Have Baby Will Travel
Here, Liat Joshi talks about the trials and joys of taking her son, ‘The Little Man,’ (TLM) on holiday along with her husband, ‘Slightly Bigger Man’ [SBM].I used to wonder why parents with one small child bought huge 4x4s or estate cars. Having packed endless amounts of TLM’s stuff for a grand total of four days in the Cotswolds, now I know.
Before TLM’s arrival, we used to scoot down to our favourite boutique hotel (all very grown-up and decadent…) in our two-seater convertible, roof down, chill-out music on and a couple of small holdalls stashed in its miniscule boot. Not any more.
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The first time we braved going away, I felt like I needed a holiday even more after days spent packing endless paraphernalia and loading it into the car (now a much more sensible large family saloon). AND we had to listen to bl**dy nursery rhymes half the way there.
Not only is the packing a challenge but so is finding somewhere suitably luxurious for SBM’s demanding standards (he has been spoilt by years of staying in swanky hotels on company expenses), but where all the other guests won’t sneer each time TLM has one of his tantrums or chucks a rice cake their way.
After much scouring on the internet we found a few candidates that meant no compromise for us spoilt grown-ups and plenty of baby-friendly amenities too. The Grove (a bit too close and let’s face it Watford isn’t anyone’s choice of holiday destination), Calcot Manor in the Cotswolds, Babington House in Somerset and the chain of Luxury Family Hotels which include Ickworth in Suffolk all fit the bill, with crèche facilities that would allow us to sneak off to the spa for a bit of pampering.
They also all come with gorgeous furnishings - ideal for your little one to puke over, cueing an embarrassing call to housekeeping for assistance. Of course, you could just do what we did: turn the puked-on side of the cushion the other way and hope no one notices.
Anyway we plumped for Calcot, packed our bags and headed up the M4 - ideal as the whole journey was completed during TLM’s lunchtime nap.
Our ‘family suite’ had a separate little room for TLM so we could watch telly and talk without disturbing him. TLM flirted with the waitresses and crèche staff who were all more than happy to flirt back. SBM refrained from copying his darling son but only because he knew I’d wallop him if he tried.
The other guests – most of whom had their own little monsters in tow, even tolerated TLM’s strops every time we put him in the highchair. In fact, instead of annoyed stares, rolling eyeballs and rude comments, there was parental camaraderie and much swapping of advice.
TLM was packed off to the crèche for an hour or two each afternoon while SBM and I lounged around in the outdoor hot tub next to a wood-burning stove – bliss.
I obviously can’t ask TLM whether he had as much fun in the crèche but if he could talk I’m sure the answer would be yes.
Liat Joshi is a London-based freelance journalist. She has written for, among others, The Sunday Times, The Independent on Sunday, Junior and Elegant Traveller.
Most of her recent work has been on parenting issues. She lives in North London with her husband and young son.
October 30 2006 |
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