Laura Ruston, CEO and founder of The Out & About Baby Company, shares five of the best family-friendly hotels from across the globe.
Have you ever loved a hotel so much that you’ve taken photos of EVERY inch of the rooms so you can copy it when you get back home and make the holiday last forever?
I certainly have.
And what better souvenir to bring home than a little decor inspiration?
Huge budgets, access to top design companies and some of the best views around the world make the interiors at these destinations in a class all of their own, but with the added benefit of being super family friendly.
Here are some of my favourites from around the world, that are still on my to visit list, even with a toddler, and the inspiration I got from each.
Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach NSW
If you’ve been too afraid to try bold patterns out in any bedroom, take a page from the Halcyon House, a boutique hotel located just steps from the beach on the East coast of Australia.
While mixing patterns on fabric upholstered walls and furniture might seem like a crazy idea, if you keep the walls monotone and the colour palette consistent in the accent pieces it actually works.
The Ampersand Hotel, London
Not all design hotels feel welcoming to families, but thankfully The Ampersand is an
exception.
Do you like birds, botany, architecture, geometry, music or astronomy?
Pick your room accordingly: each category has a different theme, inspired by nearby tourist-magnets:
the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Victoria & Albert and the Royal Albert Hall.
The eclectic style however, never detracts from the comfort that lies at the heart of a night well slept.
The Drawing Rooms, where they host afternoon tea is particularly beautiful with bright colours, whimsical patterns, deep sofas and studded armchairs in scarlet velvets and kingfisher blues, that make for heavenly inspiration for a kids bedroom.
Ham Yard Hotel, London
Ham Yard’s colourful and eclectic design means that kids will be as enchanted as adults in this oh-so- elegant Soho residence.
As well as the important practical stuff – like interconnecting rooms and a babysitting service – there are also some cute extras: mini bathrobes, milk and cookies at bedtime and books and board games galore.
And wait until they discover the secret in the basement: a beautiful original 1950s bowling alley – though I dare say the big kids will love it as much as the little ones.
Almyra hotel, Paphos, Cyprus
White washed walls, art deco lines and a prime location on the coast at the peaceful end of Paphos, the Almyra is a chic yet welcoming family friendly hotel.
It is what the hotel management calls “Zen minimalist”, with a predominantly grey, charcoal, tan and white palette throughout, so as not to compete with the sea, sun and sky.
It is restrained and will make you want to ditch the over complicated patterns for all white on white everything. Now if only there was some way to bring the view home too….
Amangiri, Utah
A pocket of understated modernist luxury in a wild and wind-carved Utah landscape, the Amangiri hotel is a sleek sandstone hideaway at the heart of Navajo country – not the place you’d expect to find an incredible spa, excellent restaurant and every-whim-met indulgence.
Think stone walls, natural tones and textures, simple clean lines and crisp linens.
It’s the ultimate interiors inspiration for when you want to strip it all back and get some clarity in the desert.
Laura Ruston is the CEO and founder of The Out & About Baby Company, as well as an interiors and coffee addict. After having her first child, Harvey in 2015 and a few disastrous poonami situations whilst out and about, Laura, being the tech-savvy millennial-mum she is, decided to take matters into her own hands to create The Out & About Baby Company to help other parents avoid such moments. Now live www.outandaboutbaby.com.au is every parents blackbook on where to eat, stay and shop that’s kid-friendly and available anywhere you can get wifi.
