This summer brings a bumper crop of new family hotels, from sprawling all-inclusive resorts on the Mediterranean to luxury beach escapes and exciting new theme park stays in North America. Whether your idea of the perfect holiday is a week of waterslides and kids’ clubs or a stylish seaside retreat with plenty for parents too, some impressive new options are opening their doors in 2026.
Europe has enjoyed recent high-profile openings across Greece, Spain and Italy, while destinations further afield, including the Dominican Republic, South Africa and Florida, are adding fresh reasons for families to travel long haul. Many of these hotels have been designed with modern family travel in mind, combining spacious accommodation, thoughtful facilities and plenty to keep children entertained throughout the summer holidays.
A few of the resorts below opened earlier this spring, while others are welcoming their first guests over the coming weeks and months. Either way, they’re among the most exciting new family-friendly stays to check into this year.
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Europe
Ikos Kissamos, Crete
Location: Kissamos Bay, western Crete, Greece
Opening: Opened April 2026
Ikos’ first resort in Crete is also one of Europe’s biggest family hotel openings of 2026. The brand built its reputation on all-inclusive done properly – think proper restaurants rather than buffet sprawl, and a level of inclusion that stretches to excursions and select spa treatments.
With 414 rooms and suites, seven restaurants and an Anne Semonin spa, it’s built at a scale that suits big family groups and multi-generational trips without ever feeling impersonal. There’s a fully serviced beach, watersports and padel for older kids and teens, and the all-inclusive model means parents aren’t totting up extras over a week-long stay. It’s a €150 million build, so expect everything to feel fresh from day one.
Best for: Multi-generational groups who want all-inclusive ease without compromising on food or design.
Ikos Kissamos, Crete
Mandarin Oriental Punta Negra, Mallorca
Location: Puerto Portals, Mallorca, Spain
Opening: Opened June 2026
Mandarin Oriental Punta Negra brings serious luxury-hotel clout to Mallorca’s family scene, with 131 rooms and suites set among Aleppo pines, gardens and sea-facing terraces near Puerto Portals. The resort has direct access to two secluded coves, giving families a quieter Mediterranean base than the island’s busier beach resorts.
There are 26 suites, nine casitas, 13 rooms and suites with plunge pools and five rooftop suites with private pools, making it well set up for families who want extra space and privacy. Family appeal comes through the resort’s extensive leisure facilities, including two outdoor adult pools, an outdoor children’s pool, an indoor pool and a major spa for parents. Dining is also a big part of the draw, with restaurants including Matsuhisa, Leña by Dani García and Mexican restaurant Jacinta.
Best for: Families looking for a polished luxury Mallorca escape with sea views, serious dining and space to spread out.
Mandarin Oriental Punta Negra, Mallorca
Cavallino Bianco Caorle, Italy
Location: Caorle, near Venice, Italy
Opening: Opened May 2026
One of Europe’s most impressive family hotel openings of 2026, Cavallino Bianco Caorle has been designed entirely around family travel. Set on a private Blue Flag beach on Italy’s Adriatic coast, the five-star resort combines luxury accommodation with extensive facilities for children, making it a strong contender for families looking beyond the usual Mediterranean hotspots.
The resort features 101 family suites, all with separate spaces for adults and children, alongside indoor and outdoor pools, direct beach access and Lino Land, a dedicated 750sqm area for babies, children and teenagers. Parents are equally well catered for, with a 4,000sqm wellness area, adults-only rooftop pool, spa and dedicated restaurant. Just over an hour from Venice, it offers a beach holiday with plenty of opportunities to combine seaside downtime with city sightseeing.
Best for: Families wanting a luxury beach resort where children’s facilities and grown-up relaxation are given equal priority.
Cavallino Bianco Caorle, Italy
La Darbia, Italy
Location: Between Panzano and Greve in Chianti, Tuscany, Italy
Opening: Opened June 2026
Not every new family hotel needs a waterpark or a kids’ club. La Darbia is a beautifully restored 11th-century hamlet-turned-17-suite retreat, surrounded by olive groves, lavender fields, and Mediterranean woodland in the heart of Tuscany, around 25 minutes from Florence.
It’s a small, design-led property rather than a resort, with two panoramic swimming pools, a restaurant focused on seasonal Tuscan ingredients and expansive views across the Chianti countryside. Only four suites are configured for families, complete with extra space and private outdoor areas, making it better suited to families looking for a relaxed Tuscan base than a packed programme of organised activities. It’s a different kind of family holiday – slower, quieter and more focused on exploring Tuscany’s villages, vineyards and countryside.
Best for: Families who want a boutique countryside escape near Florence, rather than a full-service kids’ programme.
La Darbia in Chianti
Caribbean
Moon Palace The Grand Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Location: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Opening: Opened June 2026
One of the Caribbean’s biggest resort openings in years, Moon Palace The Grand Punta Cana brings more than 2,100 rooms to the Dominican Republic’s coastline, with two striking 18-storey towers overlooking the ocean. Designed with families firmly in mind, the all-inclusive resort features a huge waterpark, nine outdoor pools, dedicated play areas, an 18-hole golf course and what is set to become the country’s largest spa.
The scale is remarkable. Guests have access to 19 restaurants, eight snack venues and eight bars, alongside entertainment centres and a packed programme of activities. Family-friendly rooms and suites are complemented by the kind of facilities that make longer stays easy, while the all-inclusive format means parents don’t have to worry about constantly reaching for their wallet.
Best for: Families who love large-scale all-inclusive resorts with endless dining, entertainment and activities all in one place.
Moon Palace The Grand Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
North America
Universal Kids Resort, Texas
Location: Frisco, Texas, USA
Opening: Opens 1 July 2026
One of the most exciting family hotel openings of 2026, Universal Kids Resort isn’t just a new hotel – it’s an entirely new theme park destination built specifically for younger children and their families.
Seven themed lands bring together characters from Shrek, SpongeBob SquarePants, Trolls, Minions, Jurassic World, Puss in Boots and Gabby’s Dollhouse, while the adjoining Universal Kids Resort Hotel offers 300 rooms and family suites just steps from the entrance. With themed design, family dining and its own pool, the whole experience has been created around younger children rather than adapted from a destination aimed primarily at adults.
Best for: Families with toddlers or young children wanting a theme park scaled to their age group, not a smaller version of an adult one.
Universal Kids Resort, Texas
The Westin Playa Vallarta, Mexico
Location: Puerto Vallarta, Pacific coast, Mexico
Opening: Opened May 2026
This newly transformed all-inclusive resort on Banderas Bay marks Westin’s first all-inclusive property in Mexico. Families can choose from a range of accommodation, including family studios with kitchenettes, while enjoying direct beach access, multiple restaurants and spacious tropical grounds.
Family-friendly facilities include a dedicated family pool, paddleboarding, kayaking, pickleball and padel courts, alongside a programme of activities and entertainment. Parents are equally well catered for with the Heavenly Spa by Westin, wellness-focused experiences and an adults-only pool.
Best for: Families wanting an all-inclusive beach resort with plenty of activities and a strong focus on wellbeing.
The Westin Playa Vallarta, Mexico
Camp Margaritaville Resort Orange Lake, Florida
Location: Citra, Florida, USA
Opening: Opening summer 2026
Not a conventional hotel, this waterpark-led resort combines cottages and RV sites with family-friendly facilities including a large waterpark, restaurant, dog park and live entertainment.
Located about an hour-and-a-half drive from Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando, it offers a lower-cost alternative to staying directly within the theme park resorts. The big draw is having plenty to do on-site between park days, making it appealing for families who want a holiday that isn’t entirely built around queueing for rides.
Best for: Florida road-trippers wanting a waterpark on-site as part of a wider Orlando theme-park trip.
Camp Margaritaville Resort Orange Lake
Africa
Club Med South Africa Beach & Safari
Location: Tinley Manor, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Opening: July 2026
One of the most anticipated family resort openings of 2026, Club Med South Africa Beach & Safari marks the brand’s first-ever resort in South Africa. Set on the Dolphin Coast just north of Durban, the all-inclusive resort combines an oceanfront setting with the option to add a safari stay, creating a unique beach-and-bush holiday experience.
Families will find plenty to keep all ages entertained, from Club Med’s extensive kids’ clubs, which cater for children from just four months old, to a dedicated family pool and the brand’s signature Amazing Family programme. Activities include surfing, snorkelling, sailing, padel, flying trapeze and nature-based experiences, while parents can unwind in the spa, yoga school or adults-only zen zone.
Guests can also combine their stay with a safari experience at Mpilo Safari Lodge, located within a private reserve in Zululand and home to the Big Five.
Best for: Families wanting to combine a beach holiday with a safari adventure without having to organise two separate trips.
Club Med South Africa Beach & Safari
Before you book
New hotel opening dates move – often later rather than earlier – so treat every date above as the latest reported estimate rather than a guarantee. Some facilities, particularly kids’ clubs, spas and secondary restaurants, can open in phases after the main hotel welcomes its first guests, so it’s worth asking directly what will and won’t be running during your specific dates.
On the upside, booking early at a newly opened family hotel often means the widest choice of rooms and the best chance of securing launch offers before availability tightens once word gets out.
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