How I survived a holiday abroad solo parenting a toddler

Even as an adult in my thirties I still have very little experience staying in hotels.

Growing up, there were always too many of us on family holidays to ever stay in one – we’d have had to take over the whole property. 

I remember once being asked by a stranger if we were on a school trip while my family and I were queueing to board a plane.  

It always made more financial sense for us to go camping or stay in self-catering accommodation for example.

Somewhere that could house our immediate family plus aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and the kitchen sink.  

This made for many special and often hilarious memories that I won’t bore you with and, needless to say, I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.  

However, now that I’m all grown up and have a child of my own, when it came to looking at holidays where I was going to be the sole parent I was mildly terrified.  

Could a holiday where I am taking on the full parental load actually be worth it and, dare I say, relaxing? 

This is where the idea of a hotel sounded incredibly enticing. The thought of not having to cook any meals, wash any dishes and having nothing to think about other than deciding between the hotel infinity pool or the private beach each day, lured me in.  

In the days leading up to our trip both my daughter and I had caught our hundredth cold of the year, no doubt picked up at her nursery, and were already exhausted. Considering a direct flight from London to Corfu is only three hours, the journey felt particularly long. 

We almost weren’t allowed on the plane at all. Our passports were being checked at the gate when I was asked to present my daughter’s birth certificate as we don’t share the same surname, a rule that somehow I knew nothing about…am I the only one?!  

Luckily my partner, who was at home, saved the day and sent a photo of the documents we needed and we hurried onto the plane.  

Having arrived at a very delayed 11pm the night before, we awoke at the Angsana Corfu (which is just 12km south of the airport) to the most spectacular views from our room.

The sight of Ionian islands dotted on the horizon and the gentle swaying of giant olive trees below our balcony was enough to immediately forget the previous 24 hours. We had somehow managed to make it from London to Corfu fairly unscathed and I was actually beginning to unwind.  

Our balcony was the perfect spot for a morning coffee and it wasn’t overlooked at all by other rooms. It had the sun most of the day, which meant that while my two year old napped in the dark, air conditioned room, I was able to soak up some much needed vitamin D.  

One of my biggest concerns about taking a toddler to a hotel without my partner was that I would be stuck inside during nap time. If there are any distractions around at all she will not sleep, this means a pool or beach side nap is out of the question.  

Luckily at the Angsana Corfu, all of the rooms have private outside space, so if there are any fellow parents in a similar boat reading this…fear not! They’ve got you covered.  

We stayed in the Ionian Sea View One Bedroom Suite and as well as the spectacular views, our large room was equipped with everything we needed. Having the separate bedroom meant that I could put my daughter’s cot in there while I stayed in the lounge or balcony during the evening and could stay up past her bedtime. 

Waking up and looking out at the sea through the floor to ceiling sliding doors, a calm washed over me that I very much wasn’t expecting to feel so soon into our short stay. And while it only lasted five minutes before my daughter woke up, it filled me with optimism for the rest of the day. 

That is until later on that evening when my daughter decided, without warning, to vomit all over my bed and the bedroom floor. Maybe a game of ‘tickle monster’ after a bowl of ice cream wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had. I was in equal measures mortified and grateful when the hotel staff came and very quickly cleaned up, and left the room sparkling.   

It has to be said that the best thing about staying in a hotel is the buffet breakfast, and the spread at the Ruen Romsai restaurant did not disappoint. They had everything you could possibly want to fill up on ahead of your busy day lounging by the pool.  

We indulged in pastries, eggs, chia seed puddings and fruit plates. My daughter had her first ‘babychino’ and was hooked.  

She proceeded to wake up every morning after that demanding her morning fix and asking when we were going to the pool. 

I don’t blame her. The hotel’s infinity pool is magnificent. But don’t just take my word for it, in 2022 it was voted Best Pool in the World by Prix Villegiature.  

While it does mean waking up a bit earlier, I highly recommend checking it out during sunrise. You’ll be the only person there and the warm Greek sun reflecting on both the pool and the Ionian sea is nothing short of serene.  

And what’s more, it was really great for kids. It was never too deep that I couldn’t stand up while holding on to my child and it was paddling depth for at least a third of it.

She loved splashing around in the shallows and spotting boats and planes in the distance.  

While we were unable to take advantage of it, there is a kids club for children four years and older. 

 It’s situated near the hotel pool so parents can take some well deserved time out, safe in the knowledge their kids are still having a great time just next door.  

Unfortunately we did have a bit of rain when we were in Corfu so the heated indoor pool was a godsend.

If you’re the sort of person who likes to exercise on holiday, the gym looked very well equipped…even if I was only looking at it through the window and not actually venturing inside!

They even had a Pilates reformer machine which you can book to use during a private session with an instructor.  

While at the beach we braved the crystal clear, but quite chilly, sea and just as I was about to step into the water a small octopus swam past us! We were both speechless and amazed to see one so close to us in the wild, this made for a great story for her nursery friends back home.  

If you need to break up your day of lounging by the pool, the Angsana Corfu holds free daily experiences at 5pm including yoga, cocktail mixing and making your own face masks.  

The staff were happy to have my two year old join in and make her own ‘potions’ while I created a face scrub and mask using all organic ingredients, a lot of which were sourced from the hotel grounds. 

Corfu is one of the most green islands in Greece as it gets more rain than others. The climate means conditions are perfect for growing herbs and olive trees which are in abundance everywhere you look outside.  

While all the ingredients came from the garden, Dimitris who ran our class did warn us not to put the mask on while standing outside. A lady did just this during a previous session and the honey in the face mask immediately attracted a number of bees!  

They don’t just use sustainable ingredients in their beauty products, the hotel restaurants use locally sourced produce to create their delicious and creative menu. We ate at both the Oribu and Sofrito restaurants during our stay. 

Both restaurants had a variety of choices on the kids menu however not a lot of options for vegetarians.  

Soon, the three days we had spent at the Angsana Corfu had gone by far too quickly and it was now time for us to leave the comforts and convenience that come with staying in a luxury 5-star hotel.  

Having grown up not staying in many hotels, my main impression of them was that you would just feel like one small and insignificant person out of hundreds of guests staying in a huge resort.  

However I could not have been more misguided.  

The staff at the Angsana knew guests by name, regularly asked how our stay was going and always made sure we had everything we needed. Hotels that cater well for children can be hard to find but the Angsana Corfu did not disappoint. 

By the end of our stay, it was clear that I had been converted. It’s five-star hotels or nothing from now on…a girl can dream anyway.  
 

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