Dreambaby Royale Converta vs Tutti Bambini Hexa: One Opens Into a 3.8m Gate, the Other Packs Into a Bag

COMPARISON · SAFETY & HOME

Most playpen comparisons line up a row of near-identical mesh boxes and argue about zip quality. This one doesn't, because the Dreambaby Royale Converta and the Tutti Bambini Hexa aren't really the same kind of product. They share a job, keeping a newly mobile baby in one safe patch of floor while you put the kettle on, but they solve it in opposite ways.

The Dreambaby is six hinged metal panels with a walk-through door. Close it into a ring and it's a playpen. Open it out and it becomes a barrier up to 3.8m long, or a guard around a fireplace or a TV unit, fixed to the wall with the mounts in the box. It has no floor and no bag. The Tutti Bambini is the opposite: an aluminium-framed mesh hexagon with a padded base and a zip door that pops up in about 30 seconds and folds into a 29cm-wide travel case.

So the real question isn't which one is better. It's whether you need something that reshapes itself around a room, or something you can carry to the grandparents' house. We went through the specs from both brands, checked live UK pricing in our own catalogue, and read through what parents report about living with each one. Here's how they compare.

Lil' Bubba's verdicts

• Best for living rooms: Dreambaby Royale Converta · 8.0/10 - six metal panels that work as a playpen, a 3.8m barrier or a fire guard
• Best for travel and small homes: Tutti Bambini Hexa · 7.5/10 - pops up in 30 seconds, padded floor, folds into its own case, from £59

Quick comparison

	Dreambaby Royale Converta	Tutti Bambini Hexa
Price (UK, today)	£109.99	From £59 (£79 to £89 most colours)
Type	Six free-standing metal panels	Pop-up mesh hexagon with base
Size	Up to 3.8m long opened out, roughly 1.3m across as a hexagon	135 x 135cm footprint
Height	74cm	75cm
Floor / mat	None, sits on your floor or rug	Padded base built in
Door	Walk-through gate with stay-open	Side zip door
Folded size	About 78 x 69 x 19cm	29 x 29 x 75cm in travel case
Weight	Heavier, metal throughout	7kg
Other uses	Room barrier, fire guard, wide gate	Playpen only
Age guidance	Crawlers and toddlers	From 6 months or sitting unaided
Our rating

How we picked these two

We started with the playpens BubsNest families actually add to their Nests and narrowed the field to the two most different approaches in stock with UK retailers right now. Both come from established nursery brands, both are currently in stock, and both sit in the £60 to £110 range where most families end up spending.

For each, we checked the brand's own specifications, cross-checked them against several UK retailers, and read through what parents report after weeks of use rather than first impressions. Where retailer listings disagreed (the Hexa's age guidance and the Dreambaby's quoted height both vary between sites), we've gone with the manufacturer's figure.

What to look for in a playpen

Height versus climbing. Both of these stand around 75cm. That comfortably contains a crawler and a cruiser, but a determined climber of around two can get a leg over most playpens at this height. Plan for a playpen to buy you roughly 6 to 24 months, not a full toddlerhood.

Floor or no floor. A built-in padded base makes the playpen a self-contained space you can put down anywhere, including on a hard or cold floor. A panel pen with no base sits on whatever is underneath, so you'll want a play mat inside it, and on a smooth floor a strong toddler can sometimes shuffle a free-standing panel pen. Panel systems usually get round this with wall fixings.

How you actually get in. A zip door is fine for lifting a baby in and out, but a hinged walk-through gate lets you step in yourself with a cup of tea, and a stay-open setting means older siblings can come and go when the pen isn't in use.

Where it lives the rest of the time. A playpen that's up all day in the living room needs to earn the floor space. One that only comes out for visits needs to fold small and set up fast. Be honest about which one you're buying for, because that decides this comparison more than any spec line.

1. Dreambaby Royale Converta / 10 · Best for living rooms

The Royale Converta is the playpen for families who want to fence off part of the house rather than put the baby in a box. The kit is six metal panels joined at the corners, one of which carries a walk-through gate with a stay-open setting. Close all six into a hexagon and you have a playpen roughly 1.3m across. Pull them into a long line and they cover an opening up to 3.8m wide, far wider than any standard stair gate.

That flexibility is the whole point. You can wall off the TV unit and the hearth, block the gap into an open-plan kitchen, or square off a corner of the living room as a permanent play zone, then change your mind when the baby starts walking. Wall mounting hardware comes in the box for barrier and guard set-ups. The trade-off is that there's no floor, no bag and no quick fold: this is a piece of home kit, not something you take to Granny's.

What parents love

• Three jobs in one kit. Playpen, wide barrier and fire guard from the same six panels, so it keeps earning its place once your toddler outgrows being penned in.
• Covers huge openings. Up to 3.8m opened out, which solves open-plan layouts and wide archways that no pressure-fit gate will span.
• Walk-through gate. You step in rather than lift a wriggling baby over the side, and the stay-open setting is handy when the panels are just marking out a zone.
• Solid metal build. We hear repeatedly from parents that metal panel pens like this stay properly sturdy, even with a toddler who pulls up and hangs on the bars.

What to know before you buy

• No floor of its own. You'll need a play mat inside, and free-standing on laminate or wood a strong toddler can shuffle it. Fixing it to the wall with the included mounts solves that.
• Not portable. It folds flat to roughly 78 x 69 x 19cm, but it's metal, heavy and has no bag. It stays at home.
• Pricier. At £109.99 it's nearly double the cheapest Hexa colourway, though you're also buying a barrier you might otherwise pay for separately.

Best for

• Open-plan homes with a wide gap to close off
• Living rooms with a fireplace, log burner or TV unit to guard
• Families who want a play zone that changes as baby moves
• Parents who want to step in and sit with baby rather than lift them in

2. Tutti Bambini Hexa / 10 · Best for travel and small homes

The Hexa is the more traditional playpen, done neatly. It's an aluminium frame with breathable mesh walls and a padded hexagonal base, 135 x 135cm on the floor and 75cm tall, with a side zip door. It arrives folded in a travel case and pops up in around 30 seconds, then folds back down in under a minute to a 29cm-square column that fits in a hall cupboard or a car boot.

It's a self-contained space: put it down on tiles, decking or a holiday rental's cold floor and the baby is on a soft surface with mesh walls you can see straight through. Tutti Bambini recommend it from 6 months, or when baby can sit unaided, and back it with a 3-year guarantee. At its lowest current price of £59 it's the cheaper of the two by a wide margin, though some colourways sit closer to £85.

What parents love

• Genuinely fast. Around 30 seconds up and under a minute down. A parent shared: 'Really easy to pop up and down.'
• Built-in padded floor. Works on any surface, indoors or out, with no separate mat to buy.
• Small-home friendly. One parent put it best: 'Excellent size for a smaller space.' At 135cm across it fits in a flat's living room without taking it over.
• Travels well. 7kg in its own case, so it comes to grandparents, holiday lets and the garden.

What to know before you buy

• Playpen only. It can't open out into a barrier or wrap round a fireplace, so you may still need gates.
• Zip, not gate. You lift the baby in and out, and you won't be stepping in to sit with them.
• Wipe-clean care. The brand's care guidance is a damp sponge rather than a machine wash, so spills on the base need dealing with on the spot.

Best for

• Flats and smaller living rooms
• Families who visit grandparents or travel often
• Garden and holiday use on hard or cold floors
• Budget-conscious parents who still want an established brand

What about a wooden playpen?

Classic square wooden playpens with a slatted base still have a loyal following, and they look lovely in a neutral living room. They sit somewhere between these two: more furniture-like than the Hexa, but fixed in shape and far less flexible than the Converta's six panels, and they don't fold away for travel. We've kept this head-to-head to the two most different designs, but if you're set on wood, check the base height adjusts and that the slat spacing meets current safety standards.

How to choose

Choose the Dreambaby Royale Converta if the playpen is going to live in one room permanently, especially if that room has a fireplace, a log burner or an open-plan gap you'd otherwise need a wide gate for. It costs more, but it does the job of a playpen and a barrier, and it keeps working as a room divider well after your toddler can climb out of any pen.

Choose the Tutti Bambini Hexa if you're short on floor space, you want a soft self-contained play area you can put down anywhere, or you travel to family regularly. It's the easier one to live with day to day, the cheaper one to buy, and the only one of the two you can realistically take with you.

Plenty of families end up with both: a panel system that guards the hazards at home and a pop-up pen that lives in the car boot. If you're only buying one, decide where it will spend most of its life and let that make the call.

Add it to your Nest

Not sure yet? Add both to your free BubsNest registry and let family weigh in, or let a grandparent pick the travel one while you sort the home set-up. Gifted or bought, it's one less thing to think about once baby is on the move.