Hotel Question - Topeka,KS

When you do call to reserve a room get that hotels local number then call them. I always find out "IF" the pool is open and "IF" the internet in the room is guaranteed. We have had too many experiences when we reserved a room and got to the hotel only to find out the pool was closed for repairs or the internet was down due to getting a different provider. If you don't have any sort of financial agreement with them in case you have to find other accommodations you could be out extra money.

Love Marriott
One room for us, one sofa bed for the kids and a kitchenette. Then our oldest sleeps in a sleeping bag on the floor...he loves it. They have a full breakfast each morning...and some evenings they have light dinners/snacks/drinks. We have never stayed at one that didn't have a pool.

Have fun with whatever you choose...family vacations don't need to be expensive...you are making memories.

Embassy Suites is always good

We don't really have a brand we frequent, but I will say ask questions about their "suite" options. We found out the hard way in one place we stayed that their "suite" was not a suite. It was a section of the room with a sofa bed next to a 3 foot wall. That is NOT what we had in mind.

Great Wolf Lodge is awesome and there is one in KC. They don't have traditional suites either, but they have adorable little bunkbed kid "suites" in each room and my kids love it! We usually put the kids in there and still are able to watch TV on our side of the room. Plus they are so tired from swimming and playing all day they fall asleep no matter what.

We have loved staying at the Hyatt Place in different places that we go. And also the Hampton Inn, their beds are awesome. You need to check on the pools though because not all of them have a pool. We have stayed in a Hampton Inn suite that was very large and big enough for privacy to watch TV.

A y of the well known chains are good. Stay clear of Red Roof Inn, Econolodge, Travelodge. They cater to big groups. Call hotel directly and check on pool. Hopefully internet will not be necessAry since you are on vacation.

If your destination is KC, I have a few suggestions:

Great Wolf Lodge is awesome and there is plenty of shopping/restaurants in that area.

Crown Center is downtown and is also a very family friendly area. The hotel is a Westin. You can walk to Union Station and there is a new Lego Store in Crown Center as well as a new aquarium. Lots of shopping and restaurants, too.

Have fun planning! Let us know what you decide!

Hi, T.,

I don't know what kind of budget you are on or the ages of your children, but you might look into the Great Wolf Lodge in the KC area. It is kind of a water park built into a hotel sort of thing. Check out their website if you're interested, and definitely do a search for coupons or promo codes to save some money if you do decide to try it.

In general with any hotel, a 'suite' option usually has a separate area which could be used to separate the kids from the adults, but check out the website of whichever hotel you decide to stay at so that you can see exactly what their suites look like. Some suites will only have a little bit longer room with a sitting area, which might not work for the whole bedtime/tv time separation.

Have fun!

Any of the suite style hotels would give you what you're looking for. Embassy Suites (owned by Hilton) is an all suite hotel, and a full, cooked to order breakfast is included in the room rate as is a nightly happy hour (okay for kids too). We've stayed there a few times and it met our needs well. (we usually vacation in a timeshare, so we're used to a bit of space).

A 1 bedroom suite would do the trick. Bedroom is in the back with a door and the livingroom is at the entrance. It'll have a pull out couch in the living room as well if you decide you want to sleep separately and a fridge and microwave as well.

Fairfield (owned by Marriott) has suites as well which we've used... it isn't all suites so you have to make sure you are booking the layout you want, but it isn't that much of a hassle. Breakfast is included, but not the full cooked to order that ES has (because they don't have full restaurants).

Have fun!
T.

I have always had good luck with the Hampton chain. I used to travel quite a bit for work and they typically have:
Fitness Center
Heated pool
Breakfast
**Sometimes wine and snacks at "cocktail hour"

We travel a lot for business and pleasure. We tend to stay in the Hilton family of hotels. I don't know why we ended up so loyal to that brand because a few years ago, we were just as loyal tot he Marriot brand.

Hilton does have some suite options at hotels that are very family friendly. We stay a Hampton a lot on business just because we are not looking for any frills, bells and whistles... it is a good basic brand.

Marriott has Fairfield suites which I recall to be pretty nice as well.

If you go onto the hotel website specifically, you can sometimes get a good deal. Also, you can view all the types of hotels they have from 5 star down to whatever you are looking for.

Have fun!

When we go on vacation, we stay in Comfort Suites hotels. We have not had many bad experiences and the few we had were mainly due to maintenance issues that were corrected right away. The people have always been awesome. One reason we started there was the per room capacity is a little higher and an inroom fridge. We have to refrigerate meds so it is a necessity. And most hotels have pools. Some also have family suites.