On Your Next Vacation, Put the Kids To Work!
Edited by Jennifer L. Price
This summer, turn your family vacation into an experience
that your kids will treasure for a lifetime. Special programs at select
members of National Trust Historic Hotels of America allow kids to be a part of
the action, from creating culinary delights for the whole family to greeting
guests as an honorary doorman. Kids get the chance to try their hands at a
whole host of hotel and resort activities and tasks in supervised programs that
are designed to both entertain and enlighten them. For more details on these
programs, contact the hotel directly.
 At
the Fairmont San Francisco in San Francisco, doormen have welcomed presidents,
world leaders and the Hollywood elite for more than a century. Now,
children can experience the thrill of greeting guests from around the world as a
Doorman for a Day. Sporting an official doorman cap, kids can hail a cab
while blowing their keepsake whistle. Mom and dad
can capture the moment on a commemorative Fairmont camera. This program is
complimentary to guests of the hotel, including “kids” of all ages.
Kids will think The Peabody Memphis in Memphis, Tenn., is
just “ducky.” For decades, the hotel has been home to the famed Peabody ducks,
a collection of feathered friends who reside on the hotel’s rooftop and parade
daily to the lobby fountain. The hotel employs a uniformed Duckmaster who cares for the ducks and escorts them to and from the
fountain each day. The Peabody’s Ducky Day Family package lets children act as
the Duckmaster’s Assistant, marching the ducks on one of their daily treks.  The
package also lets visitors explore the city by land and water with tickets for
the Duck tour. It is priced at $290 per night for a family of three and $330
per night for a family of four.
The Basin Harbor Club in Vergennes, Vt., offers a Junior
Staff Program that allows children 12 and over to choose to “work” in a
department for two hours and learn how it’s really done. Positions available
are bellman, hostess, boat captain, gardener, bag boy, front desk and host/owner
(available positions are subject to change.) For budding journalists, the Teen
Escape encourages teens to play reporter during their stay, reporting the news
on special events, biggest fish stories and/or anything else that is fit to
print. The information is compiled into a newsletter prior to departure for them
to take home as the memories of their vacation.
At Skytop Lodge in Skytop, Pa., the kids are truly cooking
up something special. The Kids Cook in the Clouds package (November 30–December
2, 2007) gives children the chance to plan and execute a dinner party, from
beginning to end. Children ages 7-10 will create invitations, set the table and
select the menu. Older children, ages 11-14, don an apron and actually prepare
the meal. All participants invite his or her family to share the finished meal.
Teaching a child to cook not only passes on culinary techniques, it enhances
life skills such as timing, responsibility, coordination and attention to
detail. Teaching a child to plan a dinner party helps them share the pleasures
of good food, table manners and entertaining.
 The Junior Naturalist Experience at Mohonk Mountain House
in New Paltz, N.Y., helps children see nature with new eyes and appreciate the
world around them. This summer, daily events include climate lessons that
feature instruction in using weather instruments and taking scientific readings,
flora and fauna expeditions, and the creation of a rain gauge. Children can
take home their rain gauges, along with a special chart, an official Junior
Naturalist certificate and an eco-kit that allows them to continue their
naturalist activities. The program is designed for
children ages 4–12 and is complimentary to overnight guests of Mohonk Mountain
House. Activities change on a seasonal basis.
The Jekyll Island Club Hotel on Jekyll Island, Ga., offers
many opportunities for family fun. This summer, the Jekyll Island Sea Turtle
Center will open within walking distance from the hotel. Children enrolled in
Club Juniors, the hotel’s day camp for children ages 5-12, will help with
various projects at the center. Nighttime turtle walks on the beach are
popular, but the lights can be confusing and disorienting to the turtles. The
children will create colored filters that can be fitted on to flashlights,
essentially muting the bright beams. This is just one project that encourages
interest in these magnificent creatures, while at the same time keeping them
safe.
The Barn Buddies program at the Mount Washington Resort in
Bretton Woods, N.H., strives to build essential skills in budding equestrians.
This hands-on session in the resort’s stables allows kids to assist the staff
with horse care and maintenance. Following a lesson in equestrian skills, kids
are ready to hit the trails. A similar program at Rancho de los Caballeros in
Wickenburg, Ariz., encourages youngsters to nurture and care for horses. Kids
generally ride the same horse throughout their stay and are responsible for the
animal’s grooming. In addition, they learn the basics of equine care from the
ranch’s professional staff.
Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National
Trust for Historic Preservation. Historic Hotels has identified more than 200
hotels that have faithfully maintained their historic integrity, architecture
and ambiance. To be selected for this prestigious program, a hotel must be at
least 50 years old, listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic
Places or recognized as having historic significance. Rooms at any of the
member hotels can be reserved by calling 800-678-8946 or at
http://www.historichotels.org/. Reservations made through Historic Hotels
of America support the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a non-profit
organization of 200,000 members that provides leadership, education and advocacy
to save America's diverse historic places and revitalize our communities.
Historic Hotels of America is aligned with Historic Hotels of Europe, a
federation of 16 European hotel associations in 16 countries, and with Historic
Hotels of Mexico, an association of hotels and restaurants located in buildings
of historical significance including haciendas, palaces, monasteries, convents,
fortresses, country estates and more. |
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