Best IHG hotel/resort with kids?

[sman9]

I’ve got a fair few IHG points and was looking at a redeeming for a family holiday.

Needs:
– Ideally Southern Europe (for the weather), but will consider anywhere warm
– Near a beach and with pool (willing to compromise on the beach if there is a pool)
– Somewhere a 3 year old will be happy and entertained

Any recommendations?

Thanks

[NorthernLass]

What sort of points budget are you looking at? IHG doesn’t really have a huge presence in southern/beachy Europe, and where it has it tends to be IC or Holiday Inn/Express and not much in between. HI/E don’t often have pools.

There is a decent-looking HI with a pool at St Laurent de Var (?) not far from Nice if you fancied the south of France. There’s also possibly a new Indigo in that area as well.

There’s an IC in Barcelona and a Kimpton (recently opened) in Mallorca. I imagine points prices will be quite high on these. There’s also an IC in Estoril which looks fairly reasonable and would tick a lot of boxes.

The current Amex offer might be useful if you don’t want to book it all on points – lots of French and Spanish properties included (though oddly, no Portuguese).

[NorthernLass]

Remember as well with reward pricing, you might have to do a bit of negotiating/upgrading with the hotel to get a room which will sleep more than 2.

Just remembered – there is a HI in Nice centre which has suites which can accommodate families, though again you’d need to negotiate one of those on a points booking. No pool, but the sea front is a short walk away.

[TGLoyalty]

Kimpton Mallorca ? Big pool but 10 mins drive from a beach.

No idea if a 3 year old will be happy though.

Iberostar are now part of IHG and have plenty of hotels in Spain. not sure if you will be able to redeem but they haven’t allowed it yet (benefits coming soon)

Vignette hotel opening Sep 23 in Portugal not too far from Faro airport but too late for this summer I guess

[aseftel]

Would you consider Middle East? IHG is pretty weak for beach resorts in Europe until the Iberostar partnership comes online. The only four that come to mind at all are IC Estoril, Carlton Cannes, HI Nice and Crowne Plaza Limassol. There will also be some Mr & Mrs Smith options dotted around.

My (then) two year old was very happy at IC Dubai Festival City.

[Aston100]

sman9 wrote:

(willing to compromise on the beach if there is a pool)

In my opinion:
Private pool > private beach > public beach > public pool

[Aston100]

aseftel wrote:

The only four that come to mind at all are IC Estoril, Carlton Cannes, HI Nice and Crowne Plaza Limassol

Ah that reminds me, there is a CP on a beach in Antalya, Turkey.
It doesn’t tick the boxes. Just saying this so you can exclude it in advance.

[NorthernLass]

If you are considering further afield, of course the USA has a huge range of options (though it’s become very expensive to visit if you plan to eat out, etc, a lot). Places like Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites (and to a lesser extent HI/HIE) are great for families and usually come with pools, which isn’t generally the case in Europe.

[NorthernLass]

Also – a bit niche but there’s a new HIE in Gibraltar. It’s a bit pricier than average (points and cash), but it has rooms which sleep 2 adults and a child and is very convenient for the airport (about 10 minutes walk). No pool but there’s a nice beach a short stroll away with a playground and restaurant. BA flies from T3 and prices are often lower than Costa del Sol airports over in Spain. You’ve also got guaranteed weather, loads to do and no issues with language or money! We’ve got 6 nights booked at Easter – they are also very quick to respond and helpful if you email them about anything. As a HIE, breakfast is included regardless of status.

[Michael C]

OP doesn’t mention the month/time of year…?
The HI nr Nice that @NorthernLass mentions has its own beach – not particularly
lovely, but definitely 3-yr old level! We’ve been going to Nice almost yearly
with a then-toddler. Lovely coast, v v easy to move around by train, which many
kids enjoy.
The new Indigo in Cagnes looks v nice – obviously smaller town, but v cute and also
with a train station right in the centre.

[sman9]

NorthernLass wrote:

Remember as well with reward pricing, you might have to do a bit of negotiating/upgrading with the hotel to get a room which will sleep more than 2.

Just remembered – there is a HI in Nice centre which has suites which can accommodate families, though again you’d need to negotiate one of those on a points booking. No pool, but the sea front is a short walk away.

Yes I’ve noticed quite a few hotels drop out of point redemptions as soon as you add a child. How do you go about negotiating/upgrading. Is it a case of booking the standard room with points and then calling/emailing afterwards to see if you can either be given a room which sleeps 3 (FoC) or pay to upgrade?

[sman9]

NorthernLass wrote:

What sort of points budget are you looking at? IHG doesn’t really have a huge presence in southern/beachy Europe, and where it has it tends to be IC or Holiday Inn/Express and not much in between. HI/E don’t often have pools.

There is a decent-looking HI with a pool at St Laurent de Var (?) not far from Nice if you fancied the south of France. There’s also possibly a new Indigo in that area as well.

There’s an IC in Barcelona and a Kimpton (recently opened) in Mallorca. I imagine points prices will be quite high on these. There’s also an IC in Estoril which looks fairly reasonable and would tick a lot of boxes.

The current Amex offer might be useful if you don’t want to book it all on points – lots of French and Spanish properties included (though oddly, no Portuguese).

Currently sitting on about 250k points, so thinking about an option to utilise these rather than book a package holiday. Thanks for the suggestions, these could work. I’ve got the IHG Amex offer on my BAPP, so will need to do the maths I think to see if it’s even worth redeeming points.

[sman9]

Michael C wrote:

OP doesn’t mention the month/time of year…?
The HI nr Nice that @NorthernLass mentions has its own beach – not particularly
lovely, but definitely 3-yr old level! We’ve been going to Nice almost yearly
with a then-toddler. Lovely coast, v v easy to move around by train, which many
kids enjoy.
The new Indigo in Cagnes looks v nice – obviously smaller town, but v cute and also
with a train station right in the centre.

As our little one is in nursery, we are pretty flexible on time of year, although was shooting for April/May. South of France looks appealing.

[NorthernLass]

People on here have previously advised to just book the standard room then arrive with the child in tow but I would never do that – you risk being turned away or asked to pay for a 2nd room if the hotel is strict on occupancy. I’ve always found that asking nicely after booking usually results in a good outcome, like being upgraded to a huge suite for nothing or a nominal cash amount at ICs twice. You’re less likely to get a huge suite a a HI, of course but they will probably at least offer you a room with a sofa bed, or put a rollaway in for you. The cost for rollaways can be ridiculous though, and it might be better value just to pay to upgrade to a better room.

[NorthernLass]

Also – there a few hotels which won’t search for 3 people on a points booking, but if you search for 2 throws up the occasional room with 2 double beds, or a double bed plus sofa bed, so it’s worth doing a few searches for 2 adults and see which rooms appear as available.

[BuildBackBetter]

NorthernLass wrote:

People on here have previously advised to just book the standard room then arrive with the child in tow but I would never do that – you risk being turned away or asked to pay for a 2nd room if the hotel is strict on occupancy. I’ve always found that asking nicely after booking usually results in a good outcome, like being upgraded to a huge suite for nothing or a nominal cash amount at ICs twice. You’re less likely to get a huge suite a a HI, of course but they will probably at least offer you a room with a sofa bed, or put a rollaway in for you. The cost for rollaways can be ridiculous though, and it might be better value just to pay to upgrade to a better room.

+1. The last thing you need on a holiday is to be left to the mercy of reception staff. Its even more risky when you are traveling during peak season or weekends / bank holidays. You can be forced to pay for a bigger room at the rate on that day. Thats not even considering having to negotiate with the staff, while you and your family are tired after a long journey and your kids get cranky and cannot wait to get into the room!

[BuildBackBetter]

NorthernLass wrote:

Also – there a few hotels which won’t search for 3 people on a points booking, but if you search for 2 throws up the occasional room with 2 double beds, or a double bed plus sofa bed, so it’s worth doing a few searches for 2 adults and see which rooms appear as available.

This is a big problem with IHG and Marriott – many hotels dont allow option to pay more points or cash online for bigger rooms while redeeming. Hyatt is very good in this aspect. It allows different combinations of points + cash for premium rooms, including suites. I should probably buy more Hyatt points in the future.

[NorthernLass]

US hotels are the best for getting 2 double beds in a room – or even 1 bedroom suites at properties like Homewood Suites by Hilton for standard redemption prices. This seems to be because it’s the default mode for Americans to cram their entire immediate family into one room for a week. I can’t see how they can possibly consider any kind of holiday to involve spending an extended period of time in proximity to 2 teenagers but there you go!