Always on the look out for a decent holiday

Who doesn’t love to get away? The  team at angels & urchins is ever ready with the suitcases, not to mention the notebook and pen to take down details of the latest child-friendly bolthole. We  invited Ultimate Family Hideaways to give us the lowdown on travelling with teenies, their favourite destinations, and how to make flights bearable. And for more holiday information, take a trip to our travel section.

•     What makes an ‘ultimate family hideaway’
A beautiful sophisticated ‘grown ups’ hotel where children are warmly welcomed, but the place isn’t overrun with them!   The majority of our hotels provide high chairs, babysitting etc. Although we have some hotels with Kids Clubs, this is not the main criteria. 

 •     What are your best three tips for travelling with young children?
If you have a flight that means an early start from your home stay the night before at an adjoining airport hotel – the mood you start your journey in makes such a difference to your holiday. 
Don’t even consider putting your car in a airport car park – allowing for extra time to get on/off the bus with pushchairs, car seats etc just adds extra stress. Instead, book fly away parking where the drive meets you – if you book in advance it costs very little more than standard parking.
Relax and enjoy it. I’m constantly surprised how well my two cope with plane delays, lack of sleep etc. When parents are stressed, children get stressed, and that’s when it becomes a nightmare. 

 •     angels & urchins believes children can cope  with adventure. Where is your most challenging destination?
Kenya. So many exciting things to see and do on safari for children, from camel trekking to being shown how to track lions, make tooth brushes out of twigs and catch scorpions by the Masai!  Parents love it too, and it is a great opportunity for the whole family to do something together.

 •     Any tips on making the plane journey more bearable, particularly with tricky one to two-year-olds?
While it’s tempting to take advantage of not paying for a seat until your child turns two, once your baby no longer fits into a bassinet (normally from around 10 months) for longer flights it is really worth paying for a seat.   This is pretty frustrating though if you end up on a flight that isn’t full. If you don’t pay for a seat then try and book your flights mid week and avoid half-term or holidays – this way you are more likely to get a seat for your little one.  At check-in ask if the flight is full, and if not ask if they will block off the seat next to you (they are normally happy to do this).  It is also worth bearing in mind that while the bulkhead front row seats are great for little ones who fit in a bassinet and also give you more leg room, the arm rests don’t lift up, so for night flights normally seats can work better as you can lift up all the armrests and allow your child to lie across you.  Finally, while flying with an infant under two if you can splash out on business class, book two seats facing the same way and your child has its own space to play in and they can easily snuggle up next to you to sleep. 

 •     You’re probably brilliant at packing just enough, without taking everything including the kitchen sink.  What would you never leave the house without?
Baby Bjorn – it has been a lifesaver when we have to walk miles until we can pick up our pushchair at baggage reclaim. Even the smallest baby gets pretty heavy when they are just in your arms.  A portable table attachment high chair has also been invaluable – its often easy to feed your infant in your room than the restaurant and having something for them to sit it makes it so much easier.

 •     Which hotels currently being built are you most excited about? Give us your insider tips!
Borge Egnazia in Italy’s Puglia region. This is going to be a gem.  Easy to get to and the option of having a villa, hotel room or town house (they have built a typically Puglian village)  It really doesn’t feel too large and the joy of having a hotel villa means you get all the benefits of being in a hotel, with service, restaurants etc but the freedom of being in a self catering villa for those midnight bottles or early morning breakfast!

•     And finally, if you were going away without the children, where would you go?
We think that a trip away without the children should involve enjoying activities which you couldn’t do with them, otherwise they might as well be with you.  We love going to Cape Town , staying in beautiful boutique hotels having lie-ins in the morning, enjoying long lazy lunches at the numerous wonderful restaurants and going out in the evening – all the sort of things spoiling treats that are difficult with two young children.