8 Kid-Friendly Resorts for Families with Babies & Young Children

When traveling with babies or children under the age of six, the goal should be to minimize travel hassle while maximizing relaxation and quality family time. For a summer beach vacation, there are many convenient and luxurious kid-friendly resorts across the United States and nearby that offer wonderful babysitting services and kids’ clubs to keep young ones entertained. And these destinations coddle not just children but their parents, as well, with beautiful settings, excellent dining and pampering spas.

Contact Indagare for assistance planning a vacation to one of these family-friendly resorts. Our specialists can book you at the hotel that is right for you and plan great meals and activities.

Sea Island, Georgia

Located in the Golden Isles of Georgia, Sea Island is a sprawling, kid-friendly Mediterranean-style resort whose satisfied guests return year after year. Tots will be happiest at the beach club, which fronts a five-mile stretch of sand and calm ocean waters and includes several pools and a breezy café. The excellent Camp Cloister offers games, crafts and nature adventures for children above the age of three. While kids are under the watchful eye of the patient camp staff, parents can relax at the spa or play golf or tennis at the resort’s renowned clubs. Read more.

Related: The Evolution of Family Travel

The Nantucket Hotel, Massachusetts

Thirty miles off Cape Cod, the island of Nantucket is a favorite summer retreat, beloved for its whaling-town charm, beautiful sandy beaches and relaxed but posh scene. The Nantucket Hotel offers kid-friendly accommodations, including cottages with kitchenettes and washer/dryers, as well as family suites with pull-down twin beds, plus a kids’ club, a games room and a gym with daily classes. It also has two outdoor pools and provides complimentary shuttle service to the nearby beaches. For parents who’d like to enjoy a date night, the hotel can arrange babysitters and dinner at the kids’ club. Read more.

Related: Jill Kargman's Nantucket

Four Seasons Biltmore, Santa Barbara

Occupying twenty-two acres on a promontory just above Butterfly Beach on California’s fabled southern coast, the Four Seasons Biltmore is a sprawling collection of red-tile-roofed Spanish colonial buildings, including the iconic Coral Casino beach club, with its Olympic-size outdoor pool, huge fitness center, kids’ pool, direct beach access and beachfront restaurant. The resort’s Kids for All Seasons program organizes arts and crafts projects, games and movie nights as well as providing access to tennis and croquet courts. Grown-ups will appreciate the Biltmore’s great spa and its proximity to downtown Santa Barbara, which has wonderful shopping. Read more.

Related: Navigating the California Coast

Four Seasons Hualalai, Hawaii

Set on Hawaii’s lava-rock-strewn Kona coast, the expansive and luxurious Four Seasons Hualalai comprises clusters of bungalows surrounded by lush gardens that are just steps from the water. There are three large pools, including one geared to toddlers, and a crescent-shaped beach surrounding a protected lagoon. Slightly older children can get a taste of snorkeling at the resort’s “aquarium,” King’s Pond, which is home to nearly 3,000 reef fish. The cultural center introduces guests to Hawaiian culture with hula lessons, shell beading and other traditional crafts.

Kids above the age of five can participate in the Kids for All Seasons program, which includes activities like feeding manta rays and nature walks. The hotel offers babysitting so parents can take advantage of the Jack Nicklaus–designed eighteen-hole championship course, three pools (including one for laps), tennis courts, climbing wall, state-of-the-art gym and wonderful restaurant. Read more.

Related: Best Winter Vacation Ideas

The Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, Bermuda

Just a two-hour flight from New York, the island of Bermuda sits mid-Atlantic on the same latitude as Charleston. Famous for its colonial architecture, pink-sand beaches and azure waters, Great Britain’s oldest existing colony is home to the kid-friendly Hamilton Princess & Beach Club. First opened in 1885, the property offers a family pool, babysitting services, complimentary dining for children under five and accommodations for nannies.

It is located in town, but there is a free shuttle to the beach, a twenty-five-minute drive away. For parents who need some downtime, there is an Exhale spa, a Zen lounge, manicure and pedicure stations, a fitness center, an adults-only pool and a yoga pavilion. Read more.

Related: Family Friendly Caribbean

Hidden Pond, Maine

Set in the woods outside Kennebunkport, Hidden Pond offers a luxurious take on the classic summer resort. Perfect for families are the two-bedroom cottages, which have spacious porches, stone fireplaces, full kitchens and washer/dryers. Each has a distinct, hip-farmhouse-style décor created by local designers, with charming touches like canary-yellow clapboard walls. Hidden Pond offers traditional resort amenities, including a small main lodge with a swimming pool, a restaurant and a daily evening bonfire complete with s’mores. Parents will enjoy the Tree Spa treatments, delivered in three tree houses, and the fine dining at the property’s Earth restaurant. Families can visit nearby Goose Rocks Beach or spend the day relaxing by the pool.

Related: Multigenerational Trips

Castle Hill, Rhode Island

Castle Hill, which occupies forty acres outside Newport, is a combination of summer mansion and New England farm. Young children are not permitted in the main building but there are excellent family-friendly accommodations in the beach houses and cottages, which have views of the sea and easy access to the on-property beach, where the water is calm enough for tots to wade and splash. Adults and older kids can enjoy activities like bocce and croquet on the lawns, kayaking, paddle boarding and yoga. The hotel fosters a convivial atmosphere with regular clambakes, beach bonfires, movie nights and stargazing with a local astronomer. Read more.

Related: Escapes from New York

Ocean House, Rhode Island

The luxurious Ocean House, with its iconic yellow façade, wraparound porch and sweeping views of the ocean, is a blend of old and new: The original 1868 building, which was the setting for a 1916 Douglas Fairbanks film, was demolished in 2004 and reconstructed with modern touches that match its up-to-date amenities and service. The accommodations include eighteen signature suites, which resemble private apartments and are perfect for families.

With the Atlantic Ocean almost on their doorstep, families can relax at beachside cabanas and have their every need attended to by the hotel’s team of butlers. Five-year-olds can join the fun at the Sand Castles summer program, which includes activities like arts and crafts, beach walks, scavenger hunts, sailing and cooking classes. The hotel also offers babysitting services so parents can enjoy the rest of the resort’s offerings, like the billiards room, fitness center, Center for Wine & Culinary Arts (which runs wine and cooking classes), indoor pool, squash courts and spa. Read more.

Contact Indagare for assistance planning a vacation to one of these family-friendly resorts. Our specialists can book you at the hotel that is right for you and plan great meals and activities.