With the world-leading array of child-friendly museums, pop-ups and attractions across London, booking a sleepover in town is the ultimate family luxury.
Spending a night in town means you can squeeze so much more into the day – whilst also making happy memories, be they at the breakfast buffet (my kids’ happy place) or falling asleep together after a West End show.
Some hotels might have had a reputation for stuffiness in the old days, but today the capital’s hoteliers are bending over backwards to welcome families in the most imaginative ways. From treasure hunts to child-focused concierges, free kids meals to in-room teepees, my family of five (including kids aged six, four and one) check out the London hotels doing everything they can to ensure children – and their parents – feel extra welcome in their beds.
A cosy den at Brown’s Hotel
Brown’s
London’s oldest hotel takes luxury seriously. This Mayfair spot thinks of every detail for parents, from a Liberty-print Dockatot teepee tent filled with books and toys in families’ rooms down to kids’ silky-soft bed linen being embroidered with London buses and landmarks. There are tiny, thick towelling robes, smart stripy kids’ slippers and, for babies, a play mat, organic toiletries, plus nappies, and changing table. Crumbly biscuits in our Kipling suite on arrival cement my kids’ view of this hotel as the best place on earth.
There are beautiful floral prints and whimsical elephant and monkey statues, a nod to Kipling’s writing parts of the Jungle Book in this vast and beautiful suite. A walk-in wardrobe means none of the usual hodgepodge of kids clothes all over the place – and added to the excellent game of hide and seek played out in the myriad nooks around this fantastical suite.
The only worry in this stunning historic hotel is that kids might get used to it. My six-year-old joins me for a Mummy and Me spa treatment – after gentle, side-by-side facials, he’s left snoozing on the treatment table as I sip jasmine tea.
Hamleys, London’s best shops and galleries are steps away – and my eldest loves ogling the sports cars out the window. The friendly doormen and waiters soon knew all my kids’ names, handing out colouring menus at dinner, which had proper food for kids including steak and salmon.
Back to our room for bathtime, it’s the largest hotel bathroom I’ve ever seen. The enormous tub offers up Irene Forte toiletries, and Browns’ rubber duckies and heated floor add to the joy. The vast lounge meant zero sitting-in-the-dark waiting for kids to fall asleep – instead we read and gazed out at bustling Albermarle Street. After breakfasting on beautifully crisp pastries and croissants, gooey French toast with perfect berries, and fluffy American pancakes, we regrettably had to leave Brown’s to return to the real world – but had very fond memories of the paradise behind its heavy doors.
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Park Plaza, Westminster Bridge
Credited to: “matthewshaw.co.uk”
You’re opposite Big Ben, you’re a toddler-without-moaning distance from the London Eye and London Aquarium, and you’re near theatres and museums at this large, central hotel. The Park Plaza’s spacious Studio Rooms include a double bedroom and a sofa bed in the lounge so parents can avoid the traditional post-kids’ bedtime evening spent hiding in a bathroom. There’s also a kitchenette, ideal for making children’s snacks or meals so you don’t have to dine at 5pm, and a 15-metre pool where kids are allowed to swim almost all day, from 8am-8pm. Children also have their own check-in, where they receive a colouring book present and ‘money’ to spend on food and drink during the stay, plus occasional events like kids’ afternoon tea and pizza-making.
The ‘beach’ at the Grove
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This hotel set in 300 green acres is a playground which comes alive in the warmer months. A vast and well-heated outdoor pool, framed by sandy beach and buckets and spades, ensures the kids never want to leave. A football pitch plus tennis, table tennis and perfectly-kid-sized walking trails with woodland musical structures to break up the journey keep everyone outside all day long.
There are free bikes for kids (£10 for adults), archery and axe-throwing, laser clay shooting (£20 for 6+), woodland hawking walks and – our children’s favourite – mini Land Rovers to race through woodland paths: they shrieked with delight at being behind a real wheel.
The well-stocked trove of free arts and craft activities in the Potting Shed saw our kids make jewellery and jigsaw puzzles, and enjoy the arcade games, pool table and air hockey. For proper relaxation a paid-for staffed kids club runs Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons. When the weather is wet, a small children’s pool is fun for the kids, although less so for adults. The vast and excellent-quality dinner buffet at the Glasshouse restaurant, with everything from sashimi to roast meats, fresh pasta to Sri Lankan cuisine, and a dessert station complete with chocolate fountain and ice cream sundae stand, won everyone over.
Bedrooms are spacious, in relaxing olive and cream tones; there are Petit Prince kids’ toiletries, plus snuggly fleece dressing gowns and little slippers, whilst grown-ups have Bamford unctions. The stunning Sequoia Spa is a proper treat for adults and over 12s – but mostly it’s the roaming and freedom that the kids remembered: the Grove’s vast grounds make it a family favourite. It’s also only three miles from Harry Potter World if that’s on the wish-list.
From £590 for a deluxe room for four including breakfast; thegrove.co.uk
ZSL London Zoo Lodge, Regent’s Park
ZSL Zoo Lodge
This is a stay that will have your kids showing off to their friends at school. London Zoo’s nine Indian-inspired lodge cabins each have a private balcony where families have dinner (included) whilst listening to the sounds of the neighbours – Asiatic lions, gibbons, and honking flamingos. The Zoo hosts separate adult nights and family nights, so you won’t have to worry about your small ones being too noisy (although you can’t take any tiny ones with its age five-plus only policy). Each lodge can fit two adults and two children, or one adult and three children, up to the age of 13.
The rooms are snug, with children sleeping on sofa beds, and en-suite bathrooms (shower not baths) – but you won’t be spending too long in them anyway: guests can explore the zoo for two full days before and after spending the night and receive three exclusive after-hours tours of the zoo at sunset, torch-lit after-dark, and after breakfast the next morning, including meeting keepers. This stay would make a very special birthday present.
From £202 per person (based on twin share) with each additional child £75 each; zsl.org
The Haymarket Hotel, Charing Cross
Firmdale Hotels
Here’s where parents who want the kind of luxe break they enjoyed pre-kids need to book in. Sure, you probably won’t get a lie in but you will get everything else you used to enjoy during your lazy child-free holidaying days in this beautiful art-packed hotel. Kit Kemp’s chic-and-cheerful design gives everyone in the family’s eyes something to be enjoy. The friendly, helpful staff love children, always remember their names and bring delicious, personalised cookies and milk for a midnight feast.
There’s a wow pool where kids can splash anytime in front of a digital sunset. Although at 1.5m deep, most kids won’t be able to stand up, there are armbands, baby chairs and Insta-ready donut lilos to borrow.
There’s an honesty bar for parents who need propping up – and Brumus restaurant has a children’s menu (salmon, chicken, fresh veg, new potatoes) that actually cares about its diners. You feel like you’re staying in your coolest friend’s house. An amazing chef whips up chilli sweetcorn fritters for breakfast and loves your kids so much they’ve put out tiny towelling robes, slippers and bunny toiletry sets. You won’t want to leave.
Melia White House, St Albany
Melia White House
As one of the closest hotels to London Zoo, which is also near to the Tube for all of central London’s array of sightseeing, this super-modern refurbished hotel makes a really comfy place to relax if you’d like a more spacious option after a busy day with the gorillas. Being a little further out of the manic capital, this branch of the Melia chain has a decent amount of room to play with. The Level family rooms fit two adults, kids in a sofa-bed and a chic bathroom. Another option is an interconnecting room for bigger families. Children receive their own toiletry bag and kids’ room service menu or included access for all to have drinks and snacks all day long- a highlight for most grazing children.
From £326 for two interconnecting rooms for a family of four, or £354 for a Level suite; melia.com
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The family-friendly pool at the Pan Pacific London
Pan Pacific
That famous Asian hospitality extends to the smallest visitors at this City-based hotel, where children are handed a treasure hunt at check-in to gain signatures from different staff all over the hotel and win an incredibly soft cuddly lion (the Pan Pacific is from Singapore, the Lion city) at the end. Children will love the welcome cookies, Dadaumpa organic kids’ toiletries and impressive towel animals waiting in the beautiful modern rooms. Going for a ‘double double room’ category gives you a generous space (even the smallest is 41sqm) with two huge beds and room for an extra bed or cot too.
There’s a warm, infinity pool where kids are welcomed with pool noodles, floats and toys between 7-9 in the morning and 4pm-6pm, and the spa – normally a no-go area for children – actually welcomes them at the Pan Pacific. Those aged 6-16 can book in for the Dreamy Treatment (a huge treat at £100 per person) – months on, my son is still talking about this facial and body massage, where we lay side by side for the ultimate relaxation and were both treated like royalty.
The hotel is on the doorstep of the Tower of London and some of the Capital’s best viewing points, as well as near Spitalfields urban farm and steps from Spitalfields market. We returned for dinner at Straits Kitchen (where kids under six eat free, and it’s half price for under 12s), where the service was as child-friendly as throughout the hotel, and our children gobbled up proper food including fillet steak as we appreciated the Asian cuisine of satay skewers and laksa.
The Asian-British cross is back at breakfast, where the buffet is one of the loveliest in London: make room for every single one of the crisp croissants, and try some congee too.
One Aldwych’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory afternoon tea
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If you’re treating the kids to a West End show or shopping trip, you won’t find a better-located luxury pad than this one. The stages of hits like Matilda and Mammia Mia are a few steps away, as are some of the Capital’s most child-friendly museums and activities, including the London Transport Museum and Covent Garden’s performers. A Beano-wrapped dog at reception sets One Aldwych’s quirky, family-friendly tone. We immediately set off on its fabulous treasure hunt, which encourages the kids to think as investigative journalists – the clues included nooks around the West End that I’d never spotted in my almost four-decades living in London – plus there’s the tastiest kind of scoop at the end.
The hotel is a chic, calm oasis from the Capital’s buzziness. Vast windows give London views everywhere – and we loved retreating to the circular lounge inside room 100, looking out onto the Strand. All rooms have beautiful high ceilings, and marble touches in a modern way. Our children inhaled the welcome mini chocolate cupcakes in our room, and we all loved the chic bathroom with gorgeous heated floor and TV-side bath. The kids felt like royalty in our spacious room, with their mini slippers and bathrobes, and even child-sized umbrellas (this is London, after all.)
One Aldwych’s building dates back to 1905, when it was the home of the Morning Post newspaper (hence the scoop-finding), but where the presses used to roll is today an incredible azure basement pool. During the weekend, kids can access it all day long, so don’t have to plan your day around a swim. (Be aware, though, it’s deep at 1.5m with no shallow end so younger swimmers might want to bring a noodle.)
The final treat for children (and childish adults) is the hotel’s incredible Charlie and the Chocolate Factory afternoon tea. The dry ice wizadry, enormous candy floss, perfect scones, fruity cocktails, caramel chocolate milkshakes and cakes left our children in rhapsodies, showing how successfully One Aldwych welcomes families with wide-open arms.
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