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50 Best Family Resorts
The Top Ten
It takes more than a kids' club to get our readers' endorsement. Let's hear it for standout parents' activities: hotels that made the cut have top-rated spas and golf courses along with terrific children's programs, restaurants with seriously good food plus enlightened kids' menus—and more villa options than ever before. Here, 50 resorts sure to please the whole crowd, starting with the 10 that readers love best. Welcome to the no-sacrifice, no-brainer family vacation!
1 WaterColor Inn 93.05
Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
Why it Won Because nothing in this country compares with the white-flour beaches of the Florida Panhandle—especially when the living quarters are this appealing. The David Rockwell–designed boutique hotel is at the center of a model village (also called WaterColor) that takes its cues from neighboring Seaside, where the new-towns-based-on-old-towns movement began.
What's There The inn has 60 gulf-front rooms (each comes with two bikes), five restaurants, five pools, and five tennis courts. In greater WaterColor: 500 houses and cottages (most available for rent), four parks, a 220-acre lake, a coastal forest, and 18 miles of nearby bike trails.
Where the Kids Are At Camp WaterColor (ages 4 to 12), which has a pool with pulsing geysers, plus an outdoor stage. Counselors rally the troops for nature walks and scavenger hunts.
Parental Perks The highly regarded Fish Out of Water restaurant, Tom Fazio–designed golf course, and two-year-old spa.
2 Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch 91.06
Beaver Creek, Colorado
Why it Won For its cushy take on the Western ski retreat. The lodge—with log beams, river-rock fireplaces, and leather armchairs—is steps from Beaver Creek Resort's Bachelor Gulch high-speed quad and 1,625 acres of slopes.
What's There Each of the 237 rooms has a view, oversize bathroom, and Frette linens—and suites can pack in 10. There are three on-site restaurants, and a heated 82-foot-long pool.
Where the Kids Are Off with the hotel's ski nanny (who delivers them to and from ski school) or moseying up to the supervised fire pit for the s'mores fest, held nightly.
Parental Perk The 21,000-square-foot spa, with a "lazy river" hot tub and three candlelit, boulder-lined grottoes tricked out with saunas and plunge pools.
3 Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole 90.63
Teton Village, Wyoming
Why it Won Home of the ski butler and the preheated boot, this three-year-old ski-in, ski-out resort hugs Jackson Hole Mountain. Après-winter, there's white-water rafting, fly-fishing, wildlife safaris in nearby Grand Teton National Park, and an outdoor activities concierge on standby.
What's There 151 rooms, most with a fireplace; 18 suites with kitchens and washer-dryers; 27 condo-style "private residences"; three restaurants; and a 104-degree hot springs–inspired mineral pool.
Where the Kids Are Bombing down the mountain under the supervision of Jackson Hole's Kids Ranch ski staff, or hanging out at the hotel's Kids' Club, which has a pool table, foosball, big-screen TV, five PlayStations, and a bottomless supply of popcorn.
Parental Perks The 12,000-square-foot spa, where treatment suites have fireplaces, and the nearby golf course—one of the best in the Northwest.
4 Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge 89.69
Orlando, Florida
Why it Won A fully realized fantasy of an African safari lodge—complete with a thatched roof, mud-brick fireplace, several miles of handwoven textiles, and nightly storytelling—this spot also happens to be next door to your kids' favorite place on earth. Giraffes, ostriches, zebras, wildebeests, impalas, and kudus roam the surrounding 33 acres of savannah.
What's There The 1,293 rooms continue the Out of Africa theme, down to their mosquito nets, and two of the three restaurants serve African-style fare.
Where the Kids Are In the enormous zero-depth- entry pool, or checking out the animals—from room balconies, on Jeep tours of the savannah, and on walks at dusk, using night-vision binoculars.
Parental Perk The lodge's collection of African art, one of the largest in North America. Included is a rare—and sacred—16-foot-high Igbo Ijele mask.
5 Disney's Wilderness Lodge 89.59
Orlando, Florida
Why it Won For its sheer monumentality: at Disney's national park–style lodge, the lobby is a six-story atrium with 55-foot-tall totem poles and a mammoth, fossil–embedded fireplace. You can see a replica of Old Faithful, splash in a river-shaped pool, fish in the lake—or take a ferry over to the Magic Kingdom, just across Seven Seas Lagoon.
What's There 728 rooms (some with bunk beds), 181 villas, and two restaurants, all on the edge of a protected cypress forest.
Where the Kids Are Taking a break from Space Mountain for story hour in the Cubs' Den, or having a go at the in-house arcade.
Parental Perk The cedar-planked salmon and buffalo steaks at the Artist Point restaurant. Thanks to the lodge's nightly kids' meal and Disney movie, parents can have dinner à deux.
6 Disney's BoardWalk Inn & Villas 88.76
Orlando, Florida
Why it Won Because it's the most grown-up of Disney's Orlando resorts. The Atlantic shore–style retreat has striped awnings, rockers on the porch, and, yes, a boardwalk. It's hard to believe that the mayhem of Disney is just yards away—that's Epcot across the lake.
What's There 371 rooms and 383 villa units (with kitchens and washer-dryers), three pools, and two tennis courts.
Where the Kids Are At the vast free-form pool complex, where a sinuous 200-foot-long waterslide shoots swimmers through a clown's mouth.
Parental Perks The two pools designated as "quiet" and the boardwalk's adults-only nightclub and award-winning microbrewery.
7 Hilton Waikoloa Village 87.95
Big Island, Hawaii
Why it Won This lush 62-acre compound within the Kohala Coast's Waikoloa Beach Resort knows how to keep the troops entertained. There's a four-acre lagoon, three outsize swimming pools (one with a 175-foot slide and a waterfall), beach volleyball, paddleboats, and excursions galore. Petroglyph field trip, anyone?
What's There Three towers hold 1,240 rooms, with nine restaurants between them. Over-the-top extras include a dolphin pool and 432-seat tennis stadium.
Where the Kids Are Carving tikis or communing with the koi in the touch pool, at the impressive new Camp Menehune facility for five- to 12-year-olds. There's also a daily playtime for guests under five.
Parental Perks The two championship golf courses, which have spectacular views of the ocean—they're largely the reason the Kohala Coast is known as Hawaii's golf capital.
8 Four Seasons Resort Hualalai at Historic Kaupulehu 87.75
Big Island, Hawaii
Why it Won It's near the airport, yet seems to be miles away—this is as idyllic as Hawaii's largest and most naturally diverse island gets. A manicured enclave of palm-shaded bungalows, broad lawns, and four swimming pools (one an infinity pool), the beachside resort manages to be supremely fun for kids without sacrificing any of its quiet sophistication.
What's There The 243 rooms are in four ocean-view bungalow clusters. On the premises: three restaurants, a small private beach, and an extensive Hawaiian cultural center.
Where the Kids Are Helping staff feed the 3,500 tropical fish in the lava-bottomed man-made pond, learning to hula, or testing the climbing wall—all part of the free kids' program.
Parental Perks The Jack Nicklaus–designed golf course and the open-air spa with plunge pools and treatment spaces set amid tropical gardens.
9 Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort 87.74
Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Why it Won Though it's only two years old, the Sanctuary feels like a venerable Southern estate—one with creaking walnut floors, mature moss-draped oaks, and 21st-century services, such as a stellar spa. Aside from the links, for which Kiawah is renowned, the beach, nature preserves, and tennis facilities are a big draw. And Charleston is 30 minutes away.
What's There A 255-room oceanside hotel, three pools, three restaurants, a large tennis center, and 600 resort-owned villas.
Where the Kids Are In the hotel's nature center, checking out the jackrabbits and snakes, or at Kamp Kiawah, in adjacent 21-acre Night Heron Park, which has a basketball court, a soccer field, and teens-only movies.
Parental Perk Five knockout 18-hole courses by a who's who of golf legends. The Pete Dye links-style Ocean Course, spectacularly wedged between salt marsh and sea, is also an Audubon bird sanctuary, and has a Robert A.M. Stern–designed clubhouse opening next year.
10 Cloister at Sea Island 87.33
Sea Island, Georgia
Why it Won The 1928 Spanish Mediterranean–style main building has recently been plumped with a $200 million renovation. Meanwhile, the third-generation owners lovingly maintain the five-mile beach, first-rate golf courses, and other-era activities, such as kids' etiquette classes and fox-trot lessons.
What's There The porticoed central building has 100 rooms, each with butler service and floor-to-ceiling windows; the 56-room Ocean Houses compound is steps from the beach; the largest of the 142 rental houses has nine bedrooms. Seven restaurants, three pools, and eight tennis courts are all within walking distance of one another.
Where the Kids Are With Camp Cloister's staff on horseback rides, treasure hunts, and nature excursions.
Parental Perk The new spa debuting in October—three stories of treatment rooms and hydrotherapy lagoons.
Methodology
Rankings are based on reader evaluations collected in Travel + Leisure's 2006 World's Best Awards survey. Readers were given the option to rate the resorts on how well they cater to families, using a scale of 1 to 5, where "5" means excellent and "1" means poor. Scores are indexed averages of evaluations, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a point. For the full survey methodology, see travelandleisure.com/worldsbest.
