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Hello! I am looking for some destination ideas / advice. I am very (very!) keen on some winter sun, so I am thinking about a week away in Feb (avoiding half term, obviously!).
Reading this back, it’s quite a long post, so TL;DR: where should I take my young family for a week of sun in Feb?
We’re a family of 4 – a <1yo baby and a nearly 3yo toddler. Therefore we are exhausted. As a result I am keen to keep flight times as short as we reasonably can to avoid that sinking feeling when you realise that your kids are ruining everyone else’s pleasant start to their holiday, and I have very limited appetite for significant time zone shifts… All of which is leading me towards the Middle East / North Africa.
We were generally pretty adventurous pre-kids, but while they are small and we are still sleep deprived I think ease trumps just about every other factor. For context we took the toddler to Dubai last Jan and stayed in the Park Hyatt, and it was just about perfect for our needs – save for the time taken to get to the Atlantis water park…
In terms of what we are looking for / preferences:
– Kid friendly (obviously…). Doesn’t need to mean an amazing kids club, though that would be good, but plenty to keep the toddler occupied on site is a must. Ideally a really good family pool and children’s menus in all the restaurants
– A resort hotel – given the young kids we would like something easy with everything on site (albeit we would likely venture out from time to time)
– Variety of restaurants on site – eating in the same buffet restaurant day after day makes me sad
– If there’s a great water park nearby then so much the better! I don’t think our toddler has ever been happier than at Atlantis. And I enjoyed the big slides while he napped!
– We went to Jordan pre-kids, so probably not there
– We went to Tenerife for a long weekend one Feb, and it rained incessantly. Sad face. I recognise we might have been unlucky, but the Canaries are now a hard sell at home…
– Cost is a factor, but it isn’t the primary one. We have recent/upcoming stays at Park Hyatt / Six Senses / Four Seasons, so we are okay with that level of budget, but if I can reduce the cost with points then so much the better!
– I am IHG Diamond Ambassador, which tilts me towards IHG (as does an upcoming Six Senses stay which will push me a decent amount to Diamond requalification on points – this holiday could also help with that goal). Hyatt Explorist and Hilton Gold too. Marriott Gold (i.e. just about better than pond life). Generally IHG or Hyatt for choice.
– All of the above said, I am not at all averse to an independent hotel. But chains are more predictable / easier, and I am tired…My initial thoughts / ideas
– I have heard consistently good things about Oman, and how family friendly the Shangri-la is, in particular. Maybe it’s worth waiting until the kids are older and doing it properly though?
– I am curious about Ras Al Khaimah, and Rob’s article today about the Waldorf reopening has reminded me of that fact. I also gather that the Intercontinental there gets a decent write up
– Marrakech is also very much on the list, but as with Oman, maybe I should wait until the kids are older… But the Park Hyatt is finally(!) opening… I could go there and then do Marrakech ‘properly’ in the future? Or maybe there’s somewhere else in Morocco that would be better?
– Maybe I should just go back to Dubai again and stop pretending I am more adventurous than that at the moment. It was very easy, there are hundred of hotel, flights are plentiful, and everywhere was super kid friendly. Sigh.Any thoughts / personal experience very much appreciated! Thanks in advance!
How about Abu Dhabi? Similar to Dubai but quieter (less traffic, no queues at the water park). We stayed at the St Regis Saadiyat a few years ago which is very nice and is kid-friendly. The Saadiyat beach is also a lot nicer than Jumeirah beach in Dubai IMO.
Note half term seems to straddle two weeks this year, so slipping your trip into March may have some advantages.
Also “nearly 3” might preclude the older one from kids club type things, so i’d check that carefully. If you’re exhausted, I assume someone else doing a bit of the heavy lifting is wanted.
Remember that the UAE is a 4hr time difference in the winter, which is the same as Barbados, so might be looking west as well as east.
And just to throw it out there, there are some brilliant family centric ski hotels out there, that come with superb kids facilities including all day childcare from a very young age, lavish pools and great food. The childcare is typically designed so the parents can go skiing but no one will judge you! Check out the Lowe and Bar hotels in Serfaus (1hr from Innsbruck) or the Zauchenseehof in Zauchensee (1hr from Salzburg).
By March it will likely be warm, it’s a 2hr flight, no jet lag etc and even if you don’t ski yourselves, you could likely get the almost 3 yr old some taster lessons – or at least go sledging!
+1 for Abu dhabi. Luxury hotels for much cheaper than Dubai. Malls as good as Dubai if a bit smaller.
The 3 year old could have fun in some of the theme parks like Warner Bros and Seaworld. Lots of parents with babies on prams while toddlers and small kids had good fun.
They also have babysitting options and i’d assume a top end hotel would have vetted them. You can even hire them for a day to help you when out and about.Note half term seems to straddle two weeks this year, so slipping your trip into March may have some advantages.
Also “nearly 3” might preclude the older one from kids club type things, so i’d check that carefully. If you’re exhausted, I assume someone else doing a bit of the heavy lifting is wanted.
Remember that the UAE is a 4hr time difference in the winter, which is the same as Barbados, so might be looking west as well as east.
And just to throw it out there, there are some brilliant family centric ski hotels out there, that come with superb kids facilities including all day childcare from a very young age, lavish pools and great food. The childcare is typically designed so the parents can go skiing but no one will judge you! Check out the Lowe and Bar hotels in Serfaus (1hr from Innsbruck) or the Zauchenseehof in Zauchensee (1hr from Salzburg).
By March it will likely be warm, it’s a 2hr flight, no jet lag etc and even if you don’t ski yourselves, you could likely get the almost 3 yr old some taster lessons – or at least go sledging!
All good points! I hadn’t actually realised that Barbados was only a 4hr time difference… Still, we are somewhat scarred by taking the eldest to Miami when he was about the same age as our youngest is now, and being awake at 3am. Every Single Day. We were the first people at breakfast every day, banging on the door at 7am… I have vivid memories of walking along South Beach with the baby in the carrier at about 5.30am, just for something to do. It’s an experience we aren’t keen to repeat, so going East is preferable.
Interesting points about ski hotels. It probably is something that we should think about. We really want the kids to be able to ski from a young age, but every time I think about a Jan/Feb holiday I just want some palm trees…
I’m currently in Sharm el Sheikh and it’s a fraction of the cost of UAE
How about Palm Springs and the entire Coachella Valley?
The JW Marriott Desert Springs resort would fit the bill. Not sure if the pools are open early Feb though, so best check with the hotel. In addition to the hotel, Marriott also offer two sets of villa complexes ‘attached’ to the hotel accessible via a short walk.
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