Our favourite design-led hotels for families

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.

Hotels change their offering and family policies often, so always confirm directly when you book. Through our Escape programme we keep a private little book of places we rate and can match one to your trip.