Late Night Charades and Toilet Reading:

A Hotel Survival Guide

by Julianne Hale

Torture is not a word I use often. I use it to describe my three C-section recoveries, the week my infant daughter spent in the NICU, a few choice dental procedures and the handful of nights I have spent in a hotel room with my family. A week in Walt Disney World within the confines of the 200 square foot value resort room prompted my husband and I to save our money and purchase a camper, all so that we would never, ever have to spend a night in a hotel room again.

While I know that some families breeze through their nights in hotels and motels with nary a scratch, I find the entire experience to be an exercise in torture. First, there is the concept of one room for an entire family. I realize that this is a fact of life for a large percentage of the human population but for this spoiled American, it is not an acceptable state of affairs. I love my family and spending quality time with them is number one on my priority list but I need to at least have the option of getting away. Hotel rooms leave but one escape: the bathroom and since there is only one, it’s an escape with frequent interruptions and less-than-ideal olfactory conditions.

“While I know that some families breeze through their nights in hotels and motels with nary a scratch, I find the entire experience to be an exercise in torture.”

Second there is the issue of bedtimes. My youngest daughter (19 months) needs to go to bed by 8:00 p.m. in order to function well the next day. Bedtime is a little less rigid for the older two but I like for them to be asleep by 9:00. In the average hotel room, the Pack and Play bumps up against one of the beds. This means that television, the presence of light and any speaking can disrupt the baby’s sleep, thus putting the next day’s activities in serious jeopardy. As a result, the scene in our hotel room becomes ludicrous around 8:00 pm. The kids spend their last waking hour confined to their bed, scratching the bed bugs that we all know are there and trying desperately to communicate in hushed whispers. My husband and I spend that time shushing the older two, clenching our teeth and making idle threats with our eyes, all the while trying to communicate with each other through a series of hand motions and dramatic mouth movements. It’s the world’s worst Charades game and it is done in the dark in the company of bedbugs. Yuck.

When we finally get the older two kids to sleep, we are left with darkness and silence.  Do we dare turn on the TV? What about the light so we can read? Will it wake up the baby? We always end up erring on the side of caution and my husband, unable to stay awake without some type of stimulation, drifts off to sleep while I inevitably slink off to the bathroom, book in hand, to take my seat on the throne and read until my mind stops racing and I can feel sleep setting in. I tip toe into bed, trying desperately not to wake the baby and start the process all over again. I finally drift to sleep much later than the rest of the family and wait until the first child wakes up at the crack of dawn and we all are forced to face the day in unison.

Our camper offers the perfect solution to family vacation lodging. It is budget-friendly, offers the grown-ups an escape and everyone (myself included) sleeps comfortably sans bedbugs. But, despite our best efforts to avoid them, hotels are sometimes a necessary evil. How do we survive these hotel stays? Is there any way we can avoid the post-8 p.m. charades madness?

Since hotel rooms only pop up in our plans about once a year, I thought I’d ask some parents who are frequent travelers for help. Toni Repko recently spent some time with her family at Disney World. She has this advice, “Buy several inexpensive new toys from the Dollar Store or gather them from the bottom of the toy box and let a new toy appear in the room each day. At Disney, Greyson (7) drew a picture every night of what we did that day. We ended up with a hand-drawn scrap book of our entire trip.” The toy idea makes sense and I like the notion of having an activity at the end of each day but how can we instruct our older kids to draw a picture when our baby is sound asleep four feet away?

Becca Brnik, mother of two, has a solution. She says, “Get two rooms if possible. If not, we’ve put the pack n play in the bathroom to sleep the baby before and used the public restroom for us. It’s never pretty but you do what you have to do.” Wow. That’s dedication. I appreciate Becca’s advice but I’m a frequent pee-er and can’t imagine sneaking out of my room three times a night in my nightgown to go to the restroom. Getting two rooms, though, might be the perfect solution. It would mean no charades, no bathroom reading and maybe even some late night TV!

Emily Kaufman, well known writer dubbed “The Travel Mom”, has spent a great deal of time in hotel rooms with her family. She agrees with Becca’s suggestion. Kaufman says, “Many hotels have vacation clubs that offer condos where families can really spread out. For about the same prices as a hotel room, you could be in a condo where you have access to a kitchen and separate rooms.” Kaufman acknowledges that the cost of these rooms will be a little bit more but that money can be easily recouped by eating meals in the room instead of at a restaurant. Another option if condos are not available are suites. Kaufman says, “I encourage families to look for suite style hotels such as Embassy Suites and Homewood Suites. They are traditionally inexpensive and have a sitting room plus a bedroom. They are designed for business travelers but are perfect for families.”

If you can’t swing the suite or condo or simply don’t have access to one, don’t worry. Keeping to a routine can make a hotel room stay go smoothly. Kaufman says, “Remember that your kids like order and a routine. If at home your bedtime consists of a bath, story and climbing into bed with a blankie or stuffed animal, it is important to follow that same routine in a hotel room so that children know what is expected of them.” Sure, this might mean you have to endure late night charades and bathroom reading but at least the next day has the promise of well-rested children.

http://www.thetravelmom.com/

Julianne Hale, an award-winning freelance writera nd mother three, lives in Cleveland, Tenn.  Read more from Julianne of her blog, AnotherGrayHair.Typepad.com