Family holidays tend to involve as much planning and strategising as the average Winter Olympics, and when you’re travelling with a child with autism, it can get a little tricky.
By Booking.Com
One thing that can ease the stress and improve the travelling experience is when hotel staff are sensitive and proactive about creating a welcoming environment for your autistic child. Here’s a collection of reviews from real-life travelling parents about the hotels that made their stay memorable.*
The Priory Hotel in Gwent, UK
The Priory Hotel in Gwent
Sara visited The Priory Hotel in Gwent with her grandson and loved how thoughtful the staff were, especially when it came to his dietary requirements:
“The staff were excellent, polite and very understanding. My grandson has autism and when his main course came with salad and he got upset, they quickly removed the whole plate and made him fresh food with no salad. The next night they remembered! They talked to him and made him feel at ease.”
Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa in Penang, Malaysia
Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa in Penang
John’s oldest son is autistic and the staff at the Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort showed ‘remarkable empathy and kindness’ while making sure the whole family enjoyed their trip:
“The genuine warmth and attentiveness of the staff truly touched me. I travelled with my wife and three kids, the eldest is a highly sensitive 18-year-old Son with severe-moderate autism. The staff showed remarkable empathy and kindness towards his unique needs and sometimes atypical behaviour… Our special boy’s dietary needs were graciously met each time with sincerity and genuine concern.”
Rottensteiner Sybille in Tirol, Austria
Rottensteiner Sybille in Tirol
Tracey has two children on the autistic spectrum and she found the owners of Rottensteiner Sybille had worked hard to create a welcoming, safe environment for them:
“We had a wonderful nine nights here with our two autistic boys. Sybille is a wonderful hostess and gave us some really handy information for places to visit… Our boys were able to play in the grounds using toys and equipment belonging to Sybille’s children… Very highly recommended and we will be returning, hopefully, next year to visit the places we ran out of time to visit this year.”
Riad Andalla Spa in Marrakech, Morocco
Riad Andalla Spa in Marrakech
Mahmoon travelled to Morocco from the UK with his wife and their autistic son. As Mahmoon’s son has mobility issues the attentiveness of the staff at Riad Andalla Spa was appreciated:
“Home away from home. All special requests were dealt with efficiently, such as my wife requiring gluten free bread for breakfast. Never had to ask twice. Our son is autistic with some slight mobility issues so the staff kindly arranged breakfast for us each day on the ground floor patio… Staying at Riad Andalla Spa is a very personalised experience very different to staying in a big hotel. Indeed you feel you are at home.”
The Grafton in Snowdonia, UK
The Grafton in Snowdonia
Jane stayed at The Grafton in Snowdonia with her partner. And not having to worry about whether their autistic child was too noisy was a relief:
“Had a lovely stay at the Grafton hotel. The family suite is absolutely fabulous. It is spacious, very nicely decorated and the one we stayed in was on the ground floor, which was brilliant for us as we have disabilities and a child with autism and didn’t need to worry if she got too noisy. The breakfast was lovely and we felt safe that they knew all about coeliac disease and living gluten free for my daughter. Would highly recommend and will at some time make a return visit.”
Capella Singapore on Sentosa Island, Singapore
Capella Singapore on Sentosa Island
Nas was very pleased that their autistic son was able to feel at home in the Capella Singapore:
“The staff was very friendly and attentive to our needs. We stayed in the one-bedroom villa with the private plunge pool and our 12-year-old son who has autism loved the villa which meant a lot to us… Thanks to Didi for the peacock soft toy which she gave to our boy as a souvenir. And thank you, Capella, for a peaceful weekend getaway! :)”
NAAM Apartments Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany
NAAM Apartments in Frankfurt
Sometimes keeping a holiday stress-free doesn’t even need staff to be in the same building. Leslie found that the self-apartment she booked at NAAM Apartments Frankfurt was ideally set-up for her autistic daughter’s sensory processing disorder:
“I travelled with three small children and met my husband there, and the space was very good… Our six-year-old daughter has autism and sensory processing disorder, and the room was great, not too many distractions as she needs to run back and forth, and a calm energy. We didn’t go out until the afternoons and she didn’t get bored… This was a lovely basic hotel and home from home as I must cook for the special diets.”
Bo33 Hotel Family & Suites in Budapest, Hungary
Bo33 Hotel Family & Suites in Budapest
These guests notified the staff at Bo33 Hotel that they were travelling with an autistic child and appreciated the efforts to prepare a quiet room:
“Perfect breakfast and very friendly team! We were travelling with a child with autism and it couldn’t have gone better. Since we told them before, we got a really quiet room. It was huge and very clean.”
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