (possibly “essential” travel) whereas a hotel lounge is not.
Again though, I don’t think this is a “child” thing so much as an “inappropriate behavior” thing. I am totally onboard with a specific hotel lounge conduct policy that must be followed (no running around / horseplay, no disruptive behavior, etc). But if that’s the case, then make such a policy and enforce THAT – not just single out one group of people (kids). As I’ve said many times before:
Generally in most situations, I find most kids to act more age-appropriate than I find most adults
I mean in the past week alone, we’ve had a Youtuber kicked off a Delta flight, and 2 others kicked off a different Delta flight (after having to be restrained). I’m much more irritated by the bachelor party goers starting their Vegas weekend early on a plane than kids.
When kids should be BANNED from the hotel lounge
Where I might agree with TPOL is that I don’t think that the hotel lounge should be a babysitting tool. Again, I don’t know what happened in his situation, but I don’t think it’s appropriate for children under 18 to be left in the hotel unsupervised and running amok through the hotel or hotel lounge. I’d actually be surprised if that was not already a policy in most hotel lounges.
I would think that it WOULD be appropriate for older kids to go into the lounge to get food / drinks / snacks and then go back to their room.
But again, it all comes down to the kids and how they’ve been raised.
What do you think? Should children be banned from hotel lounges?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
I don’t have a strong position on this either way and can see the merits of both arguments.
Your argument is coherent and well thought out assuming people travel with common sense which is a mighty big assumption. Therefore, I have two issues with it. For children over, say, 4 or 5 years old, asking hotel employees to enforce a code of conduct is tough. It puts a lot of pressure on the bartender or hostess to determine if a child’s activity is improper when often it will be a pretty tough decision including an angry parent if they are kicked out. That said, I do believe most school aged children are well behaved enough to be in a lounge.
As for children under age 2, how much noise and general disruption is appropriate? It is a very thorny issues which I certainly cant answer. Toddlers cry and make noise a lot of the time, it’s what they do. Some parents are more prone to remove the kids from the room while others may not. It is unfair to parents to say no young kids in club lounge but I could also see why a upscale hotel might want to preserve the ambience of a fancy lounge by prohibiting crying children.
I don’t have kids but I don’t dislike them. Like you say adults (possibly say even men the same age as TPOL on bachelor/stag parties) can be more annoying than children. In short banning children should be specific to the individual child concerned and the individual situation, just as it should be with adults. I might add though that maybe some lounges are not really appropriate places for kids – should you take your kids into a bar? Ultimately that judgement call is down to the parent – but be aware other lounge users might actually be judging the parent and not the child in that situation. I don’t like blanket bans – so I’m with you.
If parents know how to keep their kids under control, we won’t be having this discussion. The whole attitude of “it’s a free country we can do whatever we want as long as it’s not illegal” is what brought us here in the first place.
News flash : it’s YOUR job as a parent to keep a minor from running amok in public, instead of dumping that responsibility to a lounge agent to “enforce rules”.
@henry LAX, Why fault at kids when so many adults do so many silly things and in the end claim “it’s a free country we can do whatever we want as long as it’s not illegal”.
You cannot have one frame to fit all size. Everyone is different and all have different perceptions and different opinions. What you feel ok to do in public may not be ok for me to do the same in public.
For some shorts will be ok for a lounge, but for others it won’t be. For some talking loud in the lounge will be ok but not for others. For some kissing and cuddling in the public are ok but not for others. There are some who even think to piss in the public is ok but not all think so.
When it comes to kids, you blame the parents, When it comes to adults, can we blame their spouse for their misbehavior?
Controlling others attitude will lead you nowhere, instead try to control yourself(your anger, judgmental etc) and see the benefits and results. After all, life is joy only when we try to enjoy what may come regardless of our likes and dislikes.
If alcohol is being served in the lounge, it’s adult time. Children should not be present.
An eminently sensible answer.
So… no children in restaurants that serve alcohol either?
Well don’t they serve alcohol on planes too? Guess this post is going full circle 😀
Kicking kids off the plane during times when alcohol is served seems a bit harsh.
LOL – maybe we can shove em all up in the lavatories?
Especially if the plane is in the air.
Disney is now serving alcohol in several of their Magic Kingdom restaurants. My nieces and nephews are gonna be pissed next time I take them to WDW and we eat there…since there’s booze. I’ll have to drop them off at the hotel lounge for a couple hours to blow off some steam
Winning
No kids at Dave and Busters? Or baseball games, or movie theaters that serve alcohol. No more kids on trains or in limos or in the airport lounge either. No kids allowed in the supermarket when there is a wine tasting event. No kids in the same room when baking with vanilla extract. No kids at the hotel pool. No kids allowed at Taco Bell Cantina or Chili’s or Olive Garden. Send the kids to bed as soon as Mom pops the bottle of wine after work? Most. ridiculous. answer. ever.
We have 2 kids, 8 and 10 and we expect our kids to act correctly. I even talk to each of them beforehand on how to act and why they should act even better than normal when in the lounge out of respect for the clientele that frequents hotel lounges. And I do correct them if and when needed. And while I may be in the minority in terms of parenting I would be disappointed if the lounge excluded kids.
I do understand the other side also. My wife and myself are teachers and we see many self entitled kids walk through the school halls who are very disrespectful. And then you meet the parents and understand why they act that way.
Alcohol being served? Really? That would exclude little people from a great many restaurants, weddings, and other functions. Ridiculous.
I was at Hyatt Regency Monterey on Thanksgiving standing in the line at checkin. Guy in front of me was very vociferously complaining about his experience in the restaurant and demanding payment be discounted from his bill. He led off with “I like kids just fine…” but then it’s “I brought my Mom here to have a nice dinner and didn’t expect it to be a BUFFET night and there’s all these kids and families… yada yada yada..” His first statement was plainly false, he doesn’t like real kids at all. The response from the clerk was pricelessly neutral. “It’s unfortunate things weren’t exactly as you expected them to be.” I had to stifle laughter.
*TRUE STORY* Many years ago… I told Mick Jagger’s kids to be quiet and respectful of others. They were running around like fools making so much noise. Mick came over and apologized for their behaviour.
This was in the BA First Class lounge in LHR.
I don’t have a problem with kids in lounges but their parents best make sure that they don’t impede on the enjoyment of others by running around and shouting. Because I will be the first to call them out on it!
No kids please, or at least enforce a minimum age limit. Have a little respect for your fellow guests, who have payed extra (one way or another) to get away from the noise and mayhem of poorly behaved children..and adults. We all know that subjective criteria means no criteria, so enforcement on a case by case basis won’t work.
So people who can’t afford to “pay a little extra” have to be around kids, but those with enough money dont?
Yes. It’s a lounge, not a daycare.
I don’t think you get Alex’s humor. No surprise coming from someone who staunchly defends the Trump family’s rights as human beings (which is unbelievably hypocritical)
Alex was joking. Obviously.
I have a sometimes boisterous kid but for the most part well behaved and used to lounges. I didn’t take offense from his 1 word post… it was mildly amusing.
I’m just offended there was no link back to what was called the most succinct post of 2016!
I just want to hear more about the story that spawned your post!
Hotel lounges sure, set an age minimum. It’s generally a place where adults can sit quietly and either grab a light snack, meet with colleagues, or catch up on some work. Having children running around is not appropriate for that place.
I am also one of those who would pay more for a ‘child-free’ flight. I am one of the unapologetic jerks who believes that kids do not belong on planes. Take a car or take a boat – anything that will offer secluded spaces away from others. Not everyone thinks that babies are talkative kids are cute.
For the record, I wouldn’t want to be in a bachelor party type setting as well, as you described.
You can also take a car or a boat and be away from the kids.
If you’re a parent and have earned or paid for access to a lounge and your children are travelling with you they should be allowed or you should be notified prior to booking if that will not be the case. Children should behave but then so shouldn’t adults, and that doesn’t always happen.
A lounge in itself sounds adult. There is no place I’d want to be that allows families to hang in a lounge.
Fake news! In no way, shape, or form is TPOL a nice guy! The whole basis of this post is a lie!
I don’t have children and I think it is fine for children to come into a lounge. I just wish that parents realized that they should eat and leave. It is asking too much of children to sit quietly at the table while the parents leisurely enjoy a coffee or cocktail. I don’t get mad a kids for acting age appropriately. If it is too late or they are bored, they will start acting up, whining, roll on the floor etc.
Children in a lounge are not a problem per se. The problem is the behavior and attitude of the parents. Generally, if allowed in lounges, children need to behave appropriately, not yelling and screaming and running all over the place. Some children are well behaved and don’t do this. Others do, and its usually the parents’ fault. They need to be sensitive to the comfort of others in the lounge, and if their children start to act up, they need either to make sure that the children stop, or remove them from the lounge. Normally, parents of these children seem to have the attitude of, “well, that;s how a child behaves, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.” That is a selfish and insensitive attitude. If I were to start running around, jumping and screaming in a lounge, I would fully expect to be removed. I expect the same with a child.
I agree it’s a behavior thing. However, unfortunately I’ve seen plenty of rowdy and raucous adults who disturb others and don’t ever seem to get “removed”… 🙂
If the children are with their parents I think it is OK. However, I have seen kids come and stock up all they can and leave. 15 minutes later they are back.
If you paid for a Ritz Upgrade to their lounge, would you want kids running around nilly lilly?
I have been to hotels where the lounge didn’t allow my kids. It didn’t really bother me as I understood why. They provided breakfast coupons and I could still grab drinks so no problem for me.
We in USA have a culture of “me, me, me, me… ” like our current president…damn the others..
Difference between “age appropriate” and “situation appropriate” behavior can be enormous.
It’s parents who insist on the age appropriate standard who are the real problem. An infant may be age appropriate when crying despite parents best efforts to console, but are situationally inappropriate for many locations. (enclosed spaces such as a plane, or a quiet restaurant for example). Same for younger children kicking the back of a seat, refusing to wear headphones when playing cartoons/video games, or not understanding “inside voices”.
Until parents have taught, and children understand, appropriate behavior for the situation, keep them at home.
I was with you until you threw in “on a plane” as a place where kids are situationally inappropriate. To me, an airplane flight is more “public transportation” than something like a quiet restaurant (or a hotel lounge)
Airlines are private businesses (in most cases). No different than a restaurant or hotel lounge.
Same standards all guests… It’s all a function of who you call first. The parents, their sober buddies, security or the police.
Every failure of a child to be socially respectful is 100% a failure of the parents, full stop.
My kids aren’t a**holes at 3 & 5, and are content to eat an inordinate amount of sausage and eggs without conflict, which I am happy to refill for them. My daughter makes a bit more of a mess than my son, which I generally mop up 80% of.
They are far better behaved than the retirees I keep running into in most lounges (seriously, what is with the gringos in Santiago?). The old saying, “there are no bad soldiers, only bad officers?” Yeah, that applies here. Kids have an excuse (parenting, age) while the adults that leave their lounge area a wreck and don’t bother trying to consider others don’t have such an excuse. I’ve seen better behavior in third world lounges than I have with over entitled snowflake adults in western countries (yes, I’m including you, Canada.) I can’t believe I’m making that statement including Istanbul…
Sustained crappy behavior needs to be solved, but people are simply more comfortable complaining about kids after the fact than they are about adults behaving less than conscientiously, which happens far, far, more often.
Kids, as registered guests, have the same rights as adults to access hotel club lounges. However, code of conduct must be observed, but even then (as someone above mentioned) some adults act more childish than kids.
I have 2 kids (currently 6 & 9 years) and I don’t allow them into hotel lounges outside the hours of 9AM to 5PM. As Platinum/Diamond/Globalist, we usually partake comped breakfast at the restaurant. When that’s not available, we try to go to the lounge breakfast past 9AM to allow the business types the time to have their breakfast. For high teatime, we take the kids when available. For happy hour, even if they are allowed, we chose not to take our kids to the lounge. We accompany them to the lounge to request small plates and drinks for them to be taken to our rooms, and, that has never been denied.
I believe this is a happy considerate medium whereby the kids can enjoy the lounge between the hours of 9AM to 5PM and at the same time allow the adults to have their own enjoyment.
This (like the kids in premium cabins debate) is not a question of whether or not kids belong there (they do) but one of behavior. People who behave badly do not belong in lounges and its up to hotel staff to enforce this. Parents of course need to be responsible fore their children and if the children can behave they are welcome. If they run uncontrolled then they should be asked to leave. I should note that this doesn’t not mean the first time a baby cries or a child misbehaves they need to be removed. Rather its only when (as with an adult) the behavior continues that something need be done. Again age is immaterial. Behavior is not.
Not sure there is a black or white answer….I must rather be around a well behaved 5 year old then a drunk and obnoxious 40 year old. That being said, I think the hotel your at also has to be looked at when looking at your tolerance level. If your at a family friendly resort like the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar or Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa you have to expect younger kids to be there versus a place like the Four Seasons NYC or similar business hotel in a city
I think this debate is so f**king stupid and I did not read your post.
In general, childless people (like myself) are anti-children and childful are pro. Go figure, right? Since more than half of adult Americans have kids, they win by default. Might makes right.