'Milk butlers' to free childcare: My stay at a luxury, child-friendly hotel

Someone very wise and realistic once told me ‘a holiday with your kids is just parenting in a nicer location’. And let’s be honest… they’re right.  

Sleeping in a strange environment, eating different foods, forgetting their favourite toy are all factors leading to the inevitable tantrums and meltdowns as I’m sure many fellow parents can attest to. 

However, this no longer needs to be the case. The team at Moonfleet Manor, in West Dorset, are on mission to make a trip away a more comfortable and peaceful affair for parents – a luxury home away from home.

From the moment we arrived, there was always someone on hand to help us with anything we needed and, most importantly, treated our 16-month-old daughter like the little human she is – rather than just a potential noisy crier or tantrum-thrower who might disturb other guests. 

Moonfleet Manor, part of the Luxury Family Hotels group, is situated down a scenic country road and overlooks the unique Chesil Beach and Fleet. Located just five miles from Weymouth, it’s easy to take a day trip to the seaside town or, like we did, to the Isle of Portland.  

After a recommendation from a friend, we took a slight detour on our journey from south London to the island (which is connected to the mainland via a causeway) to check out the legendary pirate graveyard at St Andrew’s Church. The church ruin sits half way down a cliff but the walk down to it is easy enough with decent footwear as the path can get a little steep in places.  

I can confirm that wearing Birkenstocks and carrying a toddler is not the way to go.  

If you have time and are hungry I recommend stopping in at the Crab House Cafe, which you can reach by taking a left as soon as you get to the end of the causeway while travelling back to the mainland.  

After half a day of travelling accompanied by some low-level grizzling from our toddler, we were very happy to arrive at Moonfleet Manor and be shown to our lovely room. The house was originally built in 1603 and then extended and remodelled in 1806. Since then it has undergone many refurbishments with the most recent being completed in May 2023.  

While the hotel happily supplies you with all the larger baby and child items you may need during your stay, should you wish to bring any of your own you will be happy to hear there is a lift to save your energy.

We made full use of the room amenities the hotel offered, which included a travel cot, nappy bin, bathtub mat and changing mat, which meant a lot less luggage taken with us in the car.  

They are also able to provide bottle sterilisation should you need it and most importantly of all, a baby monitoring system so that mum and dad can actually have a meal together in the restaurant or enjoy an after-dinner drink or board game in one of the three lounges. All while knowing your little one is sound asleep upstairs.  

This is excellent in theory – so long as your child plays ball.  

After some careful afternoon routine planning we were all set for a pre-dinner cocktail on the patio overlooking the hotel garden and fleet. Our toddler, however, had other ideas and we ended up being held hostage in our room while she chatted away to herself and refused to go to sleep. Leaving the room meant going via the second bedroom where she was lying in her cot and therefore risking a sighting and potential meltdown if she saw us leaving.  

Suggestions on leaving via the fire escape or shimmying down the drain pipe were raised – instead her ever-doting father stepped up and comforted her until she fell asleep.  

Or so we thought.  

She ended up coming downstairs with us for a late dinner where the staff were more than happy to keep her entertained and content by plying her with milk and toys while we ate. Instead of the evening turning into a disaster, we felt comfortable bringing her into the restaurant, enabling us to have a lovely dinner and her to stay up late and charm the (very understanding) other diners with her cheeky smile and games of peek-a-boo.  

The next morning we were able to try out the hotel’s ‘milk butler’… yes that’s right, an actual milk butler. Genius. Our daughter’s morning milk was delivered to our door within minutes of requesting it along with the newspaper of our choosing, ensuring we enjoyed a leisurely morning with zero faff or having to race downstairs as soon as she woke up hungry.  

As a family, breakfast is by far our favourite meal of the day and the spread at Moonfleet Manor did not disappoint. The children’s menu was varied and offered something for all ages and appetites including purées for younger babies.  

Our toddler was able to gorge herself on four courses including cereals, yoghurt, eggs, croissants. You name it, she ate it. Each morning when we arrived at our table everything was set up the way we needed it with a highchair as well as a bib and plastic cutlery. 

There are a lot of activities on offer at Moonfleet Manor and we were keen to pack as many in as we could. First up, swimming. There are three indoor pools all at different depths for varying abilities and while our daughter was a little apprehensive at first, she quickly found her flippers and very much enjoyed watching the older kids jumping in.  

After a quick snack to refuel, she was fully energised to hit the enormous indoor play area in The Verandah building. With a penned off section for children under five, she was free to run around and try out every single toy on offer while my partner practiced his basketball skills and gave the indoor climbing wall a try.  

After successfully knackering her out, it was time for lunch and a nap. While the toddler (and her father) had a long nap upstairs, I was able to take full advantage of what felt like the first proper day of sunshine we’ve had all year. The patio and garden area is a beautiful spot to lounge for a couple of hours, with views looking out over lush green fields and the sparkling water of the fleet. 

Another great service the hotel offers is 90 minutes complimentary child care per day of your stay in their Ofsted-registered creche, Four Bears Den. After dropping our daughter off we made our way through the hotel grounds and down towards the fleet for a walk along the coastal path full of hopes and dreams of an hour and a half sans child.  

According to the hotel gardener and resident palaeontologist, you WILL find a fossil if you walk along the shore of the fleet at low tide. 

Full of optimism and channelling our inner David Attenborough we strolled along the beach searching high and low until I came across a potential winner. However, after deciding it was probably just a shell covered in sand and mud I decided to put it back, not mentioning any of this to my partner, and we carried on walking.

We doubled back on ourselves and while passing said potential fossil my partner picks it up and boldly claims it as his own discovery – despite my protestations that I, in fact, found it five minutes earlier but decided to put it back. He then proceeded to proudly admire the ‘fossil’ as we continued our walk along the small headland. 

His victory parade was, however, cut short when, after about 20 minutes of walking, we were called back to the Four Bears Den to collect our daughter after a stubborn protest against being left at the creche. The infamous fossil was once again returned to its watery home but the argument over who in fact discovered it will no doubt pop up every so often and continue until our dying days. 

By far the cutest activity of our weekend was our daughter indulging in some cookies and milk, served between 5.30-7pm every day, in the children’s cinema room accompanied by a small group of other kiddies. They sat quietly with their treats and watched episodes of the Gruffalo and Room on the Broom while we parents looked on and prayed for a gentle wind down to the end of the day leading to a calm and cooperative bedtime. 

And it worked! Bedtime was a success and we were able to go downstairs for dinner armed with our trusty monitor at a much more reasonable hour than the previous night.  

After a second and more restful night’s sleep, we embarked upon another day of adventure starting with Skittles in The Verandah building. While our toddler wasn’t too impressed with the loud noises, mum and dad had a great time! Three rounds ended with a draw so it was off to Dino Crazy Golf to separate the wheat from the chaff. After getting through about 4 of the 9 holes it was clear who the champion was and, unlike my partner’s attempt to claim the fossil the previous day, I admitted defeat. Even though the Dino Crazy Golf is aimed at children aged five and over our daughter still enjoyed following us round the course and dropping golf balls into the holes.  

If you’re looking for a getaway with slightly older children with a curious nature, the themed Escape Rooms and Science Lab are perfect. My partner was quite disappointed when he realised he couldn’t use our daughter as an excuse to partake in any experiments in the Science Lab as she wasn’t old enough (far too many small parts for tiny children) but the staff were kind enough to show us around the rooms anyway.  

After one final go on the swings, it was sadly time to say goodbye to the ‘tutus’ (turtles to you and I) on the bedroom wallpaper, feeling rested and refreshed – which, in my book, is a total triumph for any parent.  

Getting there:

Moonfleet Manor is located in West Dorset, overlooking Chesil Beach and surrounded by countryside views. There is plenty of onsite parking, including POD points for electric cars, if you choose to drive. Weymouth train station approximately seven miles away. Rooms start at £165 per night.  

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