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| Splash out at Courtyard Hua Hin |
ALL PARENTS of tiny tots have a deep craving. Sleep. The sort of deep theta sleep you read about in psychology manuals. A who-the-hell-cares-if-the-house-is-on-fire sort of sleep that energetic singles would never comprehend. Young parents crave a few days (or months, more likely) of rest and relaxation – preferably near a sandy white beach or within ambling distance of a cool, blue pool. But for mum and dad to kick back, junior needs to be entertained too. The interesting thing about the growing crop of Asian family-friendly resorts is that adult pampering and kiddie fun are no longer mutually exclusive. Leave footprints in the sand with your significant other while the typhoon tykes knock themselves out cold in an inflated Crazy Castle.
This guide to child friendly resorts in Asia is by no means definitive, but it is broadly indicative of child-friendly distractions available, not always at a wallet-bludgeoning price. Free cots or extra beds for small kids are a given at most of these places, and kids’ clubs are ubiquitous. But these days, tots in tow can expect all sorts of extra diversions – pampering in a spa with treatment menus designed especially for the young ones, conquering the flying trapeze, swimming with elephants to snoozing in boat-shaped beds, and special kids’ ambassadors to pander to every whim. It’s playtime.
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So where to find these resorts for kids and tiresome children? With plenty of sunshine and beaches, warm seas and traditionally family-oriented locals, Southeast Asian destinations are hugely popular and packed with resorts that welcome kids. Including your screaming toddler. Phuket, Thailand has, of course, more resorts than you can shake several large beach umbrellas at – and there are a myriad of options for families with kids.
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| JW Marriott Phuket pool |
The super-child-friendly Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket (www.starwood.com/phuket) is part of the integrated Laguna Phuket resort complex, which has a reputation for its family-oriented atmosphere. In addition to 44 dedicated family rooms, Sheraton Grande takes the usual children’s facilities a step further with the VIK (Very Important Kids) Club. At VIK, children from four to twelve play free of charge between 9am and 6pm. There are activities in and around the resort including indigenous crafts, cooking classes and the Laguna explorer. It’s all coordinated by the resort’s Director of Fun. Resident baby elephants Lucky and Lilly take strolls on the beach daily, with thrilling photo and banana feeding opportunities. Elephants aside, swimming and building sandcastles on the beach never lose their appeal.
Teenagers are not forgotten with Camp Laguna providing indoor and outdoor fun with children aged nine to 14 from Laguna Phuket’s complex of resorts. At CyberZone find all the latest computer games while the Quest adventure programme has an outdoor focus for teens keen on a more physical challenge. Think rock climbing, scuba diving, sailing, water polo, Frisbee, beach volleyball and parachute games. There are also Family Challenge Programmes for parents and their kids. This is the place to face all fears and climb up a 15m wall. Go for gold.
Finally, keeping adults and their wallets happy, one child dines free at lunch and dinner with every adult. Remember to ask for the children’s menu.
Children lucky enough to celebrate their birthday at the Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket (phuket.dusit.com), another one of the five hotels making up the Laguna development, are treated to a complimentary birthday party. Children under four eat and drink for free when ordering from the kiddy menu and, when not scoffing miniature meals, little ones are kept happily occupied at the Kids’ Club. Older children can head to Camp Laguna. Babysitting costs from Bt150 per child, per hour. Neighbouring Allamanda Laguna Phuket (www.allamanda.com) is a popular choice for families. Rooms have bunk beds and if you’re lucky you might be greeted by a seriously cool animal towel sculpture upon your arrival. The kids’ club is going through an upgrade but you can expect a sparkly new Sparky Kids’ Club in 2010.
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| Allamanda Laguna playground |
If your tot is ready to graduate from the climbing frame to something a tad more challenging, the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa’s (www.jwmarriottphuketresort.com) circus training programme, run by a US circus entertainment and performance company, may appeal. Children are divided into three age groups (four to five years, six to seven years and eight to 12 years) for the three-hour sessions, to learn acts such as the swinging trapeze, juggling, pyramid building, tumbling and clowning (Bt900 for one day of training and Bt4,000 for five days.) Safety equipment is included, of course. Young artistes can show off their new skills at a grand finale circus show on Friday nights.
With the onsite MAZE programme, families can have fun learning batik painting, Thai dancing, tai chi, yoga and much more. The Thai Ginja Cooking Course brings together children, parents and JW’s chef to create some child-friendly Thai cuisine. And once all that has worn the little ones out, you can all indulge in a relaxing spa treatment. There are choices for adults, kids and teenagers at the Mandara Spa.
This child-friendly resort is integrated with the Marriott's Phuket Beach Club – self-contained villas with separate children’s bedrooms and bathrooms and their own flat-screen TV. While the kids frolic in the Children’s Pavilion, teens have their own space with a large movie screen, PlayStation, table tennis, pool table and computer section (complete with “safe” Internet access) at their disposal. The resort’s large main swimming pool has a separate section for families, including a shallow bubble pool and a water slide. Both are located next to a protected sea turtle nesting area, around which the Marriott’s Kids Club offers some unique educational programmes. The Kids Club (for kids aged four and over) is open from 9am until 5pm, and again from 6pm until 8pm. English-speaking babysitters are available for Bt200 per hour for one child. Babysitting fees are of course variable from resort to resort.
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| Holiday Inn Phuket pool |
Just like home, or better – the dedicated family and kids’ suites at the Holiday Inn Phuket (www.phuket.holiday-inn.com). Adults have their private space in the family suite, while children bunker up in their own fun, pirate-themed room. The Kids’ Suites come in eye-catching colours, with boat-shaped beds and play stations, TV sets, games and toys. Superior Rooms with connecting doors are fitted with two queen-sized beds, sleeping two adults and two children. Babysitting is Bt200 per hour (English is spoken).
The Holiday Inn doesn’t charge for children under 12, and breakfast is free for kids under six years. A breakfast surcharge of Bt200 is added for kids aged six to 12 years and Bt400 for kids over 12. There’s a Kids’ Club for children aged five to 12, with four zones covering TV, Play Station, art and crafts and games. Outside are two children’s swimming pools, a toddler pool with water spouts and kids’ activities such as water guns, sliders and a cave. Teenagers will happily withdraw to the “parent-free” Club 12 Plus, with Internet, X Box, and even a karaoke and DVD corner.
All resorts in the Courtyard family offer decent child-friendly amenities, but the one we like best is Courtyard Phuket at Surin Beach (www.marriott.com). The resort isn’t on the beach but benefits from its quieter location, slightly set back from the road. Kids World is the big attraction here for those aged four and older. The Siam Adventure Club organises tours and excursions for intrepid groups of teens or the whole family.
Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort (www.starwoodhotels.com) has a menu of fun activities and sports at Penguin Kids Club open 9am to 7pm daily for children from three to 12 years. (Children three years and under require adult supervision.) The facilities are free although there is a fee for some activities. Babysitting is available at Bt300 per child for two hours and advance booking is necessary.
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| Elephant at Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket |
Families staying at The Mövenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach Phuket (www.moevenpick-hotels.com) will appreciate the kids’ retreat, Play Zone. It’s one of the largest play areas for children in Phuket, with three separate rooms for different age groups and an outdoor playground. The Play Zone is for kids aged from four to 12 years, and is open daily from 9am to 7pm. A half day costs Bt600 (with a meal included), and a full day is Bt900.
The Novotel Beach Resort Panwa Phuket (www.novotelphuket.com) is well set up for families. Accommodation and breakfast are free for one child under the age of 16 staying in a guardian’s room. The Kids’ Club caters for children aged between three and eight years and a babysitting service is available for Bt150 per hour. At the new Radisson Plaza Resort Phuket Panwa Beach (www.radisson.com/hotels/thaphkpw) find a cool sea-fronting pool, the Sapparot Club for children aged four to twelve, babysitting services, kayaking for burning excess calories and adrenaline, and a spa for the older set.
Budding biologists, golfers and artists will all find something to do at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa (www.phuketarcadia.hilton.com), where nature walks, a putting range and finger painting are among the attractions. For the rest, there are no less than three swimming pools, a games room and outdoor play area, as well as bicycle tours and Thai dancing classes. Children aged up to 12 years stay free in a room with their parents at this family friendly resort. Children aged up to 10 years eat free from the children’s menu and those shorter than 1.2m get to eat for free at the breakfast buffet. The Kidz Paradise Club caters for kids from five to 12 years (children of four and younger must be accompanied by a parent or guardian) and offers, among other things, free swimming classes.
Le Meridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort (www.starwoodhotels.com) also has a Penguin Club for children from three to 12 years. Khao Lak is an hour-and-a-half drive north from Phuket. Babysitting is only available in guest rooms or at the club, and the cost is Bt300 per hour for one child. Activities include “Beach Olympics”, treasure hunts, Thai dancing and nature walks. Parties are held to celebrate festivals such as Halloween.
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| Sheraton Hua Hin Starclub |
Along the idyllic Krabi coast, a two hour drive around the bay heading east from Phuket, it’s an elephant’s life at the Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort (www.sheraton.com/krabi), where much-loved pachyderm RaRa appears on the beach every day to swim with the children. Mask-making, origami and batik painting at the Sairung Kids Club for four to 12-year-olds might not quite match up after this. Yes, there are connecting rooms, complimentary extra cots and beds for under-12s, toys and potties, and babysitting (English spoken; Bt300 per hour).
Six Senses Resorts & Spas says it treats child guests like “junior VIPs”. Both the Evason Phuket & Six Senses Spa (www.sixsenses.com) and, in Royal holiday favourite Hua Hin, Six Senses Hideaway Hua Hin (www.sixsenses.com), have Just Kids! for children from four to 12 years. Babysitters (available for Bt150 per hour) are required for children under four. Kids (and parents, who finally get to spend the night unsupervised) can look forward to nightly themed sleepovers, where they (the children, of course) pitch tents, set up sleeping bags and get to roast marshmallows over the camp fire. There is also a fair amount of emphasis on education; kids can have Thai language lessons or learn about Thai culture.
Originally built in 1923 and expertly renovated and expanded numerous times since, the Sofitel Centara Grand Resort and Villas (www.sofitel.com) offers modern luxury and a colonial ambience with four swimming pools, a good spa, a children’s club, tennis courts and other facilities. Set in 14 acres of beachfront space, the Anantara Resort Hua Hin (huahin.anantara.com/) serves up a smorgasbord of classic seaside water-sport escapes peppered with child-friendly features.
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| Camp Hyatt, Hyatt Regency Hua Hin |
The Hyatt Regency Hua Hin (www.huahin.regency.hyatt.com) features Camp Hyatt, running half-day (for Bt650) or full-day (Bt950) cultural and educational programmes, including lunch and refreshments. There’s also a playroom for children aged three to 12 (parents must accompany under-threes). Reserve an English-speaking babysitter a day in advance (from Bt150 per hour). You can order baby food at the hotel restaurants and the youngest members of the family will be comfortable in the booster seats and high chairs on offer.
The Hua Hin Marriott Resort & Spa (www.marriott.com) is a popular family draw with a children’s pool, kids’ club, free meals for the younger set and attractive packages while the new Courtyard Hua Hin at Cha am Beach (by Marriott, www.marriott.com) has extensive activities to keep ankle-biters occupied. Distractions include a movie theatre, teen Internet zone and dress-up play room. The massive swimming pool has a netball area and one of the slowest water slides anywhere. Cha-Am is a short drive from Hua Hin. Bear in mind there are over seven championship golf courses in the general area.
The nearby 560-room Holiday Inn Resort Regent Beach Cha-Am (www.chaam.holidayinn.com) is no slouch when it comes to facilities with two pools, tennis, squash, volleyball and a kid’s club. While in need of a good spring-cleaning, it offers a wide variety of room choices to fit most budgets. There is a children’s playground and pets can park at the on-site pet resort that offers 11 air-con rooms. Woof.
Also in the vicinity, the 240-room Sheraton Hua Hin Resort & Spa (www.starwoodhotels.com) offers good value rooms mixing family-friendly facilities with crisp service in a high-end package. The low-rise architecture is bright and airy with seven restaurants and bars, a spa, fitness centre and busy kids’ area – StarClub, that serves up batik, doll-painting, rocket and balloon-making, PlayStation games, toys and cartoons. The resort likes to call this “edutainment” to fill minds with magic not mush.
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Kids' area at Movenpick Phuket |
At first glance, bustling Bangkok may seem to be the last place to take a child, but the Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa (www.marriott.com) on the river outside the city is a cool oasis and a splendid Thailand city resort choice for families. The Changnoi Kids Club is open from 10am until 6pm and caters for children from three to 12. Under-12s stay for free if they room with their parents. Babysitters speak Thai and English (one child, Bt250 per hour; two children, Bt350). No toys or potties are provided, however.
For families wanting something much smaller and more intimate, Rocky’s Boutique Resort (www.rockyresort.com) in Koh Samui, with 30 bungalows and villas, has several family rooms, two swimming pools and secluded beaches with very few passers-by. The child-loving staff will help keep a watchful eye on tiny tots, and the resort will happily arrange babysitting. The island is also home to an Aquarium and Tiger Zoo, a Butterfly Garden, Elephant Treks, and Island Safari’s. Several resorts on Samui cater for families, mainly along Chaweng Beach. Around this island look out for golf lovers’ Santiburi Beach Resort Samui (www.santiburi.com) with a kids’ club and extensive list of activities; Paradise Beach Resort (www.samuiparadisebeach.com) on the quiet north shore; the spread out and child-friendly Coral Bay Resort (www.coralbay.net) on Ya Noi Bay with its simple but charming wooden bungalows, rattan furniture, thatch roofs, and bamboo four-poster beds; the sprawling and popular Gone With The Wind colonial Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui (www.centralhotelsresorts.com); the well-equipped Amari Palm Reef Resort (www.amari.com/palmreef/); and the secluded Renaissance Koh Samui Resort & Spa (www.marriott.com).
Bali’s warm climate, gentle and child-loving locals and balmy seas make it a great family destination, with even luxury hotels tapping into the market. Don’t worry about lugging heavy bags of baby products to the beachfront Conrad Bali Resort & Spa (www.conradhotels.com) – the resort will provide baby robes, baby oil, powder, nappies and soap, as well as a baby bath and potty. Two of the in-house restaurants have kids’ menus (and so does room service).
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| Balinese dance, Conrad Bali Resort & Spa |
The Kura Kura club (for children from age three) starts the day’s activities at the Kids’ Pavilion with its turtle ponds and indoor and outdoor play areas. Attractions include island legends storytelling and splashing around in the lagoon pool. Who could go wrong with sprawling hectares of gardens and a beach? If your boy is a future Federer, there’s tennis coaching for a minimal fee. For children who MUST head indoors, the Games Zone has computer and video games, a pool table and more. There’s also a toddler area for under-threes. Oh, and if your poor darling is worn out from all the activity, they can head to the spa and select a revitalising treatment from the Spa Kids’ Menu. A full day Kura Kura Club package is Rp12,000, and a half day is Rp70,000 per child. Each day has a different theme, including Tasty Tuesday, Wednesday’s Under the Sea and Sunday’s Un-Birthday Party.
Also in Bali, Indonesia, the Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa (www.nusaduahotel.com) caters for families with special 60sq m Family Rooms sleeping two adults and two children. Connecting rooms are also available (but aren’t discounted). Alongside a children’s menu, all items on restaurant menus are offered in smaller portions, with a 50 percent discount. The babysitting service is Rp30,000 per hour (sitters speak English and Bahasa Indonesia). Gecko Kids Club welcomes children aged three to 12 and there’s a great-for-kids beach garden and lagoon pool, as well as a children’s pool and outdoor playground. In addition, the Players Games Room sports indoor sporting fun for the over-12s with table tennis, billiards, darts and various board games, as well as PlayStation Three and air hockey.
At AYANA Resort Bali (www.ayanaresort.com) the Kids Program makes space for cultural fun in full or half days. Children aged four to ten years will have a new activity programme each day (half day US$12, full day US$17, unit activity US$3). There’s also a separate children’s swimming pool with two water slides tucked into the greenery near the Kids club pavilion. The Ayana was formerly the Ritz-Carlton Bali.
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| Four Seasons Bali at Jimbaran |
Guests under 12 eat for free when accompanied by paying adults at the Grand Hyatt Bali (www.bali.grand.hyatt.com). Other kids' facilities here include the Camp Nusa club for children from three to 13, a toddler pool and water sport for all ages. A full day (from 8am until 5pm) is around Rp70,000, including lunch. Organised activities include fish feeding and Balinese arts and crafts. Baby cots come free and some rooms have extra day beds available. Babysitters speak English and Bahasa Indonesia (Rp15,000 per hour, per child).
Despite their high-end appeal, all Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts (www.fourseasons.com) have a good child-friendly policy, providing cots, strollers, high chairs, play pens, bottle warmers, soothers, bibs and other baby necessities on request. In addition, guestrooms can be “child-proofed” with protective covers over electrical outlets, and wooden step stools are available so that little hands can reach the sink. Child-sized bathrobes and tiny tables and chairs complete the picture. Four Seasons’ Kids For All Seasons programme is aimed at children aged five to 12, introducing them to local folklore, history and cooking, as well as marine and animal life. Some hotels offer teen-savvy advice from a Four Seasons Teen Concierge.
Family walks through the gardens with 1,500 hand-carved stone sculptures, beach exploration and playing in the surf are a must-do at the 35-acre Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay (www.fourseasons.com/jimbaranbay). Children under 12 can share their parents’ room at no extra charge. The Jimba Club welcomes kids from two to 12 years, and is open from 7am to 7pm – babysitting here is complimentary. Budding Nigellas and Jamie Olivers can join the resort’s pastry chef for cookie and ice-cream-making lessons in the kitchen during the holiday season.
Club Med (www.clubmed.com) villages everywhere have a well-earned reputation for their activity-driven family holidays. Guests can choose all-inclusive holiday packages (rooms, all meals and drinks, a wide range of sports, nightly entertainment and travel insurance included). Never a dull moment for adults, and the little people are kept busy at The Petit Club Med (for two to three-year-olds), Mini Club Med (four to ten-year-olds; workshops range from circus acts to rollerblading) and the Juniors’ Club Med (11 to 17-year-olds; activities include kayaking, tennis, or archery).
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| Splash out at Parkroyal Penang |
Adding weight and zest to the child-friendly resort category is Club Med’s free-of-charge Baby Welcome service for babies (up to 23 months) at the Club Med villages at Bali, Bintan Island, Cherating Beach, Lindeman Island, Phuket, and Kabira. Conveniences include priority check-in and ground floor rooms, bottle warmers in restaurants and the main bar, baby cots, tubs, potties, baby chairs in restaurants and baby strollers. The service must be pre-booked.
Malaysia – and in particular the islands of Langkawi and Penang, and the coast of Sabah – have a number of child-friendly options. In laidback Langkawi there’s little to do but kick back and relax on the beach and around the pool. For scavenger hunts on the beach, mini golf, swimming lessons, fishing and boat-making head to the Meritus Pelangi Beach & Spa Resort, Langkawi (www.meritus-hotels.com), where KiKi Club members between four and 12 are entertained for free from 9am to 9pm. (Toddlers under four are welcome with a parent’s supervision.) Kids love the club’s mascot, a five-foot fluffy bird with bright yellow beak. There’s the usual playground and children’s pool, as well as baby chairs, drawing sheets and toys at restaurants, and you can even request a baby car seat. KiKi’s Animal Farm tops the list of must-see on the kids’ list. Babysitting services are available (English, Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin are spoken; RM8 for one hour; RM20 after 11pm).
The Moorish Four Seasons Resort Langkawi (www.fourseasons.com/langkawi/) recommends its lower-level pavilions (villas) for families: not only are they safer, but they also come with gardens, perfect for playing and running. A limited number also have connecting rooms available. Kids get child-sized bathrobes, juice before bedtime, and a special menu doubling as a mask for kids to colour. Children’s toilet seats and high chairs (in the restaurants) are welcome extras. As with most resorts, cots and extra beds for under-12s are free – but babysitting doesn’t come cheap at US$24 per hour per baby. Sitters speak English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.
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| Club Med Cherating Beach, Malaysia |
Bringing up a young yogi? Among the activities offered by the free Kids For All Seasons club (children aged four to 12) is children’s yoga, where animal poses help children “meditate on the beauty of nature”. Games, music and storytelling are incorporated. Morning walks with a naturalist are no less spiritual. For the sporty, there are tennis lessons and more.
The Golden Sands Resort by Shangri-La (www.shangri-la.com), on the island of Penang, welcomes kids and adults alike. There is no specific club for kids, but there is a 10,300sq ft Adventure Zone, where RM21 will buy two hours of time in “the zone” – for once, it is the adults that are free of charge if they want to join the children at play. This air-conditioned indoor facility has drop slides, a game area, and themed rooms for birthday parties. Hillview Family Rooms offer a double bed, single bed and a sofa bed. Guests may request baby baths, prams and potties. Babysitters speak Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese and Tamil (RM7 per hour; RM20 after 11pm).
The Parkroyal Penang (www.parkroyalhotels.com) has extensive facilities for kids, not least its signature Koko-Nut Kids Club that distracts tiny tykes with all manner of activities from colouring and leaf painting to pool games, movies, mask and t-shirt painting, stick puppets and more. The club caters for children from four to 12 years of age. Babysitting in-room runs at around RM10 per hour. Staff speak English, Bahasa Malaysia, Hokkien, and Mandarin (Putonghua). The Parkroyal Penang is a good child friendly hotel choice. It has been popular with families for years – through various incarnations and name changes.
If with older kids and electric guitars in tow, wander by the Hard Rock Hotel Penang (penang.hardrockhotels.net) where the action never seems to stop. The reconstituted hotel is on the north shore along Batu Ferringhi beach. Here you’ll find one of the largest free-form pools on the island at 2,400sq m – complete with sand islands and slides – the Lil’ Rock Kids Club. The Teens Club will take care of the 13 to 18-year-olds with a collection of pool tables, electronic games, foosball and enough razzmatazz to keep you free for the better part of the day.
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| Creative space, Tanjung Aru Kids Club |
The Shangri-La Rasa Ria (www.shangri-la.com) in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, has had rave reviews from families – and no wonder considering its setting on a long sweep of beach and the South China Sea, and surrounded by lush forests. Kids are thrilled to meet their closest animal cousin, the orangutan, at the rehabilitation nature reserve set within the resort’s grounds. (Be prepared to be pestered into foster-caring for an animal – it’s for a good cause: fees go to care and food for the foster animal at the reserve.) There’s a Kids Club offering the usual entertainment, banana boat rides for thrills, kids’ pool and horse riding. Ground-floor rooms are particularly good for families – kids can run straight into the resort’s extensive gardens.
Sister resort the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru (www.shangri-la.com), closer to the city centre in Kota Kinabalu, but also on the beach, is not to be left behind. It offers a Kids Club that is among the largest in Malaysia, open from 8am until 8pm. Hand-painted walls highlight features of Sabah, from the jungle to the sea. There’s a toddler section with padded walls and soft toys, a creativity area for painting, crafting and other skills, a computer and TV room – and a welcome coffee area for parents to relax. When tiring of the beach or playground, with swings, seesaws, slides, a sand pit and toy cars and bikes, tots can feed the fish during regular sessions at the resort’s three koi-filled ponds. Or head to two large swimming pools with a safe corner for smaller children, or the wading pool. All restaurants have children's menus. Babysitters are RM30 for one hour. Just shout for potties, cots and other baby equipment. How’s that for a family friendly escape?
Tokyo isn’t generally viewed as a child-friendly holiday destination, but at the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo (www.fourseasons.com/tokyo) kids are VIPs; expect milk and cookies upon check-in, a welcome gift, and children’s menus in all restaurants. Complimentary baby shampoo, powder, lotion, teething rings, diapers, bibs and even teddy bears, thermometers, nail clippers, baby bathtubs, strollers, bottles and bottle warmers are available on request. Parents are offered suggestions for child-friendly outings from the concierge, and English-speaking babysitters are available. Children under 18 can share their parent’s room free of charge.
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| Plantation Bay, Mactan, Cebu |
The Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort & Spa (www.shangri-la.com) in Cebu, the Philippines, describes its three-level Adventure Zone indoor playground for children aged four and above as "designed to challenge agility, balance and nerves in an environment that couples the excitement of an adventure playground with the safety of a nursery" (from Php300 per child for two hours). There's also an E-Zone, with video arcades and table soccer, as well as a Toddler's Zone (with fewer drop slides and more cushions) for children of three and younger. The resort offers spacious Deluxe Family Rooms, with two queen-size beds. Babysitters speak fluent English and the cost is Php300 per hour.
Plantation Bay Resort and Spa (plantationbay.com) has a Children’s Center with all the usual games, plus a nurse available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The fun cranks up a notch for teenagers and big kids with archery, mini golf, climbing, karaoke, and a firing range – when you get sick of the four pools and the giant lagoon pedal-boats. Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort (www.bluewater.com.ph) is another family-friendly Cebu resort, with more shoot-em-up games for those who like to play cowboy, or anyone who likes to make noise.
Clean, safe Singapore is that rare combination: a business destination that is also child-friendly. Children can slide and fly at the island state’s Rasa Sentosa Resort, Singapore (www.shangri-la.com), where the children’s pool has waterslides and there’s a flying trapeze on the beach for adventure-seekers over four (S$7 per swing). On terra firma, there’s a playhouse. Toots Club (open 9am until 7pm), with popular daily beach and pool games, is free for hotel guests between four and 12 years. (Children staying all day get lunch, too.) Toddlers have their own playroom (parents must accompany them). Single guestrooms can comfortably house two adults and two children, but connecting rooms are available too. For parents’ nights out, there are English-speaking babysitters (S$10 per hour, minimum three hours).
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| Coco Beach Resort playground |
The concierge at the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore (www.fourseasons.com/singapore) has games, books and laser discs to lend to kids, and hotel restaurants provide a children's menu, colouring books, crayons and magic boards for drawing. Children under 18 can share their parent’s room at no extra charge. The housekeeping department will provide complimentary baby items – anything from bottles, bottle warmer and nappies to blankets and crib liners. Special arrival gifts and foam letters spelling out your child’s name in the bathroom are thoughtful extras. Dads may have to be restrained from the Sunday brunch children’s table, which has an electric train running around it.
The Goodwood Park Hotel (www.goodwoodparkhotel.com/) is colonial, grand, yet understated, an unabashedly luxury hotel in an oasis of green just off the shopping drag of Orchard Road. Yet it manages to pull off a double act as a child-friendly Singapore hotel with aplomb, serving up a refreshing courtyard pool, poolside rooms, and attentive service. Not far from here, the larger 750-room Shangri-La Hotel Singapore (www.shangri-la.com) is set in 15 acres of garden, with tennis courts, and a children’s pool.
Vietnam’s inviting beaches and friendly locals are increasingly luring foreign families to its shores. The Coco Beach Resort (www.cocobeach.net) quite rightly describes its wide beach with soft sand as its “biggest playground for kids”, but there’s also a constructed version with swings, seesaw, slide and climbing ladder, and a wading pool for tiny tots.
All of Coco Beach’s rooms are bungalows or two-bedroom villas on stilts. Protection nets are available to keep the balconies safe. Nice touch. In the villas, each bedroom has its own bathroom, and there’s a living room and big terrace with sofa and armchairs to wallow in. Staff will gladly wash and sterilise baby bottles and heat up baby food. Family meals are easy at the Paradise Beach Club restaurant, where kids can play on the beach once they’ve eaten (there’s a kiddies’ menu) while parents linger, watching them from the table. Babysitters speak only Vietnamese (US$2 per hour).
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| Victoria Hotel Hoi An |
Still in Vietnam, the Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort & Spa (www.victoriahotels-asia.com) and Victoria Phan Thiet Beach Resort & Spa (www.victoriahotels-asia.com) both offer baby cots and extra beds for children, as well as connecting rooms (even at the bungalows). Here’s your child’s chance to feed an elephant. It’s one of the scheduled children’s activities, along with sand castle building, kite-making and for older kids, parachuting and a banana boat. Apart from the usual toys, drawing and other activities, the Victoria Hoi An’s child care centre also has a library – and a quiet room for sleeping if all that playing gets too much. Victoria Phan Thiet’s Kids Club is free and the club coordinator speaks English and some French. Babysitting is available.
At Sunrise Beach Hotel Nha Trang (www.sunrisenhatrang.com.vn), Vietnam, spacious guestrooms can accommodate free extra beds for a child. The special kids’ pool is only 50cm deep, and for safety there’s a barrier set up between the adult and children’s pools. The hotel’s Sunrise Kids Club is a modest playroom with toys for children up to 12. There’s a babysitting service (from US$5 per hour) from a pool of minders (speaking basic English) employed by the hotel’s housekeeping department.
If it’s the azure waters of the Maldives you’re longing to plunge into, rest assured that five-star style doesn’t necessarily exclude your offspring. MAJAA at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island (www.conradmaldives.com) will keep the kids happy from 8.30am until 6pm, and again from 7pm to 10pm. The entertainment ranges from a pirate island adventure to dancing at a glow-in-the-dark party. To meet the needs of those children who need to relax after a busy day at play there is the Kids’ Spa.
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| Angsana Ihuru blue escape |
One&Only Reethi Rah (www.oneandonlyresorts.com) is another idyllic spot in the Maldives, also catering to families. Its complimentary KidsOnly programme has a dedicated clubhouse (including a pool and dining area) for kids from four to 11 years, and is open from 9am until 9pm. Activities may include dance or cooking lessons, evening shows, and a variety of sports. Children under four are welcome, but need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Babysitters are available for a fee and advance booking is required. The resort also offers nature-based, sport and adventure activities for teens from 12 to 17 years. For babies, there are complimentary cots available on request.
Part of the Banyan Tree group and not far from the main airport, the Angsana Ihuru (www.angsana.com) offers chic lime-green bedrooms and design flourishes. This is a small, family friendly Maldives resort, easily accessible, and with wade-in child-friendly snorkelling. This tiny island takes less than five minutes for a stroll right around it and boasts a sugar-white beach with one of the best house reefs in the Maldives. Snorkelling is right on your doorstep and with excellent visibility to gawp at groupers, parrot fish, surgeon fish and an occasional moray eel.
Macau, a hop and a skip from Hong Kong, is undergoing something of a renaissance as a cultural destination and family getaway. It’s not all casinos. Infant in tow? The Grand Lapa's (formerly Mandarin Oriental, www.mandarinoriental.com/grandlapa) “Baby Pit Stop” is a tailor-made cabinet with free basic baby care items such as nappies, wipes, a baby bath, baby lotion, shampoo and powder and soft toys. Milk bottles, electric bottle warmers and sterilizers and bottle brushes, baby carriers and push chairs are also available on loan. For little ones aged three to six, the “Pit Stop” contains storybooks, crayons and drawing books, mini pillows and slippers and even special children’s toilet seats.
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| Kids Centre, Grand Lapa Macau |
Flying trapezes seem to be all the rage – you’ll find one here too, as well as rock-climbing, an adventure playground with an inflatable pirate ship and even a computer games corner with high-speed Internet access “for education and safe web surfing”. The Kids Co. centre for children aged three to 12 is open 9am to 8.30pm daily. Connecting rooms are available, and baby-sitters speak Cantonese, Mandarin or English (HK$80 per hour, 8am to 12am; HK$150 per hour, plus HK$25 taxi fee, after midnight).
Kids receive smiles and balloons around every corner at the Westin Resort, Macau (www.starwoodhotels.com/westin), on slightly more secluded Coloane Island. The Westin Kids Club offers half and full-day programmes for children aged three to 12, kids are welcomed with a gift bag and toy, and drink refills come free at the Café (a full day from 10am to 6pm costs HK$388, individual activities cost HK$60). Activities include a bouncy castle, face painting, treasure hunts and beach games. There are high chairs and cots on request, and the swimming pool, with adjacent tots’ wading pool, is the main attraction in summer. Interconnecting rooms and rollaway beds are available; so are babysitters and childminders. Close by, affordable and very laid back is the old-world Pousada de Coloane Beach Hotel (www.hotelpcoloane.com.mo). Things are homey, slow, and sleepy at this family-run establishment.
At The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel (www.venetianmacao.com), kids can keep themselves entertained at the pool or on the 18-hole mini golf course. There are some scheduled activities for children aged three and over that include “circus fun” (learning how to juggle), hitting the pinata, water polo and treasure hunts (here is a fee for each activity). For kids and adults alike, talented “Streetmosphere” performers get up to all kinds of tricks throughout the day. A babysitting service is available for MOP80 per hour (MOP160 between 11pm and 8am) – possibly essential for those parents who want to dabble in the casino culture just for a minute or two. And now, on Cotai, in the brand new City of Dreams development, is the new and swinging Hard Rock Hotel Macau (www.hardrockhotelmacau.com).
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| Family friendly Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai |
Dubai is another destination that can be fun for the whole family. As well as its obvious attractions (try a desert safari), Dubai’s mammoth resorts with generous facilities are sure to keep the clan happy. At swanky One&Only Royal Mirage (www.oneandonlyresorts.com), you can send the kids off to KidsOnly, where they can ride camels or learn to belly dance. KidsOnly is free for children aged from four to 11, and is open 10am to 12.30pm, 2.30pm to 5pm and 6pm to 10pm. There’s also entertainment for teens – they can choose from waterskiing, sailing, tennis or basketball, or they may pop down the road for snowboarding at Ski Dubai (www.skidxb.com) and go-kart racing at Dubai Autodrome (www.dubaiautodrome.com).
The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai (www.ritzcarlton.com) offers its junior guests special welcome gifts when they arrive, along with a souvenir when they depart. They also provide a POLO (Protect Our Little Ones) Safety Kit for every room with a child, which includes nightlights, baby amenities, plasters, safety plugs for sockets and a list of emergency telephone numbers. At Ritz Kids club, children may get cooking classes, take ballet lessons, get their first manicure, or, simply, collect shells on the beach. Ritz Kids is for children aged from four to 12.
For kids who prefer to play up near the clouds, look no further than Burj Al Arab (www.burj-al-arab.com). Don’t let the opulence discourage you from taking the toddlers. Sinbad’s Kid’s Club, on the eighteenth floor of the hotel, caters for children aged from one to 12 years, and offers board games, soft toys, computers, and the Disney channel on a plasma screen TV. Children also get free access to Sinbad’s Kid’s Club at Jumeirah Beach Hotel (www.jumeirahbeachhotel.com) next door, which offers a range of outdoor activities.
India is possibly not the first destination that comes to mind when you’re pondering where to take the kids, but if you’re willing to splash a large amount of cash, the family can get a taste of culture while staying in the lap of luxury. Tiny tots staying at Oberoi Rajvilas (www.oberoihotels.com) in Jaipur may not quite be at the age to appreciate its stylish elegance, but there are some child-friendly activities available. Camel cart rides and treasure hunts are held in the expansive hotel grounds. A performance by the puppets of Rajasthan provides a bit of theatre as well as a history lesson in a child-friendly format. And older children can go on a horse safari through the Rajasthan countryside.
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| Making friends at The Empire Hotel, Brunei |
At The Zuri Kumarakom Kerala Resort & Spa (www.thezurihotels.com/kumarakom), kids who like the water will be happy travellers – there are plenty of water sports available from water-skiing, to banana-boat riding or just paddling in the pool. There is also a Children’s Corner with toys, books and games. Babysitters are available if parents need to rid themselves of the kids for a few moments of quiet. Of course, the sightseeing here is well suited to family fun with stunning backwater and sunset cruises, a bird sanctuary, and local villages to explore by bicycle.
For more beach family holiday options in the south, refer to our Goa Resorts Review and guide. Check out The Leela Kempinski Goa (www.theleela.com) and the Taj Exotica (www.tajhotels.com).
The Empire Hotel & Country Club (www.theempirehotel.com) in Brunei is one of the world's largest resorts, with huge guestrooms to match. You may not be able to bag the Emperor Suite where former US President Bill Clinton has stayed, but all ages will enjoy the 180 hectares of gardens and beachfront location. Facilities for kids aged three to 10 include a playground with a shallow pool, water slide and activity room. The activities are never ending with tie-dye classes, hat making, shell decorating, kayaking, badminton, beach football, board games, cooking and origami, just some of what’s on offer. The E-Kids Club has its own “rainforest mascots” to encourage environmental awareness among children. (Rainforest excursions are organised by the hotel.) Kids can rest assured they won’t miss out on the latest movies while on vacation – they can head straight to the Empire Cinema in the middle of the resort, which has three screens showing different films every week. Bear in mind that Brunei is a “dry” Muslim country – but visitors are allowed to bring in a limited quantity of alcoholic drinks.
Of course, once the kids’ club has lost its appeal and the welcome gifts and toys are discarded, it’s quality time together that matters most. A family that plays together stays together. Go for it!
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