Water slides and great restaurants: already booked your family vacation? Six hotels that both children and parents love
Children want fun and action all day long, parents often want to finally switch off: Different expectations collide on family holidays. We present six hotels in which these are perfectly combined – from Germany to Turkey.
The little ones want to dig in the sand, the schoolchildren want to whiz down wild water slides, the teenage girls want to go shopping, the boys want to play soccer, mum likes to go to the spa and dad wants to steel his body. The holiday ideas within a family are usually quite different and call for compromise solutions that rob many a family member of the anticipation of what is actually the most beautiful time of the year.
But there are hotels that fulfill all wishes at the same time and in the same place. We present six hotels specializing in families – with the best nanny service, the wildest water parks, the coolest sports activities, the most beautiful spas, the finest wines and the highest relaxation factor.
Travel background for your vacation
1. Vacation in Brandenburg: Tropical Islands Resort
Traveling to the tropics with children is complicated, if only because of the necessary vaccinations. But distant countries and the magic of the tropics are also much easier to reach: 60 kilometers south of Berlin, in the Spreewald, Europe’s largest tropical holiday world invites you to an extraordinary holiday for the whole family. With year-round dreamlike temperatures of 26 degrees.
The Tropical Island is not only a water park with indoor rainforest, sandy beaches, the highest water slide tower in Germany, wild water river, surfing simulator and replica of the Cambodian temple complex Angkor Wat, but also a holiday resort with 197 rooms and lodges, 50 holiday homes, 138 indoor tents and a campsite with around 90 pitches and more than 100 mobile homes.
While parents take the little ones to the 200-metre-long South Seas beach, whose powder-sugar-soft sand is ideal for digging and building, the next age group can climb, romp or race in bumper cars in the children’s club. Independent adventurers and explorers move into the big wide world – from the Asia-Pacific region to Africa to South America.
The variety of dishes in the twelve restaurants is also gigantic – from Asian to street kitchens from all over the world to multi-course gourmet menus. Parents can satisfy their longing for long-distance travel with the 50,000 plants in the world’s largest indoor rainforest or in the tropical village, which provides background knowledge about cultures from Thailand, Borneo, Bali and Samoa.
Price: 7 nights in a double room from 389 euros per person (children up to the age of five stay for free)
2. Vacation on Mallorca: Hotel Pirates Village
Pirates, corsairs, treasure islands: Children are fascinated by pirate stories and will probably never forget a holiday in the unique Pirates Village on Mallorca. Even the facade with the pirate motto reveals what the 3-star hotel in Santa Ponsa in the southwest of the island is all about. A fantasy world that lets you forget everyday life immediately, that offers space for stressed parents and shared experiences.
These begin as soon as you enter the 143 holiday apartments kitchenthat are designed with pirate motifs. There is also a children’s club, a games room, the Pirate Tower swimming pool, which has a section for babies, the Pirates Bay children’s pool with slides, waterfalls and a pirate cave, or the Splash Pool, perfect for teenagers.
If you want to keep an eye out for pirate ships on the sea, Playa Santa Ponsa is an eight-minute walk away. For dinner in the buffet restaurant, parents can test the quality of Mallorcan wines and then go on a mysterious treasure hunt with the children at the evening pirate shows.
Price: 7 nights in an apartment with all inclusive as well as flight and hotel transfer from 502 per person
3. Holidays in Crete: Fodele Beach & Water Park Holiday Resort
5 stars, 6 pools, 7 wild water slides: The location directly on the private beach in a secluded bay, stylish luxury and the safety-tested water park make the Fodele Beach the ideal family hotel on the Greek island of Crete. 25 kilometers west of Heraklion Airport, it can be reached quickly and amazes guests of all ages. The 400 rooms, designed specifically for families with a variety of sleeping arrangements, are set on a hillside and offer fantastic sea views.
Water rats can let off steam here all day without getting bored: on the beach with water sports, in the six swimming pools and with the wildest slides in the water park. There are also suitable water toys for the little ones and a children’s club for four to twelve year olds. While the little ones are having fun with water animations, parents can enjoy their sun terrace high above the sea in a romantic way, let themselves be pampered in the wellness area, take part in sports courses or practice their accuracy on the tennis and archery range. The cuisine in the three restaurants and two bars is also of a high standard: Mediterranean cuisine, American breakfast and fine wines.
Price: 7 nights with all inclusive and flight plus hotel transfer from 846 euros per adult and 149 euros per child
4. Holidays in Rhodes: Atlantica Aegaen Blue
Palm trees and pools, water park and water sports: The quiet holiday resort of Kolymbia is located on the east coast of the Greek island of Rhodes, between the capital of the same name and Lindos. On one of the two gently sloping beaches with sand and pebbles, family holidays at their finest are the order of the day. The 4-star Hotel Atlantica offers 396 double or family rooms as well as swim-up rooms with direct pool access from the terrace – all surrounded by a garden planted with palm trees.
There are programs for the youngsters according to different age groups: the baby club for babies up to two years old, two childcare facilities (three to five years and six to eleven years, a teen program from the age of twelve and the chill-out zone for cool youngsters.
There are also swimming courses, the hotel’s own water park with slides, diving boards and three freshwater pools, including a covered baby pool and an outdoor whirlpool. Thanks to the professional care, parents have the opportunity to pursue their favorite sport in the water or on land or simply switch off.
A fitness event for the whole family takes place once a week: on a course with three stations, where everything from cardio to strength to balance and coordination is covered. Those who are not exhausted can try table tennis, darts, football, basketball or beach volleyball.
Hungry, head to one of three restaurants – buffet or a la carte – that specialize in tavern-style regional Greek cuisine. The little ones are also taken care of, with special baby menus made from natural ingredients. Afterwards, drinks at the three bars, live bands, spectacular shows and parties for all ages entertain.
Price: 7 nights with all inclusive as well as flight and hotel transfer from 573 euros per adult and 196 euros per child
5. Vacation in Kizilot: Tui Kids Club Felicia Village
The southern coast of Turkey, where the 5-star Felicia Village Club is located about 100 kilometers south of Antalya, is also called the Turkish Riviera. Right by the sea, surrounded by a green park. Of the 240 rooms, half are dedicated entirely to families, 60 are junior family rooms and 60 are large family rooms.
The youngsters will find paradisiacal conditions here: in the mini club (three to twelve years), in the teens club (13 to 16 years), in the main pool with three water slides, in the separate children’s pool, in the baby pool or in the heated indoor pool – should the sea at the sand and pebble beach have not yet reached bathtub temperature. For the grown-ups there is a relaxation pool (from 16 years), sauna, Turkish bath and many wellness offers.
If you want to be active, there are many opportunities every day: tennis, beach volleyball, water polo, boccia, darts, table tennis, billiards, archery, aerobics or water aerobics. After a meal in the buffet restaurant or the three à la carte restaurants, there is entertainment for the whole family: with live music, folklore shows, beach or pool parties, comedy shows and various tournaments.
Price: 7 nights with all inclusive from 330 euros per person
6. Vacation in Hurghada: Sunrise Royal Makadi Resort
At Makadiy Bay in Egypt, between Hurghada and Safaga, the Red Sea shows itself from its most beautiful side: light yellow desert sand, turquoise and crystal clear sea with temperatures of more than 24 degrees already in May, perfect snorkeling and diving conditions.
Directly on the beach is the 5-star Hotel Sunrise Royal, which children love for its huge aqua park with 18 slides and seven pools, and parents for the quiet adult zones at the beach, pool and spa. Professional nannies and supervisors take care of the offspring in the Kids Club, so that parents can go diving or play volleyball worry-free.
But there are also activities for the whole family, such as on three soccer fields, in the gym or at animation shows, which promise unforgettable holiday fun. Everyone gets their taste when it comes to food: at the buffet or in the eight à la carte restaurants from Italian to Mexican, Mediterranean, Bedouin, Asian to steak or Diet&Light Cuisine. If you are still thirsty after eating, you can help yourself to non-alcoholic drinks from the minibar in the 465 rooms. When the kids are asleep, alcoholic drinks and good music await parents in four bars and clubs – for the perfect end to the day.
Price: 7 nights with all inclusive as well as flight and hotel transfer from 854 euros per adult and 233 euros per child
Other users are also currently interested in this video: