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Have you ever stayed in a hotel with your family and been frustrated at the lack of hooks or counter space in the bathroom? Have you ever had to contort your body into unnatural positions to bathe your child in a badly designed or too small hotel bathroom? If so, keep reading for some easy and practical tips to make hotel bathrooms more family friendly.
I don’t know if hotel bathroom designers are delusional about the needs of family travelers or if they just don’t think about them. But, in all my years of staying in hotels with kids, I’ve rarely found a hotel bathroom that worked for my family. Even when hotels cater to families, they still have bathrooms that aren’t family friendly.
So, to make your next hotel stay more comfortable, here are some tips that will allow you to take matters into your own hands. Here’s how to make hotel bathrooms more family friendly.
Tip #1: Bring an over-the-door shoe organizer.
Hotel bathrooms almost never have enough counter space to hold all of your family’s toiletries. You can easily give yourself more space by bringing an over-the-door shoe organizer with you.
You can hang it on the bathroom door and store all your bathroom stuff in the pockets. It keeps everything in easy reach without cluttering up the counter. Plus, the organizer folds up flat so it won’t take up much space in your suitcase.
Tip #2: Pack some command hooks.
Hotel bathrooms also never have enough hooks or towel racks to hold everyone’s towels. And there’s definitely no space for wet swimsuits.
Command hooks can instantly make hotel bathrooms more family friendly by giving you places to hang all those towels and swimsuits. And, you can put the hooks exactly where you need them.
When it’s time to check out, simply remove the hooks and throw them back into your suitcase. Just be sure to bring a few extra in case you need to move a hook or two during your stay.
Tip #3: Don’t forget your nightlight.
A nightlight is a must when traveling with kids. It makes it much easier for them to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without turning on the lights and waking everyone up. But, unfortunately, most hotels don’t have nightlights in their rooms.
So, don’t forget to pack your nightlight before leaving home.
Tip #4: Bring bath toys.
Most kids love bath time at home because it is a chance to play with their bath toys. But, bath time in hotels is more of a chore than fun. To make baths more enjoyable for your kids while traveling, bring some bath toys with you on your trip.
Not only will this allow them to play during bath time, but it will also give them a sense of normalcy while you are on vacation. Plus, it will also give you a chance to sit down and relax for a minute while they play.
Tip #5: Pack a mesh bag.
Of course, you don’t want to bring bath toys and then have them laying around all over the bathroom. So, bring a mesh bag with you to store them in.
The mesh will allow the water to drain out while the toys are drying. It will also allow you to store them in a compact way while they are in your suitcase and in the bathtub.
Tip #6: Use suction cup hooks in the tub.
Another way to make hotel bathrooms more family friendly is by bringing some suction cup hooks to put in your tub. This will allow you to have a place to hang your bath poofs, mesh bag of bath toys, or anything else you need.
Like the command hooks, this will give you the ability to put hooks where you need them so the bathroom will actually work for you and your kids.
Tip #7: Request extra towels at check-in.
Next up on our list of tips to make hotel bathrooms more family friendly is to request extra towels when you check into your hotel.
As a parent, you know that there is never enough towels in hotel bathrooms for your entire family. So, instead of waiting until you need more towels, go ahead and ask for them at the beginning of your stay. Then you will have them when you need them.
Having extra towels from the beginning will also allow you to have one when you need it to clean up a mess, whether that is water that your kids splash onto the bathroom floor or to clean up a spilled drink.
Tip #8: Bring your own cup.
Most small children need a cup to rinse their mouths out when brushing their teeth. But, usually, hotel rooms don’t have enough cups for this. So, make your hotel bathrooms more family friendly by bringing each kid their own cup.
This will allow them to all brush their teeth at the same time without fighting over the cup. Plus, you won’t have to worry about one of your children dropping and breaking a real glass.
Tip #9: Request a tub.
Our last tip to make hotel bathrooms more family friendly is to request a room with a tub in it.
I can’t tell you how many times we’ve checked into a hotel room and discovered that it only had a walk in shower. While that’s fine now that my son is older, it was a pain when he was little. When you have small children, you need a tub to bath them in. So, ask for a room with a tub.
If you can’t get a tub, then you will need to improvise when it’s time to bath your little ones. If your walk in shower has enough of a lip on it that you can put a little bit of water in it, you can make a baby tub by filling the bottom with water.
However, if you can’t put any water in the bottom of the shower, then put a wet towel down in the bottom, sit your little one on it. Then turn the water just a little bit and bathe them.
Conclusion
Hotels are almost never designed to work well for kids. But, these tips will help you make hotel bathrooms more family friendly. I hope they make your next hotel stay smoother!
For more hacks to make your hotel more family friendly, check out Happy Mom Hacks. For some general tips on traveling with kids, see my ultimate guide to traveling with kids, tips for road trips with kids, best airplane snacks for kids, best road trip snacks for kids, and tips for flying with kids.
Happy travels!
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