One of the comments made by many of those who attended the recent Butlins launch, was that it was nice to stay in a hotel that was family friendly but also sophisticated enough for adults.
Now a hotel in South Africa has taken the family friendly hotel a step further, by offering overnight stays for babies - whilst their parents stay at home. Sort of like a combination of all night nursery and babysitter rolled in to one.
For roughly the equivalent of £42 per night, the Baby Hotel in Johannesburg takes in children up to age 3 and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The hotel's director Esme Zwennis told the international news agency Agence French-Presse: "Nurseries are not flexible,"They have very specific hours. You have to be enrolled full time to use them. They just don't do an hour or two at a time."
Zwennis opened the hotel five years ago in response to her own frustration as a single mother of three. She says that there is definitely a need for a place that parents can use on occasion, not always on a full-time basis. Amenities include a dinner, bath and even a little potty training for children. Each child's name is taped to his or her bed to avoid confusion.
Single mother Sherrie Galjaard told Agence French-Presse that the Baby Hotel enables her to do such simple tasks as shopping without worrying about her 8-month-old daughter: "Saturday morning, I wanted to go to Pick and Pay to do my monthly shopping," she said. "To take a little baby ... to Pick and Pay on Saturday morning is not a good idea. That's why I dropped her at the Baby Hotel. I needed a haircut. I couldn't take her there, either."
Tasleem Sayed is another happy customer, and found the Baby Hotel invaluable when trying to juggle moving and 21-month-old twins: "I dropped them off the whole day and picked them up in the evening. It's so convenient".
Source [ParentDish US]
What do you think? Would you use a baby hotel? Would it be useful to get a full night's sleep, or do you think your baby wouldn't settle away from home?