We had the best experience staying in an apartment on our last visit to New York City: We rented a place through the new vacation site, Kid & Coe—which lists beautiful, family-friendly properties around the world—and it made all the difference in our feeling like we still have plenty of family trips to the city in our (near) future.
We had already come to understand the value of staying in an apartment when traveling with a child (with rentals on trips to Paris and Grand Cayman), but what made this especially unique was finding that this apartment was already set-up for toddlers.
Every apartment on Kid & Coe is listed with details that explain its amenities in terms of its family-friendliness: details that can range from the availability of cribs or bunk buds to the safety notes you need about fenced-in pools or gates atop stairs. In our case, we found an apartment in Greenwich village which happened to belong to a grandmother of two children around Hudson’s age. She had books and cars and train tracks (stashed so cleverly out of sight) and kids’ cutlery and dishes… she even had the same high chair we use at home. Hudson spotted it at the table and said “my place”—which made us feel immediately at ease.
In fact, that top photo was taken moments after we arrived off the red-eye from California. Hudson is still in the PJs he wore on the plane (we just put on boots and a jacket for the trip into town and went directly to the apartment) and already he’s into one of those many boxes of toys. He felt immediately at ease, too.
It was awesome: We had breakfasts in the apartment in the morning. Naps in the comfort of a crib. And on a few nights we had take-out at night. (Like pizza from our favorite, Motorino!) Best of all, we were able to arrange for a babysitter to come over a couple of times—because we had a separate bedroom rather than a tiny hotel room—and go out for dinners while Hudson was asleep.
When we were in Monterey, Hudson kept asking to go home. I think he really missed his toys! We had brought some travel trains and books, but it was a bummer that even after a full, fun day outside at the Aquarium or the tidepools, we would come back and he’d ask about home. He’s two, so of course he likes his routine and we knew he was having a good time overall, and wouldn’t let it dissuade us too much. But it sure was nice to find a place where—in nearly a full week’s stay—he never asked to go home.
The only bad news? This particular apartment is no longer available.
The good news? There are a half-dozen more in New York (and a whole lot more elsewhere) that we’re excited to check out in the future! Brooklyn Heights, anyone?
Disclosure: Kid & Coe helped us with a portion of our stay in New York, but all opinions expressed here are my own. I will definitely be checking the site the next time I’m planning a trip, and truly hope they have continued success—with more great places to bring the kids in years to come.
[Last photo via Kid & Coe listing]
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