What to Bring on a Daycation (and What to Leave)

The nice thing about a daycation is that you do not pack for it. You are out of the house for the length of a long lunch and a swim. Still, there are four or five items that reliably make the difference between a good session and a slightly annoying one.

Always

• ID. Non-negotiable. Day guests check in at reception like any other guest, and the hotel needs identification. Turning up without it is the one mistake that can actually end your day at the front desk.
• Your booking confirmation. On your phone is fine. It saves a conversation.
• A phone charger. The room has power. Use it.

If you are there for the pool

• Swimwear, already worn or easy to change into.
• Sunscreen. The Lebanese coast in summer is not forgiving, and a hotel shop will charge you accordingly.
• A dry set of clothes for the drive home. The whole advantage of having a room is that you leave clean and comfortable — bring something to change into.
• A towel, if you want certainty. Most properties provide them; ask when booking if it matters to you.

If you are there to work

• Laptop and charger.
• Headphones — for calls, and for the two hours where you want the room to disappear.
• A hotspot as backup. Hotel Wi-Fi is usually fine, but you came here for reliability. Have a second route to the internet.
• A written list of the three things you intend to finish. Six quiet hours will otherwise evaporate into email.

Small things that punch above their weight

• A book. The most common surprise of a first daycation is how much unstructured time you suddenly have.
• Water. Cheaper from a shop than a minibar.
• Snacks, if you would rather not build the day around a restaurant.

Leave at home

• A suitcase. You are back tonight.
• Toiletries beyond the essentials. The room has soap, shampoo and towels.
• A packed itinerary. This is the point people get wrong most often. A six-hour session with four planned activities is a schedule, not a break. Pick one thing you actually want — the pool, the work, the sleep — and let the rest be optional.

One last thing

Arrive at the start of your session. A 12:00–18:00 booking that you turn up for at 14:00 is a four-hour booking. The single biggest upgrade to any daycation is being there when it starts.

Book your day room →