great takes on family travel in the U.S.

One of my neighbors, is planning a trip to Southern California. She asked me, neighborhood travel guru, how she could find a hotel that would accommodate her rambunctious family. I asked her what amenities she thought a family oriented hotel must have and she and I quickly listed some basics. I was curious if we could find hotels that met her requirements and if we were missing some important criteria. First the list:

Minimum Requirements

Free breakfast
Swimming pool
Two rooms
Clean
Central to many activities
A lifeguard at the pool would be a bonus
Babysitting services
Television with children’s movies on demand
Room service
Good value

Then some research…After digging a bit , I added a few more suggestions (for those of you with the need to heat the baby’s bottle or the need to amuse teenagers.)

Cribs
Microwave
Kitchen (We intentionally left this off ‘cuz we don’t want to cook on vacation. Reluctantly, I put it back on. ..)
Refrigerator
Game room
Ice skating rink
Movie theater

I started my research on family friendly hotels in California on Kango. I know the site and the state. I looked at a few other sites and it seems moms and dads all over the country are looking for the same things with a few twists. Best of all, you can find hotels that meet the minimum criteria easily.

First, I checked San Francisco family hotels, because I know the city and wanted to see if I agreed with the results I found. Kango suggested the Radisson Hotel in San Francisco because they have cribs (not on our original list, because my friend and I are past this part of child rearing) are located in Fisherman’s Wharf and offer easy access to all the tourist destinations. It is a solid recommendation, except I wouldn’t want to stay at the wharf for more than a couple nights. Has a bit of a “carnie” atmosphere.

Next I checked out family hotels in that most Disney of towns, Anaheim. She is going to Disneyland first.I think it has to be the Disneyland Hotel due to the park access. Although the Candy Cane Inn has a great name and appears family friendly.

My friend checked out San Diego, she started on TripAdvisor, and then compared it to Kango. We both decided we would stay at the Dana on Mission Bay, it has views of the SeaWorld fireworks, bike rentals and all of her amenities and then some. Los Angeles, was next, because it is near Anaheim and she can spend a night or two there on her drive home. I love Venice and Manhattan Beach and thought I could find a hotel matching her desire to ride the strand and check out Universal Studios. Didn’t find much, the two points are too far away from each other. SoCal seems covered.

Next, I wanted to see what the sites had to suggest around a ski vacation. Next weekend, we are going to South Lake Tahoe, the Marriott Timber Lodge wins, they have a movie theater, ice rink and a gondola onto Heavenly. Now, those are upgrades. I love ski in and ski out hotels.

I decided to research a few spots that are less family oriented than Anaheim or San Diego to see if I could glean any other additions. Palm Springs, seems to have many hotels with great pools, but quite a few mentioned a family oriented atmosphere that I didn’t find in the other bigger cities’ hotel reviews. I originally thought Palm Springs was for golfers, I guess it is also for families seeking some really hot weather. I chose the Coyote Inn, good reviews and love that name. Because of this little gem’s reviews, I am adding kitchen and microwave to my list. I forgot about the need to warm milk quickly for young kids and realize some of you want to cook on vacation (crazy!). San Jose, a place I consider ideal for start-up businesses, not start-up families had the standard offerings. One hotel offered a game room…not a bad idea. Onto the list it goes for teenagers. Santa Barbara is a place designed for the wealthy retired folk and college kids, but like Palm Springs had number of hotel reviews that make you feel like a member of a really nice family. Plus, the prices were surprisingly reasonable. She may stop there, but probably doesn’t have time.

Finally, I checked out the seaside town of Monterey. We are going again in June and I just wanted to see what the sites had to say about the Mission Ranch Resort. Looks like a perfect choice. A few reviews also mentioned pet-friendly as part of a family vacation. I see that as an entirely new set of criteria. Good news, is that family friendly hotels can be found all over California at all prices. Pack up the kids and go. No excuses.

So do you agree with my list? Do you have an amenity I forgot to add?