Guava Lotus Travel Crib Review: Best for a Family Trip?

Upon taking a few trips at the start of our child’s life, it became clear that a packable travel crib that didn’t break the bank was a priority.

In this review I’ll cover our thoughts on the Guava Lotus Travel Crib, and you can see for yourself if this is a travel product your family needs for an upcoming trip.

Guava was generous in gifting us the Lotus Travel Crib; however, all thoughts in this article are genuinely my own.

What is the Guava Lotus Travel Crib?

Guava’s Lotus Travel Crib is a compact fold-out baby and child crib for travel. It has a nice and clean design with a mattress that sits at floor-level. It also has a zipper side “door” that we think is really cool. In my mind, the zipper side door is what makes this crib unique and sets it apart from the competition, like the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib.

The Guava Crib packs up into rectangularly-shaped travel bag that can be worn as a backpack, or carried like a duffel. For someone petite and short like me, this didn’t break my back, which was awesome.

Because the Lotus crib has the mattress suspended at floor level, it saves on material and clocks out at 15lbs in total. This makes it 50% lighter than many other travel cribs out there. For reference, the Graco Pack ‘n Play is 19+lbs.

Pros and cons of the Guava Lotus crib

The Guava Lotus Travel Crib is nice to look at, for sure. It also has usable features that make it memorable, if you’re testing out a few travel cribs and are deciding along a few, for your purchase.

Pro: the minimalist design

I like the design of this crib, and it’s certainly modern in that more and more travel cribs are being designed with mattresses that sit on the floor.

The poles are strong and slanted, with hinges on the tops of the legs. At the top, there’s a lightly padded perimeter to provide a soft area for children who can stand in the crib itself.

I haven’t seen the side zipper door access option on other travel cribs. This option is nice for a child of any age, really. You can reach in and take out an infant when a nap is done, or you can let a toddler crawl out onto the deck or some grass.

Using the Lotus crib as a “play yard” also creates openness with the side door. If a crawling child wants to keep toys in the crib and have that space, they can also crawl out to be social at a gathering or in a vacation home.

Pro: the backpack carry option

We have experience carrying travel cribs like the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Light, and the Graco Pack ‘n Play. The Baby Bjorn crib carries like a large briefcase, and the Graco crib is just gigantic and has to be carried like a log.

The Guava Lotus crib, though, can be carried like a backpack. This makes it the kind of travel crib your family may see when you walk in for a holiday weekend and compliment it!

I carried the Lotus crib like a backpack and it felt okay! Given, most adults are taller, stronger and wider-shouldered than I am, so for someone else, it’s even more of a breeze.

Pro: size and total weight

The size of the Guava Lotus Crib is perfect. It fits children from newborn to age three. It weights 15 lbs in total, which makes it 2 lbs heavier than the BabyBjorn Crib and 4 lbs less than the Graco Pack ‘n Play.

Pro: the top shade (“Nap-Ready Fun Shade”)

The Lotus (when buying the Essentials set) comes with a bag of accessories: the crib sheet (included), and the top shade. The top shade is a great invention. You can use it to create either dim conditions for a nap and block out some light, or, use it as a sun shade when outside!

It could also be useful for keeping things like leaves and tree ruffage from falling into the crib if you’re using it outside on a deck, like I do.

Pro: the competitive price

While it’s not cheap like the Graco Pack ‘n Play, the Guava Lotus is also not on the expensive side like the BabyBjorn crib (see more at my BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light review). It falls in the middle and often goes on sale.

When looking at options, make sure you sort out the different sets that are offered, as the basic Lotus package doesn’t contain a sheet. The top-tier “Adventure Set” also has a bug net and plush quilted sheet, in addition to the regular cotton sheet and top shade.

Con: folding it out or folding it up

This is where the Guava Lotus may fall short, in its ease of setting up. I lent my Guava crib to my sister and brother-in-law for a holiday weekend in Connecticut and they commented that setting it up was not as much of a cinch as expected. To quote my brother-in-law, it was “complicated.”

This may come from the need to get the fold right in order to snap the compression strap as part of the process. The mattress also folds kind of uniquely into the carrying case, so you’ve got to get that part right to get the crib frame fitting in properly.

I recommend watching the videos from the Guava YouTube channel to see if it looks like something you could get the hang of! I’m confident that in doing it a few times, any parent can do this fold-up repeatedly.

Overall, the fold is not quite as simple as the BabyBjorn crib, which takes the cake for “very easy” as far as folding up and folding back up goes. I didn’t even need to watch a video to figure it out.

How to get the most out of your Guava travel crib

Here are a few tips.

Use it outside

Guava’s products are made for being on the go, as well as outside the house. The top shade and the bug net are helpful accessories for using our Guava outside.

Use it as a play pen or play yard

As our baby doesn’t exactly like napping too much, we’re glad to have the play pen option with the Guava. You can see how it looks set up on the deck for daytime use.

Carry it as a backpack in the airport

The backpack carry straps that zip out of the carrying case are what make the Guava Lotus Crib worth it. The backpack style of carrying the entire crib in the bag makes the weight manageable for someone like me, when I need to transport the Guava Lotus.

Make use of the zipper side door

For nursing moms or anyone who rocks their baby to sleep, try sliding your child onto the mattress through the side, rather than via the top. This may be helpful for some babies.

What is the Guava brand?

Guava is a baby and child travel product brand making modern and aesthetically pleasing items for families. Guava doesn’t make too many products and only works in three product lines: crib, bassinet and stroller.

I have been getting ads on Instagram for months if not a year now, about Guava’s cool stroller. It folds up into a nice travel bag that can be worn as a backpack through an airport or on a trip.

The products are also smart and can work together as a system. The bassinet can convert into the travel crib with a few easy pieces and steps. This is good for babies who grow quickly, or growing families!

Guava knows that parents want to travel and see the world with their little ones, so what we appreciate about the brand is the thoughtfulness behind how these larger sleep and stroller products pack up for being on the go, and look good!