For new parents, there’s so many questions that arise when booking your first hotel stay with the little one. I know how you feel. And I hope these tips make your trip a lot smoother.

Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links. We may receive a small compensation from your purchases through these links, which helps us continue to travel and provide you with great travel tips.

Hotel Alba in Tampa hosted us for our first stay in a hotel with our son. It was also the first time we stayed in a hotel since the pandemic began.

The hotel is the first in Florida to join Hilton’s Tapestry Collection. It completed an $11.3 mill renovation in 2019. It has a very modern feel, with historical photos on the walls, and even an art gallery near the ballrooms. Located at 5303 W. Kennedy Blvd., in Tampa, near International Mall, downtown Tampa, the Tampa International Airport, the historic Ybor City, restaurants, and not far from Clearwater and St. Petersburg beaches, we loved the hotel’s location.

Here’s what we learned. Enjoy our takeaways and tips for sharing a hotel room with a baby.

Reserve the suite

We loved our King Cabana suite overlooking the pool. It was so spacious! The King bed was necessary in case our son decided he wanted to sleep with us instead of his Pack n’ Play or if he wanted to do some late night nursing. The suite’s walk-in shower was also spectacular and better than mine at home. The living room area came with a pullout bed, which is perfect for families with multiple children. I really appreciated the suite’s two rooms with a bathroom in between them because it helped with nursing sessions. Our nursing sessions are more successful when there is silence, dim lighting and minimal distractions. Having two rooms and two televisions made it possible for me to nurse my son to sleep while my husband stayed in the other room watching the NBA Playoffs. Our son then slept in the other room while we stayed in the living room and watched television together. The suite also came with a fridge and microwave, which was helpful for storing our son’s food. If you’re a pumping mama, you’re going to want a hotel room that has a freezer, unless you plan to pump and dump.

Come prepared

We brought our Pack ‘n Play and Pack ‘n Play mattress and sheet. Like many hotels, Hotel Alba has Pack ‘n Plays upon request. To my surprise, our son slept in it throughout the night. If you plan to have your baby sleep in the living room, you may want to bring your monitor and camera. However, the suite is small enough that you should hear them if they wake up. The Pack ‘n Play was also great because it served as a playpen during the day while we were eating or getting dressed. We wished we brought his walker because there was lots of space for him to walk around. The downside would’ve been the room wasn’t baby proof so we would’ve had to pay very close attention to him to make sure he didn’t topple anything.

We brought our Amazon Echo dot to play the white noise he enjoys. However, I’d recommend bringing your noise machine if you have one because the Amazon Echo Dot requires WiFi and the device took about 20 minutes to set it up using the hotel WiFi. I typically make all of my son’s purees but for the trip, I bought some from the store, figuring it’d be easier. We did not bring a high chair but I recommend doing so. We fed our son in the stroller. It worked but it seemed he was eating less. He’s used to finger foods and it wasn’t possible in the stroller to allow him to feed himself.

Book a hotel with a pool

The pool at Hotel Alba was a refreshing getaway from the daily grind. It made for a relaxing, family-fun activity. If you’re not looking to leave the hotel much, you’ll definitely want to pack the swimsuits as long as the weather cooperates. I liked how Hotel Alba’s designers were thoughtful enough to have some shaded areas to lounge underneath. With an infant, these areas are very important to us especially since our son has fair skin. Bring a pool float. It will entertain your child for hours.

We also liked that this hotel had a bar near the pool, which made it easy to order food and drinks. There was a nice patio area with plenty of space to eat and relax.

Room Service

Thanks to the pandemic, I’m used to getting my food delivered. I love it. It’s so much easier with a baby. So I think I’ll definitely be ordering more room service in the future. Especially for breakfast. You’ll want to check to see if your hotel offers this because many stopped during the pandemic.

I hopes this helps you plan your next hotel stay, and not feel so overwhelmed about sharing a hotel room with a baby.