Geographically
diverse, the U.S. offers a daunting range of destinations
when it comes to planning family getaways. From Wild
West to beach to urban landscapes, this list will help
you hone in on a place for every interest. It also takes
the adult factor into account. You’re a parent,
but you’re also a grown-up. This is your vacation,
too, which means you want more than just water slides
and in-room Nintendo. What’s wrong with a great
wine list, spa treatments and golf for mom and dad,
along with gold panning, tide pool explorations and
ice cream parties for kids? Understanding the needs
of adults and children, these properties are not only
for staying together, but for playing together—and
apart—while on holiday.
___________________________
CALIFORNIA
Little
River
Inn at Schoolhouse Creek
www.schoolhousecreek.com
When
the keepers of this Mendocino Coast inn declare the
whole family is welcome, they mean everyone, down to
the dog. Kid-friendly, pooch-friendly and wonderfully
adult-friendly, the Inn
at Schoolhouse Creek treats youngsters to cookies
and a Frisbee on arrival. The secluded property grew
up around the Ledford Farmhouse, which dates to 1862,
and its rooms and cliffside cottages sport appropriately
comfy, countrified décor. Onsite Buckhorn Cove
is a natural playground of tide pools, blowholes and
plenty to collect: sea glass, shells and driftwood.
Games are available in the Farmhouse, two-foot tall
pieces populate the lawn chessboard and food and wine
pairings with Anderson Valley vintages make ma and pa
happy between whale watching excursions and canoeing
through salt marshes in search of osprey, harbor seals
and great blue heron.
___________________________
COLORADO
Clark
Vista Verde
vistaverde.com
You
gotta love a place that boasts its own Kids Wranglers.
No, these babysitters in boots don’t round ‘em
up and rope ‘em in. Instead, they teach horseback
riding basics, host pow wows in teepees and fill tiny
bellies with nutritious food while you take a Champagne
hot air balloon ride or enjoy dinner by candlelight.
From the welcoming day hayride to the marshmallow roast
on the last night, all-inclusive getaways are filled
with traditional ranch activities and a few unusual
extras, such as gold panning, hunting for animal tracks
and fire truck rides—complete with sirens blaring—into
town for hand-cranked ice cream. The Vista
Verde has separate programs for younger children
and teens, so the older kids can play it cool while
tubing the Yampa River, learning advanced rock climbing
or taking an overnight “survival” trip.
Just outside Steamboat Spring, this working ranch offers
lodge accommodation and private cabins with up to three
bedrooms.
___________________________
FLORIDA
 Orlando
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
disneyworld.disney.go.com
Antelopes,
gazelles and giraffes, oh my! Leave it to Disney—creators
of “The Lion King”—to bring the savannas
of Africa to Orlando. Three tropical savannas, to be
precise, separated by guestroom wings. Make sure to
ask for a room with a balcony overlooking the wildlife
… don’t be surprised when a zebra or wildebeest
strolls (at a safe distance) by. African style pervades
this resort, from the thatched roofs to handcrafted
artifacts to regional cuisine. Kids are invited to participate
in cultural safaris, night vision animal viewing and
junior research projects; as well, they can hit the
waterslide at the Uzima pool or check out the flamingoes
while they play at Hakuna Matata Playground. Adults
who want a night out on their own can entrust kids aged
four to twelve to Simba’s Cubhouse, featuring
supervised activities, Disney movies (big surprise)
and dinner.
___________________________
HAWAII
Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach
Resort & Spa
www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com
Kids
clubs are an art form at luxury resorts in Hawaii, but
the Hilton
Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa offers more
than just a few kid-savvy activities. The whole property
accommodates parents traveling with their offspring,
from Atlantic submarine tours on the beach (check out
sunken ships and an old passenger plane) to the Friday
night King’s Jubilee Keiki Parade, in which kids
join a procession through the resort with the king,
village guards and dancers. This 22-acre beachfront
“village” in Waikiki offers over a dozen
restaurants (kids four to eleven eat free in three of
them), daily wildlife feedings on the grounds and the
Rainbow Express Keiki Club. The half and full-day programs
(for a fee) include diversions such as supervised Hawaiian
crafts, seashell hunts, sand castle building, fishing
and outside visits to places like the Waikiki Museum.
___________________________
NEW
YORK
New York City
Four Seasons Hotel New York
www.fourseasons.com
With the Plaza going condo, what’s a visiting
Eloise to do? Head to the Four
Seasons, of course. This hotel group excels at pampering
little ones. Call before you arrive, give the names
and ages of your kids, and they will be welcomed with
special amenities, appropriately sized robes and complimentary
toiletries (for babies). Kids dishes are offered in
the restaurant and on the room service menu, and the
range of freebies is seemingly endless: childproofing,
cribs and rollaways, Diaper Genies, bottle warmers,
coloring books, crayons, board games and even strollers
for perambulating Park and Madison Avenues. Take advantage
of babysitting services while you hit the spa, and ask
the concierge to help arrange carriage rides, museum
tours and helicopter excursions. Best of all, there’s
no extra charge for kids under eighteen to share a room
with their folks.
___________________________
NORTH CAROLINA
Lake Toxaway
Earthshine Mountain Lodge
www.earthshinemtnlodge.com
This
is the most intriguing resort on our list. All-inclusive,
Earthshine Mountain Lodge introduces kids and parents
to an entirely new range of experiences. On Pioneer
Heritage Festival days, you can apprentice in a blacksmith
shop, spin wool, mine for gems, press apple cider and
make candles. And on Cherokee Times days, you can learn
the traditional ways of this tribe. The Rabbit Hole
provides free babysitting for kids five and under, and
high adventure focuses on kids ten and up—high
ropes courses and treetop Zip Line courses by moonlight.
Dinner is followed by walks up the mountaintop for stories
around the campfire, mountain music and dancing. Many
rooms in the hand-built cedar lodge come with Little
House on the Prairie Lofts for kids, and the Sunrise
Cottage comprises family suites. Hammocks, hiking trails
and secluded picnic sites provide quiet respites between
activities.
___________________________
OREGON
Gleneden
Beach
Salishan Spa & Golf Resort
www.salishan.com
The
entire Pacific Northwest feels tailor-made for kids,
with all that fresh air and plenty of open spaces to
roam. Within this great region, the Oregon Coast is
a beloved destination, offering miles of sandy beaches
and a range of escapes—the Salishan
Spa & Golf Resort is our top choice. For adults,
the name of this place says it all. But when it comes
to golf, children aren’t excluded, as is the case
at many fairway-focused resorts. There are complimentary
kids golf clinics and putt-putt sessions each day. As
for ways to bond as a family, you can head out to the
beach in search of glass floats, hike the local nature
trails or pick up a complimentary kite at the front
desk and see which way the wind blows. Kids Club menus
and a great wine cellar means mealtimes are fun for
everyone.
___________________________
PENNSYLVANIA
Hershey
The Hotel Hershey
www.hersheypa.com
When it comes to product placement, it doesn’t
get more scrumptious than this. Willy Wonka, eat your
heart out. Just one aspect of the Hershey, Pennsylvania
experience, The Hotel Hershey pairs adult pastimes such
as golf and spa treatments (chocolate themed) with the
Cocoa Kid’s Club, a daily supervised program featuring
tennis, basketball, swimming and arts and crafts. An
interesting thing about this club is that teens are
invited to participate as honorary camp counselors,
leading games and sharing in responsibility. Nearby
Hershey Park boasts ten different roller coasters and
entertainment from bands such as the Candy Rappers.
And the hands-on, interactive Hershey’s Chocolate
World will tempt sweet tooths of all ages with an inside
look at chocolate making: take a simulated ride through
the Hershey’s factory, help out at the Hershey’s
Kisses manufacturing line and devour your free sample
at the end of the tour. Surprisingly—and pleasantly—the
hotel itself avoids kitsch; Spanish in style, it was
built in the 1930s and is a member of Historic Hotels
of America.
___________________________
TEXAS
Austin
Barton Creek Resort & Spa
www.bartoncreek.com
From Marvelous Mondays and Tenacious Tuesdays to Silly
Saturdays and Sunny Sundays, daily life at Barton
Creek Resort & Spa will keep kids entertained.
Each day the onsite Kids Club follows a theme, entertaining
children from six months to eight years old with a range
of new ways to play for an hourly fee. There’s
also an outdoor playground, arts and crafts center and
ongoing family activities, such as nature walks, bingo,
wacky Olympics and limbo contests. Although there’s
a game room with foosball, air hockey and such, it has
a hard time competing with the outdoor allure of this
4,000-acre Texas hill country resort. Relaxation comes
in many forms: unwind in the spa, play a round on the
golf course or curl up with the kiddies for family movie
night on Friday and Saturday evenings.
___________________________
VERMONT
Highgate
Springs
The Tyler Place Family Resort
www.tylerplace.com
Since
1933 Tyler Place Family Resort has been specializing
in family vacations. Unlike many resorts that focus
on the kindergarten and grade school crowds, this one
caters to all ages, from newborns (musical games, bikes
with baby seats, a fleet of strollers) to teens (water
skiing, ropes courses, late breakfasts). Those who came
as kids when Tyler Place first opened now bring their
great-grandchildren to participate in eight individual
toddler to teen programs each day. It’s hard to
name a distraction you won’t find at this 165-acre
lakefront property: petting farm, cooking, tree forts,
archery and radish hunting in the children’s garden,
to name a few. There are special weeklong family retreats,
and plenty of adult pursuits, like yoga, art classes
and the vineyards of Quebec. For those who need a breather
between all the action, even naps are on the agenda.
(Updated: 03/06/08 HC) |
