Help choose a location for a trip with friends and their families

[Anonymous]

Yeah, the chatgpt output is a perfect example of why chatgpt is a terrible tool for a request like this.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for all the suggestions and input.

Somewhere like the Mohawk Mountain house is what I was thinking of, in terms of having everything right there on site, and being a good location. I do worry that Mohawk Mountain House is a little bit old and stuffy for this crowd; has anyone else been there that can confirm?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Me and three other college friends are kicking around a trip with our husbands and kids for next summer. Here's where everyone is coming from and the ages of kids involved:


- LA area with three kids (9 yr, 6 yr, 2 yr) and her husband. She's fine with going somewhere on the east coast as long as it's within an hour drive to an airport with a direct flight to LAX.
- Albany, NY with one kid (3 yr) and her husband. Hasn't said any specifics, other than that she wouldn't want to fly to the west coast, and doesn't want to go to Florida.
- Boston area. Just her (no husband or kids). She's fine with going anywhere that we decide.
- DC area (this is me). Two kids (5 yr, 18 mos) and husband. I'd be fine with going up to an 8 hour drive, or up to a three hour flight, as long as the location was within an hour of an airport with direct flights to one of the DC airports.


We'd want somewhere with a good amount of ammenities easily accessible where we can relax and hang out. Access to a pool is a requirement given the ages of the kids involved. We'd also want somewhere close to a small town that has kid appropriate activities in case the weather is bad, and potentially with a nice restaurant or two where just us friends could go out for dinner one night while the husbands stay back with the kids.

I can't imagine a vacation more unpleasant than one with kids 9, 6, 5, 3, 2, and 1.5 when you have none. Unless she's a teacher and is used to so many kids.

Seriously. Why not just book a girls trip.

I will say, my girlfriend without kids joined a girlfriend trip with kids (a bunch of young kids) and genuinely had a blast. She is the one who has texted the group asking to do it again. She’s not the one worn out from being around kids and likes playing the aunt role and we didn’t expect her to take care of our kids. We love her and she loves them. For life long friends it can be different, which may be OPs situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for all the suggestions and input.

Somewhere like the Mohawk Mountain house is what I was thinking of, in terms of having everything right there on site, and being a good location. I do worry that Mohawk Mountain House is a little bit old and stuffy for this crowd; has anyone else been there that can confirm?

Mohonk? It's fine for families, and they will have lots of activities if that's what you're looking for. It's also very expensive and rides on its laurels a bit---the place could use a makeover, and the food should be better than it is.

Maybe look into Rocking Horse Ranch or Woodloch Pines? They might be better choices given that your DCs are quite young.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Me and three other college friends are kicking around a trip with our husbands and kids for next summer. Here's where everyone is coming from and the ages of kids involved:


- LA area with three kids (9 yr, 6 yr, 2 yr) and her husband. She's fine with going somewhere on the east coast as long as it's within an hour drive to an airport with a direct flight to LAX.
- Albany, NY with one kid (3 yr) and her husband. Hasn't said any specifics, other than that she wouldn't want to fly to the west coast, and doesn't want to go to Florida.
- Boston area. Just her (no husband or kids). She's fine with going anywhere that we decide.
- DC area (this is me). Two kids (5 yr, 18 mos) and husband. I'd be fine with going up to an 8 hour drive, or up to a three hour flight, as long as the location was within an hour of an airport with direct flights to one of the DC airports.


We'd want somewhere with a good amount of ammenities easily accessible where we can relax and hang out. Access to a pool is a requirement given the ages of the kids involved. We'd also want somewhere close to a small town that has kid appropriate activities in case the weather is bad, and potentially with a nice restaurant or two where just us friends could go out for dinner one night while the husbands stay back with the kids.

I can't imagine a vacation more unpleasant than one with kids 9, 6, 5, 3, 2, and 1.5 when you have none. Unless she's a teacher and is used to so many kids.

Seriously. Why not just book a girls trip.

I will say, my girlfriend without kids joined a girlfriend trip with kids (a bunch of young kids) and genuinely had a blast. She is the one who has texted the group asking to do it again. She’s not the one worn out from being around kids and likes playing the aunt role and we didn’t expect her to take care of our kids. We love her and she loves them. For life long friends it can be different, which may be OPs situation.

It could be this. We were DINKWADs for a looong time before we had kids and would occasionally go on these type of trips. Managing a gaggle of kids and giving the parents a night or two off was kind of fun, not like we were burned out or had a shortage of fun adult only dinners. It did work best, however, in places where there were options for everyone to kind of do their own thing. One family goes to pool, another does mini golf, we would hit up the spa etc. But I think that's generally true for group vacations, kids or not.