I’ve talked about this several times before, but it really just needs to be said again – kids do NOT care about “high-class” amenities such as you find in a 5-star hotel. I mean, maybe your kids are different than mine, but when we stay at a hotel, this is how it goes
- Complain about having to help carry in the luggage from the car into the room
- Excitement about their being cable TV in the room (we don’t have cable at our house)
- Some subset of kids wants to go “exploring” the hotel
- Then everyone wants to go swimming
- In the morning, everyone is excited by breakfast
Does that sound about right?
Well all of those things are better (or at least just as good) at your Best Western or Holiday Inn Express hotels when compared to somewhere like the Park Hyatt Vendome or an overwater bungalow.
- Well, I guess at a fancy hotel they might be excited about having a bellhop carry the bags in from the car, but then again, they’re not the ones that have to TIP em 🙂
- TV is probably the same anywhere
- Heaven forbid the kids try “exploring” at a fancy hotel – I find that guests at a 5-star resort are much less forgiving of loud kid noise (maybe they’ll call us monsters?)
- Swimming pools are about the same
- Breakfast at a 5-star hotel? Oh that’s an additional $15 / person!
$15 / person for breakfast? Give me the Holiday Inn Express pancake maker any day of the week!
So that’s why I’m not paying top dollar (or points!) for a 5-star hotel when our family travels – what about some of the rest of you that travel with kids?
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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 
My kids used to be ok with the regular hotel rooms but after we got Hyatt diamond status early this summer, they want a Regency Club at every hotel. They now expect smoked salmon at every breakfast!
That is hilarious