Sleepcations Hinge on the Hotel Factor

When the going gets tough, the tough get going – on vacation, that is. Taking a one or two day “sleepcation” is a growing trend among exhausted new parents. After months of sleepless nights, some young moms and dads are ready to do anything to get one full night of sleep, including booking an overnight sitter and local hotel stay.

I have done myself, and this is one vacation when the success of the trip rests almost entirely on the hotel. On my first sleepcation, I planned a trip close to home and chose a hotel with plenty to offer in-house in order to maximize rest time.

I had never been so excited to go to sleep in my life. I had a nice (blessedly quiet) dinner, then settled in for the night. Or so I thought. The first night was a disaster, from traffic noise to a pre-set alarm clock sounding at 2:30 in the morning, raising my blood pressure enough to give up on sleep for the remainder of the night.

The second night, I decided to upgrade from the inexpensive stay and switched hotels. I was booked on a floor with some sort of visiting baseball team. I do not know if they were celebrating a victory or drowning a defeat, but I do know that it was loud. They were running up and down the halls yelling to one another all night. I called the front desk and asked for a different floor, which they quickly granted.

Just as I was falling asleep, I heard a loud banging at my door. Three young women, each apparently needing the support of the others to stand, were giggling outside the door. I tried to ignore them, but they continued to rap at the door until I told them to stop. (They didn’t.) By the time hotel staff arrived to deal with the problem, the women had gone. They returned three more times throughout the night, never caught by hotel staff, and I left with the distinct impression that the staff believed I was crazy.

Never one to give up on sleep, I tried this again the next year. I stayed in an enchanted bed and breakfast surrounded by city traffic. It was a shock to go from the noise on the front porch to silence at the front desk. There was even a balcony in my room overlooking a beautiful courtyard. I don’t know what magic surrounded this place to keep the noise away, but it was wonderful.

Better yet, the staff knew why I was there, and did everything they could to provide a peaceful stay, including putting me in the furthest room from other guests, and breakfast baskets with a carafe of coffee left silently at my door each morning. Amazing.

Have you had occasion to host a parent on sleepcation? What does your hotel do to ensure a successful night’s sleep?