Travel Blackout Solutions for Hotel Rooms with Babies

<p>A bright hotel room can make naps and early mornings harder. The safest fix is to darken the window, not the cot. This guide compares the main options, explains what to check for airflow, temperature and cords, and sets out what safe sleep organisations say.</p>

Last reviewed: November 2026. Safe sleep points come from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the UK’s Lullaby Trust and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Product details come from the manufacturer. We haven’t tested these products, and this page isn’t medical advice. If you have concerns about your baby’s sleep, speak to your doctor or health visitor.

Hotel curtains rarely fit the window. There’s often a bright strip at the side, a streetlight outside, and sun at 5am. If your baby usually sleeps in a dark room, that can make for a long week. The good news is that most of the fixes are cheap and small. The important rule is to darken the window, not the cot. Anything that goes over or around the place your baby sleeps raises questions about airflow and heat that a blind on a window doesn’t.

Quick answer

• Best first step: ask for a room or a cot position away from the sun, and use the curtains you already have.
• Most flexible product: a portable blackout blind that attaches to the window glass.
• Be careful with: tents and covers that go over a cot. The AAP says alternative sleep products, including baby tents, are only an option if they meet federal safety standards for infant sleep products.
• Never cover a pram or buggy with a blanket or cloth. The Lullaby Trust warns against any cover that stops the air flowing.
• Keep it cool: the Lullaby Trust recommends a room temperature of 16 to 20°C.
• Check cords: keep the cot well away from any blind or curtain cords.

Decision table: which option suits your trip

What safe sleep guidance says

None of the safe sleep sources we checked says that a dark room is required. They do have plenty to say about how and where a baby sleeps, and those rules apply on holiday as well as at home.

The sleep space

The AAP says to choose a firm, flat surface, and a crib, bassinet, portable crib or play yard that meets CPSC standards, with only a fitted sheet in it. It advises keeping your baby’s sleep area in your room, but not in your bed, for at least the first six months. The Lullaby Trust says to follow safer sleep guidelines at every sleep when you’re away from home, day or night, and that cots, travel cots and Moses baskets are ideal sleep spaces for travel.

Temperature and air

The AAP says that overheating can increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The Lullaby Trust recommends keeping the room at a fairly cool 16 to 20°C. A room thermometer can help you check this, as hotel rooms vary. In hot weather it suggests keeping curtains closed during the day so the room doesn’t heat up as much, and opening the door and a window, if it’s safe, so that air can flow. It says you can use a fan to cool the room, but shouldn’t aim it directly at the baby.

To check your baby’s temperature, the Lullaby Trust says to feel their chest or the back of their neck. If they feel clammy or sweaty, they’re getting too hot.

Where to put the cot

The Lullaby Trust says a travel cot should be away from radiators, out of direct sunlight and out of reach of blind cords. The CPSC says pull cords, loop cords, inner cords and other accessible cords are dangerous to young children, and that strangulation can happen in less than a minute. It advises moving cribs and beds away from windows and window covering cords, preferably to another wall. That’s a good reason to check the hotel’s blinds as soon as you arrive.

Recommended options and what to avoid

Use the room first

Before you buy anything, try the free fixes. Ask for a room that doesn’t face the morning sun, or one away from streetlights and car parks. Ask whether the room has blackout curtains. Move the cot to the darkest wall, as long as it’s away from radiators, windows and cords. Close the bathroom door so that the light doesn’t leak through. Cover small standby lights on the television with a sticky note, if you need to.

Portable blackout blinds

These are the most common travel option. One example is Tommee Tippee’s Sleeptight Portable Blackout Blind, formerly sold as the Gro Anywhere Blind. Its support page says it uses silicone suction cups attached to clean, dry window glass, avoiding the frame, and hook-and-loop tabs to adjust the size. It tells you to press each suction cup for 10 seconds, and to clean or slightly moisten any that won’t stick.

Before you buy any blind, check:

• The largest window it fits, against the windows you expect. Hotel windows can be very large, and you may need more than one blind.
• Its current size and weight on the maker’s page. Models change.
• How it stays up. Suction cups need smooth glass, and they can fall. Don’t position a cot where a falling blind or its parts could land in it.
• That it won’t stop you ventilating the room. If you rely on an open window for air, a blind fixed across it can get in the way. Consider covering only the fixed panes, or using the room’s air conditioning or a fan instead.

Tents and covers over a cot

Some products enclose a travel cot in dark fabric. Be more careful here, as they change the air around your sleeping child rather than the light at the window. The AAP says alternative sleep products are only considered safe if they comply with the June 2021 CPSC rule that infant sleep products must meet existing federal safety standards, and it names baby tents among them. It adds: “If a product doesn’t meet federal safety standards, don’t use it.”

We found no guidance from the AAP or the Lullaby Trust that recommends covering a cot to make it darker. If you’re considering one, check the maker’s minimum age, vent instructions and safety certification, and ask your health visitor or paediatrician. Never improvise one with blankets or sheets.

What to avoid

• Draping anything over a pram, buggy or travel system. The Lullaby Trust says not to cover them with blankets, cloths or any cover that stops the air flowing. It suggests a clip-on sunshade or parasol instead. See our guide to hotel room babyproofing and toddler sleep for other room checks.
• Hanging fabric over the side of a cot. The AAP says to remove blankets, sheets and other items that could cover your baby’s face, head or neck or lead to overheating.
• Adding padding. The Lullaby Trust says not to put folded blankets or a quilt under a baby in a travel cot.
• Letting a baby sleep long-term in a car seat or buggy because it’s darker. The AAP says that if your baby falls asleep in a sitting device, you should move them to a firm sleep surface on their back as soon as possible.
• Pinning up curtains with cords or string. You could create the same risk you were trying to remove.

Step-by-step: setting up the room

1. Before you book, ask whether the room has blackout curtains and a cot, and what type of cot it is.
2. On arrival, check the windows, blinds and cords, and decide where the cot will go.
3. Check the cot. The Lullaby Trust says a hotel cot mattress should be firm and flat, with no rips, tears or sagging, protected with a waterproof cover, cleaned between babies and given fresh bedding.
4. Fit the blind while it’s daylight, so that you can see any gaps.
5. Check the temperature once the blind is up, and again before you go to bed. Rooms can warm up in the sun, even when dark.
6. Dress your baby for the room. The AAP suggests one layer more than an adult would wear. In really hot weather, the Lullaby Trust says a short-sleeved vest or even just a nappy is fine.
7. Do a final look from your baby’s position. Are there cords, cables or anything hanging nearby?

Common mistakes and real-world scenarios

• A hot climate with a west-facing room. The blind helps to keep the heat out, but only if the room is ventilated or cooled. Don’t assume dark means cool.
• A hotel room with only a small window. Try curtains and pegs first. You may not need a blind at all.
• Daytime naps out and about. A clip-on sunshade is the option the Lullaby Trust suggests. See our guide to stroller shade and cooling.
• A suction cup that keeps falling. Follow the maker’s cleaning advice, and don’t use tape or tacks on hotel glass and frames. Ask reception if the room needs a different fix.
• Changing time zones. Light and dark also play a part in adjusting to a new time zone. Read our baby and toddler jet lag guide.

Shopping by category

These Amazon searches cover the main categories: portable blackout blinds, curtain clips and room thermometers. We haven’t tested these products and don’t rank them. Check the current sizes, age limits and safety standards on the maker’s own page before you buy.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Read our affiliate disclosure.

Next steps

Packing the rest of your baby’s kit? See our baby travel packing list and baby gear to buy or skip.