AIRPORT HOTELS: 10 Tips for families overnighting with autistic / adhd kids
- sunshinelayla
- Dec 15, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 1
Until recently my only experience of an airport hotel was a brief 2007 stopover in Seoul's International Transfer Lounge; and it probably would have stayed that way if Whizz Air hadn't moved our scheduled departure time to Sicily (Syracuse) back by 2 hours in 2023.
We now had to get to the airport at 5:30am, which in turn meant leaving home at 4:30am. How could we expect the boys to manage airport security, get through passport control and cope with the the crowds on this little sleep and not have a meltdown at some point?!
My carefully planned schedule was now in tatters. With all other options exhausted, I reluctantly considered an airport hotel.
After working through the timings, ringing around for prices and considering all the possible pros and cons of an additional night away I took a leap of faith and booked a family room in the North Terminal Sofitel at Gatwick Airport.
The whole stay went much better than expected; in fact we have now used airport hotels again twice since that trip.
Read on to discover the 10 things we did that helped make our stay at the airport hotel as autism friendly as possible for our family.
We used a visual timetable with images of the Sofitel hotel
We showed the boys the hotel website and the pictures of the family room we had booked before we left. They both like to know what to expect (where possible), so we were able to show them these at the same time as going through the visual timetable for the afternoon – lunch, luggage, taxi, hotel etc…
We timed our arrival for 3.30pm
This meant we would only have a few hours to fill before the start of bedtime routine.
We gave the boys time to get used to the space.
The boys were really excited to see the hotel room, so when we got into the family room there was lots of jumping and running around, opening all the doors and drawers. This went on for some time. The room was an L shape with 2 doubles and sofa bed pulled out so there was lots to see!
Encouraged the boys to process the experience in a creative way
I suggested the boys use my phone to make a video reel of the room. F thought this was great, and enjoyed recording the different spaces and pointing out all the different features. The process seemed to allow him to ‘own’ the new experience, and was a useful way to manage his anxiety and help him transition into the space.
Planned a ‘special’ activity to meet their need for movement
Once the boys had calmed down it was time for a snack (crunchy food to help with regulation). After this we went on an ‘adventure’ to look at the North Terminal and work out how to go from there to Departures in the South Terminal. The boys loved having the chance to ride the driverless train between the terminals, and now felt comfortable with what would be happening in the morning.
Doing a dummy run to the other terminal not only occupied the boys it gave J & I a chance to find out where the special assistance desk was when we were all relaxed, and we now knew how much to time to allow for the transfer the next morning. After all, the point of staying was to have as much extra time in bed as possible!
Scheduled some TV time
Back in the room the boys could choose between their tablets or a film on the hotel TV. They chose both (!) so we put on Madagascar and gave them their tablets for some downtime.
7. Avoided the hotel restaurant
This was not the time to be asking the boys to eat in public. Instead we offered F what we called a 'Hotel Picnic Dinner'. This was basically cold food that we had bought from the M&S food hall in the South Terminal. This low demand option was a fun treat, different enough to be exciting without putting any pressure on him to 'behave' for others. For C we had packed a cold version of his normal dinner in his favourite bento box, so he was happy too.
Kept to their normal bedtime routine
This seems obvious but it was very important. We made sure that J and I kept to our normal routines with each child, and we did things in the same order. It seemed to work, as they were both asleep by 8pm. Since it was still going to be an early morning we went to sleep shortly after.
We didn’t unpack anything
An easy win. I’d packed everything we needed for the overnight stay in a separate bag which simply got put into one of the suitcases the next morning. This meant that there was no tidying up or the chance of leaving any important objects behind. In the morning all we had to do was get dressed, so we let the boys sleep until 5am, much better than waking them up at 3:30am!
Took comfort foods for a do-it-ourself breakfast
On the morning before we'd left for the hotel, F and I had made two of his favourite baked snacks - gluten free banana and blueberry muffins and Cheesy Puffs (triangle bites made from ready made puff pastry filled with a cheddar and mushroom mix). On waking we all had a drink and a muffin in the hotel bedroom, and then some fresh fruit and the Cheesy Puffs once we got through security / passport control. For C we'd packed fresh fruit, a slice of bread with jam and a tub of dry cornflakes, he was very happy with this.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In the end we really enjoyed our stay in the Sofitel and Gatwick Airport. The boys coped better than I had expected, which made all the preparation worthwhile.
I hope some of these suggestions will be helpful for your family if you ever have to stay in an airport hotel, or perhaps even encourage you to consider it as an option!
If you go you know. If you never go, you never know. xx
