Visiting Adult Kids? Five reasons to stay at a hotel

In a previous post, I mentioned that I was invited to be part of Hampton by Hilton’s Ultimate Seekender Team. Our experience caused me to reflect on the distinct advantages of a hotel stay when visiting adult kids.

With the holiday season approaching, many empty nesters may have plans to visit out-of-town adult “kids” who have grown up and flown the nest.

Of course, waking up together under one roof on Christmas morning invokes a hefty dose of nostalgia and good cheer. But staying with relatives—even priceless children and/or grandchildren—for any extended length of time (let’s say more than three days) can get dicey.

Ben Franklin’s old adage still remains relevant today:

Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days. 

When we visited our son who had recently moved to the Silicon Valley from Manhattan, we took the pressure off him (and us) by breaking up our weeklong visit with a weekend stay at a nearby Hampton by Hilton.

Here are five reasons why you might consider a hotel stay when visiting adult kids:

1) You’ll have a retreat of your own

Yes, there can be too much of a good thing.

If you are used to the solitude and quiet of an empty nest and like to stick to your own wake/sleep schedule instead of someone else’s, your hotel room will be an oasis: a place to recharge for the next family get-together or outing.

Our king-bedded room at the end of the second floor at the Hampton by Hilton Milpitas was extremely quiet and peaceful. In fact, we never heard another guest during our three-night stay and were only woken up by our cell phone alarms.

A nice bonus: There was an indoor gym and outdoor pool to work off the extra calories we consumed, and to soak in a bit of early morning California sunshine.

2) It’s all about the bed 

When it comes to a hotel stay, isn’t it really all about the bed and getting a good night’s sleep?

If you are staying with relatives, depending whether they live in an apartment or larger home, you may be offered the option of sleeping in a guest room with an old mattress, or resting your head on a pullout daybed or sofa in the living room. Some adult kids even offer to move out of their rooms so their parents can enjoy the “comfortable bed.”

Why face the choice of either displacing someone or worrying about enduring a night of interrupted sleep? Our Hampton bed® was white, fluffy and uber-comfortable. On our headboard, a sticky note let us know that the coverlets were washed for every guest.

3) It’s convenient 

With a portfolio of more than 2000 properties, you’re likely to find a Hampton by Hilton that’s conveniently close to wherever you visit. In the Silicon Valley area alone, we actually had a choice of several properties, all within 20 minutes of our son’s apartment. Of course, we liked the reliability of knowing exactly what to expect in terms of the guest room standards at any of these properties.

As Hilton Honors members, we took advantage of digital check-in and room selection (available across the entire family of Hilton properties) so we could pick the room we wanted from a floor plan on the day before check-in. 

4) A respite from stress 

Any change in routine can be stressful. Adult kids have lives of their own, which don’t necessarily stop just because you are visiting. Although they may not admit it to you, it can be just as nice for them to get you out of their hair as it is for you to have an exit strategy. In fact, it will make the time you do spend together all the more rewarding.

5) An affordable luxury

Travelers want value and we never felt nickel-and-dimed at the Hampton property—all the properties are moderately priced and eminently affordable, especially on weekends when the business crowd is gone. The Wi-Fi was free to Hilton Honors members (which is free to join) so we were always connected. Breakfast, snacks and water bottles were also complimentary.

We had gotten so comfy in our “home away from home” that it was sad when we realized our stay was over and it was time to say goodbye, pack our bags and head back East.

But since we didn’t overstay our welcome, we have no doubt that we will be invited back real soon.:-)

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Loved this! An empty-nester chuckle elsewhere on the Web:

TimeOut New York – 25 Things Your Parents Will Say When They Visit You in NYC

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Also on More Time To Travel:

• Win an Ultimate Seekender Getaway for 4 in the Hampton by Hilton Sweepstakes
• Empty Nester Seekenders explore the Silicon Valley
• Five free things to do in Santa Clara
• Five reasons why we love breakfast at Hampton by Hilton

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Disclosure: As a member of the Ultimate Seekender team (the only empty nester Seekender), our weekend getaway to the Silicon Valley was sponsored by Hampton by Hilton but all opinions expressed in this post are our own.