Vacation Henna: Keep it at Arm's Length

It's fun to be a little reckless on vacation. Three weeks ago my kids were zip-lining through the Costa Rican rain forest, and we were eating fruit directly from roadside stands - no washing, no idea (in some cases) what it was. Water skiing or parasailing - why not? Then, when we were on Rhodes for a day ten days ago, our eight-year-old daughter asked to get a temporary henna tattoo. It didn't seem like a big deal - I've watched many people get henna done, primarily in India, and we hadn't heard of any reactions or negatives. So we said yes. The artist got to work and roughly 15 minutes later she had a large seahorse on her left arm. We were advised not to touch the ink for half an hour.

We didn't give much thought to the tattoo after that, other than it being a reminder of a fun day on a Greek island. It progressively got lighter, and we figured it wouldn't it wouldn't be around much longer.

Then yesterday, she started complaining about the tattoo area itching. We looked at it and there were large welts in the shape of a seahorse. Within an hour she was in agony. We gave her allergy medicine and waited to see if her arm would improve. It didn't.

Today it was still bad. I took her to a Parisian pharmacy and, in broken French, asked for medicine for an allergic reaction. I showed the pharmacist her arm. The pharmacist then consulted with another pharmacist, and they came back to me and told me that I had to take her to a doctor. Right away. They even got on the phone and found a nearby dermatologist who spoke English. One hundred Euros later we had a prescription for a strong topical corticosteroid. The doctor said that it will hopefully clear up in under a week.

But that's not all. If you do an internet search on Black Henna, it's scary. Apparently henna at vacation destinations often contains an ingredient banned for use on skin in western countries, para-phenylenediamine (PPD). There are numerous lifelong potential side-effects, including scaring. The information was out there - we just didn't know about it. The tattoo artist in Rhodes may not know about it. All of the girls waiting in line behind Evelyn likely didn't know about it. But now we do.

Don't let your kids get black henna vacation tattoos! It's fun being a little reckless. But we didn't think that a simple temporary tattoo could have lifetime complications.

Venice in High Season with Kids

When we booked a Disney cruise departing in July from Venice, my immediate thought turned to how to give my young kids (4, 6 and 8) a great introduction to the city. The conventional wisdom is that July is a bad time to visit because of the crowds, but we had no choice as to dates. How to make the best of it? This is what we did to maximize our time in the city and make sure that the kids saw the magical Venice, and not the crowded Venice.

On the patio at the Hotel Al Ponte Antico

1)  Hotel. My wife and I stayed at the Al Ponte Antico five years ago and loved the hotel. The staff was amazing and the location near the Rialto Bridge was perfect. Given its high TripAdvisor ratings, I knew that the hotel would fill up quickly. So I booked two rooms a full 16 months in advance. I’ve previously written about what makes a hotel kid-friendly - there are a lot of little things that resort hotels can do to make a trip better for families. In the case of a 9-room boutique hotel in a 500-year-old palace on the Grand Canal, most of that isn’t applicable. All that matters is that the staff is kid-friendly, that we feel comfortable with the kids making a little bit of (standard kid) noise, and that the kids feel comfortable. All three were unequivocally the case.

2) A local guide. After booking the hotel, I headed to TripAdvisor to find a guide. We had an excellent trip to Florence last year due in part to our guide there, and saw first-hand the difference between navigating a city by yourself and hiring an expert. Based on TripAdvisor reviews I wrote to Nadia Danesin and booked her for two days. The only guidance I gave her is that we wanted to get away from the crowds and wanted some kid-friendly activities planned. She delivered.

First, she started with a 15-minute history of the city directed to our kids but very interesting to us as well, including how the buildings were constructed. Then we headed out walking. On the narrow thoroughfare near the bridge and our hotel there were thousands of fast-moving tourists. Within one minute we were off that path and we encountered very few other tourists for the next two hours. She pointed out major historical sites and showed the kids unique architectural details as well as elements of the city that are left over from hundreds of years ago that we would have otherwise overlooked, like the corner shelves in narrow passageways that prevented thieves from hiding there. Despite being slightly jet-lagged, the kids loved it. One highlight was a visit to the aptly-named Acqua Alta (high water) bookstore, that let the kids see first-hand how Venetians cope with regular flooding.  We then got into a waiting water taxi and explored the canals for an hour, where Nadia pointed out the elements of the city better seen from the water. It was a great tour and lessened the need to take the kids on a gondola ride.

Acqua Alta Bookstore

The next day Nadia picked us up in a water taxi at our hotel (how often can you say that?) and we headed to Murano and Burano for four hours. On Murano Nadia arranged for a glass-blowing demonstration that impressed all of us. The expert glass-blower crafted a horse and a cat for the kids in under five minutes. On Burano, we saw a lace-making demonstration and strolled the colorful canals and hidden courtyards. Nadia also took us to her choice for the best gelato, Dai Fradei, which was excellent. Coming back to the city, we pulled up to the Palazzetto Pisani on the Grand Canal near the Academia bridge where she had Prosecco waiting for us. No matter where we went, from Venice to Murano to Burano, we were off the beaten path, and we were always moving at the pace of the kids. Everything was interesting to both adults and kids.

Glass blowing on Murano

3) Activities. Nadia arranged a mask painting class for the kids at Il Canovaccio. They loved it. Each of the kids picked out a plain mask and then, with assistance from their mask expert, painted them. They added silver and gold leaf as well, which was a very nice touch, and then Il Canovaccio lacquered the finished masks which we picked up the next day. It was great to be able to do a very local craft, and give the kids a personal connection to the city and the masks that they see in many, many shop windows. 

Another highlight, and the only one where we encountered (predictable) crowds, was feeding the pigeons in St. Mark’s Square. We had actually contemplated not going through the square, since our goal was to avoid crowds, but given its fame and the fact that the kids hadn't been to Venice before, we reconsidered. And I’m glad we did. In the late afternoon the square wasn't very busy, and the kids absolutely loved being swarmed by birds. The birds landed on their arms and heads and even our youngest daughter, who normally shies away from any animal/insect encounters, thought that it was great.

4. Water Taxis. We loved taking the water taxis everywhere, especially out to the islands. They were more expensive than the ferries but infinitely more convenient, and they allowed us to spend a lot more time on the islands and seeing the real Venice instead of walking long distances (with short legs) to the ferry stops and queuing to get onto the crowded, slower ferries. And this led to a definite highlight for my six-year-old son. On the way from Murano to Burano, Nadia had booked a very kid-friendly water taxi driver who let my son drive the boat most of the way. How many six-year-olds get to drive a water taxi in Venice? 

The goal of the trip was to give our kids a great introduction to Venice and get away from the crowds, and we were successful. There’s no reason to stay away in the summertime – it proved very easy to (largely) have Venice to ourselves despite 140,000 other visitors sharing the city with us each day. 

Customer Service and the Sonnenalp

With one kid away at camp for a few weeks, we've become (temporarily) a family of four. Four is a lot easier than five. Most restaurant tables are meant for four. Bedtimes are easier with just two kids. And most importantly, when it comes to travel, we can all fit into one hotel room. So I decided to take advantage of the situation and get out of town for a few nights.

I love ski towns in the summer. The mountains are green and covered with wildflowers. There are fast-moving streams, taking the melted snow away, with their relaxing sound of rushing water. People are in good moods as the weather warms up. And the hiking is great. One of my best college memories was a fun three-day weekend in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, with a lot of hiking up and running down ski slopes. So I figured I would expose the remaining kids to a little of that and I booked three nights in Vail. For a hotel I went to TripAdvisor and chose the number two rated hotel, the Sonnenalp. When I posted where I was staying on Facebook, I received comments like "great hotel", "loved that place" and "probably the best place to stay in Vail." It certainly seemed like we made the right choice, and I fully expected to love the hotel. I figured that we may become annual guests; a new family summer tradition.

And sure enough the location was great - halfway in between the pirate playground and Lionshead. The staff members were extremely friendly. The hotel was charming and the grounds were beautiful. It felt like we were in a Bavarian lodge. We liked the hotel a lot. But we didn't love it. And it all came down to kid-friendliness.

We've stayed at some very kid-friendly hotels recently, including the Four Seasons Bora Bora. So I notice when hotels go out of their way to engage the kids. And more importantly, the kids notice. Either the kids are excited to come back to the room in the evenings or they're not. If they're not, it takes away a little of the vacation fun. And it makes us less likely to come back to a hotel in future years.

What does it take for a hotel to be kid-friendly?

1. An acknowledgement that we have young kids and a recognition that our vacation and requirements are going to be a little different from a couple traveling without kids.
2. Something at check-in. We usually travel with paper, crayons and colored pencils. The kids can occupy themselves for hours drawing and coloring. If we forget to bring supplies, we need to go buy them. So it's always a nice touch for the front desk to bring out something for the kids at check-in. 80% of the time it's something drawing-related. Sometimes it's a kid adventure pack or stuffed animals. Regardless, it serves to immediately engage the kids and gives them something to do during downtime.
3. Pro-active recommendations of things to do with kids that we might not otherwise know about. This could come from the concierge, front desk staff, or even the waitstaff in the hotel restaurants. It's always nice to receive a printout of well-thought-out, kid-friendly activities.
4. Breakfast and other meal recommendations from the concierge or front desk that take into account kid-friendliness. It's annoying when staff only recommend the hotel restaurants and won't tell you about the great place down the street. 
5. When we do eat at the hotel restaurants, it's important for the servers to treat the kids like kids. It's nice to be offered kid cups and straws. But even if you want to give our kids adult glasses, which is fine, don't fill them to the brim! Some servers really understand this - in addition to kid's cups and reasonable refill levels, they leave the salad forks for the kids to use and bring spoons without us asking. 
6. Turn-down at night. This isn't by any means a necessity, but if we've cleaned up before dinner and used towels, it's nice to get dry towels. And the kids LOVE chocolates or other tiny things that housekeepers leave on the pillows. It makes them excited to come back to the room after dinner.
7. An overall kid-friendly vibe. This doesn't necessarily come from the hotels themselves. Other guests need to be in the mindset that it's fine for (well-behaved) kids to be at the hotel and sharing the pool and other areas. 

Unfortunately the Sonnenalp fell short on all of those. The hotel was nicely proactive before our arrival. They emailed us for details of our vacation, and they called a few days before our arrival to get the ages of our kids. This then translated to...nothing. There weren't kid-sized robes in the room. There weren't coloring books and crayons. There wasn't a packet of information on kid-friendly activities around town. When we asked the concierge specific questions he answered them, but he wasn't proactive at suggesting things for the kids that other guests have done or that the hotel recommends.

While the servers at the Swiss Chalet were absolutely perfect in interacting with our kids, the staff at the breakfast buffet restaurant (Ludwig's) gave the kids very full glasses of water and apple juice, and kept topping them off. It's stressful watching a 4-year-old try to get a full glass of apple juice from the table to her mouth without spilling!

The vibe at the pool definitely wasn't kid-friendly. Even though the kids were well-behaved, we got the impression that other guests preferred not to have them there. The hot tub was only for guests over 12, and there was no similar option for younger kids.

And turn-down service was a mystery. The first night is was excellent - you could tell that the Sonnenalp takes a lot of pride in the service. The housekeepers made the room cozy, replaced towels and arranged robes, delivered sparkling water, and, most importantly for the kids, left behind fresh-baked cookies. But this was a one-time event. The subsequent two nights we would see the carts in the hallway when we left for dinner and then later open the room door expecting to see the cookies and bedtime atmosphere. Instead we came back to find the room to find it exactly like we left it.

So here's where the customer service part comes in. The day after we arrived home, I received an online survey from the hotel. I completed it, noting my disappointment in the kid friendliness of the hotel. In response to the question about whether I would  stay there again, I said No. Even though there were a lot of good elements to the hotel, it just didn't engage the kids, so I figured we would try a different place next time.

Barely an hour after I submitted the survey, on a Sunday no less, I received a call from Stefan, the Sonnenalp's general manager, and we had a great conversation. He acknowledged the issues and admitted that it's part of their process to ask the age of child visitors, but that nothing's done with that information. He truly wants to use my comments to make the hotel kid-friendlier, and offered us a night on them next summer to give them another chance. He promised several times that when we come back we will see improvements in all areas. Wow! So in the course of a couple of hours, I went from being fairly negative about our experience to having a very positive feel about the hotel. That also prevented me from writing a negative TripAdvisor review - I'll wait until we stay there again to review them and their progress. It's great to see a property willing to implement kid-friendly things to make future family stays more enjoyable. And that can only lead to new business - if you keep the kids happy, you keep the parents happy. If the parents are happy, they're more likely to return year after year. And if children grow up with a family tradition like that, they may just decide to continue the same tradition with their own kids.

If you are at the Sonnenalp with kids in the next year, please let me know what you see. Have they implemented any changes? What have your kids liked best?