Hotels don’t always provide a warm welcome to children. Traveling families are often faced with very constrained pool hours, icy no-go areas and off-limits rooms, and stuffy eateries where children are supposed to be quiet and unnoticeable while selecting from menus that are dominated by burgers and chicken nuggets. Children are completely excluded from some hotels.
parents seldom ever prefer to spend their valuable vacation time in resorts that resemble cartoons, where kids are screaming and disco is thumping nonstop.
Fortunately, there is hope. With creative play areas and adventure playgrounds, swimming pools and water slides, and considerate ways for kids of all ages to enjoy the outdoors while learning new sports and skills, many hotels today will go above and beyond to make families with kids feel content and welcome.
This is not to imply that these motels are exclusively for children. The hotels we’ve selected often have eye-catching architecture, amazing creature comforts, exquisite eating establishments and bars, top-notch spa services, peaceful areas for relaxation, and enjoyable activities. With the expansion of kids’ clubs, crèches, and professional babysitting services, parents now have more time to themselves, whether they want to relax on the beach or have a few cocktails. Ten of our favorites are included below.
Mahé’s Cheval Blanc Seychelles
Youngsters would likely be content enough to splash about in the Indian Ocean or play in the private pool at their villa or on the lovely white sand beach. However, Cheval Blanc Seychelles, located on the southwest coast of Mahé island, also features a massive pirate-themed kids’ club called Le Carrousel (for kids aged 3 to 12), complete with two kid-friendly pools, a water slide, a pirate-themed playground, and indoor playrooms that include soft play areas, a climbing wall, a craft cave, a climbing wall, and trampolines. A sailing boat and a model lighthouse are other features of the nautically themed crèche (for children under three). There are also options for babysitting.
Greece’s Daios Cove in Crete
The chic and well-liked Daios Cove Luxury Resort and Villas, which is situated on a private cove on the northeast coast of Crete and overlooks the deep blue waters of the Aegean, makes it simple for parents of small children to pack light—bottle sterilizers, baby monitors, highchairs, pushchairs, changing mats, potties, and even stair gates are included. Babies as young as four months old may use the available babysitting services or be left off at the Crèche Club. While the older kids’ gaming area has Xboxes and PS5s, children four years old and up may check into the Children’s Club for activities like a robotics lab or a magic performance. Families may enjoy a variety of activities together, including waterskiing, tennis, canoeing, scuba diving, yoga, Pilates, and cooking classes, in addition to swimming in the main children’s pool by the sea or the villa’s private heated seawater pools. For grub, consider tiny Greek salads, honey-drizzled yoghurt parfaits, veggie skewers, Greek-style meatballs, and nutritious purees for infants.
Costa Rica’s Four Seasons Peninsula near Papagayo, Guanacaste
The 1,400-acre Peninsula Papagayo in Costa Rica’s northwest is home to more than 150 species of birds, iguanas, coatis, howler monkeys, and capuchins. You may also anticipate seeing shoals of vibrant fish, dolphins, whales, and sea turtles offshore in the Pacific Ocean. Children between the ages of 4 and 12 can join the Kids For All Seasons club at this beachfront resort and go on nature walks where they can see birds and animals. Afterward, they can return for pottery-painting sessions where they can splash color on handmade toucans and turtles. A seashell treasure hunt, cookie-making, and traditional folk dance are just a few of the many activities that are offered. The Tuanis Teen Center has a tiny football field, two pickleball courts, a basketball court, and a video gaming area for older kids (ages 10 to 18). There are babysitters available.
A Dive In movie night is another activity that adventurous families may schedule, such as ziplining excursions and a surf safari to Tamarindo. Staff members will put up a projector in the villa’s garden so that kids can watch a movie while swimming. The children’s menus include pan-seared mahi-mahi and risotto alla Milanese, but cooks may also prepare smaller servings of any meal meant for adults.
Masai Mara, Kenya’s Cottar’s 1920s Camp
directly and (roughly) in close proximity? Cottar’s, which is located inside the 7,608-acre private Olderkesi Conservancy next to the Masai Mara, welcomes children of all ages, unlike many safari lodges that don’t allow children under six. While larger species, including as lions, cheetahs, and elephants, may be observed on game drives, monkeys, baboons, and elands can be seen near the camp. To learn about insects, try out Masai survival techniques (such as shooting a bow and arrow and building a fire), or even select veggies in the kitchen garden before creating their own pizza in a vintage safari trunk, aspiring young naturalists may enroll in the Mara Minibeast Safari. If parents would want a massage, a sundowner, or simply some alone time, there is free babysitting available.
Mexico’s One&Only Mandarina, Nayarit
The One&Only Mandarina, which is less than an hour’s drive from Punta Mita, provides a sense of adventure and seclusion. The villas and treehouses feature views of the Sierra de Vallejo mountains or the Pacific Ocean, and each has its own plunge pool. In addition to obstacle courses, jungle treehouses, climbing walls, treasure hunts, natural walks, and a butterfly and bug sanctuary, the enormous KidsOnly club provides nature-themed activities and areas for kids to disconnect. Activities that provide excitement for older kids and teenagers include ziplining, horseback riding, polo training, boogie-boarding, and crafts like bracelet and T-shirt creation. The Jetty Beach Club offers kayaking, paddleboarding, and snorkeling as a way for families to get together. Yoga, Zumba, meditation, and sound therapy are examples of junior wellness experiences. Favorite dishes from Mexican chef Enrique Olvera’s well-known Carao restaurant include Pacific seafood, organic ribeye steak, and flatbreads with avocado.
Italy’s Sonnwies, South Tyrol
Nestled in the Dolomites, Trailblazing Sonnwies is not just family-friendly, but family-only. The charming classic Alpine chalet has both indoor and outdoor swimming pools, an adventure playground with sandpits, trampolines, and a go-kart track, and two stoic alpacas grazing outside. Kids may enjoy pony rides, tractor rides, and petting sheep, cows, and bunnies on this operational farm. Large playrooms, soft play spaces, slides, games, toys, plastic racing cars, and supervised classrooms with face painting and art and craft activities are all located within. While kids may enjoy treatments like the Sleeping Beauty milk bath and massage, parents who choose to hike, ski, or relax in the adults-only area of the spa can take advantage of hours of free daycare and babysitting services. Parents can choose from three different five-course dinner menus (Vegan, Mediterranean, or Alpine) in the evenings, and children can enjoy a fantastic buffet that includes Tyrolean meats and cheeses, whole baked sea bass, and more (if kids have room—a homemade ice cream cart is set up every afternoon).
Laamu, Olhuveli, Maldives: Sixth Senses
The Six Senses Laamu has a secluded, deserted vibe since it is the sole resort in the Laamu Atoll, located on Olhuveli island. Families have the option of spending time in the overwater villas, which are situated over the Indian Ocean, or on the beach. Younger tourists who like the ocean, ages 6 to 16, may participate in the Junior Marine Biology program with the Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI) team. They will go snorkeling and learn how to create their own conservation movies. On the vibrant house reef, kids eight years old and older may also learn how to scuba dive. Sand sculpting, kite flying, yoga, and jewelry making are just a few of the indoor and outdoor activities that keep kids ages 3 to 12 occupied at The Den. Dolphin cruises, island hopping excursions, and Cinema Under the Stars are all family-friendly activities. Fresh fish, tropical fruit, and Asian flavors—such as Japanese teppanyaki—are abundant at restaurants. The majority of kids will be eager to try sampling the 48 flavors of free ice cream and sorbet at the outdoor Ice & Chocolate Studio.
Spain’s Ikos Andalusia, Estepona
Expect delicacies like chicken thighs with padrón peppers or linguine with rocket pesto, feta, and mint from this hotel’s kids’ menu, which is much more interesting than a plate of chicken nuggets. At this chic, whitewashed resort on Andalusia’s Costa del Sol, even little diners may enjoy enticing dishes like poached fish fillet with courgette, carrots, and potatoes.
It’s not only the food that’s noteworthy here. Children between the ages of 4 and 12 may participate in activities like Mini Masterchefs, Eco Explorers, and Little Scientists, which include messy experiments and creative reduction, reuse, and recycling. They may also participate in activities like mystery detective missions, scavenger hunts, and do-it-yourself aircraft races. At the Mermaid Academy and Swimming Camp, children may also dress up as mermaids, mermen, or even sharks. Visitors as young as four months may be left at the Ikos crèche, while those up to seventeen can play football, tennis, and other activities in the Ikos kids’ club. Every night, the Teatro’s Little Guests Show features performances by magicians and dancers.
British Columbia, Canada’s Siwash Lake Wilderness Resort
The Siwash Lake Wilderness Resort is encircled by 80,000 acres of untamed British Columbian wilderness and is situated midway between Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies. With activities like horseback riding, hiking, fly-fishing, archery, and safaris to search for bears, moose, deer, coyotes, badgers, beavers, and birds, it’s an adventure playground where kids and adults can let their imaginations run wild. For children aged four to seven, the Free-Range Kids program offers daily outdoor activities such as caring for the horses and pony rides, gathering eggs from the ranch’s hens, constructing forts, participating in treasure hunts and animal tracking, and going kayaking and swimming in the lake. Arts and crafts inspired by BC’s indigenous people abound at quieter times. On nature excursions, kids may gather wild berries to churn into sorbets and ice cream, or they can learn how to make bannock bread from the area over a campfire. Freshly baked sourdough with rose petal jam or hand-cranked spaghetti with vegetables are examples of meals that are often served outside. The night sky are worth allowing the family to remain up late for since they are far from towns and cities. Child-minding services are offered for infants and young children.
Brazil’s Pousada Tutabel, Trancoso, Bahia
Pousada Tutabel is a small boutique hotel on Praia do Itapororoca, one of the most remote beaches in the Brazilian state of Bahia, on the peaceful outskirts of the bustling beach town Trancoso. Whale watching (July–October), riding fat-tyred bikes along beach pathways, hiking, birding, paddleboarding, beach tennis, stargazing, and movie evenings are just a few of the activities that families may partake in together or apart. Children may learn about flora and animals, such as blond titi monkeys and golden-bellied capuchins, as well as amazing birds like the banded cotinga, butterflies, bats, fish, and crabs, by taking a kayaking journey deep into a protected region of the Atlantic Rainforest. This restaurant serves more freshly grilled prawns and yucca than fish and chips. Children are also served adult fare, along with handmade ice lollipops and fresh drinks. With a playroom full of books and non-plastic toys, as well as their own play tips in rooms, infants are made to feel comfortable. Additionally, there is a games area with table football and pool, as well as a playground.