Pam
We are the first to admit that we love a nice luxury hotel on credit card points and miles. But that’s not always the case when we are doing family travel. They usually won’t fit an entire family, cost a lot of points, and having to pay for breakfast for an entire family is just dang expensive. Today we are going to share our favorite family-friendly hotels by brand.
Family-friendly hotels often can fit a family of six. They often come with a free breakfast and usually cost WAY less in points. Alex and her family especially love these hotels for trips to Disneyland and traveling for kid’s sports. When my kids were younger we would often visit hotels like these when we visited San Deigo in the summers. They worked out perfectly for us!
We love the Hyatt Place or Hyatt House brand for families. We can usually get a room with 2 queen beds and a living area with a sofa bed – perfect for a family of six. The breakfasts are a child’s dream (maybe not a parent’s, but this is a family trip). Think waffles that they can make, eggs, cold cereal, juice, etc. And Hyatt Houses come with full kitchens so that you can really save on meals!
These hotels can cost as little as 3,500 points/night for a category 1 hotel during off-peak times. A welcome offer from our favorite card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred, means you could stay 17 nights at these category hotels – that is crazy!
Additionally, if you want to pay cash for another room, you can take advantage of the Hyatt Family Plan. At select hotels, you can save 50% off that second room.
Marriott also has some of our favorite family-friendly hotels. When my children were young, we often stayed at a Marriott Residence Inn because we could get a decently priced room with one or two bedrooms, a living area (with a sofa bed), and a kitchen to prepare meals. The breakfasts were free and enjoyable! On weeknights, they would serve a light snack that often became our dinner (think pizza and salad).
Springhill Suites and Townplace Suites are also excellent family-friendly options. They are lower-priced award redemptions and include breakfast. You can also use a lower-value annual certificate for a stay. Remember, Marriott has no award chart, so the price will more closely resemble the cash prices. That is one of the reasons we love Hyatt so much – oversized value is king there. To find a list of credit cards to earn Bonvoy Points, check out this post.
IHG is often the forgotten hotel chain, but I really like it. Not only are there some fine luxury stays like the Intercontinental and Kimpton brands, but there are also some great family-friendly brands. Our favorite family-friendly hotels include:
You can be assured of more room whenever you find the name suites in the hotel brand. Each of these brands offers a kitchen (Atwell is just a fridge and microwave), sofa bed, and breakfast (except Candlewood Suites), and a couple have an evening snack.
The IHG cards offer a good signup bonus, so you should be able to book 4 nights with one signup bonus. You can also use an annual night certificate plus points at some of these.
Lastly, Hilton also has some of our favorite family-friendly hotels. Embassy Suites are probably my favorite, as I’ve stayed at a few and always had a good experience. They seem to start at 29K and up in Hilton Honor points. The Homewood Suites brand and Home2 Suites are also great options. The nice thing about family-friendly hotels is that they are usually pet-friendly, too, so you can bring the entire “family”! You can earn Hilton Honors with these cards.
There are so many family-friendly options for hotel stays with points and miles! What has been your favorite family-friendly hotel stay?
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. American Express is a Travel Mom Squad advertiser, but we always show the best public offer even when we don’t earn a commission. Terms Apply.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Advertiser Disclosure: Travel Mom Squad has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Travel Mom Squad and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. This compensation may impact how or where products appear on this site. Travel Mom Squad has not reviewed all available credit card offers on this site.
Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
Great info! I love an exciting couple’s getaway but appreciate the usefulness and pragmatism of this post. Family of 7 here, so all the tips about family travel add so much value to our travel. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback. I’m glad you enjoy the family travel tips – they are a big part of a points/miles plan!