You do not have to trade your taste for a family holiday. The trick is knowing what makes a design-led place genuinely workable with a baby or small child, as opposed to simply photogenic.

What actually makes a place work

• Space to spread out, ideally a suite or a room with a separate sleep nook.
• A kitchenette, or at least a kettle and fridge, for bottles, milk and odd-hour snacks.
• Genuine flexibility at mealtimes, and food children will actually eat.
• Quiet, and good blackout, so naps and early bedtimes are possible.
• Easy outdoor space, and a warm rather than precious attitude to children.

A few we love, close to home

• The Gallivant, Camber Sands — barefoot, coastal and easy, a short hop from us in East Sussex.
• Beaverbrook, Surrey — country house grandeur with gardens for little legs to roam.
• Lime Wood, New Forest — relaxed luxury with space, woodland and very good food.
• The Newt in Somerset — gardens, orchards and design that makes grown-ups happy too.

And a little further afield

For a bigger trip, Borgo Egnazia in Puglia is the rare place that does style and genuine warmth toward children in equal measure, with pools, space and easy food.

A truly family-friendly hotel is one that makes the ordinary moments easy.

Ask before you book

A quick message tells you a great deal. Can they provide a good cot? Can they black out the room? How do they handle early dinners? The tone of the reply is often as telling as the answer itself.