Why I Book Hotels With Pools for Staycations With My Kids

I travel with my children often. Sometimes the travel bug hits when I lack the time, energy, or budget for a real vacation. On those occasions, I plan a staycation near our home in Washington, DC.

Staycations don't match the thrill of an international trip. They can still deliver real fun. Discovering new things together, away from daily routines, has produced some of our best family memories. Booking a hotel a few blocks from home can feel almost as memorable as a trip halfway around the world, provided I plan well.

The only downside: my children now want staycations constantly. Monthly trips aren't feasible, so I schedule one a couple of times a year as a surprise. No hard rules govern these getaways. I stick to hotels within two hours of home. We usually go for one or two nights, though I often wish we had booked longer. Sometimes I plan ahead. Other times I hunt for last-minute deals when a rare obligation-free weekend appears.

To stretch the experience, I always request early check-in and late check-out. Even when that's not possible, the hotel typically stores my luggage and grants pool access for the full check-in or check-out day. That trick makes a short stay feel longer. I also stopped waiting for the whole family's schedule to align. With four kids juggling school, work, and sports, waiting for everyone means waiting forever. I sometimes bring one or two children on a staycation.

During these trips, I switch to vacation mode even if we are minutes from home. The kids get soda and dessert, rare treats in our everyday life. We stay up late playing UNO or Clue, games they love that somehow never fit into the regular week.

Our first staycation started with my son's birthday request: swimming. That was his only present. He was born in deep winter, so an outdoor pool wasn't an option. I booked a nearby hotel with an indoor pool for one night. Everyone had so much fun that now I only book hotels with pools for staycations. After one check-in where the pool was closed for renovations, I now call ahead to verify it will be open.

Time is tight on these short trips. Our best staycations have been at resorts with on-site activities. The Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center near DC hosts events that keep us on the premises. Great Wolf Lodge offers a huge waterpark and nightly dance parties my kids love almost as much as the Caribbean resorts we have visited.

When we stay somewhere with fewer on-site options, I book near places we want to visit. I include at least one special activity the kids have been asking to do. One memorable staycation was at the historic Watergate, close to Georgetown's waterfront and the National Mall museums. Ice skating has been the highlight a couple of times. Once, it was a kid-friendly interactive exhibit at a local museum.

Staycations offer real advantages over faraway vacations beyond cost and shorter duration. They are easier to plan because I know the area, the routes, and the restaurants. After a staycation, I feel genuinely relaxed and refreshed, even after just one or two nights. Longer trips of a week or more often leave me depleted from constant motion. And unlike those longer vacations, I don't return to a mountain of laundry and piles of mail.

I still enjoy taking real vacations whenever I can. The time my family spends together during staycations is something I treasure just as much.