Should children be banned from hotel club lounges?

I expect the club lounge to be a relatively quiet place where one can find a free breakfast and read the morning paper. Particularly at top notch properties (i.e. Westin, Renaissance, etc.) as opposed to Courtyards and HI Express where one expects to see families loading up on the free food.

So I was a bit miffed to find a 2 year old running rampant and screaming in the Marriott lounge today (and yesterday). Dad appeared oblivious to his child's behavior and continued sipping his coffee. The poor concierge apparently felt helpless as she did not intervene.

Now admittedly there are numerous children who are well mannered. I have been to many restaurants with my two 3-year old neices and their behavior has always been exemplary. But it is clear that many parents do not give a damn about their children's behavior in public. So perhaps a blanket rule should be imposed so that the rest of us can enjoy the perks which we have earned.

Yes, of course. Punish the innocent.

No way!

Oh, brother. First we're debating whether kids belong on airplanes, and now in hotel lounges.

I think that the answer is "no", but if the 10 page thread on whether children belong on planes is any indication, we're not going to reach a consensus on this topic, either. Let me give a preview - some folks will argue that kids cause impositions that others shouldn't have to tolerate, and still other people will say "my kids are well behaved most of the time, and if they act up just at the moment we enter the club lounge, too bad. I'm doing the best that I can." Yes, I'm oversimplifying, but I'll bet this is the direction the discussion takes.

Can't we just assume that the opinions on this topic are applicable to airline club lounges, airplanes, hotel lounges, fine dining establishments, and just about everywhere else we venture in our travels?

Sorry, but no.

As a parent and very frequent traveler, I hate to tell you but business people don't own the lounges. If a child is there it's presumably because his parent has the right to be there.

I was very miffed myself when, a few years back, the then-Marriott Crystal Palace in Nassau, Bahamas did not allow children under 17 into the Concierge Lounge. This was not at O'Hare, this was in NAS....last I knew, a vacation destination.

Sitting with unruly children is, however, not my idea of a fun way to spend the morning either. If a few sharp looks towards the parent didn't work, I might have gone to the Concierge and said "this child seems to be lost, do you think we can find his parent?", or something to that effect, depending on the circumstance. Once the parent acknowledged his child, it might be appropriate to say something like "gee, he didn't seem to be supervised" or something gentle yet effective to convey your displeasure.

Let's face it, folks....some people don't parent well. But in many instances, people without kids or people who, at that moment have limited patience, will be less tolerant upon simply seeing children enter their 'space'. Kids aren't always poorly behaved.....and adults aren't always well-behaved. (Just take a look at how a similar thread on screaming kids/adults deteriorated, or take a look at OMNI.....many poorly behaved adults there.)

At cocktail time, it is inappropriate. I would think that if a child isn't permitted to roam about a bar, then the same would hold true for a hotel lounge if there is a bartender.

Alcohol and children don't mix. It's a bad environment for children anyway. I'm not talking about rights and I'm sure the laws in each state vary. I'm talking about what I deem is appropriate. It's my opinion and who knows, maybe it's mine alone.

If this is repeated tomorrow morning, you might consider applauding slowly and loudly, and then remark:

"What a fine example of parenting. Bra-VO!"

Dad's reaction should make the past two mornings worthwhile.

Many leisure travellers also enjoy bars free of screaming kids; don't just lump in business travellers. If we wanted screaming kids, we'd go to Chuck E Cheese. I prefer the bar scene....free of loud kids and rude adults. Is that possible?

Actually in this case, I disagree with you. I don't compare transportation to enjoying an evening at a bar.

In my opinion, children should not be allowed to leave their homes until they turn 6.

When brats misbehave and disturb others, it is a sign of horrendous parenting. When your brat screams and I have to listen to it, I blame YOU. YOU ought to be the one who gets punished.

When children run rampant or scream non-stop in public, I never blame the kids. It's not their fault. The blame rests solely on the parents if they do nothing about it.

I agree with Analise on this. The parent is responsible for the child if the child is given the privilege of a lounge visit (and the previous post is also correct: a lounge is not an airport or even an aircraft cabin, where people should have a higher level of tolerance, as everyone has to co�xist in a confined space).

If you want to bring children into a lounge or into a bar, please remember that many other guests are there to relax. On the other thread on this topic, a poster indicated that his child would ask every other guest in a lounge some questions, and the poster indicated he felt that this was OK.

It is not OK. Children should be expected to behave: quiet and polite behavior, or they should be removed by the parent from the lounge. Disturbing other guests is not quiet nor polite behavior.

If my brothers or I had misbehaved (read: running around or screaming) as children in a semi-private place like the bar at the country club, not only would our parents have removed us, there would have been disciplinary consequences.

What exactly is "cocktail time"? A Hotel Lounge isn't a bar. If you want to be in a bar where children aren't permitted, go to a bar.

If a TV is on in the lounge showing a movie, should no one be allowed to talk, just like in a movie theater?

dchristiva tried to capture the meta-discussion above, but it looks like we'll go through the process anyways. Poorly behaved children are a parent problem not a child problems, etc., etc.

Boraxo, you can always start your own private club. You can be as bigoted and arbitrary in banning anyone you want -- kids, blacks, gays, gay black kids, whomever you want.

However, if you choose to use a public facility (public, as in, not a private club), you'll just have to deal with the fact that not everyone is perfect.

Is it OK to complain about rowdy kids? YES

Is it OK to demand discrimination as a way to ward off undesirables? NO

It peeves me to encounter running, screaming people of any age anywhere except a playground.

There are many parents (and other adults) who don't give a d@mn about their own behavior in public. Some of these ill-mannered people have been known to access hotel lounges. Do you have suggestions for a blanket rule that will eliminate them as well? If you get to be spared the possibility that an unruly child will ruin your reading of the morning paper, I insist that my a.m. coffee time be protected from the intrusion of rude, boorish adults.