Best Resorts With Family-Friendly Experiences

Multiple pools, six dining and drinking options, spa, tennis club, three golf courses, kids’ club, ocean sports center

Set on 32 acres of sunset-ready oceanfront paradise, this resort tailor-made for family escapes almost doesn’t feel like real life. It’s quite possible to not leave at all during your vacation since there’s so much to do right here. Gather your ohana for total immersion into all things Hawaii—think outrigger canoe snorkel tours, surfing lessons, sea turtle encounters, ukulele lessons, and a sunrise canoe trip that celebrates the local spirit. The resort’s incredible kids’ programming includes petroglyph hikes, seaside walks that lead to fish ponds, SUP excursions, lei making, scuba classes, and even underwater rock running. 

Mauna Lani is somehow extremely luxurious without being the least bit pretentious, and its culinary offerings are among the best in the state. This is especially true of CanoeHouse, where you can watch for humpback whales breaching against a pink sky while the kids run on the grassy lawn. All the while, the resort’s warm, incredible staff makes every stay outrageously special.

Spa, six outdoor and four indoor tennis courts, pickleball, equestrian center, three pools, Mountain Ops Outdoor Gear center

The whole family—and that includes fur babies—should find excitement at this mountain resort, just 4 miles from Stowe. Topnotch has 68 guest rooms and 16 resort homes that boast vistas of the Green Mountains and provide easy access to snowboarding, skiing, fat tire biking, hiking, trout fishing, canoeing, and golfing, not to mention the Ben & Jerry’s factory.

But it’s possible to stay sporty without ever leaving the sprawling 120-acre grounds, too. The award-winning tennis center has international USPTA/PTR certified pros and extensive Junior Tennis Academy programs, plus pickleball courts. The Equestrian Center is the place for horseback riding and, come winter, sleigh rides. Riding is perhaps the best way to appreciate the stunning countryside, which changes colors and textures with each season. Finish off each day in a hot tub or around a dancing firepit with s’mores and hot chocolate.

Ropes course; art studio; gym and fitness classes; mindfulness sessions; spa; 15-acre outdoor recreation center with swimming pool, event lawn, and freshwater pond with slide

It would quite literally take weeks to experience everything on offer at this nature-rooted luxury resort, where it seems like everything you could dream up is available. That includes but is not limited to paddleboarding, pottery classes, forest bathing, indoor rock climbing, horseback riding, mountain biking, drumming, kayaking, and a ropes course that includes four Tyrolean traverses through tree canopies and over streams. Some of the 30-plus miles of private hiking trails lead to art installations, but you can also explore the property via complimentary golf carts. Foodies will love the resort’s three restaurants, while the Appalachian-sourced cuisine can also be appreciated on picnics and during chef-led live fire and trailside cooking excursions.

Baha Bay water park and beach club, 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Royal Blue golf course, ESPA Spa, casino

This 299-room and -suite Bahamian resort sits between Mother Nature’s big blue playground and every kid’s dream water park, Baha Bay. The park is complimentary for all hotel guests and has 24 water slides, a Dueling Riptide Coaster, infinity pools, private cabanas, and a tropical lazy river. SLS Baha Mar has 3,000 feet of white-sand beach where kids and adults can snag complimentary stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, and floating lounges or rent JETSURF motorized surfboards or SEABOB-Jets for diving. To chill out in a unique way, take Flamingo Yoga with the resort’s flock of vibrant pink birds or putt your way through the 18-hole mini golf course.

KidsOnly club, four restaurants, spa, Mandarina Polo and Equestrian Club, beach club

Swimming in the plunge pool attached to each treehouse and villa that dots this Pacific Coast resort is such a gorgeous experience guests might not feel inclined to do anything else, but that would be a mistake. Guided hikes to a mysterious 500-year-old tree, biking, soaring through a jungle zip-line course, soccer, and pickleball are just a few exploits to get into on land, while the 1-mile beach offers swimming, snorkeling, paddleboarding, and sailing. There’s also the resort’s Mandarina Polo and Equestrian Club, which offers riding lessons, polo classes, and weekly charro (Mexican horseman) nights featuring local riders.

While parents indulge in spa treatments that utilize Tata Harper skin care products and a temescal (an indigenous sweat lodge), kids ages 4 to 11 can play in the KidsOnly Club, a wondrously imaginative space designed by Brigitte Broch (who won an Art Direction Academy Award for her work on “Moulin Rouge!”) that has treehouse playgrounds and a butterfly sanctuary. Big siblings ages 12 to 16 have access to the TeensOnly Club.

Top of the Rock heritage and recreational complex, marina, Bass Pro Shops Shooting Academy, Fun Mountain entertainment complex, spa, five golf courses

For a golf-centric vacation, it’s hard to imagine a better buffet of courses than those at Big Cedar Lodge. The world-class offerings include a Jack Nicklaus-designed nine-hole par-three course at the Top of the Rock heritage and recreational complex, where the sunsets and nature trail shouldn’t be missed either.

Big Cedar’s accommodation options include lodge rooms, log cabins, and lakeside cottages. Outside their rooms, families have plenty of space to explore and to gather around campfires after long days of energy-burning fun. Bumper cars, laser tag, a ropes course, and a lazy river are sure to tire out even the most energetic little ones. At Bent Hook Marina & Market, boating, swimming, tubing, and stand-up paddleboarding are possible against jaw-dropping scenery. There are also White River Marine Group bass boats for fishing expeditions, plus wakeboards, kneeboards, and water skis.