1/10 Mitsis Family Village Beach Hotel – Kos, Greece ★★★★
Mitsis Family Village is a peaceful family beach resort, built at the foot of Dikeos Mountain. This all-inclusive resort is a short walk away from a pebble beach. There are 219 bungalow-style rooms. Family suites have separate sleeping areas for children. Guests can be as active or as laid back as they like, with a range of water sports, swimming lessons, tennis courts, horse riding and beach volley plus six pools to swim in or relax by. Children get their own pool with water slides to lark about in. A mini club caters for youngsters aged four to 11 in a morning and afternoon session, with arts and crafts, cooking competitions, mini disco and playground. Older children might like to have a go at the adrenaline-pumping escape room. Staff also host many entertainment activities such as live music, theatre production, dance and karaoke.
© Image Credit: Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife
2/10 Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife – Canary Islands ★★★★★
Go rock and roll at Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife with its fabulous high energy facilities and activities. Get in a sweat at the Body Rock fitness centre or in Rock Om, with a dance yoga class before chilling out in the resort’s famous Rock Spa, boasting indoor and outdoor areas and a range of treatments. The Hard Rock Roxity Kids Club for kids aged four to nine gets kids dancing out their dreams as their favourite pop star or learning how to do their bit for the environment. Qualified staff in the Lullaby will care for babies as young as six months and teens will be in heaven with Xbox Kinect, Guitar Hero, music mixing competitions, tablets, giant chess and table football.
3/10 Grand Oasis Palm – Cancún, Mexico ★★★★★
Located right by the beach and with kids at its centre, Grand Oasis Palm provides the ideal space for a family holiday to Cancún. A kids’ club offers a fully supervised and playful environment where children can move between different activity rooms under the watchful eye of trained staff, while adults enjoy a relaxing spa treatment. Or, for activities involving all the family, guests may want to take advantage of the kayaking, bike tours and lagoon-style swimming pool that comes with plenty of sun loungers for soaking up the warm Mexican sunshine. And while there are a number of places to eat within walking distance, Grand Oasis Palm boasts 16 of its own speciality restaurants serving a range of international dishes, including Tex-Mex and sushi.
4/10 Ikos Dassia – Corfu, Greece ★★★★★
This stylish all-inclusive resort on the island of Corfu is set across 25 acres of gardens framed with shimmering views across the Ionian Sea. There are 411 rooms, suites and villas here, Mediterranean in style, some with special touches like private gardens and pools. Ikos Dassia has many restaurants to choose from including a Michelin-starred menu, a restful spa to relax in, plus a 600m long exclusive beach of fine white sand. There are three kids clubs including a crèche for babies, Heros Kids Club for youngsters and Just4Teens for older children. All clubs are operated by Worldwide Kids, a professional UK childcare company with all staff fully qualified and experienced. Worldwide Kids also runs a football academy during the peak season and there’s a chance to try out tennis, yoga or water polo too. Ikos Dassia has many outdoor play facilities for families to enjoy including an outdoor playground, tennis courts, swimming pools, beach and grass.
5/10 Rixos Bab Al Bahr – Ras Al Khaimah, UAE ★★★★★
All-inclusive Rixos Bab Al Bahr sits on a man-made island in Ras Al Khaimah in the north of UAE. A shuttle bus runs daily to Dubai Mall. Most of the 650 rooms have ocean views. Family rooms have connecting bedrooms. You can do as much or as little as you like here. There’s a private beach with cabanas, spa and choice of outdoor pools to chill by. Active families may prefer to go hiking in the Hajar mountains, lark about in the aqua park with slides or have a go at a range of water sports like parasailing and kayaking. A nightclub and amphitheatre keep the party going in the evening. Children are well catered for with a separate pool, playground and club for kids and teens with lots of age-themed activities including Jenga and PlayStation for teens and treasure hunts and mini discos for little ones.
6/10 Sani Beach – Kassandra, Greece ★★★★★
Sani Beach is upbeat and contemporary in design, perfect for families who want to get in among the action. Sani Beach is one of five luxury hotels in the award-winning Sani Resort, which sits on the unspoilt Kassandra peninsula in Halkidiki. Sani Resort is an eco-paradise, with 1,000 acres of wetlands, pine forests and exclusive beaches. Central to the resort is a vibrant marina bursting with shops, bars and restaurants. The resort has a mind boggling array of activities for all to try out including beekeeping and paddleboard yoga plus an array of stunning pools, beaches and spa. The Melissa Mini Club for four to 12 year olds puts on mini-Olympic Games on the beach, short excursions, pool games, picnics and parties. For new parents there’s a crèche, baby swimming lessons and babysitting plus rooms are set up well with cots, monitors and baby equipment. Older kids may like classes in hip hop, DJing, archery and mountain biking, or just chilling in their own ‘Ozone’ area. Guests can also take advantage of the many summer camps at Sani including the Sani Football Academy in association with Chelsea FC (four to 16 years), Dance Academy (18 months upwards), Sailing Academy (six to 17 years) and Sani Adventurers (13 to 17) for kids interested in the natural world.
7/10 Tropitel Naama Bay Hotel – Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt ★★★★★
Positioned on its own private stretch of beach right in the heart of the bustling Naama Bay, Tropitel Naama Bay Hotel provides an excellent base for families looking to make the most of a trip to the popular Sharm El Sheikh resort. It boasts four swimming pools, an aqua park, eight restaurants offering a range of international cuisine and a daily animation programme. Rooms come with balconies offering views over either the bay, the pool area or the Red Sea, in addition to a mini bar and air conditioning. Guests can relax in the spa or take a dip in the Jacuzzi, while little ones head to the kids’ club for supervised entertainment, beach volleyball and water sports.
8/10 db Seabank Resort & Spa – Malta ★★★★
Four-star db Seabank Resort & Spa boasts bright and airy rooms with balconies. The 130 family rooms have separate sleeping areas. This all-inclusive resort is just a few minutes’ walk from Malta’s grandest Blue Flag beaches, with safe, shallow waters. On site, there are six themed restaurants, three bars, shopping mall, huge pool complex, spa with sauna, steam room and indoor pool with panoramic views, gym and plenty of sports such as archery, crazy golf, beach volleyball, diving and watersports. Kids are treated like royalty at db Seabank with their own pool with slides, paddling pool, themed jungle restaurant with playhouse, kids club and full entertainment programme of activities for all ages.
9/10 Mitsis Rinela Beach Resort & Spa – Crete, Greece ★★★★★
All-inclusive Mitsis Rinela Beach Resort & Spa sits on Kokkini Hani Beach, one of the best beaches in northern Crete. The family resort is Cretan in style with beautiful gardens to explore. The 441 rooms are contemporary in style with wooden furniture and warm colours. Diners have plenty of choice with a main restaurant, Chinese, beachside tavern, café, lounge bar, pool bar, beach bar, sushi and champagne bar, creperie, gelateria, pizza oven on the beach and daily beach barbecue. To work off excess calories, there are plenty of high energy activities to try like windsurfing, tennis, waterskiing and beach volley. There’s a spa and small gym too. The resort also has two outdoor saltwater pools, a sun terrace and two water slides. Kids are warmly welcomed with an arrival gift. An age-themed mini club will look after kids from four upwards during the day and babysitting is available on request. Families also benefit from a playroom, kids’ activity programme, two children’s pools and children’s restaurant.
10/10 King Evelthon Beach Hotel – Paphos, Cyprus ★★★★★
King Evelthon Beach Hotel sits enviably on the beachfront of Chlorakas Bay amid spacious landscaped gardens. Family suites have views of the Mediterranean Sea. Facilities at King Evelthon Beach Hotel include an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, spa, gym and snooker room plus daytime and evening entertainment. The resort has three à la carte restaurants; Greek, Italian and Mexican plus a buffet restaurant. Head to one of the three outdoor bars to quench your thirst. King Evelthon Beach Hotel is well set up for families with its own water park and kids splash pool with slides for some high octane water fun. King Evelthon also has good outdoor facilities for kids including a playground, mini soccer pitch, tennis and volleyball courts.