The Ultra Family-Friendly Resort

Nov 12, 2009

Family Club Med Punta Cana // © 2009 Club Med

Be it a family concierge, a baby welcome or a kid-size lobby, these days, calling a property family-friendly means more than just a back room with some video games and a bean-bag chair. Resorts are catering to kids and families in a big way, offering unique accommodations, services and, of course, activities that appeal to this segment of the travel market. Recently, Family Getaways found three properties that highlight this growing trend.

Paradisus Riviera Cancun Resort
The Paradisus Riviera Cancun Resort is located on the Yucatan Peninsula, 25 minutes south of Cancun near the town of Puerto Morelos and only about 10 minutes from Cancun International Airport. Upon our arrival, my husband and I, along with our two sons, were ushered into a special air-conditioned Family Lounge to check in — this is the first thing guests experience when booking the resort’s Family Concierge Experience. What follows this experience is a well-thought-out resort experience with special kid-friendly touches. Offering a total of 496 suites, including 100 Royal Service Suites and four Ambassador Beachfront Suites, the property is well positioned as a true family resort. Key to the resort’s family-friendly appeal, however, are the 72 Family Concierge ocean or gardenview suites. In addition, 16 of these suites feature connecting suites. Each 452-square-foot family suite comes appointed with a host of specially designed, child-size amenities, including mini bathrobes, toiletries, towels, pillows, a milk-and-cookies stocked minibar and turn-down service.

These special family suites also include a host of dedicated on-site services. While we completed our resort check-in with Alex, the family concierge, my two kids surfed the Internet on computers inside the family lounge. This was a nice distraction for the boys, as they were antsy from their five-hour plane ride and anxious to explore. The lounge is open daily between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. to assist guests with dining reservations, transportation needs and general inquiries.

Next, we met our family butler, Eric, and were whisked to our oceanfront suite via golf cart. On the way, Eric gave us a quick orientation and offered to make restaurant and beach reservations for us. As a Family Concierge guest, we were able to reserve beach chairs and umbrellas at the family beach area.

The Paradisus’ Family Concierge Suites are furnished with either one king bed or two queens, a couch and a small table with two chairs, a television, a minibar, air conditioning and a ceiling fan. Bathrooms feature a full-size tub/shower combo, single sink and vanity, toilet and bidet. The single-room bathroom area presented some traffic issues for my family of four. Other Family Concierge amenities of mention include a welcome kids amenity — a beach kit with paddleball set, waffle-ball set and a beach ball — parent-child walkie talkies for all-day communication and an in-room Playstation upon request.

While the Paradisus hugs a beautiful beach, my kids found more enjoyment in the very large main swimming pool. This seemed to be the case for most of the guests over 6 years old. I’m not sure what my boys enjoyed more — the swim-up bar with kid-friendly smoothies and sodas, splashing under the pool’s central fountain or adventuring under one of the two wooden bridges that spanned each end of the pool.

The resort also boasts one of the nicest kids’ clubs I’ve ever seen. Facilities are grouped within a fenced-in area and include a large kids’ pool, a small wading pool for tots, a play area complete with swings, slide and sandbox, a nursery and a game room for older kids. Club 4 services include babysitting for infants from 2 months old to tots up to 4, as well as daily supervised games, crafts and activities for the older kids, ages 5 to 12.

My one concern about bringing my family to an all-inclusive was the diversity of dining options, but that was quickly put to rest. Paradisus features six restaurants. In addition to the open-seating buffet, we enjoyed an evening at the steak and seafood Reef Grill, the Mediteranean-themed Capri, local fare at the Tequila Grill and French at L’hermitage. Also on-site is an Asian bistro, Sumire.

Throughout our stay my family found Paradisus Riviera Cancun a welcoming vacation experience, filled with fun, sun and wonderful food. This property showed that it offers something for guests of every age.

— Michelle Rosenberg

Club Med Punta Cana
Club Med has been a pioneering force behind the development of the kids club and the family-friendly all-inclusive trend, so it came as no surprise that our experience at Club Med Punta Cana was hasslefree. Traveling with small children can be cumbersome, at best. You’ve got strollers, diapers, formula, snacks for the plane, DVD players — and the list goes on. It’s amazing that parents and their kids arrive at the resort at all. So, when they do, the staff at Club Med Punta Cana stand at the ready to put families at ease. Here, the family friendliness isn’t just hype. From the moment my husband and I arrived at the resort with our 1-year-old daughter, Ava, friendly GOs (Gracious Organizers) helped us through check-in, drove us to our room in a golf cart and played with Ava while we fumbled for our room keys. After a long plane ride and a cranky bus ride, our GO had her laughing and smiling in seconds, for which we were incredibly grateful.

Club Med Punta Cana is focused on offering a whole-family experience and, while the resort offers plenty of romance — it’s nestled in a secluded lagoon on a strip of white-sand beach — its extensive kids programming takes center stage. Kids can learn trapeze at the circus school, compete in sailing races, take tennis lessons or become a chef with the Petit Chef Program, where children spend time in a kitchen created just for them, learning the ins and outs of cooking and nutrition.

Teens can hang out at Passworld where they can take dancing lessons, learn video editing, practice being a disc jockey or participate in theater activities.

Infants are pampered at Baby Club Med (4 months to 23 months), which provides babies with a structured, age-appropriate and well-supervised area where young ones can learn and grow. They go for walks, play games, take siestas and even have their own restaurant. Petit Club Med entertains toddlers 2 years to under age 4, and Mini Club Med takes kids ages 4 to 11 years old.

While children are enjoying the kids’ clubs, parents can relax at the spa, enjoy the pool or participate in activities like yoga, sailing, kayaking and more. In the afternoons, families can regroup at the kids’ club for snack time and, on varying nights, children put on theatrical performances that showcase their new talents, such as trapeze or hip-hop dancing.

The kids’ clubs, however, are just one part of how Club Med Punta Cana caters to families. Other amenities, such as the Baby Welcome, which includes a baby bathtub, a stroller provided by the resort, an in-room bottle warmer, 24-hour access to formula, milk, baby food, diapers and more and, my favorite, the baby-food buffet, located in both dining rooms, make life even easier for parents. Club Med Punta Cana also offers several different configurations of connecting rooms and family suites.

From check-in to check-out, Ava smiled the whole time — and so did her parents, and that’s the best part of taking a family vacation.

— Janeen Christoff

Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa
Not surprisingly, my kids are very travel savvy. They certainly know the difference between a normal, grown-up resort (where they will still manage to have plenty of fun) and a resort where the kids are in charge. So, after walking into the lobby of Beaches Turks & Caicos, my 5-year-old daughter, Sally, spotted the tiny coffee table surrounded by impossibly small lounge chairs and the video screen a foot or two off the ground playing cartoons — the whole area looking somehow like a full-grown lobby waiting area had been mysteriously shrunk — and she turned to me and smiled.

“Daddy, this is perfect,” she said, plopping down on the miniature sofa while I went to check us in.

Her opinion of Beaches only got better. Certainly, these resorts are known for their family appeal, but I’ve never been at a resort that seemed to have been so completely created for, and by, kids. Sally spent her days at the resort’s new Italian Village, featuring the largest pool on the island, with plenty of shallow areas to wade in, fountains for frolicking and a swim-up bar that serves fruit smoothies. When she got tired of that, there was the 45,000-square-foot Pirates Island waterpark, with slides, a lazy river pool and a simulated surfing machine. Oh, and by the way, all of this is located on a 12-mile stretch of white-sand beach with gently lapping waves, ideal for even the youngest guests.

Sally also enjoyed a catamaran sail with Elmo and friends onboard; the Sesame Street stage show; and, of course, the kids’ club. Her evenings were spent at one of the 16 restaurants — all with kid-friendly options. While she loved eating on the sand at Barefoot By the Beach, her favorite meal was at Mario’s Italian Restaurant, where her waiter served her a bowl of pasta balanced on his head and went off the menu to find her chocolate ice cream.

One of the things that impressed me the most about Beaches Turks & Caicos, however, was how well the resort was able to entertain older kids as well. There’s a teen-only disco; an Xbox360 Game Garage; the Scratch DJ Academy, where teens and tweens can learn to scratch like a real disc jockey; and more. Plus, the family suites come with a separate kids’ room — with a bunk bed and its own Xbox360 console — giving both kids and parents a bit of privacy. And Beaches Red Lane Spas are known throughout the Caribbean for the quality of their treatments, so parents have the opportunity to be spoiled too.

— Kenneth Shapiro