Best Babymoons and Baby Breaks

Baby is coming, and with the excitement comes the chastening awareness that life is going to change dramatically. And unless you’re lucky enough to have a superb support network of family and/or friends within easy reach, you need to resolve yourself to the fact that this may be the last occasion you and your partner will get to yourselves for quite some time. Luckily, these days you’re spoilt for choice with the number of hotels running babymoon packages offering couples valuable together time along with pampering treats.

When baby is born, meanwhile, there are plenty of places that will help you to recharge your batteries and perhaps even start getting back into shape. With a newborn sleeping an enormous amount during the daytime, added to its portability and the fact he or she can’t yet run riot, you’d be mad not to take a recuperative break with your new arrival.

Best Babymoon Locations

A hotel doesn’t have to offer an actual Babymoon package to be great for a pregnancy break – many hotel spas now offer mother-to-be treatments or days and may tailor an accommodation package to include this, as well include as a men’s treatment for a father-to-be. Do bear in mind that maternity spa treatments are normally only suitable for those into their second trimester (ie from 13 weeks onwards) and that the normal limit for flying during pregnancy is 36 weeks.

And if you already have kids, there’s no shortage of great hotels that will keep them well entertained while you rest up in preparation for the new arrival – some of our favourites are Luxury Family Hotels with their complimentary crèches and Sunday lie-in service. The following also either host babymoons or are perfectly suited to them.

Lucknam Park, Wiltshire

Scarlet Hotel, Cornwall

Chewton Glen, Hampshire

Forest Holidays, Various Locations

Bluestone National Park Resort, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Mandarin Oriental, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Topnotch Resort & Spa, Vermont, USA

Delamar Southport, Connecticut, USA

Best Baby Break Locations

France is a prime destination for a baby break due to its long tradition of thalassotherapy. These sea-water therapies (like spa treatments, only with a formal medical basis) often include packages for new mums (although do avoid any slimming regimes offered at this tiring time, especially if you are breastfeeding – the French are obsessed with getting back into shape as soon as possible). We like the Thermes Marins by the old walled pirate’s town of St-Malo on the Channel coast of Brittany, offering Sea + Young Mother and Sea + Mother + Baby packages including massages, body wraps, supervised pool sessions, aqua-exercise sessions, hydrotherapy treatments and beauty treatments (baby-minding and baby massage are included). A partner gets free access to the swimming and hydrotherapy pools, hammam, sauna, gym and marine mist room; treatments can be booked separately. The Thermes offers a wide choice of accommodation, from the four-star Grand Hôtel des Thermes to the self-catering apartments of the Residence Reine Marine, which we highly recommend.

Again, a hotel doesn’t have to offer a specific package to welcome parents with newborns. Many hotels offers massage for new mums, and virtually all five-star and many other hotels will arrange in-house babysitting for guests (usually with a minimum of 24 hours’ notice). See the following pages for our hand-picked recommendations in a range of categories.

Best Boutique Hotels with Babies

Best Self-catering Holidays with Babies and Toddlers

Best All-inclusive Holidays with Babies and Toddlers

Best Summer Sun Holidays wth Babies and Toddlers

Best Winter Sun Holidays wth Babies and Toddlers

Best Holiday Parks with Babies and Toddlers

Best Holidays for Babies and Toddlers in the UK

Best Holidays for Babies and Toddlers Beyond Europe

See also our features on a baby break in Morecambe Bay, a baby break at the Almyra Hotel in Cyprus, and the best mums’ breaks with kids.