So sad... a 3yo boy from NY died at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki

[DawnCt1]

Okay--bugging me....do they have balcony free rooms at this hotel???

I wouldn't think so. Most Hawaiian hotels have lanais. However, I would think that if any parent called, they could request a locking bar to fit into the slider so it couldn't be opened. Clearly the parents had 'no problem' with their children being there. That's the problem.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

http://www.leapsandboundscatalog.com/product/85247/353763/118.html

Think they'd mind if I installed this . I can pack a drill and then spackle to cover up my tracks when I leave .

Just checked our other hotel--the bar spacing looks about the same. I think the idea is it is to prevent accidental falls--not negligent falls (or jumps).

ETA: Or per a buyer's suggestion--go to Home Depot and build my own version of this: http://www.leapsandboundscatalog.co...CT&iProductID=131755&wSubCat=85247&change=118

 

[Honu]

Okay--bugging me....do they have balcony free rooms at this hotel???

Nope. There are 5-6 towers and the first floor of rooms in some them are 4+ floors up.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Nope. There are 5-6 towers and the first floor of rooms in some them are 4+ floors up.

So home depot it is then!

 

[beachbunny]

What the father meant was he is waiting for the body to be released by the coroner. It should be released tomorrow.

I agree, it is a tragedy, but the entire tower is up to code. And yes, the parents could sue Hilton but if a Hawaii court or jury finds them even half liable for the death, they won't get a cent, and justifiably so.

 

[Planogirl]

From the Hilton site, these are what the Alii Tower railings look like.

My guess is he stuck his head & shoulders between the cement wall and the metal rail to look over and he lost his balance. Poor baby.

Those kids should never have been out there unattended.

If the railing in question is like the one in the picture, I'm surprised that even a small child could fit between the rails.

It's just very sad, whatever happened.

 

[luvflorida]

Now you got me worried. We are staying there in October. I wonder if they sell protection things or something portable that I can attach to the balcony myself.

(I'm the kind that stands adhered to the sliding glass door to look at the pretty view and then step back inside. A bit paranoid I am!).

Of course--we probably won't have a balcony--but won't know until check in.

I'm pretty sure all of the rooms in the Ali'i Tower have lanais or balconies.

However, maybe this will make you feel better. Every door going out to a lanai or balcony has a screw-like device attached to it. It's located high on the door so that a small child can not reaach it. It's made so that you have to turn it to unlock the door, kind of like a large screw, and then you have to pull the knob back to slide the door open. I can attest to the fact that they aren't easy to operate. When we first got into our room it took three adults a few minutes to figure the thing out. We couldn't open the door and thought there was a bar thing attached, but there wasn't, and we couldn't figure out why the door wouldn't open.

Anyway, I know this doesn't prevent something from happening if a child is already out on the balcony, but you don't have to worry about a child opening the door if they're in the room and the lock thing is engaged.

Also, maybe you could request a lower floor. We were on the second floor and had a HUGE lanai. The second floor is actually the first floor of rooms.

 

[MnParrothead]

The terrible tragedy is that the six-year old will be scarred for life over this terrible event. If only the parents would have been supervising. A six-year old's brain is not developed enough to anticipate what could happen when playing on a balcony, let alone while being expected to supervise a three and four-year old.

 

[Dodie]

This is horrible and tragic. But preventable.

I think the parents are at fault. WHY would someone let children these ages play on a balcony unattended? They will sue and probably make a bundle, but it won't bring their child back.

Wow. My thoughts exactly. I was going to post a response until I read yours.

 

[scanne]

The terrible tragedy is that the six-year old will be scarred for life over this terrible event. If only the parents would have been supervising. A six-year old's brain is not developed enough to anticipate what could happen when playing on a balcony, let alone while being expected to supervise a three and four-year old.

I agree that this whole family will be scarred for life!

Also, another poster stated how she felt sick to her stomach when her kids would even set foot on the balcony at the Contemporary - I totally agree with you! I didn't like my kids on the balcony at the WL and I requested ground floor rooms at the Polynesian and will continue to do so until my kids are well in to their teens.

Such a sad story...

 

[cardaway]

This made me think of Eric Clapton. Sad stuff.

 

[sgtdisney]

My initial thought on this whole thing was this. How does anyone know that the child really did 'slip' through the bars. Kids play rough sometimes. My 9 year old and almost 4 year old rough house on the floor numerous times. If these kids were unsupervised who is to say those kids weren't playing around, climbing on shoulders, or whatever and something, some terrible accident just happened. I am sure if this were the case the parents aren't going to say, that their 6 year old accidentally tossed the younger one over the balcony, etc. It was just a thought. From the look of that picture, I don't see how he could just 'squeeze' through.

Either way it is an absolutely horrific tragedy and beyond sad. Balconies have always made me nervous personally, to the degree I don't like to be close to the railing if I can help it. I personally could never imagine leaving any child out on a balcony unattended because of my own fears about heights like that. I won't judge these parents though, they are suffering more than most people can imagine right now I am sure.

 

[ReggieB]

We stayed at the Contemporary in November, I am with the two other posters about the balconies there. We were on the 14th floor, fantastic view of MK, but being the highly strung mother I am I made DS5 hold my hand or stay very close to Dad when he went out on the balcony, I was a wreck! It just seemed so open, rusty and unsafe! Double, triple checked that we had locked the door each night, so DS wouldn't wander out there on his own.

I am not sure if the 6 year old was solely supervising the other two kids, but it sounded like he/she already had a huge amount of guilt for not being able to catch the boy. Poor kid should not have been put through that.

 

[Patty3]

I stayed at the Contemporary Towers last January with my two granddaughters, ages 2 and three. DDIL and I would not let them go on the balcony unless she or I was with them. In Hawaii, I have stayed at resorts where some sort of heavy mesh, think pack n play, material was placed inside the balcony. When I saw this, I thought was a good idea.

 

[Disney-Kim]

We have stayed in this hotel 4 times in the Alii tower. It is so sad to think of this happening. I can't imagine the horror of the people who saw it happen. my god. .
This tragedy could have been prevented. Why were these children on this balcony in the first place.
I have stayed in the exact room pictured a few posts back and there is a cement half wall...I think on some of the floors the cement is higher too. but I don't htink there are any with railing all the way down.
these are std balconies...nothing unsafe. As another posted said...there is a 2 lock system on every door too.
soooo sad.

 

[Deb in IA]

This made me think of Eric Clapton. Sad stuff.

I was thinking the same thing.

By the way, the regulations for crib railings are very specific. The slats cannot be more than 2 5/8 inches apart. I don't think balcony railings have to adhere to those same standards.

 

[momof2inPA]

Building codes often set deck railing slats at no more than 4" apart.

Lisa, I had a net on a railing in my home like that, only it tied between the rails to the top of the bannister and either tied or screwed to the bottom. I think it was made by STEP 1 or STEP 2, whatever that company is called. Maybe the tie kind would work at a hotel.

 

[nwdisgal]

It's so sad. Like someone said up thread sometimes people just don't pay as much attention when they're on vacation.

Very true.

 

[GEM]

I actually saw a little girl fall off of a 4th floor balcony at the Wilderness Lodge. It happened on our December visit in 2002. We were sitting out on our balcony one morning and directly across the courtyard a man and a woman came out on their balcony with a little girl, maybe 3 years old. They looked around for a few minutes and then the man and woman went back inside. DH and I looked down toward the pool for a few minutes (at the ducks) and looked back up just in time to see the little girl topple over the balcony rail! She had climbed up on one of the chairs. Luckily, she landed on a part of the roof that stuck out below her balcony! She fell maybe 6 feet or so. She was screaming (as were we and several other observers, I might add) and her parents (and I use that term loosely) came running out and the man scrambled over the railing, dropped down on the roof, and handed her back up to the woman. It was one of the scariest things I've ever seen! If that little roof hadn't been sticking out there below their balcony, she would have fallen 4 stories onto the sidewalk! And that little section of roof was so small and narrow that I was afraid she was going to fall off there before her dad got her back. Really, really scary.

I'm always neverous in balcony rooms and we watch our little guy like a hawk. He's two, but very tiny for his age - about the size of a 16 month old. I'm sure he could easily have slipped between some of the railings we've seen at different places.

 

[gometros]

It's a sad story and big news here, since they live in the next town. This isn't the first time the family has made the news, as mentioned in the last paragraph in the story of our local newspaper:

Lauren Shpigler gained attention in Rockland after getting into a dispute with neighbors and authorities over the family's Labrador retriever. Bertolino said she was supposed to be in Ramapo Town Court today to answer charges related to the dispute, but that he would ask for a postponement.

Here's the complete article:

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/NEWS03/601050346/1019/NEWS03

I don't want to pass judgement, but from what I recall from the labrador story, she does not sound like a responsible person. From last April:

RAMAPO - The Montebello mother who spent a night in jail rather than give her dog to authorities was charged with assault yesterday, accused of punching her neighbor in front of a police officer. Lauren Shpigler, 31, has been involved in a dispute about her family's dogs for more than a year, after her neighbor and former friend, Cheri Anderman, was bitten by the Shpiglers'