There’s a strange assumption that once you start traveling with kids, your hotel taste has to change completely. The places you once bookmarked get replaced by somewhere more “practical,” and suddenly the question becomes less “Is this a great hotel?” and more “Will this work with the kids?” Luckily, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. Some of the best family-friendly hotels around the world are also simply some of the best hotels around the world. They just happen to have figured out the kid part, too. Think proper childcare tucked into a Tuscan wine estate or a very chic Croatian hotel where no one would immediately guess there’s a kids-only pool around the corner. We found 20 family-friendly hotels that parents will be just as excited about as their kids, because having children may change the way you travel, but it doesn’t mean the hotel has to be the compromise.
Airelles Château de la Messardière
If your idea of a family holiday still involves Saint-Tropez, excellent restaurants, and a 19th-century château, Airelles Château de la Messardière has very good news for you. The five-star hotel sits within 13 hectares overlooking the Bay of Pampelonne, and while there’s plenty aimed squarely at adults, including an adults-only pool and restaurants like Matsuhisa, the children’s offering is almost comically good. A little train collects younger guests from the hotel and takes them to Airelles Summer Camp, housed in its own 500-square-meter villa with themed rooms, a cinema, a Lego workshop, an arcade, and more. Outside, there’s everything from a treehouse and pirate-ship playground to trampolines and a mini farm. There are activities for teenagers, too, so it doesn’t skew exclusively little-kid. Frankly, getting them to come back to the main hotel may be the bigger problem.
Sublime Comporta
Sublime Comporta, the quietly cool hotel that helped put this stretch of Portugal’s Alentejo coast firmly on the luxury travel map, has always been surprisingly easy to do with kids. But its newest addition, Sublime Sand, takes the family-friendly side of things even further. Sitting opposite its sister concept, Sublime Terracotta, Sand is geared more toward families and groups, with 43 villas spread village-style across a 51-hectare landscape of umbrella pines and cork oaks. There are pools and shaded gazebos dotted throughout, while the villas give families plenty of room to spread out—particularly useful when babies or toddlers are involved. And importantly, the sun-washed palette, limewashed walls, and natural textures still deliver the Comporta aesthetic you came for. Basically, it’s even more family-friendly without making that its entire personality.
Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco
It might come as a surprise that one of Tuscany’s most spectacular hotels is also great with kids. Set across a 5,000-acre estate in Montalcino, Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco has all the things you’d (and by you, we mean the adults) hope to find in Tuscany—Brunello, rolling Val d’Orcia countryside, and centuries-old buildings—but there’s plenty here for the kids, too. There’s a complimentary kids’ club and activities that lean into the setting, from pasta-making and truffle hunting to meeting the farm animals. The 11 private villas are especially good for bigger families, with multiple bedrooms and plenty of communal space. In other words, you can still have the dreamy Tuscan wine-country trip you had in mind. You just don’t have to wait until the kids are older to do it.
Marbella Club
There are plenty of reasons to go to Marbella Club before children enter the picture, which is perhaps why it’s so nice to discover you don’t have to stop going once they do. Set on Spain’s Costa del Sol, the iconic hotel manages to be properly family-friendly without sacrificing any of the old-school glamour that made it famous in the first place. Its Kids Club feels less like a hotel add-on and more like its own little world, with an art studio, music and dance rooms, pottery areas, and activities ranging from treasure hunts to organic gardening. Most of the restaurants welcome children, too, so you can make dinner a family affair, or leave them happily occupied while you make the most of the beach, spa, or a very long lunch. Everyone gets a holiday here including you.
Feuerstein Nature Family Resort
Some hotels are luxury properties that happen to welcome children; Feuerstein Nature Family Resort was built around them. Tucked into the Pflersch Valley in South Tyrol, Italy, with the Dolomites rising around it, the five-star family resort goes all in without making the experience feel like one enormous kids’ club. There are pools, an indoor waterslide, farm animals, an equestrian center, outdoor play areas, and seemingly endless ways to get outside, with enough for teenagers to do that older kids won’t feel like they’ve accidentally been sent to toddler camp. Parents, meanwhile, get gourmet dining and an adults-only spa overlooking the mountains. If you’re going to choose a hotel entirely dedicated to family travel, it might as well look like this.
Ikos Odisia
Sometimes you want boutique and intimate. Other times, you want ten heated pools and eight restaurants to choose from. Ikos Odisia, set on Corfu’s Dassia Bay in Greece, falls firmly into the latter camp, and that scale is part of what makes it work so well for families. The all-inclusive resort has dedicated clubs for kids and teens, a supervised nursery for the smallest guests, children’s splash areas, and even poolside and beach childcare. Family rooms and one-bedroom suites with private gardens give everyone a little more breathing room when the day is over. There are also tennis courts and a spa alongside all those pools, so while there is a lot happening here, plenty of it is designed with the parents in mind, too.
Maslina Resort
On the northern coast of Hvar, near the historic town of Stari Grad, Maslina Resort is a good one for families who want a hotel that doesn’t necessarily look like a family hotel (or, perhaps more importantly, feel like one), but still has everything you need when traveling with kids. The five-star resort is all Croatian oak, terracotta, natural textures, and views of the Adriatic, with a decidedly grown-up approach to wellness and design. Kids haven’t been forgotten, though. There’s a dedicated family pool, a playroom with indoor and outdoor spaces, and supervised activities, while family suites, connecting rooms, and private villas make longer stays considerably easier. Maslinica Bay is right outside, too, with calm water for swimming and direct beach access. It’s perhaps less kid-centric than some of the other hotels on this list, and for certain parents, that might be exactly the point.
Gurney’s Montauk Resort
Summer in Montauk is already pretty easy to sell to the whole family, and Gurney’s has 2,000 feet of private beach to make the argument even stronger. During peak season, the resort runs a complimentary kids’ club for guests 12 and under, with days that bounce between the beach and indoor pool, crafts, games, movies, and even a daily disco. Children under five need an adult to join them, so it’s worth noting that this isn’t necessarily an all-ages drop-off situation. Then there are summer beach bonfires on Friday and Saturday nights, which might be one of the rare activities everyone actually wants to attend.
Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay
Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay does family-friendlyness rather quietly, which feels fitting for a resort built around discretion in the first place. Set on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast, it maintains the serene, polished atmosphere you’d expect from Royal Mansour, just with a few thoughtful additions for younger guests. Children ages four to 12 have their own complimentary club, with indoor and outdoor spaces, activities, and a screening room, while multi-bedroom suites and villas make bringing everyone along far more comfortable. But it’s the smaller details that are particularly charming: fresh-cut fruit, pastries, and even lollipops appear as little treats for children throughout the day. Nothing screams “kids’ resort,” and that’s very much the appeal.
Rosewood Bermuda
Pink-sand beaches, ridiculously blue water, and a flight of around two hours from much of the East Coast: Bermuda already makes a pretty convincing case for a family vacation. Rosewood Bermuda makes it even easier. The resort sits within Tucker’s Point and has its own beach club, where a children’s pool and adults-only pool conveniently establish that everyone is entitled to their own agenda. Kids can head to summer camp or spend the day snorkeling and paddleboarding, while parents have golf, tennis, pickleball, or simply the beach. There are plenty of things worth doing together, too, which is really where Rosewood gets the balance right. And for families coming from farther afield, direct flights from London make the island surprisingly doable from Europe as well.
Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico
Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico sits on the northeastern coast of the island, framed by the El Yunque rainforest on one side and the Atlantic on the other. The lagoon-style pool alone could keep three generations occupied for a full afternoon, with a dedicated kid's pool on one end and a quieter adults-only pool tucked away for anyone who needs a break from the noise. Calm, swimmable water along the private beach means younger guests can wade in without anyone hovering nearby, and the on-site villas give larger families room to spread out instead of stacking into a single hotel room. Five restaurants and three bars keep everyone fed on their own schedule, with a casual breakfast buffet handling early risers and a quieter spot picking up once the kids are asleep. Add two golf courses and a rainforest at the doorstep, and the escape turns into a full family vacation without anyone having to leave the property.
The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman
Sitting directly on Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach, The Ritz-Carlton is every bit the polished Caribbean resort you’d hope it would be. There are spacious suites overlooking the water, a proper spa, and six restaurants—including Blue by Eric Ripert—so the adults are pretty well taken care of before we even get to the family part. For younger guests, Starfish Cay is the resort’s own water park, complete with a zero-entry splash pool and gentle slides. Even cooler is the Jean-Michel Cousteau–developed Ambassadors of the Environment program, which turns the island itself into something of a classroom, with experiences centered around Grand Cayman’s wildlife and natural environment. And should you need a reminder that this is still very much your vacation too, there’s a nine-hole golf course waiting.
Collegio alla Querce
If you’re taking the kids to Florence, you probably don’t need a hotel to entertain them from morning until night—the city can handle some of that. Collegio alla Querce, set just above Florence with views toward the Duomo, is more about making a very grown-up hotel work surprisingly well for a family trip. The former boarding school has been transformed into an 83-room Auberge property, complete with beautiful gardens and a pool that children are welcome to use. Connecting rooms make the logistics easier, children’s menus are available throughout the hotel, and the concierge can put together family itineraries around Florence. There’s even a kid-friendly private tour that turns Renaissance history into something slightly more exciting than being dragged around another museum, gelato tasting included. Essentially, you get the Florence hotel you actually wanted to book—and the kids are very much invited.
Gleneagles
At Gleneagles, you could almost skip the question of how to entertain the kids and simply point them toward the 850-acre Scottish estate. There’s an extraordinary amount to do outside, and younger guests get their own versions of many of the pursuits the hotel is famous for, including falconry, golf, riding, tree climbing, and even junior off-road driving in mini Land Rovers. Little Glen provides supervised play for children from 30 months to eight, while The Den gives older kids and younger teens somewhere of their own to hang out. During school holidays, there are full-day adventure programs as well, which conveniently leaves enough time for a spa treatment or a long lunch. Really, the problem here may be convincing everyone to come inside.
Rosewood Schloss Fuschl
Staying in a 15th-century castle on the edge of an Austrian lake already has a certain fairytale quality to it, so Rosewood Schloss Fuschl has a bit of a head start when it comes to impressing younger guests. Set on Lake Fuschl in Austria’s Salzkammergut, the hotel is surrounded by forest and the Alps, with Salzburg close enough for a day trip. But there’s plenty of reason to stay put. Families can get out on the lake for kayaking or paddleboarding, and childcare can be arranged when you’d rather head to the spa on your own. Children are welcome in the Asaya Spa until 4 p.m., too, so it doesn’t have to be one or the other. This isn’t one of the hotels on our list with an enormous kids’ club or endless scheduled activities—and in this setting, it really doesn’t need to be.
Four Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor
Formentor has been one of Mallorca’s most glamorous summer destinations for decades, and its Four Seasons resort means you can very much bring the kids along for the ride. Set on the island’s northern coast with direct access to a Blue Flag beach, the property has the requisite beautiful rooms and suites, some with separate living spaces and plunge pools, but there are practical family touches tucked in amongst all that glamour. Younger guests have their own supervised club with activities inspired by the island and its natural surroundings, plus a dedicated family pool and calm, shallow water at the beach. Even the arrival has been considered with child-sized robes, toys, and in-room setups available for little guests. Turns out Mallorca summer doesn’t need to go on hiatus just because you want to bring your kids along.
Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino
Set directly on Aruba's Palm Beach, Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino is an easy choice for families looking for a classic Caribbean beach vacation with plenty happening beyond the sand. The calm water makes swimming with younger kids particularly easy, and families can spend the day snorkeling or trying out some of the other water activities available along the beach. Back at the resort, there’s a family-friendly main pool, while the spacious rooms and oversized balconies give everyone a little more room when it’s time to retreat from the sun. Parents also have an adults-only pool when a quieter afternoon is in order. And once the kids are in bed, there is, of course, a casino downstairs.
San Sonnea
San Sonnea, formerly Sonnwies, isn’t simply child-friendly; children are quite literally the point. The family-run, five-star resort in Lüsen, South Tyrol, is an upscale Kinderhotel designed exclusively for families, from newborns right through to teenagers. That means an indoor play world, theater, sports halls, five pools, and an extraordinary amount of professional childcare and age-specific programming. Yet this isn’t a place where adults are expected to sacrifice good design, food, or their own holiday in the process. The interiors feel curated and contemporary, and the Dolomites provide a fairly spectacular backdrop whether you come for hiking in warmer months or turn it into a family ski trip in winter. For the full family-hotel experience, without feeling like you’ve checked into a theme park, this is hard to beat.
Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire
Just 40 miles outside London, Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire is what happens when an English country escape meets a family holiday, in a restored Georgian manor, naturally. The 500-acre Hampshire estate gives everyone plenty of reasons to get outside, whether that means pony rides and visits to the stables, falconry, or tackling one of the outdoor adventure activities. When the English weather inevitably has other plans, there’s an indoor family pool complete with a four-meter slide and splash areas, plus a complimentary kids’ club on weekends and during school holidays. The grown-ups still get all the polished service and country-house luxury you’d expect from Four Seasons, but nobody has to spend the weekend repeatedly asking the children to please stop running through the lobby.
ME Ibiza
At ME Ibiza, being family-friendly feels like an added bonus rather than the hotel’s entire identity. Set on the coast near Santa Eulalia, it still delivers the stylish, grown-up Ibiza stay you came for; it just happens to make bringing the kids surprisingly easy, too. There’s a kids’ club and plenty of space to spend the day together by the water, while the rooftop pool remains adults-only for those moments when you manage to sneak away. It’s a nice reminder that a family trip to this island can still feel very much like Ibiza.
W Punta de Mita
Set on Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit coast, W Punta de Mita brings a little more fun to the traditional family beach vacation. The beachfront resort has all the bold design and lively atmosphere you’d expect from a W, but there’s plenty here that works when the kids are coming along, too. Days can be spent on the beach or trying a surf lesson, while two-bedroom villas and connecting accommodations give families the extra space that suddenly becomes very important when traveling together. Babysitting can also be arranged through the concierge, should you want a night to yourself. And with an adults-only pool, the Away Spa, and plenty of good places to grab a drink, the grown-ups certainly haven’t been forgotten either.
