FAMILY FUN

Child friendly resorts in Asia are no grind for parents so romance on

A fun guide to Southeast Asian child-friendly resorts where your toddlers will be immersed in face painting and cooking classes. These are places too for parents to enjoy a romantic unwind with a wellness spa detox. Or maybe a casino.

by Libby Peacock

updated by staff reporters May 2026

SEE ALSO Golfing in in Asia |Bali spas | Hong Kong shopping | El Nido fun guide | Puerto Princesa | Rajasthan Palace Hotels | India spas | Macau fun guide |

Child-friendly resorts across Asia are offering not just beach and sun but a host of immersive activites for the entire family. Some are mini-destinations with enough acreage to keep you wandering for days; while others have invested in vast water and theme parks for all ages. Take your pick.

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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.

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 kiddy fun are no longer mutually exclusive.

Leave footprints in the sand with your significant other while your typhoon tykes knock themselves out in a splash pool or tire themselves out on a treasure hunt — supervised of course. Meanwhile, you can indulge in as much romance, fine wine, and wellness pampering you wish.

A problem you may encounter while searching for family hotels is that while every beach hut now claims to be a child specialist, it is exceedingly hard to find this information on hotel websites. It's almost as if luxury hotels while flirting with families are all hiding the embarrassing secret that they actually welcome kids!

Everyone is terrified of scaring off cool couples and romantics around whom their image is built. Well that awful little secret is out as we tell all in this detailed guide to some of the best child friendly resorts in Southeast Asia and some of the nicer spots up the Far East coast.

These days, tots can expect extra diversions – pampering in a spa with treatment menus designed especially for the young ones, conquering the flying trapeze, horseriding on unblemished beaches, monstrous aquatic parks with drop slides to chill even the most intrepid, or immersive 3-D video art spaces where even adults will be liable to lose themselves in a hi-tech fantasy swoon.

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So where to find these resorts for children without cutting out that 400-thread-count linen? With plenty of sunshine and beaches, warm seas and a welcoming culture, Southeast Asian beach destinations are hugely popular. Our picks of some that will entertain your kids and liberate your time.

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Child-friendly hotels in Thailand

PHUKET and KHAO LAK Thailand, of course, have more resorts than you can shake several large beach umbrellas at – and there are a myriad of options for families with kids.

Before even getting stuck into the goodies on Phuket Island there's an unusual choice off the east coast at the luxe hideaway — The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa Phuket (the-naka-island-a-luxury-collection-resort). A well equipped Kids' Club offers a vast array of activities from Thai boxing lessons to shell collecting and a host of outdoor adventures. Far enough from the madding crowd to be romantically endearing and close enough to be a 25-minute hop from the airport by car and speedboat, expect seclusion and privilege ladled out at private villas with a rustic but polished finish. Despite its luxury credentials this is a surprisingly good Phuket child-friendly resort pick on our wide-net review.

A little over an hour's drive north of Phuket Airport The JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa (www.marriott.com) is worth a look-see. It features indoor and outdoor play areas, with a focus on sustainability driven by a working farm with organic produce. It is a great spot to reconnect kids with nature. They can take classes on mangrove conservation and help on reforestation projects. This beach hotel's large free-form lagoon pool meanders through a water course of 2.5km.

Or for a more local flavour and just as chic an escape with the family, explore the Little Octopus Kids' Club — with a variety of indoor and outdoor engagement — at The Little Shore Khao Lak by Katathani (www.thelittleshorekhaolak.com). For rainy day's there's a chess room and library. This is a well featured and designed getaway with beautiful spacious rooms.

Aleenta Phuket Phang Nga is run by a barefoot luxury Thailand pioneer whose own family experiences as her children grew up, helped fashion this simple, elegant and upscale child-friendly resort. As luxe escapes are learning, it is possible to mix adult romance with safe family experiences.

Also just north of Phuket is the smart Aleenta Phuket Phang Nga Resort & Spa (www.aleenta.com/phuket/) with its white cubist low-rise rooms fronting the beach. The brainchild of Thai barefoot luxury entrepreneur and pioneer Anchalika Kijkanakorn — who travels with her own kids in tow — the place has developed around the family experience though it is just as confortable for honeymooners.

At The Explorers' Club with its "emphasis on learning and development, children will be able to take part in a range of gadget-free activities seven days a week." Stuff to do is tailored across age ranges, from finger painting and ceramics to Muay Thai, yoga and water sports.This will be music to many ears.

If your tot is ready to graduate from the climbing frame to something a tad more challenging, the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa’s (jw-marriott-phuket-resort-and-spa) at one time offered a circus training programme. Interesting activities under supervision are regularly rotated. There are indoor and outdoor activities from Muay Thai, yoga, dance and art, to exploration of the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation to learn about conservation, cooking classes, water sports, slides, and outdoor movies on the lawns. Despite its years, with ample space and well thought out activities this is one to watch on our Asian child resorts review. It is sited on Mai Khao Beach just up from the airport.

Next door spot the 244-key lagoon pool Le Meridien Phuket Mai Khao Beach Resort (le-meridien-phuket-mai-khao-beach) that rebranded from Holiday Inn Mai Khao in late 2023 with its own kids' club; and check out the elegant pet-friendly Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas (www.anantara.com/en/mai-khao). Anantara, a Thai class act, features a vast smorgasboard of activities from a rock climbing wall to cooking classes and a long running turtle conservation project that helps fire young imaginations.

Children dine free with most stay packages, and baby-sitters are on hand to sooth frazzled tots. This is a resort that combines great family vibes with romance and wellness in comprehensive fashion with no skimping on style.

Yet, in our view, one of the nicest family friendly hideaways in this area built on a human scale, is the grey-stone virginal white pool villa SALA Phuket Mai Khao Beach Resort (www.salahospitality.com/phuket) with a kids' club, children's pool, plenty of sea-fronting lawn and a relaxed ambience to get the blood pressure down despite typhoon tyke tantrums. There is an old-fashioned zen vibe to the place and a nice barefoot ambience.

Heading down the west coast, the super-child-friendly Angsana Laguna Phuket (www.angsana.com/en/phuket/) is part of the integrated Laguna Phuket resort complex, which has a reputation for its family-oriented developments. In addition to kid-friendly rooms, Angsana Phuket offers a generous swathe of manicured sea-front space along Bang Tao Beach with beautiful lagoons, a well equipped watersports zone (paddling, sailing, water-bikes, kayaks and underwater scooters), and a 323m freeform pool. Enjoy stays in pool access rooms, large two-bedroom suites, or in one-bedroom lofts. Kids can enjoy kite-making, batik and explore a 'biodiversity trail'. The treehouse design kids' club has an array of daily activities.

The Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket (www.dusit.com), another of the select hotels making up the Laguna development, is a longtime family favourite with generous water features, manicured grounds and a broad beach front with the 18-hole Laguna Phuket Golf Course nearby. This upgraded resort offers stylish accommodation and friendly service. Its Busy Bee Kids' Club is open from 9am for children aged 4 to 12. There are babysitters too whose time is charged. Expect games, toys of various kinds, arts and craft, and PlayStations for itchy fingers. Children under 12 eat with their parents at a 50 percent discount with younger tots nibbling free. Many years back, children celebrating their birthdays got a free party with a few friends here. Times have changed.

Banyan Tree Laguna Phuket (www.banyantree.com/thailand/phuket) remains a highly regarded pool villa and spa property popular with golfer families who appreciate the supervised activities at the Terra Kids' Club (children 4-12 from 9am to 6pm daily) ranging from batik to nature walks. Babysitting is on hand too. It is worth noting that babysitting fees at high end Thai hotels will be in the range of Bt300-Bt400 per hour or more unless business is very slow. Local Thai nannies can be arranged in Bang Tao and elsewhere in Phuket for a little less but you will need to check with your hotel. Banyan Tree Laguna Phuket offers its own trained babysitters and service standards have been maintained.

Continuing south, the 256-key Novotel Phuket Surin Beach Resort rebranded in early 2023 to the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket Surin Beach (www.ihg.com/holidayinnresorts). This is an affordable hugely family-friendly hotel with the low-rise property arrayed around a huge central freeform pool with splash slides for kids at one side. The vibe is clearly non-stop fun. The spacious Siam Adventure Club includes a movie room and an arcade gallery with the latest games. Muay Thai (boxing) is on offer too. Children eat free with parents (they'll park for sure at the Wow Cow Ice-Cream Cafe) and neat functional rooms come with twin beds or a king-size bed with a bunk bed. The hotel is not on the beach but the sand is just 100 yards away across a grassy knoll with restaurants and beach stuff for all stripes.

At Kamala Beach just down the coast, the InterContinental Phuket Resort (phuket.intercontinental.com/) is a split personality with its signature white pagoda set on the hillside and a stunning seafront pool on the other side of a busy road. Guests access each via an underground art tunnel. The design is novel but the Planet Trekker kids club takes things up a notch. This is a colourful welcoming space for kids 4-12 and comes loaded with activities like tie-dye, batik, face painting and fun with egg cartons, as well as a Planet Guardian breakout session that teaches kids how to protect the planet.

Think mountainside accommodation as well as elegance beachside, fine dining, a yacht, an excellent spa and much more. This child friendly Thailand resort ticks all the right boxes for families on our review.

Around the Kamala headland cascading down a hillside (without no beach alas — the rocks are artificially sanded — but commanding terrific ocean views) is the Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort (hyatt-regency-phuket-resort) that has built a reputation as a fun-filled family resort with a vast sunny swimming pool, fun children's facilities and a simple snorkelling area set away from the rocks at the end of a long jetty. There's a Nahm Spa too. Parents listen up.

Popular Patong Beach is noisy and crowded most times and there are several budget choices. A clear standout here is the spacious veteran all-rounder Holiday Inn Resort Phuket (www.ihg.com/holidayinnresorts) that is easily one of the best Asian child-friendly resorts and a Phuket top dog when it comes to catering for the family. Its newish indoor 'digital playground' called FunLab offers a visual experiential mix of giant video screens and projections for immersive games. There is a well-featured kids' club and all the babysitting help you may need along with a kids' pool with a host of water-soaked activities.

Children at this Holiday Inn stay and eat free with rooms offering bunk beds as well as thematic flavours. Parents looking to mix pleasure and romance with family chores might look at the upscale Busakorn Wing.

Andaman Embrace Patong (www.andamanembrace.com) provides plenty of fun for children in pleasant green environs in an old-fashioned resort across the road from the beach. Its playroom is open 7am to 8pm and a kids' club and water slides take care of restless limbs. Babysitting services are available. With attractive room rates this is one to look at if you wish to be close to the Patong Beach noise and action on a smaller budget with kids in tow.

Farther around the southern Patong bay in a secluded sandy cove is the Phuket Marriott Resort & Spa, Merlin Beach (phuket-marriott-resort-and-spa-merlin-beach). This is a spacious well featured hotel that takes good care of kids. Children under 12 stay and eat free with parents. Expect water slides, supervised activities, and a feature-packed kids' club. It is a five minute drive to ther centre of Patong.

Occupying its own private beach is the distinctive green-hat Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort (le-meridien-phuket-beach-resort) with a menu of fun activities — craft, batik, ice-cream making — and sports at its kids' club (4 to 12 years) and its Teen Club (for ages 12 to 19). Additionally, this cool luxury resort offers mini-golf and tennis along with a host of water sports to complement its 500m stretch of sand. Babysitting in-room is available and 24 hour notice is requested for this service.

In early 2022 the huge Mövenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach Phuket morphed into the independent Paradox Phuket (www.paradoxhotels.com/phuket) but retaining a very family-friendly feel. The kids' club is one of the largest in Phuket and offers indoor and outdoor play areas, a ball room for toddlers, and a Games Station and DVD Lounge for the young and restless. Babysitting service is available and creative birthday parties for children are on the menu starting at around Bt10,500 for 10 kids. Rooms at Paradox Phuket are more attractively priced compared to Le Meridien and the Phuket Marriott Resort on Merlin Beach. Paradox opens onto the long Karon Beach strip and along with good dining it has spa and wellness offerings.

Mid-2023 the Accor-run Pullman Phuket Karon Beach Resort (www.pullmanphuketkaron.com) took over from the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa that had dominated the landscape since 1986 with its 75 acres of nature walks, a putting range and strutting peacocks. Pullman has retained much of the former product including the distinctive cylinder buildings that look over the Andaman Sea. The beach is separated from the resort by a road. Its Peacock Playhouse offers extensive facilities for kids 9am to 6pm. Think face painting, treasure hunts and puppet and candle making. Babysitters are available at Bt300 per hour with a maximum of three children managed by one babysitter. This alone shoots Pullman Karon up as a good child-friendly pick for Phuket. Bear in mind Karon is much farther south and offers seclusion rather than the noise and bars of Patong.

Another family biggie in south Phuket is the vast Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket (www.centarahotelsresorts.com) in a corner of Karon. Inspired by Sino-Portuguese architecture, the resort is dressed in pink with red-tile roofing arrayed around a massive water park and looking onto the beach. The splash park is the highlight with its lazy river ride, water slides, and 'cliff jump'. Kids can plunge into treasure hunts, pool games, beach sports, kayaking, rock climbing, archery, and a spot of Muay Thai (Thai boxing). The calendar of family activities is endless. Kids stay free with parents.

At the southern tip of Phuket is The Nai Harn (www.thenaiharn.com), a remake of former pioneer the Royal Phuket Yacht Club. It offers a breezy white stucco adobe-style ship-bridge property that has been gussied up considerably. This is a friendly family option but there's just a single pool and the adjacent beach is public. The very private ground-floor 4-Bedroom Wing is an option for a large family or a group of friends and comes with its own pool.

Driving up the east coast atop a secluded cliff you'll find the delightful COMO Point Yamu () where tots eat free and kids up to 12 get substantial dining discounts as well as free accompanied stays. There's a well run kids' club a children's pool, engaging activities, and friendly staff, but the hotel lacks a connected beach — though there is a private sandy island a 15-minute boat ride away — and it is far from your normal Phuket activities and dining. Views are breathtaking and wellness options are excellent.

For those who wondered where the Hilton Arcadia disappeared, it has been taken over by the Pullman Phuket Karon Beach and much of the former grounds and buildings have been left intact. A road separates the property from the beach, just as with Paradox Phuket (which took over from Movenpick)/ photo: hotel

East across sweeping Phang Nga bay and its dramatic karsts, KRABI offers a clutch of family hotels including budget-friendly Holiday Ao Nang Beach Resort Krabi (holidayresortkrabi.com), a non-chain hotel that is surprisingly well featured with bright family rooms, a kids club and water slides. Kids stay free and in the vicinity are elephant sanctuaries and snake and crodile parks. The hotel is separated from the slim beach by a narrow road. There are better beaches along the coast.

Dusit Thani Krabi Beach Resort (dusitthani-krabibeachresort) is a more stately spread out garden option. It comes with a higher price tag and has all the frills for children including special meals, pandan leaf flower folding, batik painting and visits to the local Klong Muang School. Kids can explore leaf art and popsicle-making classes, or opt for the junior chef programme. Older teens could try kayaking through the mangroves. A 48sq m Family Room offers views of the garden and mangroves. The beach at Dusit is considerably better than at Ao Nong, which has a lot of boat traffic and silt.

More upscale and a 20-minute boat trip from Nong Nuch pier is the stunning Rayavadee Krabi (www.rayavadee.com) with its iconic villas scattered around manicured grounds and coconut gtoves. Expect a host of child-friendly activities from nature excursions to Thai cooking, tennis and crafts. Its beach was once among the best in Asia with popular rock climbing karsts on either side of the cove but over-tourism has dampened some of that pristine vibe. It will hold a Robinson Crusoe appeal for kids — and babysitters can step in any time — if parents have the money and the moxie. This is an all round romantic escape for the whole family.

A short drive from Bangkok and an even quicker one-and-a-half-hours from Suvarnabhumi International Airport is PATTAYA. The city has scrubbed its image and it is more of a family destination now (in parts) and not just a hangout for deep-voiced ladyboys and clapped-out tourists. The beach has been somewhat rehabilitated too.

Launched in 2010 and presented anew early 2025 after major refurbishments and upgrades, the premier family escape along this coast is the Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort, Pattaya (www.centarahotelsresorts.com/cmbr). It has a vast adrenalin-pumping menu for both the young and the young at heart.

A “Lost World” theme pervades the resort, espdecially the grand waterpark with its three pools (including one for kids), waterslides, trampolines, and aquatic activities. Your child wants to learn how to make sushi?

No problem at all. Family units include brightly-coloured rooms with bunk beds and packs of child-friendly toiletries. If you're looking for a hands-free vacation this could be it.

Other more notable child-friendly hotels in Pattaya include the Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya (pattaya.hardrockhotels.net) that offers an array of activities for the little rock stars while you finally get that much needed rest. Under the care and supervision of the "Animators", children aged three to 12 can enjoy arts and crafts, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Wii, and more at the ROXITY KIDS CLUB. Access is at Bt150 per hour or Bt800 for the day 9am to 6pm) including lunch and three sets of activities.

The Bayview Pattaya (www.thebayviewpattaya.com) is a well known landmark that has withstood the test of time to offer an excellent pocket-friendly holiday for families with demanding kids. It is renovated and faces the beach, across a road that serves as the waterfront promenade and there's a teddy-bear museum next door. Rooms are bright and cheerful and an extra bed for your child will be free. At the Sukee Wonderland, kids get a playroom, a children's lagoon pool with colourful mushrooms, water slides and floating toys. Up the road, sister property Siam Bayshore Pattaya (siambayshorepattaya.com) is another good child-friendly pick.

InterContinental Pattaya Resort (pattaya.intercontinental.com) is a luxe getaway that took over from Sheraton with family-friendly features in a secluded area. This area has a rocky coast though the hotel has sanded some areas for a cosmetic upgrade. Better to stick with the pools. Close by is the mammoth Royal Cliff (royalcliff.com), which is actually a grouping of four 5-star hotels that specialise in conventions but are hugely kid-friendly with large family suites, a host of activities for younger guests, several swimming pools and tennis courts. There's something for everyone at Royal Cliff and it's is located across a small headland just away from the Pattaya bar noise.

The high-rise Hilton Pattaya () above a shopping mall offers connecting rooms and amenities including crayons. A chic 2025 arrival to this Central Pattaya area is the Melia Pattaya Hotel (www.melia.com/melia-pattaya). It is close to though not on the beach. The hotel makes a strong design statement with creamy curves and also offers a beach club for tanning purists. Kidsdom is the play area for youngsters with lively activities and assorted entertainment from Jenga to shell work and doll painting. Also expect a children's pool with slide and family-friendly rooms with a soft feminine feel.

Just over a two-hour drive from Bangkok several family options await at HUA HIN and CHA AM. Here the 293-key Holiday Inn Vana Nava Hua Hin (vananavahuahin.holidayinnresorts.com) is one of the obvious choices with themed family rooms, child menus, a kids' club, a games room, and a massive water park with enough thrills and spills to keep a squabbling extended dysfunctional family entertained for days. There is a beach too in case all this gets dull.

The Hyatt Regency Hua Hin () is no slouch when it comes to entertaining families and this green getaway offers a huge amount of distraction from its activity-packed Camp Hyatt (4-12 years), free-form beachfront pool with slides to tennis, table tennis, kids' playground by the sea, archery, painting, and fish feeding.

Family rooms come with thoughtful amenities including pet-friendly features. Children's menus are available and at times horse riding on the beach may be possible.

The Hilton Hua Hin Resort & Spa (hilton-hua-hin-resort-and-spa) is a smart high-rise property right on the beach and was one of the first to plant its flag on these shores. Children under 12 stay free with parents. Among the many upscale choices here are the refreshed Thai-village Anantara Hua Hin (www.anantara.com/hua-hin) with leafy grounds, wandering peacocks, pygmy goats and animals at the Mini Farm, activitiers like rock climbing, and spacious family rooms; the sprawling Hua Hin Marriott Resort & Spa (hua-hin-marriott-resort-and-spa) with kids' club, children's pool and tree house (and a separate Teen Pool); and the InterContinental Hua Hin Resort (huahin.intercontinental.com) with its Planet Trekker Kids' Club and a range of experiences like a toy train that tours the resort evoking the history of the place and an Art Botanic Garden.

The excellent Centara Grand Beach Resort Hua Hin (www.centarahotelsresorts.com) is in a class by itself, steeped in history and topiary. This was originally the old Railway Hotel that was designed as a European retreat in 1923 and has since been through many incarnations and upgrades to offer a charming child-friendly colonial escape. This is a prime beachfront location with kids' club, children's pool and numerous activities. Family rooms and suites offer enough space for a good stretch and service is on rails. Expect a very relaxed and soothing vibe.

In KOH SAMUI find another island with lots of possibilities for families on the lookout for a safe adventure. There are a great many budget-friendly choices as well as high-end options with a focus on both weddings and honeymooners as well as families with boisterous kids in tow. A hard act it would seem but many get it right.

On the northeastern Choeng Mon coast is the Melia Koh Samui (www.melia.com/melia-koh-samui), popular with cooing couples as well as families looking for a stylish quieter escape. Expect a meandering pool that snakes around the resort, kids' pool with splash slides, kids' room with activities, trampoline, babysitters, and rooms that front onto the lagoon pool for direct access. Living spaces are well designed with comfy beds. The hotel accesses a pleasant beach that is shared by the public.

The Garrya Tongsai Bay Samui (www.garrya.com/samui) sprawls over 28 acres of Choeng Mon where the accommodation spills down the low hill onto lagoon pools and a private beach. The resort's history dates back to 1987 when it launched as the first five-star resort on the island. This is a green and natural retreat with lots of foliage that has grown organically with a added family touches. Expect two pools, a kids' club, yoga, tennis, spa and fitness room.

A signature item in many pool villas and suites here is the breezy soaking bathtub. Splash away. The clutch of minimalist Garrya properties are managed by the Banyan Group.

The 140-key Hyatt Regency Koh Samui (hyatt-regency-koh-samui) opened July 2021 with its signature Camp Hyatt for kids at the far north of Chaweng. The resort features several free-form pools, a children's pool and a host of supervised activities. Kids can sleep in their own in-room tent. Views are nice but with underlying rock and pebbles, this is not the best beach.

Driving south along the east coast you'll pass the reimagined Centara Reserve Samui (www.centarahotelsresorts.com/crs), long a hugely popular family hangout with a virginal white Gone With the Wind feel. It has traded up for a luxury vibe while retaining several child-friendly features. Expect a kids' club with supervised activities, numerous outdoor and indoor games for children of all ages, well featured family rooms, kids' menus, and babysitting services. This is something of an oasis in the Chaweng Beach bar neon and noise.

Sheraton Samui Resort (sheraton-samui-resort/overview), which replaced The Imperial late 2014 (the Thai holiday staple of yore), continues a fine tradition of catering for families. The place projects a profoundly Mediterranean ambience with its white stucco cake-icing exterior.

There are quite a few steps down past the freshwater pool through the gardens to the beach and the seawater lagoon-pool (great for kids) with natural smooth rocks. Its complimentary StarKid club does a competent job of dealing with kids of all ages 9am to 5pm.

Banyan Tree Samui (www.banyantree.com/samui) — on a promontory south of the Chaweng ruckus — is known for its Instagrammer spots and spa but it has a child-friendly vibe with a kids' club and a sea turtle nesting space along a good beach.

Not far from here is a standout family option, the Renaissance Koh Samui Resort & Spa (renaissance-koh-samui-resort-and-spa). This is a very child-friendly hotel with two swimming pools (including a lap pool), a kids' club packed with activities, kid-friendly menus, and a range of outdoors options from kayaks and paddle boards to beach walks.

On Lamai Beach is Rocky's Boutique Resort (www.rockyresort.com/) that has taken shape nicely as a contemporary eco-friendly villa escape over the years since its quiet homey start. Staff here are warm and very attentive with children and there is a small kids' club that is open 9am to 6pm with various activities from face-painting to movies. Babysitters are available and there is a shallow section in the main pool suitable for kids. The resort presides over a tiny beach that gets a tad overwhelmed by the tide.

Perched on a sundowner cliff far out on the east coast, the InterContinental Koh Samui (samui.intercontinental.com) has a commanding presence with the resort offering two sections, clifftop and beach. Prepare to get your daily steps in. The Planet Trekkers children's club does a fine job of packing in activities for all ages from face painting and Thai cooking to Muay Thai boxing and occasional scavenger hunts on the beach. Accommodation is roomy and upscale and there are six pools to pick from as well as kayaking and snorkelling or swinning off a long pier that reaches out to open sea. Kids get a 50% discount on meals and the under-fours dine free. Larger groups might opot for a two-bedroom family villa with several extras thrown in — like an indoor tent for the kids.

Up the east coast and coming round to the north of the island, the forested hideaway Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui (www.fourseasons.com/kohsamui) requires buggies for vertiginous drives down to the villas and small beach — and up again. This should not deter kids aged two to 12 from diving into a multitude of activities in the Kids For All Seasons programme. Think cooking classes and even a mini-rubdown spa for kids. In this general area is the spread out 23-acre Santiburi Koh Samui (santiburisamui.com) that offers a more affordable family stay with a range of accommodation from simple rooms to pool villas. Golf at the Santiburi Samui Country Club is close by and this will be a major lure for some parents.

A range of watersports is available for all ages and interests from kayaking to sailing and hobie cats. For kids think trampolines, tennis, football, bikes, and a junior camp with all manner of supervised activities. All in this is a relaxing no-fuss spot along quieter Mae Nam Beach

Finally, on the north shore is another popular oldie, the Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort (www.anantara.com/bophut-koh-samui). Drop the kids off at the Tree House club for kids aged 4-12 that runs on nurturing Montessori principles to build lifelong learning. Then pack them off on a treasure hunt across the resort. Two-bedroom Family Suites are available. And for parents who like beachfront parties but still want a family friendly vibe, explore Tembo Beach Club (www.tembo-samui.com) not far from the airport. Children do not normally stay free at Tembo.

Last but not least, in buzzing BANGKOK opt for the Chao Phraya river and explore luxury escapes at the renewed Mandarin Oriental Bangkok (www.mandarinoriental.com/bangkok) with its delightful Little Fan's Club (daily programmes like origami and story narrations), and connecting rooms; The Peninsula Bangkok (www.peninsula.com/bangkok) with children's pool area and the activity-packed Peninsula Academy (including programmes for kids like cooking and boxing); the Royal Orchid Sheraton Riverside Hotel, Bangkok (royal-orchid-sheraton-riverside) with nice pools and shopping next door; Shangri-La Bangkok (www.shangri-la.com/bangkok) conveniently by the BTS Sky Train station; the darkly modern cubist and very artsy Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River (www.fourseasons.com/bangkok) with kids' club, children's pool and Muay Thai boxing for kids; and the long-running 11-acre resorty Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort (www.anantara.com/riverside-bangkok) with kids' club and family suites.

Bali has some of the friendliest service around for kids — and facilities. Apart from all the luxe brands there are also homegrown escapes with space and a more immersive traditional ambience. Here, a child scoots down a water slide at the Padma Resort Legian/ photo: hotel

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Hands-free family holidays in Bali

BALI’s warm climate, balmy seas, and child-loving locals make it a great family destination, with many luxury hotels making a beeline for this market (see our comprehensive Bali resorts review). In fact several kid-friendly properties in our survey are luxurious and romantically designed with great spas and wellness programmes. It's a tough choice but here are a few on the Island of the Gods.

In the tourism belt of BENOA and NUSA DUA and extending on along the southern coast are a few safe picks. At the Conrad Bali www.hilton.com/conrad-bali) in Benoa, start by picking comfortable connected family rooms or a suite. Theme dining include fire dances and general activities for the family include cycling, massage and tennis. Mini tennis and cycle tours are charged a small sum. A Nusa Dua pedal tour through the manicured neighbourhood is around 180,000 rupiah (US$10.50).

The kids' club runs 10am to 5pm with activities covering origami, kite flying, shell collecting, painting, and puppet making. Kids under 12 eat and stay free and babysitting services are available. The one fly in the ointment is the beach, which is rocky in most parts and not really swimmable. There are water scooters roaring by as well.

Conference specialist, the Westin Resort Nusa Dua (westin-resort-nusa-dua-bali) is a surprisingly good pick and has developed a many play and relaxation areas. Its Westin Family Kids Club is perfect for toddlers (from four years up) to young kids (up to 12 years). Expect children's menus and daily activites like cycling, fruit carving, wall climbing, building sand castles, yoga, mini golf, and Balinese dance.

Cycles are available and the Westin Kids Spa offers child-friendly treatments including massage, manicures and hair braiding. Kids have an indoor playroom with plenty of educational activities. This is a large self contained area close by the beach with a colourful and welcoming environment making it one of the top family-friendly hotels for kids and tots. Don't be put off by its atrium lobby and conference vibes. There's enough space to do your own thing and the beach is nice.

At the beautifully manicured five-pool and spa getaway next door, the Grand Hyatt Bali (grand-hyatt-bali), kids are in for a treat. The mature foliage with broad beach, wandering critters and splash pools with slides offer entertainment by the acre. The Camp Hyatt kids' club is set close to the beach for children from 3 to 12 with two hours of complimentary supervised activity per day. Expect programmes like Little Chef, Balinese dance and gamelan music sessions, feeding fish and learning magic.

There is a toddler club for children under three that requires a parent or nanny present at all times. Babysitters here speak English, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Bahasa Indonesia. Food choices are varied — including the stunning Pasar Senggol set in an amphitheatre for cultural shows — and there is pizza too. Children under 4 eat free from a children's menu and kids up to 12 get a 50% discount. Rooms are wonderfully spacious but ageing. All in, the low-rise Grand Hyatt Bali is one of the best Asian family-friendly resorts on this survey.

Not on the seafront, but cheerful and brilliantly welcoming of kids — and with a beach club a short buggy ride away — the Courtyard Bali Nusa Dua Resort (courtyard-bali-nusa-dua) is unpretentious and weighs in as a solid Bali child-friendly hotel on this review. It boasts a modest 234 rooms on three floors and a few suites.

This is a neat grey-stone construct with clean lines and a Zen sense of space. It is easy to get around and it is hard to find things that your kids might break. Phew. Service is warm and attentive and the poolside breakfasts at Momo Cafe start at 6.30am, filling quickly. A kid-friendly lagoon swimming pool meanders playfully around the inner tree-shaded courtyard with stone slab walkways. There are other pools and a Lazy River too. Children can enjoy a range of activities including cooking, artas and craft, and cycling. Village cycle tour? Sure. Or smaller ones can try bunny feeding and mini golf.

A close neighbour here is the family welcoming hotel-and-residences Novotel Nusa Dua (www.novotelnusaduabali.com) with two lagoon pools and manicured grounds. It is not on the beach. If it's a beach experience your family craves, try the lively Novotel Bali Benoa (www.novotelbalibenoa.com) near the Conrad with three pools and an excellent kids' club. This is a quieter area.

All the Nusa Dua area hotels cater for the family and this is the area's strong point. You might consider wedding favourite Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort (sofitelbalinusadua.com) with its spacious kids' club; the uber-luxe The St Regis Bali Resort (the-st-regis-bali-resort) with its complimentary Childrens' Club; the cliff-edge The Ritz-Carlton Bali (the-ritz-carlton-bali) and its well featured Ritz Kids' Club; the vast multi-level three-in-one Mulia Bali (www.themulia.com/bali); and former Nikko, the Hilton Bali Resort (hilton-bali-resort) with a Game Cave for teens, outdoor playground, and indoor games.

The Hilton rock-and-sand beach set far below the resort and accessed by an elevator or steep steps, is scenic but not really for swimming.

Just outside the Nusa Dua enclave is the big contemporary cliff-edge Apurva Kempinski Bali (the-apurva-kempinski-bali) with its ornate wood-carved Indonesian lobby and acres of play space for younger guests. The kids' club is Montessori influenced and seeks to drive learning experiences with games, dance, art, and cooking. There are several large pools including one for families and water slides. The 60m infinity pool fronts the beach.

Farther around the southern coast in the ULUWATU area — often plagued by traffic gridlock — are a clutch of luxury resorts. The serene 123 villa Jumeirah Bali (www.jumeirah.com/jumeirah-bali) is a quiet, cream columned affair with reflective pools, breezy and uncluttered, and with de rigueur ocean views. 

Find several family-friendly activities here like cooking classes and spa treatments for little ones, all with attentive servers. Set up a kid's tent in-room if you wish. There is the Peafowl kids' club with fish feeding, face painting, origami, batik and in-resort adventures.

Expect tiny slippers and robes for your kids and specially tailored menus at mealtimes. This is an all in one romantic hideaway with beautiful roomy Javanese villas with butlers. If the traffic feels overpowering just enjoy it as a self-contained mini-destination. 

The newer Raffles Bali (www.raffles.com/bali) borders the southernmost tip of JIMBARAN and is slightly easier to get to. Find 32 beautiful villas (contemporary) with ocean views, a cliffside beach, a spa and a 'Raffles Passport' for kids to collect 'official' stamps as they wander the premises enjoying resort experiences and marking each stop. On offer for children are art and craft workshops to make beaded bracelets say, pizza classes and breakouts to acquire cookie decoration skills. They can make and fly kites, learn Balinese dance or dip into a pottery class.

Heading north up this sunset coast is the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay (www.fourseasons.com/jimbaranbay) with free meals for under-fours and 50% off for kids 5 to 12 years. The Umah Rare kids' club is open 9am to 7pm. Accompanied rafting and fishing tours are available and a special family surfing deal in the protected bay is a popular option for the intrepid. Jimbaran offers an excellent broad beach a short stroll down.

On the same beach with direct frontal access is the sprawling InterContinental Bali () with its well equipped Planet Trekkers (9am - 7pm) and a host of activities from kite flying to Balinese dance and fish feeding. There are several large pools around the resort including one for kids and family rooms with bunk beds are popular. This is an older resort with a distinctly Indonesian feel throughout.

A short drive east are the vast green grounds of the stately eco-friendly AYANA Bali Resort (www.ayana.com/). Ayana features its own branded spa, a 22,000sq m hydrotherapy thalasso escape and is a hugely popular wedding venue. Its dedicated AYANA Ocean Adventure zone covers 1,320sq m and offers an all-in play hub for the family and kids of all ages. Expect varied structures for climbing, a fun ball pit and an air slide. Sandscape for kids up to 10 years is a partially outdoor space for kids up to 10 years, with art and craft and a waterslide. There is also an outdoor splash zone with children’s pools and gentle water slides for the youngest guests.

Close by is the more affordably priced and funky sister property RIMBA (rimba-by-ayana), which ups the ante on action for hyperactive children with a 1,600sq m kids' club. Expect a two-level adventure playground for typhoon tykes from 7 to 15 years. Think flying fox slides, an 11m water slide, netted rope climbs and luminous caves. There is access to several pools and a shuttle bus runs to the sand-and-pebble Kubu Beach Club.

KUTA is the west coast sunset beach first popularised by backbackers and beer-swilling surfers. Not quite the serene family picture. Yet if you want a faster pace with distractions and a tad more noise and cars, one option here is the Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort (sheraton-bali-kuta-resort) with a supervised PlayHouse kids' club (in the connected Beachwalk Shopping Center), babysitting services, bright Family Suites (with in-room tent) and free meals for children under 12. The long serving Hard Rock Hotel Bali (hotel.hardrock.com/bali) is another choice for child-friendly activities including an extensive water playground with slides, the ROXITY Kids' Club, the LULLABY Toddlers' Club, and the TABU Teens Club. Hard Rock is far ahead of Sheraton Bali on swimming pool and water activities though the latter beats it handily on room comfort. Both hotels are across a busy road from the beach.

The smart, recessed The Stones Hotel — Legian Bali (www.thestoneshotellegian.com) is a far quieter and 'protected' option with an excellent pool, stylish rooms, and the Jasper Kids Club. With a hip vibe for the lululemon set Stones is also a surprisingly good family-friendly Bali hotel.

At one end of the Kuta strip the Holiday Inn Baruna Bali () is a fun choice with ample pools, lawns and beach and up to four kids uner 12 eat free anytime at the Palms restaurant. Kids under 12 stay free with parents in creative family rooms. Expect a pirate theme club for kids (with daily arts and crafts) and perhaps a chocolate hour afternoon if you're lucky.

Ayana Resort Bali has generous grounds (though no great stretch of beach as at Grand Hyatt at Nusa Dua) but it has developed facilities and activities at pace for its younger guests with sister property RIMBA adding to rooms, pools, and water features/ photo: hotel

Just up in the smarter gentrified LEGIAN-SEMINYAK strip, the 433-key Indonesian behemoth Padma Resort Legian (padmaresortlegian.com) is a local-style kid-friendly hotel with splash slides, resident ducks and turtles, arts and crafts, cooking classes, junior mixology, and family rooms with bunk beds. For higher octane fun think gel-blaster shoot 'em up sessions and foam parties. The resort is spacious and green after north Kuta where Legian Beach starts. There is a quiet walking lane separating the resort from the beach.

Farther up, with three pools and wonderful sunset views over an excellent beach, the newer Alila Seminyak (alila-seminyak) pulls out all the stops for families with free stays for a child under 12 staying with parents and even spa treatments — massage, manicures, and pedicures — for mini customers. Parents will be delighted to learn it is close to the hip and happening Potato Head beach club.

And the Play Alila kids' club is open 7am to 9pm, very generous hours compared to many other properties on the island. Seminyak has serious problems with traffic at times, especially approaching sunset.

Just north CANGGU presents a more hair-pulling challenge. The newly launched Regent Bali Canggu (www.ihg.com/regent/bali) and adjacent Holiday Inn Resort Bali Canggu (holidayinnresorts/bali) offer an arsenal of kiddy fun with indoor and outdoor activities but need to be viewed as mini-destinations as it is harder to get about Bali from this location. Both are beautifully presented. In fact, this Holiday Inn is a very upscale iteration of what is often considered a ho-hum vanilla brand.

In the relaxed residential village of SANUR on the sunrise coast along the southeast, find the new Andaz Bali (andaz-bali) that screams sustainability and low carbon footprint. In fact, families can enjoy the on-site Sea Turtle Village Conservation area for an upclose peek. Despite the luxe vibe this is a surprisingly child-friendly resort with kids scampering everywhere and hovering about their towel-draped dads, all peering intently at their laptops and phones. There is a generous sized children's pool and a long lap pool by the sea. Kids can enjoy a 'Kakao Friends in Bali' experience with in-room tent and juicy chicken burgers. The Kemu Mai kids' club is open daily 9am to 6pm daily for kids 4 to 12.

Guests get a complimentary two hour access daily. Kids can ponder gardening, kite making, fish feeding, Zumba dance, art, painting, tie-dye, and Balinese dance classes. Andaz Bali is a luxe kid-friendly resort that doesn't cramp the style of its 'little people'.

Neighbouring Hyatt Regency Bali (hyatt-regency-bali) doubles as the unofficial botanical garden with acres of eye-popping tropical foliage set in vast child-friendly water features. Both Andaz and Hyatt are on friendly Sanur beach with its fishing boats, catamarans, seaside cafes, and biking trail. This is a safe clean beach with a friendly vibe. Camp Hyatt is ideal for children 4 to 12 years old. There is an hourly fee with a host of activities from yoga to mini karaoke. Rooms at the new-look Hyatt Regency Bali may be tight for some but the outdoor experience is, well, an experience. With overlap between these two Hyatt properties, from spa to dining and other facilities, this could be an exciting option for many families.

Far to the east in MANGGIS, cliffside Amankila (www.aman.com/amankila) offers a spoiling luxury unwind for families with three glorious tiered pools looking onto the bay and a lower beachside pool fronting the salt and pepper sands. It is a quieter immersive feel here. Be warned there are endless steps to negotiate as you descend from your villa to the pools and down to the beach. That said, kids will have a great time with a range of activities from village visits to cycling, fishing and surfing. Under-12s stay free and families get four hours of complimentary babysitting per day. Hurrah! Kids' menus are available and chefs are happy to customise meals to suit tastes. Far, but worth a look if you need a quieter escape.

Close by and along the beach, more cycling, village walks and tailored activities await at Alila Manggis (alila-manggis), which provides a relaxed child-friendly stay at a more affordable price point.

Hilly UBUD, the mad artists' bolthole, is not really within our beachside ambit but there are three resorts with an immersive nature and spiritual experience worth exploring along the Ayung River Valley, each with beautiful riverside facilities (with access to river rafting) and hands-on attention for children — Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan (www.fourseasons.com/sayan); rice-field setting Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve (mandapa-a-ritz-carlton-reserve) with kids' club, organic gardening, basket weaving and farm animal encounters; and The Royal Pita Maha (royalpitamaha-bali.com) with spacious unfussy pool villas, spa, stone carvings by the yard, children's pool, lazy river, and family-oriented staff. Expect free stays for kids under 12 here with classes for cooking, wood carving, painting, and wellness skills.

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Travelling with tots in Malaysia

Malaysia – and in particular the islands of Langkawi and Penang, and the coast of Sabah – have a number of child-friendly hotel options.

In laid back LANGKAWI kick back and relax on the beach and around the pool. For scavenger hunts, mini golf, swimming lessons, fishing and assorted craft head to the 35-acre Pelangi Beach Resort & Spa, Langkawi (www.pelangiresort.com) on Pantai Cenang (beach) just south of the airport. Here, the KiKi Klub hosts kids between four and 12 (toddlers under four are welcome with a parent’s supervision). There’s the usual playground and children’s pool, as well as baby chairs, drawing sheets and toys at restaurants. A unique child-friendly attraction here is the immersive and educative KiKi Farm, an onsite animal viewing and feeding area. Babysitting services are available and several languages are spoken including English and Mandarin Chinese. Rhge resort enjoys broad frontage along a good beach.

Just south, also explore the friendly hotel-style PARKROYAL Langkawi Resort (www.panpacific.com) on Pantai Tengah beach. Enjoy a huge beachfront swimming pool, Jungle Camp for the young and restless, an activity centre, and a kids' club with dedicated Kids' Concierges.

Heading up the east coast past the airport, the red-roof villa Berjaya Langkawi Resort (www.berjayahotel.com/langkawi) is large and well featured with a kids' club and an armload of activities but service here can be hit and miss, the beach area gets crowded, and the various levels may make it a tad tough carting infants about. As a plus, kids under 12 stay free. A better but pricier option is The Ritz-Carlton Langkawi (the-ritz-carlton-langkawi) Enjoy three swimming pools, unique bamboo fish trap design villas, and a Ritz Kids program for smaller guests. This is a surprisingly child-friendly hotel and juniors are well catered for with welcome packets, special menus, and activities. Be aware, the small beach has nice sandy areas as well as rocks. Immersive rainforest adventure itineraries can also be crafted for all ages.

The Datai Langkawi is surrounded by rainforest, and nature trails are a popular family draw to spot flora and fauna — think chattering monkeys, battling monitor lizards and haunting birdcalls/ photo: hotel

With fewer full-on frills for kids but loads of immersive experiences, nestled in the rainforest and presiding over a wonderful semi-private beach, is the villa and hotel-room The Datai Langkawi (). Monkeys and monitor lizards will be constant companions. Expect a child-friendly pool, gardening programmes, nature walks and simple beach fun on soft sand. Babysitters are available. This is a spot for an unplugged family getaway. Neighbouring kid-friendly The Andaman resort was gutted by a fire in 2021 and has not resumed operations.

Farther along the secluded north shore is The Danna Langkawi (www.thedanna.com) with a three-tier infinity swimming pool, the Danna Junior Club with supervised activities, fitness room and spa. A nice stretch of walk-in white sand runs along the fronting bay. There’s a library for those looking for a good book – and a billiard room for relaxed evenings. The staff is friendly. This is a medium-rise resort hotel with everything within walking range. No nuisance buggy rides here and lots of family fun for tired dads.

Along the far northeast shore spread out next to arcing white sands is the oddly Moorish Alhambra-mirroring Four Seasons Resort Langkawi (www.fourseasons.com/langkawi) with ground floor pavilions (villas) suited 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. Expect a well-featured Lutong Kids Club with supervised. Also consider cycling explorations, boating and private yoga. Kids get child-sized bathrobes, juice, and special menus. 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. Sitters speak English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.

Close by is the hotel-style breezy and compact Tanjung Rhu Resort (www.tanjungrhu.com.my) set on a broad spread of dazzling sand. This is an eco-friendly escape, and for juniors it offers a variety of water sports including kayaking, catamarans, windsurfing and sailing. There is a family pool and the shallow sea waters are ideal for wading in with toddlers and little ones.

Rounding up the Langkawi family-friendly hotel selection in our guide and situated close to Kuah Town (and ferry) is The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa (www.westinlangkawi.com), fairly secluded with a broad swathe of beach, huge children's pool, and the Westin Kids Club to introduce children to the local flora and fauna, local foods and photography (for a small fee).

On neighbouring PENANG the only beach to be on is at Batu Ferringhi in the secluded north and here the family-friendly champ is the Shangri-La Golden Sands, Penang (www.shangri-la.com/goldensandsresort). This is an old-fashioned arcing block surrounding the central pools and looking onto the beach. Find an action-packed Splash Zone with water slides, tipping bucket and more spray than you can handle;, an Adventure Zone for tots to adults with fast slides; and a Cool Zone Kids' Club (ages 5-12) with clowns, costumes, art and craft, and non-stop entertainment. For the family, this is mother load indeed, no matter the building dates back to 1980. Rooms have been smartened and a large family might consider an Adventure Suite.

Close by is stately Shangri-La Rasa Sayang, Penang (www.shangri-la.com/rasasayangresort) with a luxe vibe and quiet child-friendly appeal. No pounding adrenalin here but lots of warm attention along with a kids' club and pool, kids' menus, and access to the neighbouring Adventure Zone and Cool Zone for a more frantic workout. Parents will love CHI the Spa.

Rounding off our Penang child-friendly resorts is the playful PARKROYAL Penang Resort (www.panpacific.com/pr-penang.html) that has extensive facilities for kids, from colouring and leaf painting to pool games, movies, mask and t-shirt painting, stick puppets and more. Here, find its Zap Lab for activities, the Amazonia Kids' Club, and Amazonia Splash with a clutch of fun outdoor water slides. Parkroyal kids' areas are perhaps a tad more manageable than Golden Sands, which gets packed holiday times. This is a good family-friendly pick in Penang with smart 41sq m Deluxe Family Rooms in a hotel setting. But not forgetting that evergreen family beach escape, the Hard Rock Hotel Penang (hotel.hardrock.com/penang) where the action never ceases at the ROXITY Kids' Club, Tabu Teens Club, and the Li'l Rockers Infants Club. That's right, no age is left out. And then there's one of the largest free-form pools in Malaysia — with piped underwater music.

In KOTA KINABALU, Sabah, East Malaysia, the Shangri-La Rasa Ria, Kota Kinabalu (www.shangri-la.com) serves up a long sweep of fabulous beach and the South China Sea, surrounded by forests. Years back kids were thrilled to meet a close animal cousin, the orangutan, at the rehabilitation nature reserve set within the resort’s grounds and there was an active foster care for animals. That project concluded in 2016 and the orangutans were transfered back into the wild at Sepilok. Instead, find the Cool Zone Kids' Club that caters for those 4 to 12 years old 7am to 7pm with a children's pool on hand and supervised activities including batik, movies, story-telling, sea-shell collecting and more.

Accommodation is spacious and family suites — welcoming of light — come with bunk beds, open views and kid-friendly amenities. Some rooms offer garden access too.

Closer to town, sister property Shangri-La Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu (www.shangri-la.com/tanjungaruresort) is another family-friendly Sabah option and offers similar activities with a good size water play area with slides and children's pool with 'water-balloon launchers' for water battles. There is a small private beach though not on par with the sand at Rasa Ria.

Halfway between the two Shangri-Las around 30km from Kota Kinabalu, is the 26 hectare beachfronting Nexus Resort & Spa Karambunai (www.nexusresort.com), surrounded by manicured natural beauty. This child friendly Sabah resort has plenty to offer for youngsters of all ages and tastes. Looking to keep the kids busy? Look no further than the resident Nexie Kids Club, which offers an array of free activities for children between four and 11 years old, including origami and art lessons, storytelling and other fun games and creative lessons. Cycle, go fishing, kayak, scoot down water slides, or simply enjoy a safe beach.

For teens, the nearby Lagoon Park is a huge oasis of fun, with kayaking, jet skiing, sport fishing and ATV rides. A 75-acre nature park which surrounds the resort catering for hiking enthusiasts or families simply looking to get in touch with Mother Earth. Babysitting services are easily arranged.

There are some offbeat less frantic and very quiet nature choices. The hard to reach Borneo Rainforest Lodge (danumvalley.rainforestlodge.com) works better for teens who are comfortable with forest hikes, river rafting, patient bird-watching, wildlife spotting, and canopy walks. The Rainforest Lodge is a one-hour flight from Kota Kinabalu to Lahad Datu and then a jolting 2-3-hour drive into the Danum Valley rainforest. This is an authentic immersive jungle learning experience in East Kalimantan (Borneo) — albeit with comfortable accommodation — and not a fast long-weekend getawa (see more).

There is also the Sukau Rainforest Lodge (www.sukau.com), a rustic eco-friendly sustainable stay on the Kinabatangan River, which is surrounded by jungle adventure. Try river cruises to spot pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys and orangutans, do cave visits, and pick from several forest hikes. There are no airconditioners but fans do an ample job and yes there is running water harvested from rain. Sukau involves a flight to Sandakan and then, after overnighting, a 2-3-hour boat trip or drive.

Girl views aquarium at Atlantis Sanya, China. This is a quieter reflective spot before the huge Aquaventure Park swallows you whole with splash slides, shark tank, manta ray feeding, the Tornado Spin and more/ photo: hotel

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China – kids’ beds, Sanya, Haitang Bay

While several hotels in Hainan Island offer excellent child-friendly hardware, the best sand, service and facilities are to be found in Sanya (Yalong Bay) and a 25-minute drive up the east coast at Haitang Bay. Hotels have frequently changed names and rebranded so follow closely. The newer hotels are along Haitang Bay.

The 523-key Fairmont Sanya Haitang Bay (fairmont-sanya-haitang-bay.html) may confuse a few old timers as this was the former Kempinski (opened 2012) that later rebranded to Wanda Vista before re-emerging amidst the Fairmont fold in December 2020 after a huge redo. This is a sprawling mini-destination sort of establishment where good walking shoes will come in handy. Think of the normally conservative Fairmont as an adult Disneyland. Start with the serpentine river that weaves between the buildings with gondolas. It’s quite a sight at night with Venetian-inspired shows and entertainment. Add to this a huge green central lawn that runs all the way to the beachfront and three pools. It's a good sandy stretch along the coast. There is a big outdoor playground for kids and a supervised indoor zone as well.

Sheraton Sanya Haitang Bay Resort (sheraton-sanya-haitang-bay-resort) is a breezy contemporary curving structure with open views and a great many recreational options for youngsters. Expect a children's pool, an 800sq m indoor play area , beachside water sports and activities, vast swimming pools, tennis, and a kids' club with supervised experiences.

The InterContinental Sanya Haitang Bay Resort (www.ihg.com/sanya) is a contemporary conference-and-meetings high-rise with a curved ship-bridge façade fronting the sea. It is an excellent family choice with good children’s facilities and an engaging aquarium that wraps around its 'undersea' Aqua restaurant.

Planet Trekkers for kids offers 500sq m of diversions with over 50 supervised activites for various ages. Kids eat free at the hotel.

The muscle biggie for kids on this strip is the 1,314-room high-rise ship-sail Atlantis Sanya (www.atlantissanya.com) with its remarkabe Poseidon Underwater Suite, an underwater restaurant, the huge Aquaventure Park with splash slides, shark tank, manta ray feeding, the Tornado Spin and more.

The intrepid or insane can attempt an eight-storey sheer-drop slide that passes through a shark tank for that extra adrenalin. Families can play with dolphins, explore the Lost Chambers Aquarium, or let the kids enjoy some educational activities at the 'miniversity'. Atlantis Sanya is a full-on activity zone rather than a laid back beach resort.

The Grand Hyatt Sanya Haitang Bay Resort and Spa (grand-hyatt-sanya-haitang-bay) is a mouthful but come with with lush foliage, pleasant walks, and a 900sq m Camp Hyatt with climbing wall and a huge splash pool with slides and tipping bucket.

Also explore laid back uber luxe The Sanya EDITION (www.editionhotels.com/sanya) with its clean cream contemporary lines and some amazing stuff for kids — rock climbing, Kids' Karting Town (and track) for F1 wannabes, the Playland area with Kids' Club, Art Academy and a Lilliput Village, all scaled down for a true mini experience.

This is a good luxury child-friendly Sanya resort if price is not an issue. This is probably as upscale as you can get in China without losing that friendly family vibe.

The Shangri-La Sanya (shangrilasanya) serves up a 45-acre playground with 340 rooms and an arsenal of activities for all ages. The hotel has steaduily upgraded and added Golden Circle amenities and is a very child-friendly resort with a dedicated centrally-located Adventure Zone (expect the usual heart-racing slides) and a Kids' Water Park, two free-form pools, sandy playgrounds, trampolines, a bicycle trail, jogging, well stocked gym, volleyball and beach football.

Shangri-La's Mini Loo Hoo Club is a dedicated day care centre for under fives with padded play areas, a reading corner, and a mini carousel. The Loo Hoo Club for kids 5-12 offers full day activities with arts and craft, painting, and a vast array of water slides.

The Fun Zone caters for pre-teens with pool and electronic darts while the indoor Adventure Zone is a play area for kids over five years (there is a toddler zone), with rope ladders and net climbs in a padded environment. Children can enjoy lawn games, archery, foam parties, karting, magic classes, and a mini toy train ride.

An understated standout on Haitang Bay is the stylish and quietly family-friendly Sofitel Sanya Leeman Resort (sofitel.accor.com). It has 3,000sq m of recreation space including a 2,300sq m main swimming pool. Think, a kids' area with splash slides, the de rigueur giant bucket pouring gallons of water on unsuspecting dawdlers, a pirate ship, and lots of space for exercise. There is an indoor area too for toddlers and younger guests with table tennis and activities like archery while the more intrepid can sample horse riding on the beach. Paths along the long manicured greens resound with chill-out music or cool guitar strains in the morning hours emanating from tiny but powerful 'rock' speakers hidden in the foliage. And a long two-tier pool awaits by the beach.

The Sheraton Sanya Resort (sheraton-sanya-resort) at the traditional Hainan playground of YALONG BAY features a breezy and elegant teakwood lobby, very Balinese, with more swimming pools than you can wiggle your toes in and some attractive water features set along an excellent beach. This is the resort that put Sanya on the map with its host of Miss World contests that peaked inn 2004. Sheraton Sanya is a fun and laid-back — if old fashioned — hotel for kids with ample distractions like a kids' pool and mature grounds. A Kids' Club caters for children aged 3 to 12 on a complimentary basis. At the beach a wide range of water sports await. It has a friendly relaxed vibe.

The landscaped Sanya Marriott Yalong Bay Resort & Spa (www.marriott.com) has been designed to respect and showcase local traditions. This it does admirably. Dotted among the extensive gardens you’ll spot stone statues of fishermen and villagers. Hotel staff is attentive, and responsive.

The Sanya Marriott has extensive gardens to get some grass underfoot. The Kids' Club, freshly re-minted July 2023, comes with an outdoor Water Fun Zone. The space includes 12 zones by age with everything from slides and a ball pit to handicrafts, camping and educational activities. Paddle out on a kayak, windsurf, play volleyball, or cool down in one of the large freeform swimming pools.

The Ritz-Carlton Sanya Yalong Bay (www.ritzcarlton.com) brought an elegant look and wellness elevation to the strip when it opened in 2008. Expect broad views of the sea, rolling hills or mangroves from large balconies. The smallest one-bedroom villas start at 130sq m (three-bedroom villas go up to 350sq m). Ritz-Kids is packed with facilities for the younger set. Children can look forward to a waterslide, a children’s pool, a well-equipped play area and even a learn-while-you-travel vegetable garden. If Uncle Martin's Secret Garden is too organic or hot, there’s an air-conditioned theme club indoors too.

There are babysitters on call. A fun Kids’ Passport offers young guests a number of suggestions for exploration at the resort and children receive 'diploma" upon "finishing all missions".

At the higher end for those willing to give their wallets a serious pummelling in Yalong Bay is the plush St Regis Sanya (st-regis-sanya-yalong-bay) with a play-and-learn children's club, an excellent beach, several outdoor pools, a large alfresco play area laden with fun stuff, plus tennis and cycling (all arranged by butlers) is another luxury child-friendly Sanya escape.

At the other end of the strip, MGM Grand Sanya (www.mgmgrandsanya.com) is an unabashedly hip hotel catering for the young and restless with plenty of pool-party space, and chill-out music. Its Bubble Island Waterpark with slides, surfing simulator, and beach activities — and themed stuff like cosplay, art, model plane making and the jungle train ride — are always a hit with the kids. This is a family friendly hotel with an accent on nightlife for parents.

The Yalong Bay Mangrove Tree Resort (www.mangrovetreeresort.com) is a tad different with style accents borrowed from Bali and a stodgy website mostly in Chinese that barely works. It is best to explore and book through an online travel agent like Booking.com. Still, this is a fun and relaxed spot on the beach for families, serving up large water-themed activities like a wave pool and Lazy River at the Amazon Jungle Water Park, and a well-featured kids' club with a huge playground. There are movie screenings too. The pace is unhurried.

Across a small headland in SUNNY BAY is the secluded Park Hyatt Sanya Sunny Bay Resort (park-hyatt-sanya). The hotel is a series of brooding grey stone rectangles, a Temple of Doom meets Game of Thrones fantasy, and you will be forgiven for thinking the Mother of Dragons is about to swoop down on a fire-breathing beast. It is slick, modern, minimalist, playful, and connected by a timbered boardwalk that runs along the kids' pool (packed with grinning faces and inflatable toys) and past the long seafront pool adjoining a sanded pebble beach. There is a posh Camp Hyatt for children. The hotel is secluded, unusual, and upper floor rooms do not have balconies or windows that open.

And farther west in DADONGHAI (about 20 minutes from Yalong Bay) and closer to Sanya City is the Mandarin Oriental Sanya (www.mandarinoriental.com/sanya) with a creative Kids' Centre, family wellness menus (children's body massage), pool, beach, tennis and supervised activities. Staff here is high quality, families are coddled and the beach is private, but the sand is not as good as at other island locations. Yet, access to town opens up local dining options for the family.

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Fairytale visits, staycations in Hong Kong

East meets West HONG KONG cooks up an exciting adventure-packed experience for visiting families. And what better way to start than a visit Hong Kong’s very own Disneyland (hongkongdisneyland.com)? With now three vibrant fun hotels.

Both the classic Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel (www.hongkongdisneyland.com/hotels), Disney's Hollywood Hotel, and the newer Disney Explorers Lodge, offer their own blend of tinsel town with spacious and brightly decorated rooms and themed amenities to match. As for child-friendly entertainment… are you kidding? On your very doorstep are eight themed Disney worlds where children can meet their favourite Disney characters or challenge their fear of heights and darkness at the very same time on the infamous Hyperspace Mountain (a reimagined Space Mountain) where you shoot through a Star Wars battle. All this only 20 minutes away from Hong Kong’s International Airport.

If Mickey isn’t your thing, try the Hong Kong Gold Coast Hotel (www.sino-hotels.com), a five-star resort that pulls out all the stops for families. Apart from beach activities — the 500m Golden Beach runs right past the hotel — there's a Sharks and Pirates Adventure Zone, Mini Train Ride, ziplines, farms, a Ceramics Academy, Crazy Golf a waterpark and a Butterflies and Herbs Farm.

Not enough? Well, check out the Outdoor Kids Island, leap into a sandpit, try some archery or have the little ones step into the kids' club that also does enrollments for kids who might enjoy regular access. After a tiring day, families can retire to the Café Lagoon where child friendly buffets are served all day (as well as halal food for Muslim guests). All in this a very good Hong Kong child-friendly hotel bursting with activities.

Is it a wedding venue? A conferencing escape? A spa retreat? Or a weekend staycation hideaway for Hongkongers in search of birdsong and a lungful of cleanish air? Auberge Discovery Bay Hong Kong (www.aubergediscoverybay.com) at one end of Lantau's chic suburban sprawl of Discovery Bay appears to have combined all that allure and more. The family-friendly Auberge offers a relaxed weekend escape for harried city dwellers and visitors, just a 30-minute ferry ride from the Central piers, with a smorgasbord of calorie-burning activities, from the gym to hiking and cycling.

The Fullerton, Ocean Park Hotel Hong Kong (fullerton-ocean-park-hotel-hongkong), which occupies a curving oceanfront plot on Hong Kong Island's south, offers a sun-drenched pool and 425 light-filled rooms starting at 35sq m. A colourful Panda Party Room weighs in at 42sq m while the Mermaid Princess Room, of similar proportions, is packed with whimsy and marine motifs.

Kids may prefer the Hong Kong Safari Room or perhaps the Rainbow Unicorn Room while dads pitch for a 121sq m Pool Suite. Spa till you shine, dine, and turn the family loose at Ocean Park next door. The Little Explorers Club for ages 2 to 10 also offers a six-month 'journey of discovery' at HK$900 per child for local residents.

And right next to the Ocean Park thrills and connected by the MTR train service is the Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel (hong-kong-ocean-park-marriott-hotel) with theme rooms (of course) and a submarine themed Kids' Corner.

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Macau madness and neon tripping kids

MACAU, a hop and a skip from Hong Kong by ferry or road, is undergoing a wild renaissance as a cultural destination and family getaway. It’s not all casinos of course. Infant in tow? A short hop from the Macau Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal with its stream of turbojets from Hong Kong, the Artyzen Grand Lapa Macau (artyzen-grand-lapa-macau) is a relaxed de-stressing family-friendly hotel offering wonderful refuge in its 'Resort' wing accessed via a public colonnaded courtyard. Here, find a large free-form alfresco pool, excellent children's facilities, kids' play areas (indoors and outdoors), tennis courts, a spa, fitness room, and a signature Thai restaurant.

Kids Co manages younger guests aged 4 to 14 (with two hours complimentary per day) and is closed Mondays. Park in understated uncluttered mustard-and-navy rooms that come with breezy balconies and harbour views. The churches, heritage sights, and walks of old Macau are close at hand.

Artyzen's sister property the resorty Grand Coloane Resort (grand-coloane-resort), the former Westin, is set in a golf course on an outlying COLOANE island — now linked by fast highways — with access to the salt-and-pepper Hac Sa Beach. This is a bigger hotel, also with a kids' club, pools, and water play areas for children. The accent is on the outdoors.

Affordable and laid back is the old-world 28-room Pousada de Coloane Boutique Hotel (www.hotelpcoloane.com.mo). Things are homey, slow, and sleepy at this transformed 1930s manor. The place sports a more contemporary feel now with timber-floor patios, a great outdoor dining area and a modest pool. It is secluded and unhurried and this is its real charm. A small patch of pepper sand on Cheoc-van Beach is at hand for tiny tots. And it is as far away as you can get from the casino action.

For more glitz, video walls and thrills, the COTAI casino strip is surprisingly family-friendly but can get crowded and overwhelming. The vast gold Galaxy Macau complex has its alfresco Grand Resort Deck with a staggering 75,000sq m of rumpus space including a huge wave pool and the humungous Skytop Aquatic Adventure River Ride that runs 575m.

In Galaxy's collection of hotels, is the JW Marriott Hotel Macau (jw-marriott-hotel-macau), which offers one of the largest JW Kids Club in the world. It spreads over 800sq m and caters for children under 12 with a host of educational play-and-learn activities, art and video walls mixed in with ball pits, slides, and bouncy castles. Parents be aware this is a muscle conference hotel.

Studio City Macau (www.studiocity-macau.com) has its own vast water park and Disney touches while newer The Londoner Macao (www.londonermacao.com) brings a mini-Britain to the enclave with replicas, shows and much pomp and pageantry exemplified by the 'changing of the guards' spectacle at its Crystal Palace. City of Dreams Macau (www.cityofdreamsmacau.com) has its long running House of Dancing Water show as well as a host of much-loved movie characters. At The Venetian Macao (www.venetianmacao.com) families will enjoy the 'street' performances and gondolas while the 9,000sq ft Qube — Kid's Play Zone features a climbing apparatus, rainbow slides, and net zig-zag climbs. Interactive total immersion is available at the 5,000sq m teamlab Super Nature Macao with video walls over several levels creating a multi-sensory experience.

Set in its distinctive jewel box architecture and facing the seafront the MGM COTAI (mgm-cotai) is a vast, colourful, and engaging child-friendly hotel. Families will gawp as they step into the SPECTACLE lobby with its immense free-span grid-shell skylight and children flock to see the art, 3-D exhibits, and the signature painted lions. Zhang Yimou's stunning Macau 2049 show is an entertainment centrepiece at the hi-tech MGM Theater. Apres-show think Michelin-star food with kids' menus, baby changing rooms and stroller-free access to almost anywhere at this huge family resort.

Sister hotel, the 590-key MGM MACAU (mgm-macau) in the old city, sparkles with its art installations at the Grande Praça, the Portugal-inspired square that presents a clear focal point, directing excited kids to the POLY MGM MUSEUM with free entry to its beautifully displayed historic exhibits telling the Macau story. At every turn, in the lobby and outside, ponder bronze Dali sculptures and unique glass creations.

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Kid-friendly holidays in the Philippines

The Philippines is a hugely family friendly destination with caring, warm, help for youngsters. Smiles and guitars are aplenty.

In CEBU, Shangri-La Mactan (www.shangri-la.com) has always been a family favourite, a 20-minute drive from the airport. Expect a three-level Adventure Zone indoor playground for children aged four and up. There's also an E-Zone, with video arcades and table soccer and a Toddler's Zone for children under three.

Kids can enjoy the children’s pool and slides, and avail of daily complimentary activities like archery, paddling, craft, mini golf, kayaking and water volleyball. This is a pretty but artificially sanded beach as much of the Mactan coast is rocky.

At the 2022 launched Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort (sheraton-cebu-mactan-resort) expect football, kayaking, snorkelling, several swimming pools, a vegetable garden, pool tables for teens, and a kids' club. There is a private beach with lifeguard.

The 272-key Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu Resort (dusitthani-mactancebu) that boasts a 100m infinity pool is another well featured hotel bristling with family-friendly facilities. Kids can enjoy making and flying kites, all manner of art, water fun, and a 500sq m Fun Zone.

Plantation Bay Resort and Spa (www.plantationbay.com) has a huge salt-water pool. It cranks things up for teenagers with archery, mini golf, climbing, karaoke, and bikes – when you get sick of the four pools and the giant lagoon pedal-boats.

As with some older resorts this is not a high-rise city hotel plonked onto the sand and it is this that sets it breezily apart until one examines its many artificial constructs including its giant 'bird-bath' lagoon. This is not a natural organic beach resort by any stretch — everything is cement and paint — but it is pleasant, with nice spa, and friendly staff who are good with kids.

The Bluewater Maribago (bluewatermaribago.com.ph) is another child-friendly Cebu resort, with its Dolpo Kids Club where children are have daily supervised activities that may include fish and shark feeding, hula-hooping, sea shell hunts, and dance lessons. There are multiple pools at the resort and the beach offers a shallow gradient into the sea. This is another worn but tested old timer and popular with visiting Filipinos who appreciate the informal surrounds.

Young girls in their Sunday best confidently stroll down the beach at El Nido town surveying the limestone karsts that jut out of the sea, hoping to be spotted by young admirers. Just off this coast are some of the best white sand beaches in Asia, many accessible by banca for family picnics/ photo: Vijay Verghese

On the island of PALAWAN — where the white sand beaches are real — parents will find a host of stays that welcome families. A short flight from Manila, picturesque EL NIDO with its limestone karsts and emerald waters is as good a place to start with (see more).

The breezy and compact designer boutique hideaway The Funny Lion El Nido (www.thefunnylion.com/el-nido), set just away from the beach, is a safe and quiet spot for informal family stays. The hotel has a passion for sustainability and exudes a friendly tropical vibe. Expect activities for the kids and family from painting and games, to boat trips to the excellent Papaya Beach (with hammocks, massage, and volleyball), to pitching in at the regular beach cleanups. Babysitters can be arranged. The strongest suit here is the hotel staff, always switched on and welcoming. El Nido is a family-welcoming walking town. In Coron to the east is founding resort The Funny Lion Coron (www.thefunnylion.com/coron); and farther South is a newer 2025 escape at Puerto Princesa.

From El Nido Resorts (under AyalaLand Hospitality) are the stilted cottages of Miniloc El Nido(miniloc-el-nido), located in a picturesque bay with coral waters and backed by limestone cliffs a 45-minute boat ride from El Nido. Upgrading Miniloc is a rough-and-ready family resort in the lap of Mother Nature with access to spectacular snorkelling and boat trips. Sister retreat, the Lagen El Nido (ayalalandhospitality.com/lagen) is not far from here in a more solid setting with Filipino-style cottages around a sheltered cove with breakwater and a beachfront pool. Pangalusian El Nido (pangulasian-el-nido) is the upscale relative on a lovely private island with white sand beach. All three resorts are family friendly with a focus on outdoor activities.

A 20-minute drive south of El Nido is the beautiful white sand MAREMEGMEG BEACH where the firm family favourite is the Maremegmeg Beach Club (mbcelnido.com/). This cool beachfront party address packed with tanning bodies has chic villas running up the hillside and exudes a very child friendly vibe. Expect board games, kayaks and welcoming staff.

Halfway down the island of Palawan on the east coast is PUERTO PRINCESA. Here, the newly minted 2026 arrival is the Amorita Puerto Princesa (www.amoritaresort.com/puerto-princesa), a modern and minimalist designer boutique on a mangrove coast with thoughtful amenities for the family and outdoor spaces for kids. This is an excellent base for jungle and beach explorations along the Palawan coast, snorkelling and dives. The beach is not swimmable but the views are relaxing and kayaks are on hand to get to a neighbouring sandbar.

Amorita Puerto Princesa rooms are spacious with a refined aesthetic and the minimalism runs right through. A Junior Suite weighs in at 44sq m with French bay windows and a 67sq m Premier Suite has floor-to-ceiling glass streaming light into the room. And, in a small private balcony, is a tiled rectangular soaking tub looking brazenly onto the surrounding trees. There is plenty of space for a family stretch and larger units are on hand too.

The original luxe Amorita Resort (www.amoritaresort.com/amoritabohol) tucked away on Panglao Island and conveniently connected by bridge to the main Bohol Island and the airport (south of Cebu) has a similar family-friendly vibe with outstanding staff, an excellent beach, and loads of water activities.

Joined at the proverbial hip to Amorita Puerto Princesa is The Funny Lion Puerto Princesa (www.thefunnylion.com/puerto-princesa), which is part of the same family. It offers birdwatching, kayaking and lawn games but to get the focus off the pebble beach there's an alluring white sandbar a short boat-ride away. The 77 rooms are simple, neat, generous and welcoming of light, and lower floors open onto the sandy gardens, kind to toddlers. The Funny Lion Puerto Princesa rates high as a friendly family hotel vs other similar resorts and punches well above its class aided, in large part, by its cheerful on-the-ball staff. This is a wonderful staging point for family excurions into the bay and visits to white-sand islands or waterfalls.

South of the airport is the older, spacious and attractively manicured Princesa Garden Island Resort & Spa (www.princesagardenisland.com) that has a very Balinese feel to it like one of the Nusa Dua escapes. It has neat hotel accommodation as well as over-water stilted villas. A 15-minute drive from the airport, rooms here run from simple to grand (with four-poster beds and large balconies).

Expect breezy views, a no-swimming mangrove coastline, welcoming mature foliage and a 1,650sq m saline pool( split into various sections with a fun area for kids). Children will enjoy the Mini Water Park; and a Daycare Center is on hand to manage typhoon tykes. Expect lawn games, badminton, volleyball, mini golf, cycle rentals, kayaks and visits to neighbouring sandbars.

An hour-and-a-half north of the city is the Astoria Palawan (astoriapalawan.com) that opened in 2014. This is a large low-rise resort with colourful rooms, gym, several pools, conference facilities for 450 (seated), and a 4,000sq m waterpark for kids and family frolic. There is an entry charge for the water park.

Travellers will need to venture farther out to Sabang Beach (the starting point for the Underground River excursion) for an international branded stay at the low-rise Four Points by Sheraton Palawan Puerto Princesa (four-points-palawan-puerto-princesa) arrayed around a large pool overlooking pristine sandy shores. A two-hour drive from Puerto Princesa, Sabang is is picturesque but known for its strong currents. Four Points offers bright rooms with rollaway beds. Expect fitness facilities, a children's pool, and a Cubs Club for kids.

Marriott’s Four Points took over from the Sheridan Beach Resort in late 2023. This is a good hotel for immersive jungle adventures with the whole family.

On the cleaned up white sand party island of BORACAY you will find a great many family hotels at various price points. At the high end Shangri-La Boracay (www.shangri-la.com/boracay) serves up a smorgasbord of action for juniors. Its Adventure Zone comes with a drop slide and an activity corner. The Entertainment Centre offers video and arcade games along with table tennis, karaoke, and pool. The Eco Centre signs up kids to help with sustainability drives and provides information on flora and fauna. Accommodation is either hillside (Treetop) or lower (Poolside) in gardens with access to the main pool and the private beach.

Another large well featured hotel for families is the far north Movenpick Resort & Spa Boracay (movenpick.accor.com/boracay) with a huge pool by the white sand beach at Punta Bunga Cove, a kids' pool and the Little Birds Club with playroom, outdoor rumpus spaces and healthy bites. Young chefs might explore pizza-making. Most will be distracted by a host of watersports like sailing into the sunset, jet-ski rides and diving.

Golf and beach biggie Fairways & Bluewater Boracay (fairwaysandbluewater.com) tosses in horseriding on the beach along with watersports like banana boats, jet skis, and para-sailing (some of these might be at a location away from the hotel). And old staple, the rustic woody and laid back Fridays Boracay Resort (www.fridaysresorts.com) on a nice quiet far north section of fabled White Beach, offers family rooms, special menus for children, a pool and babysitting on request.

In MANILA the huge gaming complexes around Paranaque (Entertainment City) offer well featured family resorts. Solaire Resort Entertainment City (sec.solaireresort.com) was among the first to come up on the reclaimed acres along Manila Bay. It is viewed as a family-friendly getaway though its casino is not separated securely as at other gaming hotels.

Expect a green resorty indoor feel, smart rooms, good pool, a versatile theatre with excellent sound and quality shows, and designer brand shopping by the yard for parents from Bottega Veneta and Bulgari to Dior, Prada and Louis Vuitton. Younger sibling, Solaire Resort North (sn.solaireresort.com/) in Quezon City offers an impressive five-level kids’ area with bowling alley and an arsenal of activities to complement 10,000sq m of gaming space. The Kids' Club is charged at P750 for two hours. Babies waltz in free (with parents of course).

At City of Dreams Manila (www.cityofdreamsmanila.com), set within a shimmering gold stockade that houses the exclusive Nüwa, the Nobu and the Hyatt Regency, the secret child-friendly weapon is DreamPlay (dreamplay) on Level 2, a mini theme park featuring DreamWorks characters like Shrek and Kung Fu Panda. There are also cooking classes, rock wall climbs and 4D movies. The casino area is well segregated. Good informal family vibe here (see more).

At the Conrad Manila (www.hilton.com/conrad-manila) children under 12 stay free with parents and rooms are well designed; the newer Lanson Place Mall of Asia (lansonplace.com/mallofasia) offers a Kids' Corner 7am to 7pm daily with indoor activities, video games and movies; and the brutally large Okada Manila (okadamanila.com) has its indoor PLAY Kids' Club uniquely aimed at juniors from one year to 17. There is a quirky pants, socks, and long-sleeve shirts dress code. No idea why the fuss.

And north of the bay along Roxas Avenue is the family-friendly Hotel H2O (manilaoceanpark.com/hotel-h2o) kitted out as a 'marine-theme urban resort' with aquarium-style AQUA rooms to view fish doing their thing. Larger new family rooms can hold up to six adults. The hotel is right next to Manila Ocean Park.

Singapore fun family stopovers with kids — Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa is very child-friendly with vast play areas including Nestopia (pictured) with a long slide. The hotel is right on Siloso Beach/ photo: hotel

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Family stays in steamy stopover Singapore

Singapore has its own beach escape on Sentosa Island. Here, the evergreen 454-key Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa, Singapore (www.shangri-la.com) set right on Siloso Beach, is a very relaxed child-friendly choice with a fun ambience and a top spa, CHI. Expect a kids' club, children's pool, animal-themed water slides and a splash pad. Explore the Cool Zone with its arts and craft and Mini Toots Club supervised by lively staff. Or xend the tykes to Nestopia, a large outdoor play space with one of the longest slides aound. This is a well featured family fun pick.

The huge Resorts World Sentosa (www.rwsentosa.com) offers a clutch of upscale hotels with fast access to Universal Studios — meet the Minions, train your dragon, ride the G-force Accelerator or the fast looping Battlestar Galactica — and the Oceanarium. The townhouse Equarius Ocean Suites offers 11 amazing units with underwater views. Opt for the nature immersive Equarius TreeTop Lofts or pick artsy Hotel Michael. The Hard Rock Cafe closed March 2024 leaving room for fresh development.

The W Singapore — Sentosa Cove (w-singapore-sentosa-cove) is an active and bright family-friendly space with water slide and WET, the humungous free-form pool; and the colonial inspired Capella Singapore (capella-singapore) has cooking and art classes as well as children's menus.

But the real standout is the sprawling Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa (sofitel.accor.com), a 27-acre resort with wandering peacocks that conjures up visions of Bali. Think verdant foliage, impressive pool, water features and red-tiled roofs. Find family suites and all manner of engaging activities for kids. At Kwee Zeen kids under six dine free while the rest of the under-12s get a 50% discount. And that's not all. Children can enjoy specially prepared afternoon teas with savoury snacks and treats at LeBar.

To burn off the calories, there is a walkway that leads down to Tanjong Beach below. Small wonder this is one of the top all-round de-stressing Singapore family-friendly hotels on our review.

Adjoining fellow-Accor property that conveniently shares facilities and birdcalls with the Sofitel, is the 62 pool-villa Raffles Sentosa Singapore (www.raffles.com/sentosa) — a mix of heritage, modernism, and nature, with a giant 100-year-old ficus providing a focus for kids, its fronds laden with hoary tales.

Raffles Sentosa offers a meditative luxury escape for families seeking a handy handsome retreat. While there is no kids' club, staff are hugely attentive of younger guests and there is also none of the constant thundering noise of a junior wildebeest migration. This is a quiet green space with exquisite villas.

Instagrammer 'sky pool' favourite Marina Bay Sands (www.marinabaysands.com) can be fun for families and has rooms with bunk beds but is always heaving with people — there are 2,000 rooms here so the Biblical patience of Job is required for check-ins and check-outs.

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Vietnam child-friendy resorts by the sea

Vietnam’s inviting beaches and friendly locals are increasingly luring foreign families to its shores. There are options for all wallets but big names have muscled in big time, some very focused on younger guests.

In DANANG find a host of properties, with the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort (www.danang.intercontinental.com) perched on its own private sandy cove to the far north of the strip.

Find a well featured Planet Trekkers kid's club for under-12s (9am to 6pm) with lantern-making, tattoo painting and scavenger hunts. This is a self contained mini-destination a little way out of town with a nice sunrise beach and excellent pools.

Heading south along the endless stretch of beach, explore the more intimate and child-friendly TIA Wellness Resort (tiawellnessresort.com) with kids' club and entertainment space; gussied-up old-timer Furama Resort Danang (furamavietnam.com) with vast manicured grounds packed with beach activities, three pools, five play areas for children and mini zoo-farm; and the spreadout and modular Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa (hyatt-regency-danang) with lots of water action, a huge Camp Hyatt with four play zones, connecting rooms for families and The Little Farm for children to get up close with goats, rabbits and a herb garden.

An hour's drive towards Hue is the family-friendly enclave of LANG CO. Here Angsana Lang Co (www.angsana.com/lang-co) on a protected 3km stretch of beach is a standout. It offers all-inclusive family stays with bunk-bed suites, water fun and educative activities taking in heritage, food and culture.

The Banyan Tree Lang Co (www.banyantree.com/lang-co) is another upscale beachfront getaway immersing guests in nature. It is a great spot for kids (as well as romancing parents rediscovering their zing) with its Rangers' Kid Club, lazy canal boats, yoga, handicraft and cooking classes, and of course a fine spa (only for adults though, with the neighbouring Angsana spa offering child treatments). Kids will be fully occupied at the Rangers' Club (9am-5pm) sampling face painting, scavenger hunts, T-shirt painting, clay modelling, pizza classes, and origami. Situated a little away from both the old Vietnamese capital of Hue (heritage tours are possible), and Danang, an all-inclusive package makes sense though it is not a must.

A 20-minute drive south from Danang is the silk heritage town of HOI AN with a range of laid back resorts. The long-runningand very relaxed Palm Garden Beach Resort & Spa (www.palmgardenresort.com.vn), offers a nice beach — with water sports and life guard — and five hectares of manicured garden sprinkled with cottages.

There is a games room, babies and toddlers are well looked after and the breakfast buffet does not forget younger guests.

Also explore the elegant old-world Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort & Spa (victoria-hoi-an-beach-resort) with seafronting gardens and pool (with shallow end) and a kids' club with activities for all ages.

The rebranded and considerably upgraded La Siesta Hoi An Resort & Spa (lasiestaresorts.com) serves up several pools including one for children and a salt water pool, a kids' club with ball pit, family dining, cycling romps and decent family rooms. The riverside Anantara Hoi An (www.anantara.com/hoi-an) is the former Life Resort and offers several kid-friendly activities in manicured grounds with luxe rooms (some connected for families). While not on the beach it is walking distance to the old town heritage district, which is the main draw here.

The best upscale experience here is at the Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Hoi An (www.fourseasons.com/hoian) with the lively Chuon Chuon Kids Club (cooking classes, lantern-making, yoga, seashell art, racquet games), beach activities, and cultural explorations.

The Alma Resort Cam Ranh (www.alma-resort.com) is a nice pick halfway down the Vietnam coast with massive grounds, contemporary family rooms and villas, multiple pools, a light-filled kids' club, the long clean CAM RANH beach and a multitude of wet activities at the huge Splash waterpark with slides and a Lazy River.

A Discovery Camp introduces kids to nature and animals, a Youth Club caters to teens and the Alma Technology Experience Centre brings science to life with interactive axhibits. There is a spa too and plenty of space for exploration.

Another biggie is the 500-room Movenpick Resort Cam Ranh (movenpickresortcamranh.com) with beach, three-bedroom pool villas, Swiss themed experiences, a rope park, rock climbing wall, water slides, a children's waterpark, and Little Birds Club for kids (with a full day 595,000 Vietnamese dong (US$22) voucher).

In nearby NHA TRANG, the dive destination, find the luxe contemporary Mia Nha Trang (mianhatrang.com) with a kids' club and small stretch of sand-and-pebble beach, south of the main strip; the older family-friendly hotel-style Sunrise Nha Trang (sunrisenhatrang.com.vn) on the main strip separated from the beach by a small road; and, and high-rise the Sheraton Nha Trang Hotel & Spa (sheraton-nha-trang-hotel-and-spa) with kids' club, cooking classes, and family rooms with panoramic sea views, also split from the beach by a road.

A short cable-car or boat-ride away on its own island is the massive Vinpearl Resort Nha Trang (vinpearl-resort-nha-trang) with endless beach activities, a kids' club, and its VinWonders Theme Park with water slides and much splashing about, wave pool, and aquarium. This place can get crowded weekends. Unsurprisingly, the charming horse-drawn buggy arrival has been upgraded to a shuttle bus.

Farther south, a three-hour drive from Ho Chi Minh City are PHAN THIET and MUI NE with a friendly stretch of beach and several relaxed family escapes. The huge 984-key Centara Mirage Resort Mui Ne (www.centarahotelsresorts.com) is the group's second signature waterpark family hotel after Pattaya, this time with a nautical theme and Spanish villas. It arrived in july 2021.

In this area also look at the Indochine Anam Mui Ne (www.theanam.com/mui-ne) with kids' club; and the smart Anantara Mui Ne Resort (www.anantara.com/mui-ne) with kids' pool and children's club. A relaxed pick could be the very friendly and homey Sailing Club Mui Ne (www.sailingclubmuine.com) that lets families get on with it at their own pace. The Sailing Club has a kids' club and several watersports options for the beach as well as a kite-surfing school and cooking classes.

Babysitters are available at this upper mid-range resort popular with families for long-stay holidays. And yes there is a laundry room.

For a budget-friendly but comfortable beach pick there's the rebranded The Legend Coco Beach Resort (www.cocobeach.net) with simple facilities including kids' pool and campfire gatherings.

Just a short 15-minute drive south from Phan Thiet on KE GA beach is the wonderfully chic clean-line and intimate Azerai Ke Ga Bay (azerai-ke-ga-bay). In the shadow of a lighthouse (built by the French in 1899) with a fishing village at the far end of the bay,, the resort sits on a broad beach with family-size suites and a host of immersive cultural experiences that will stay a long while with the kids.

A short hop by air from HCMC is the wannabe-Phuket island of PHU QUOC with less crowded sand, a slower pace — though development has been fast — and a slew of younger beach hotels. Families might look at the 459-room InterContinental Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort (phuquoc.intercontinental.com) sited on Long Beach, a west coast strip 15-20 minutes from the airport. This is a vast multi-purpose high-rise megaresort with two swimming pools and a Harnn Heritage Spa and watersports galore.

At the 250sq m Planet Trekkers (ages 4-12) kids can enjoy yoga, kite flying, hat painting, candle making and botanical walks. The 'Kids can cook" programme focuses on young budding chefs.

The JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa (jw-marriott-phu-quoc) is quite a mouthful, though its playful colonial manor-home Bill Bensley design — with blue shell pool for kids and flashes of pink and turquoise interiors — will appeal to many. This is a 243-key hotel that serves up a few grand villas as well.

And at the Little Explorers' Club (9am - 7pm) workshops and arts and crafts await. The club is complimentary. The hotel scores well as a family friendly hotel in an engaging architectural creation with a nice beach.

The modular Regent Phu Quoc (phuquoc.regenthotels.com) arrived mid-2022 combining hotel blocks and airy suites with breezy villas by the beach. Think snorkelling, kayaking and windsurfing and a spa for a "heightened state of consciousness". Before you panic, let us assure you there are fine backrubs too. Activities at Regent Kids include 'sun salutation yoga,' aerobic dance, making stuffed animals, kite making and tending to herbs in the garden. There is a kids' playground with mini-theatre and maze and of course, babysitters can be arranged.

Last but not least for a bit of local Vietnamese chic and a very laid back rustic bungalow feel there's the popular Mango Bay with its own spa, beach (some rocks) and loads of activities for children. Kayak off into the blue, walk the forests or leave footprints in the sand.

This is a sustainable eco-resort with energy-efficient appliances and no air-conditioning. But the sea breezes and surrounding greens keep things cool.

Hot water comes via solar power. And there are no TVs or telephones in-room. This is a place to disconnect from the world and reconnect with the family. And the best thing about this sustainable escape is that it's just 15 minutes from the airport.

Upgraded and relaxing old-timer, Niva Kurumba Maldives is a great space for families with its excellent house reef for snorkelling and a well featured kids' club/ photo: hotel

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Maldives blue adventures with minors

Which kid doesn't love sharks? So listen up. HANIFARU BAY in the far north of the Maldives archipelago at Baa Atoll is home to whale sharks in gin-clear waters speckled with stunning white sand beaches. The area is better known though for its giant manta rays that come up to swim close to the surface as they glut on a buffet of plankton. Another good snorkelling site is Hurai Faru. Resorts within 10km-20km of Hanifaru Bay include Soneva Fushi, Four Seasons Resort Maldives At Landaa Giraavaru, the Standard, Huruvalhi, and Milaidhoo. One of the closest at around 8km away is the Dusit Thani.

That said, the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island (www.conradmaldives.com) in SOUTH ARI ATOLL — a 30 minute seaplane flight from the international airport — will keep the kids happy all day with eye-popping adventures. Dine at the undersea Ithaa restaurant or stay in an undersea residence. Swim with whale sharks, get PADI diving lessons, sample the MAJAA Explorers Hub (3-11 years) with personalised babysitting and an outdoor splash park. A chic over-water spa takes care of tired parents. There is a teen club too with educational insights and games. Youngsters can try kids' yoga and some simple wellness menus.

A 40-minute seaplane flight away from Male in NOONU ATOLL is the wonderfully child-friendly Maldives resort, the thoughtfully planned Soneva Jani (soneva-jani). Expect an amazing kids' club — the two-storey multi-personality playground, The Den, with huge water slides — an observatory, access to a turtle rehabilitation centre, movie screenings, and unlimited ice-cream and chocolate!

The Standard Maldives (the-standard-maldives) in RAA ATOLL, is now under the Hyatt umbrella. A 35-minute seaplane flight from Male, this 115-key escape a is hip and happening place for the younger set. Still, your toddlers will not be forgotten amidst the pool parties and beer. Check out the Lil' Shark Kids Club (with trampoline, paddle pool, sanded play park and slides for those 4-12 years old), spot children's menus at restaurants, and hire babysitters (US$35 per hour) to escape for a romantic dinner.

A Maldives luxury resort it may well be but the award-winning Cheval Blanc Randheli (by Louis Vuitton, www.chevalblanc.com) is as child-friendly a resort as they come, with a special 'Le Carrousel for kids including not too fierce splash slides, a surfer pool, treasure hunts, yoga, and plenty of shade to save your brood from that unique lobster-red Maldivian burn. It is a 45-minute seaplane flight from Male to RANDHELI.

The Ritz-Carlton, Maldives, Fari Islands (ritz-carlton-maldives-fari-islands) arrived 2021 with 100 keys and all accommodation in overwater villas or on the beach. The resort is strung out over two connected islands with semi-private beaches and and an over-water section at one end. Expect an over-water spa, seven restaurants and a futuristic Ritz Kids Club with everything from video games to outdoor slides and pool. This Maldives luxury resort for romantics and families is a 45-minute ride by speedboat from Velana International Airport (on Hulhule Island close to Male) or a 10-minute hop by seaplane.

A 15-minute boat ride from Velana International Airport in the KAAFU ATOLL is an integrated resort destination, Crossroads Maldives (crossroadsmaldives.com), that combines three resorts — SO Maldives, Hard Rock Hotel Maldives, and the Saii Lagoon Maldives.

It offers a host of educational and adrenalin-charged experiences including the Marine Discovery Centre and a Junior Beach Club and Camp. Developed by Thailand's Singha Estate and S Hotels & Resorts, the place offers a connected experience with nine islands and four pools catering for various tastes and pockets.

At The St Regis Vommuli Resort (the-st-regis-maldives-vommuli-resort) find a surprisingly family savvy designer resort with a well featured Children's Club; Socialite (what else?) for older kids above 16 years, to enjoy table tennis foosball and pool; and a host of recreational facilities. This luxury experience is defined by its St Regis butlers who will scurry about effortlessly to make you comfortable — and they are especially good with young ones. Seaplane flights to DHAALU ATOLL from Male (daylight only) take 45 minutes.

Closer to the airport, in NORTH MALE ATOLL look at the2025 arrival, the Centara Mirage Lagoon Maldives (www.centarahotelsresorts.com), a child-friendly romp for family vacationers. This 145-key getaway offers much stretch space with outdoor bathtubs, jacuzzis or pools. Expect a kids' spa, a kids' club, a waterpark with Lazy River and slides.

Parents will make a beeline for the spoiling SPA Cenvaree. There are half and full board meal plans and a range of activities for adults as well as children.

A pioneering resort with easy access, the family-friendly new-look Niva Kurumba Maldives (www.nivakurumba.com) re-emerged in 2026 a classic resort with a revived feel. It is also within boating range of a number of other North Male' Atoll islands. With top notch restaurants, a traditional Maldivian spa, and an excellent Kids' Club, this is one to watch as a more affordable luxe experience. Best of all its encircling house reef offers accessible snorkelling with clear waters amidst bannerfish, parrotfish, moray eels, white tip reef sharks, turtles and eagle rays.

Also in North Male', the small Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru (www.banyantree.com/vabbinfaru), 15 minutes by speedboat from the airport, is informal with trendy public areas and a nice blue lagoon. Banyan Tree has a Marine Lab that focuses on conservation and guests are invited to participate. Families can explore night fishing, diving for kids (8 years and up), and cooking classes.

Part of the Banyan group, the neighbouring Dhawa Ihuru (www.dhawa.com/dhawa-ihuru), formerly an Angsana, lounges just on the horizon.

This was one of the first devoutly eco-minded Maldives resorts and that philosophy remains a driving force. The place is laid back, unfussy, and welcoming.

This tiny island (it takes less than five minutes to walk around it) boasts a sugar-white beach with one of the best house reefs in the Maldives.

Snorkelling is right at your doorstep. Spot manta rays, hawksbill turtles and more amidst the well preserved encircling coral wall that drops away into the blue.

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In South Korea, just say Jeju

In South Korea’s southern Jeju Island (also known as Cheju), just over an hour's flight from the capital, child-friendly The Shilla Jeju (www.shilla.net/jeju) is a relaxing option. Expect 'glamping' in fancy tents, a wooden Tom Sawyer Kids' Cabin, the Gymboree Kids' Club, and the G.X. Room for physical activities.

There is a Play Zone with video games and outdoor is the manicured and soothing Soombi Garden. Among the outdoor pools spot the family pool and family cabanas. This is a pretty and elegant resort set on a cliff with great sea views. There is no hotel beach but a short stroll away is the Jungmun Saekdal Beach. Bear in mind that Jeju is a bit chilly even in summer and dipping into the sea may be ideal for most.

On the southern coast of the island is the long established often hard-to-reach-online and expensive Lotte Hotel Jeju (www.lottehoteljeju.com) just off Jungmun Beach. Expect a huge PlayTopia club for children, several recreational options, an outdoor spa, and a host of activities for families. Also find Hello Kitty rooms and a Teddy Bear Museum for when you tire of the duty-free shopping.

The well-featured cliff-edge family escape Hyatt Regency Jeju rebranded to The Shore Hotel Jeju late 2019 and was later reflagged as the Parnas Hotel Jeju (www.parnashoteljeju.com). With so many changes the new management is understandably in the process of upgrading facilities and services. This is a well featured hotel though lacking a beach. Expect an outdoor infinity pool, an indoor pool with temperature maintained through the year, a children's pool, a family lounge with an area for children's activities, family rooms, and nature trails.

For a major rumpus though it's hard to beat Jeju Shinwa World (www.shinhwaworld.com). The complex houses four hotels including a Marriott and a Somerset (serviced apartments). The centrepiece is the massive Shinwa Water Park (11am to 7pm), along with a large Theme Park and the Momo Zoo, with sheep, alpacas, rabbits, tiny pigs, foxes, reptiles and parakeets.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the best Asian child-friendly hotels for demanding kids and weary families. Take your pick.

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