Family-friendly hotel chains Chain hotels compared
Which? Travel experts have assessed Novotel, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn Express and Premier Inn hotels to find which offer the best family-friendly facilities. We found that, of these four hotel chains in the locations we looked at, Novotel offered the most facilities for children overall, but all the chains have something for the kids.
Novotel
Best family-friendly features
A free gift and kids' play area are both welcoming touches for younger travellers. Bottle warmers, baby baths and changing mats are appealing extras. All Novotel hotels offer late check-out up to 5pm on Sundays.
Downsides for families
A significant number of family rooms at the Manchester Novotel only sleep one child, which isn't ideal for larger families.
| Novotel | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh Royal Mile | London Waterloo | Manchester City Centre Oxford Road | |||||
| Number of rooms | 78 | 187 | 164 | ||||
| Number of family rooms | 46 | 42 | 121a | ||||
| Family room rate b | £100 | £109 | £69 | ||||
| How are the family rooms configured? | Double bed and sofa bed | Queen-size bed and sofa bed | Double bed and twin sofa bed c | ||||
| Max child age in family room | 15 | 15 | 15 | ||||
| Free children's breakfast included? | For kids 15 and under (with paying adult) d | For kids 15 and under (with paying adult) d | For kids 15 and under (with paying adult) d | ||||
| Interconnecting rooms? | Yes | On request, if available | Yes | ||||
| Play area or children's games in communal area? e | Play area with toys, books and Xbox | Play area with toys, books and Xbox | Kapla wooden block construction toys | ||||
| Other family-friendly facilities and services? | Children receive a free welcome gift upon arrival. Free bottle warmers, changing tables/mats and baby baths. Swimming pool in Edinburgh hotel. | ||||||
Table notes
a 7 rooms for two adults/two children and 114 rooms for two adults/one child. b Saturday night 'from' rate. c Or double bed and single sofa bed. d Max two kids per adult. e All hotels have a children's play area, usually located in the lobby, near reception and close to the restaurant.
Crowne Plaza
Best family-friendly features
Interconnecting rooms are available in two out of the three Crowne Plaza hotels we looked at – ideal for families travelling with older children. Alternatively, the London hotel allows children aged 19 to share a family room.
Downsides for families
Family policies are fairly inconsistent across the three hotels, so check before you book. In two of the three hotels, the child's age for free breakfast doesn't match that for a family room.
| Crowne Plaza | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glasgow a | London The City | Manchester City Centre | ||||
| Number of rooms | 283 | 203 | 228 | |||
| Number of family rooms | 27 | 60 | 72 | |||
| Family room rate b | £89 | £155 | £135 | |||
| How are the family rooms configured? | Two doubles, or king-sized and a sofa bed | Two double beds | Two double beds | |||
| Max child age in family room | 16 | 19 | 12 | |||
| Free children's breakfast included? | For kids 16 and under (with a paying adult) | For kids 12 and under (with a paying adult) | For kids 11 and under (with a paying adult) | |||
| Interconnecting rooms? | Yes | No | Yes | |||
| Play area or children's games in communal area? | Children's games | No | No | |||
| Other family-friendly facilities and services? | Free colouring pack with pens, swimming pool | No | No | |||
Table notes
a Glasgow has been chosen for this comparison as there are no Crowne Plaza hotels in Edinburgh. b Saturday night 'from' rate.
Holiday Inn Express
Best family-friendly features
Families with older children will benefit from higher maximum age limits for family rooms. Interconnecting rooms are available at two of the three Holiday Inn Express hotels.
Downsides for families
None of the Holiday Inn Express hotels we looked at have a restaurant on site, so – aside from the free breakfast – you'll need to eat outside the hotel.
| Holiday Inn Express | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh Royal Mile | London Southwark | Manchester City Centre Oxford Road | ||||
| Number of rooms | 78 | 88 | 147 | |||
| Number of family rooms | 46 | 20 | 80 | |||
| Family room rate a | £100 | £90 | £75 | |||
| How are the family rooms configured? | Double bed and sofa bed | Double bed and sofa bed | Double bed and sofa bed | |||
| Max child age in family room | 17 | 18 | 18 | |||
| Free children's breakfast included? b | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Interconnecting rooms? | Yes | No | Yes | |||
| Play area or children's games in communal area? | No | No | No | |||
| Other family-friendly facilities and services? | No | No | No | |||
Table notes
a Saturday night 'from' rate. b Breakfast included as standard for all guests
Premier Inn
Best family-friendly features
A large proportion of Premier Inn's hotel rooms are suitable for families. Kids are given free activity packs at all city locations and two of the three hotels provide children's games in the communal area.
Downsides for families
A significant number of family rooms at the Manchester and Edinburgh hotels only sleep one child.
| Premier Inn | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh Central | London County Hall | Manchester City Centre Portland Street | |||||
| Number of rooms | 112 | 314 | 230 | ||||
| Number of family rooms | 44a | 113 | 151b | ||||
| Family room rate c | £65 | £133 | £68 | ||||
| How are the family rooms configured? | Truckle bedsd, Z beds on request but limited | Sofa beds, Z beds and truckle bedsd | Sofa beds and truckle bedsd | ||||
| Max child age in family room | 15 | 15 | 15 | ||||
| Free children's breakfast included? | Kids 15 and under eat free (with paying adult) e | Kids 15 and under eat free (with paying adult) e | Kids 15 and under eat free (with paying adult) e | ||||
| Interconnecting rooms? | Contact hotel | Contact hotel | Contact hotel | ||||
| Play area or children's games in communal area? | Children's games | No | Children's games | ||||
| Other family-friendly facilities and services? | Free kids' activity packs provided at all three hotels. | ||||||
Table notes
a 28 rooms for two adults/two children and 16 rooms for two adults/one child. b 33 rooms for two adults/two children and 118 rooms for two adults/one child. c Saturday night 'from' rate. d A truckle bed is a pull-out section beneath an existing bed. e Max two kids per adult.
All information correct as of April 2011
