Traveling with the family can be both exhilarating and exhausting—especially around the holidays. To make sure everyone has the best and most relaxing time possible, we asked Elizabeth Thorp, mother of three and founder of Poshbrood.com, to give us her expert advice.
What’s the key to a great family vacation?
The key to our best family vacations has been lots of research and personal recommendations. This is the main rationale for poshbrood.com: We know that moms are incredibly busy and are typically the ones who are making the decisions about family vacations. On poshbrood.com, we take years of research and offer real-life testdrives of each property, so users can make the best choice.
What do you look for in a property?
Organized kid camps are a huge plus. Also, many hotels and resorts will give you 50 percent off adjoining rooms and/or allow kids to stay free. We’re a family of five, so for additional elbow room, we tend to spend more time in villas and cottages. When you have a kitchen, you can save tons of cash by not eating every meal in the hotel restaurant.
What are a few local properties for a great family-friendly holiday vacation?
In NYC, we love the Trump Soho. It’s unbelievably child-friendly and has a program
called Trump Kids. The rooms are large by New York standards, and there’s a seasonal pool and an amazing park two blocks from the hotel.
Another wonderful family destination is the Tides Inn, on Virginia’s Northern Neck. The four-diamond resort offers charming accommodations and plenty of things to do, including Crab Net Kids, a kids’ camp. If you have relatives coming into DC for the holidays, Hotel Palomar, near Dupont Circle, is offering a “Save Our Sanity” rate. It includes a separate room for your visiting in-laws, plus two martinis in the adjacent Urbana Restaurant. Everybody wins!
What about if we want to go a bit farther away?
We love the Villas at Snowmass Club, just outside of Aspen, Colorado. It offers spacious rental villas, and the club boasts amenities such as restaurants, an athletic center, a kids’ club and summer camp, a spa, four pools and both indoor and outdoor hot tubs. Another favorite is the Spruce Point Inn in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The scenic inn overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and offers classic Maine cottages, lodge accommodations, condominiums and hotel rooms.
