When flying to a hotel, what do you use for a bed? rent crib, bring pack n play?

What does the hotel have? Contact them. 

We've come up with all sorts of solutions, depending on the age of the child, where we were going, etc. Some of the hotel cribs weren't idea. In Switzerland, we had one that wouldn't have met the safety standards back home in the States. Remember the drink can test? (if it passes through the slats it's dangerous) Failed that. We've also had ones which were dusty, etc. 

Usually it's recommended that you bring your own sheets. I've never seen children's sheets in a hotel and besides, using your own might be more comfortable for the child. It's not that hard to pack...

There are some good travel beds but it depends on you might need a high-sided crib to keep him in his place. If you have a "wanderer", especially if he could get into trouble while you're asleep, you already know. Make sure to keep the chain on the door (says mom who has had a toddler in the corridor!)

I've used the mattress from the hotel crib on the floor. I've also used beds with chairs shoved up against them. This really depends on the child and whether your boy could get into trouble (falling, sliding out, etc.) If he can get down from a bed safely, you have more flexibility.

If the hotel's crib doesn't work for you, and you need to bring your own, find out if your airline will charge you for your P&P. Some do, some don't.

Just as a side tip, bring some baby proofing stuff and remember to pick up the trash cans. My crawlers would get into those and being a hotel, you don't know what has been in there! If having a trash bin on the desk pushes your hygiene buttons, then just ask them to take it away. You can still use the trash in the bathroom (on the counter, in a corner). I've asked hotels to remove stuff that could be dangerous or simply got in the way, even tables and chairs that my children could have dragged up to a window... If you bring your own P&P, then you may need more space. Don't be shy to have them come get stuff and haul it away. They usually have a closet on the same floor for extra supplies.

Also, remove the bed spreads and don't let the baby play with the remote control. These are old Flight Attendant tips (from work) and to reinforce it, I recently saw a story on the net about the stuff they found on those, swiping them and sending them to a lab. The sheets get washed but the bed spreads are reused. If they do clean the remote, it's with chemicals you don't want in your baby's mouth. Ewwww! Just fold it up and put it in a corner and keep the romote away from him.

I also get rid of the advertising junk and make sure those small, cute bottles are well out of little fingers' grasp. Top shelf of the closet is where they go. Same for the ash trays but glad those are not longer around!  

You're probably ready to cancel after all my horror stories! As you can tell, I've spent way too much time in hotels lol! A good idea might be to send one parent up first. Not just to do the stuff I described but also to make sure the room is okay (location, size, even turn on the A/C or heat). That way, you're not lugging your luggage, baby, et cetera back down to the desk if there's a problem. Not fun if you've just flown into town. Too many times simply the key didn't work! 

I actually found that we didn't spend that much time in the hotel rooms and the smaller space meant we could keep our eye on him/them when we were there. 

Never leave your baby napping in the hotel room alone but I brought the "baby phone" (as they call it here) and would sit outside the door reading. Take turns. 

Have a good trip!

We have a baby pod tent... its a small pad with a tent over it and a door that can be zipped closed.  When your LO is tiny you can just set this tent in a bed or a large armchair if one is provided.  One he is big enough to roll around and move the tent it ill need to go on the floor or somewhere more secure. 

We had a fairly extended trip in a hotel last year (2 1/2 weeks) We had a suite with 2 queen beds in the bedroom, a pull out couch, table, desk and mini kitchen in the front room.    We had the hotel take the desk and the two end tables from the living room and we set up three small play tents for my at the time 5, 7 and 8 year olds.  It gave them their own private space, a floor to sleep on that i knew was not filthy and kept their stuff from being strewn eveywhere. We were also flying, but the tents diddnt take up much space in the bags and were very worth it!   With the desk and end tables gone we were able to slide the couch over a few feet and that opened up the front corner of the living room for the tents.  We pulled the mattress out of the hide a bed and put it on the floor, set the tents up on top of that and the kids were perfectly comfy with just a pillow and blanket inside the tents. 

Our 6 month old slept in the baby pod on the footstool wedged between the bed and the wall.  From that position there was only one side she could fall off of if she managed to push her bed to the edge of the stool and it was 11 1/2 inches if she did fall.. worth the risk to me to keep her off the floor.  We put the seat cushion from the chair on the the floor as a crash pad.

Here are the tents we have.  They had more colors in the store. $15 a piece. Takes the space of a small umbrella when folded.