A family holiday can fast become the most special time of the year – the week you reflect on in December and use to inspire your next trip. The best family-friendly hotels in Europe really do get it right, catering for parents and children in equal measure, and proving the travel scene’s evolution from the old days of primary-coloured plastic slides and queues for the breakfast buffet. It’s true that planning a holiday with children can feel daunting, and making choices for the masses is a big responsibility, but finding what works for you is the key to a successful stay. Whether it’s all-bells-and-whistles resorts with excursions for teens and five different restaurants on site, or family-run boutiques that welcome babies as if they’re one of their own, there’s a family-friendly hotel in Europe that promises a wonderful, memorable stay.

This edit is a curation of reviews by parents who know what it’s like to go abroad with children and teens, and can recognise what makes one of the best family-friendly hotels in Europe worthy of its title.

    • Hotel Porto Sani, Halkidiki, Greece
    • Best for: babies and toddlers.
    • I noticed it on day one: strangely mellow parents in pleasant trances. I arrived frazzled with my partner and two-year-old daughter, Romy, after a packed four-hour flight, but quickly began to understand. Every detail here has been designed to take the heat off baby and toddler parents. If the village-like tendrils of Sani Resort’s five hotels on Greece’s northwestern Aegean coast are the members of a family, then Porto Sani – renovated last year, sleek yet child-friendly – is the immaculate aunt who slips sweets from her Chanel bag. All the Sani resorts welcome children, but this one is well equipped with a splash pool, kids’ club and friendly staff who’ll play peekaboo with the baby. Each spacious room has its own sunbeds, so we lounged while my daughter napped.The dine-around programme meant that she feasted on nutritionist Annabel Karmel’s guilt-free kids’ menu (the beetroot brownies were a hit) before being tucked up with a babysitter while we enjoyed a Peruvian feast and a Pisco Sour at new restaurant Lima. The hotel provides buckets and spades on the beach and a white-noise machine in the cot. Then there’s the crèche (for children aged from four months to four years); baby consultant Carol Mae on hand with tips; and the Babewatch service, which provides 30 minutes of free childcare per day (cue glorious solo dips). Swimming lessons and family bike rides through the nature reserve distracted our baby, and the indoor pool and crèche brought entertainment and affection, especially on rainy days. We left feeling like we could have stayed for a month,
    Hotel Porto Zante, Zakynthos, Greece
  • Best for: large families
  • The promise of a villa that has all the bells and whistles of a family-friendly hotel is pretty irresistible. The space, yes, the privacy too, but also the bed-making in your wake, the sweeping up of toys and trails of crumbs. So it’s surprising that this tucked-away spot on Zakynthos’s green east coast, with its nine houses on a hillside above an immaculate bay, remains so under the radar. This is not driftwood, sun-faded, rustic Greece. Rooms are decked out in Armani Casa and Bang & Olufsen, with Bulgari soaps and lotions (and special kids’ versions) in the bathrooms, while outside teak sunbeds shaded by zingy, canary-yellow umbrellas surround each pool (stocked with a menagerie of inflatables plus baby pool seats and armbands).It’s the kind of supremely well-thought-out place that means for once there isn’t more luggage than people travelling. Cots, stairgates, pushchairs, highchairs are already there. Down on the beach are buckets, spades, diggers and wheelbarrows, with pedalos, paddle boards and sea canoes on standby for the energetic. The kids’ club is filled with craft materials and table-football games, and offers treasure hunts, mini zumba classes and smoothie-and-dance parties. In the evening, the lovely Vasiliki Bekioti can babysit while you slip down paths lined with bougainvillea and giant geranium to Maya, the Asian restaurant with a terrace that juts out over the Ionian. But a restaurant that comes to you is much easier. Course after course can be set up at a white-linen-covered table under the pergola, the baby monitor still in range as you sip buttery Greek Chardonnay. Everything is seamless, in part because the owner is a perfectionist. Are the tempura oysters at Maya just-so crisp? Is the Roots Rakomelo, a honeyed digestive that tastes of Christmas, served at the ideal temperature? Is the sand on the beach swept in perpendicular lines? The answer here appears always to be yes. 
  • Domaine des Etangs Auberge Resorts Collection
    Hotel Domaine des Étangs Auberge, Massignac, France
  • Best for: countryside
  • It’s the sounds of birdsong that stay with you – the cacophony of morning starlings, kingfishers darting between bullrushes alongside damselflies; birds of prey gliding in air streams. Although much about Domaine des Etangs is very grown-up, from the sculptural pieces dotting every room, such as Olafur Eliasson’s Power Dower, to Dieter Appelt’s artworks, which can make them feel more museum-like than hotel-like, it is also firmly aimed at families. Children head to the playground where they swing high enough to spot deer roaming the park. Nearby, little fingers can pluck fresh tomatoes, mizuna, oxalis and green beans from the vegetable garden. The highlight for those of cycling age is tasting freedom, careering around the lakes, sandy paths and forest tracks, past hidden glades. Rainy days are spent exploring the children’s playroom in the attic.Opened as a luxury hotel 10 years ago, the hotel was taken over by Auberge Collection in 2023. The ultra-luxury hospitality group is well known for its extensive experience offerings, aimed at all ages, from dude ranching in Wyoming to whale watching in Newport. At Domaine des Etangs Auberge, days can be spent horseback riding on wooded trails or joining a photography workshop, an immersive three-hour session learning how to photograph nature effectively. Alongside face painting and tennis on the floating court, there is just a lot of hanging out or taking a dip in the pool. Farm to table Michelin-starred dining is exquisitely formed from the estate’s bounty, from fresh garden salads, tomato gazpacho and Rib of Beef from the nearby Monts Verts Farm. Rooms come with soft toys and a welcome ‘Broyer du Poitou’ biscuit. At the impeccably curated store, you can pick up Charentaise slippers, herb planting kits, princess and knight costumes, as happy keepsakes for happy memories long after you return home. 
  • Pool at Vila Vita Parc Resort Spa PortugalHotelVila Vita Parc Resort & Spa, Algarve, Portugal
  • Best for: babies and toddlers
  • Few resorts have as much on offer as Vila Vita Parc, which is one of the rare properties that cater to a large number of people, including families, but manages to feel peaceful and private. With an impressive 10 restaurants – including one with two Michelin stars – plus six bars, a golf course and a Sisley spa, there’s enough to keep you occupied for a fortnight. Guests can choose from ocean or garden-view rooms, one-bedroom or family-sized, and even rooftop suites. Exteriors are unmistakably Portuguese, with whitewashed walls and blue accents throughout, but what really stands out here is the amount of space available to guests.While the resort welcomes all visitors, it’s undoubtedly a family-friendly property, with a Kids’ Club, on-site playground and crèche available to look after babies from six months. There are six pools throughout the property and endless green space for young ones to enjoy. They share it with local birdlife, which lives on-site and makes for wonderful spotting opportunities for adults and kids alike. 

  • Restautant at Ikos Odisia GreeceHotel Ikos Odisia, Corfu, Greece
  • Best for: all-inclusive
  • Over the past few years, Ikos has rapidly established itself as the all-inclusive brand for stress-free luxury holidays in Europe. Its beginnings are in Greece, and this is its second location in Corfu (the first, Ikos Dassia, is located just around the bay). The same template is rolled out in each resort – yet it doesn’t feel repetitive. Repeat customers agree: there’s comfort in the familiarity here, and within a night you’ll see why weary parents, grandparents and burnt-out couples return to an Ikos time and time again.Forget what you think you know about all-inclusives. This is thoughtful, high-quality cuisine with menus crafted by Michelin-star chefs and world-class mixologists. There are six restaurants to choose from, dotted across the 60 acres, so mealtimes will never feel monotonous. If you’re dining a la carte, a thoughtful kids’ menu and flexible kitchen team add to the ease. Trendy cutlery and Stokke high chairs are also ready and waiting for young children. Push-along trikes are available for children to cruise around on, and the shallow sea is great for paddles and swims. That’s if you can drag your children from the water-spraying splash pool, ice cream carts, and kids’ clubs. Oval-shaped luxurious Stokke cots mean their beds are as comfy as yours. 
  • Refuge de la Traye
    Hotel Refuge de la Traye, Méribel, France
  • Best for: winter
  • In the winter, stylish ski-trippers retreat to the Refuge for a serene last hurrah before returning to real life. Come summer, the slew of bucolic walking trails transforms the spot into an outdoor playground for hikers. But at all times, there are those colossal mountain views, stretching out in a lung-filling, snow-dusted panorama above Les Allues. For those seeking an exclusive vibe, this is the place. With just a six-room capacity for 12 adults and four children, there’s not much more intimate a hotel can get. Families should book the largest Edelweiss suite, which is set over three levels with room for five guests and predictably idyllic views. All rooms have double doors opening onto a terrace from where to patter to the pool or hot tub – open the curtains in the morning and you’ll spot a dusting of tiny fox footprints on fresh snow.This is a great stay for older children with plenty of activities to keep them off their phones – archery, pottery classes, snowshoeing, tubing and sledging, zip lining and aerial ropes. You can take a jaunt around the hotel’s cheese farm, and kids will love saying hello to the farm’s friendly alpacas, Tom and Jupiter. You can even buy scarves made from their wool. In the evenings, leave the telly in your room and book into the cosy cinema room instead, which has bouncy bouclé sofas and blankets, impressive surround sound, Netflix and a selection of films to peruse. The team will bring popcorn and cocktails to get you started. 
  • Pool at Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco Italy
    Hotel Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco, Tuscany, Italy
  • Best for: countryside
  • This beautifully maintained 800-year-old estate is set within the UNESCO-listed Val d’Orcia Natural Park – a 5,000-acre, enticing space ideal for little legs to get utterly worn out in, toddling between the dreamy Cypress trees, ancient little church, sparkling infinity pool and even tumble-down castle up a hill. The recently refurbished Rosewood Explorers Kids’ Club offers quite possibly the most varied range of locally-inspired activities in the region, including pizza-, pasta- and biscuit-making, salt and dough art, harvesting in the kitchen garden, coffee-composting, flower-arranging, birdhouse building, Italian classes, painting, pottery, movie nights and even more (those younger than three must be accompanied by an adult, and babysitting can be arranged). It even has a sustainability-focused initiative to help educate ‘the next generation of earth’s stewards’ (to truly minimise parent guilt).Outside this child-zone, kids are made to feel equally welcome in the two excellent restaurants: the Osteria La Canonica trattoria and even the Michelin-star Ristorante Campo del Drago – children’s meals are served to order in both – as well as on the extensive Brunello di Montalcino wine-tasting tour (crayons, colouring pads and mini platters were placed at the table ready, and they loved running round the circular, £30k-fee ‘wine locker room’). Come winter, a small Christmas market pops up, along with Santa’s secret retreat and even an ice skating rink. Plus parents can pick to stay in one of the 11 villas, some with heated pools, for extra excitable-shriek-friendly space.
  • Rooftop at Almyra CyprusHotel Almyra, Paphos, Cyprus
  • Best for: babies and toddlers
  • Paphos city and its melee may be moments from Almyra, but you’ll be hard-pressed to drag yourself from the hotel’s family comforts. Every age group is catered for, from the five freshwater pools – including one for kids, heated and partially shaded by a beautiful olive tree, and one sleek adults’-only option, some distance away – to tennis and swimming lessons for the easily bored, and the mighty, multi-spaced kids’ club. Split into groups from four months to teens, it guarantees the most attention-grabbing activities – from rather impressive art projects to exploring the nearby harbour and castle. It comes armed with every piece of kit a young human could possibly need, including the space-saving Baby Go Lightly service (also on offer at Anassa, which is owned by the same family), enabling you to pre-order most paraphernalia ahead, from car seats to swim nappies.Parents can therefore shoot off stress-free to the adults’-only wellness spa for a spot of sage-smudging, meditation and massage. You actually want to spend time all together? Book an experience: maybe picking and pressing olive oil, or trekking to where Aphrodite met Adonis. The ultimate highlight here, however, is the food. From heavenly sushi and miso cod at cool Japanese-Mediterranean fusion spot Notios, to super-fresh fish and salads served with a serenade at beachside Cypriot restaurant Ouzeri, all dishes are wonderfully distant from nuggets. Somehow this reasonably priced family-owned hotel manages to be laidback enough for rambunctious crews, yet smart enough for grown-ups after a real escape. 

  • Hacienda Na Xamena
    Hotel Hacienda Na Xamena, Ibiza, Spain
  • Best for: babies and toddlers
  • I knew Hacienda Na Xamena in Ibiza welcomed families, but it’s the kind of hotel that doesn’t shout about it and, as such, I didn’t expect to find so much communal space designed with children and teens in mind. This is somewhere families will love if they favour spending time together over splitting up and dropping the children at a kid’s club for the week. Facilities feel like a natural addition to the property’s offering as opposed to being shouty and add-on, and there’s a real sense of togetherness about how the guests are spending their time. Increasingly, I find dedicated hotel kids’ clubs are celebrated but shut away, hidden and completely separate from the main pool. Haxienda Na Xamena, on the other hand, integrates multigenerational entertainment into the rest of the experience, and I love it.The family-run element of the hotel feels apparent in a way only a parent could recognise. The open-plan space, soft play section for tinies and pool table for teens is combined and inviting. It’s open 24hours and at any given point during my stay, there’s someone making the most of it. There’s a small pool suited to little legs and set in the shade, and an indoor pool, too if the heat gets too much, but most guests just congregate around the main one and no-one is made to feel unwelcome. This is an opportunity for families to come together in a way that’s wonderfully unstructured – exactly as a holiday should be. I’m travelling without my clan on this occasion, but I’m mentally making notes and plotting how and when we can return en masse.
  • Villa Kyano Zakynthos
    Hotel The Peligoni Club, Zakynthos
  • You’d have heard the whispers from well-heeled SW London families, the fact that a holiday with children can actually be fun and relaxing at The Peligoni Club. It’s because this place has everything you’d ever want for a multi-generational family trip – sprawling, souped-up villas where everyone can have their own rooms, with space to waft and throng around the pool, no set times for breakfast and dinner (you’ll want Villa Kyanos, a five-bedroomed linen-draped, driftwood-bedecked vision of muted, soothing tones with a view so mesmerising, it feels as if it floats above the water). Then there’s the actual club, wrapped in cypress and ancient olives with a laidback, easy-come-easy-go vibe that will see you and your gang realising this is the best break you’ve had in a long time, the little ones doing Nasa obstacle courses at the crèche and teens busily competing on the water and flirting on the pontoon, while you flop on a supersized sunlounger, toes tickling the turquoise Ionian as you peer over your paperback with a glass of the crispest Rosé de Léoube.It’s all so deliciously chilled, with sun-kissed staff catering to your every whim – but do head out to explore the famous shipwreck and eat in local tavernas such as La Storia in the port overlooking the sea, and the club’s sister restaurant, Mikro Nisi, a 15-minute salty-sea-in-the-hair boat ride away, which serves some of the freshest grilled octopus and prawns you’ll ever eat.
  • Cretan Malia Park
    Hotel Phāea Cretan Malia, Crete, Greece
  • Best for: teens .
  • A considered boho revamp has given this classic Crete hotel on the north-east shore of the island a second wind. Opened by the Sbokou family in the 1980s, with low-rise buildings set in tropical gardens of banana trees, palms and cacti, it is now drawing in a curious Euro crowd. On the private beach, Italian couples kick back and sunbathe, a bookish Parisian flicks through the latest Prix Goncourt-winning novel and a group of Germans order a round of Negronis. Little ones come out of the kids’ club giggling before splashing into the river-like swimming pool, racing for the pink-flamingo and crocodile inflatables. Teens hang out at The Place, with its hammock-strung outdoor cinema where parents are kindly invited not to come. The modernist spaces were cleverly designed more than three decades ago – despite having 204 rooms the property never feels overcrowded. Nature envelops it all: the many trees provide shade throughout the grounds and the grassy lawn makes everything smell cool and fresh even in the searing summer heat.When Agapi and Costantza Sbokou undertook the complete renovation in 2019, they focused on sustainability and the Cretan soul of the place. Designer Vana Pernari opted for knocked-back tonal textures for the interiors with lots of ceramics, wood and stone, plus nature-inspired jungle green and Aegean blue alongside works by urban artists Thanassis and Dimitris Kretsis. Make a beeline for the deluxe family bungalows – with their built-in bunks and separate bedrooms for the grown-ups, they get snapped up early. At Mouries restaurant, the large open kitchen with a huge fireplace hosts cooking lessons using vegetables from the garden during the day and becomes a farm-to-table taverna after sunset. It’s lovely to feast on local flavours under the starry sky listening to the sound of the lyre.
  • Image may contain Nature Outdoors Sea Water Shoreline Coast Bay and Aerial View
    Hotel Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel, Athens, Greece
  • Best for: large families
  • A heli’s hum signals the touchdown of guests arriving from some nearby islands (Mykonos and Spetses are the popular choices) and legions of bespoke LV suitcases and purring Ferraris tags hint at some of the hotel’s clientele. It may be one of smartest hotels in Greece, yet children are greeted with open arms and during holidays such as the popular May and October half term, it is a 50/ 50 mix between families and adults seeking a whipsmart urban resort four hours from London. Spacious bungalow offer family living with a plunge pool, kitchen and multiple rooms. Otherwise, clans can share a studio overlooking the olive-tree lined pool and yacht-studded bay. Egg baths, organic The Botanist and the Chemist toiletries and a cascade of sweet treats (from a white chocolate caryatid to cones of M & Ms) greet new arrivals, along with a drawing set, kids toys and (upon request) baby crib with kids shampoo & baby slippers. But for most, it is straight to the pool. At the time the adults only pool was closed, however usually the lively and more chilled swimmers are separated; from June the sea is a dream – reached by a sandy beach or steps.The breakfast buffet is expansive, with plenty of healthy choices such as quinoa salads alongside a make your own pistachio butter machine and homemade yogurts with fresh mango. The kids club is compact but very popular – here activities range from theatre mime workshop to ancient Greek storytelling. However, the extracurricular activities are where the hotel excels. After a daily tennis lesson at the immaculate clay courts my four-year-old would return to her poolside ice cream perch (watch the queue grow for churned choc chip as it opens shop at 11am) while my eldest Amelia partook in a comic book workshop, coming up with a brilliant two-page drawing under the watchful eye of a professional cartoonist. These are around £200 a head, as are other options, such from stargazing and Greek dance to pottery and hip-hop dance lessons. With more time we would’ve taken a day trip to Hydra, but with school looming the holiday concluded with a dinner of fresh mezze and salt cooked turbot at beachside taverna 37 and a strong resolve to return, though maybe for us, not by heli. 
    Hotel Amirandes, a Grecotel Resort to Live, Crete
  • At Amirandes, the soundtrack of children is never far away, making it a natural fit for those with small ones rather than couples seeking seclusion. The sheer range of activities, listed daily on the hotel’s app, aims to keep everybody happ. Equally, the sleek cabanas by the vast Olympic-sized pool, and sunbeds dotted along the wide-horizon coastline, are more than enough for sun seekers.Children under 12 can stay for free and can also eat for free at the buffets which is obviously a major boon. Strange, then, that the Kid’s Club was eerily empty every time we walked by. Perhaps because the range of activities taking place elsewhere is so stellar. In the space of one day you can expect: yoga, table tennis, beach volley, aqua gym, paddleboarding, football, a trampoline jump class, a family disco, and a family cartoon night on a huge outdoor cinema screen. There’s no need to book and all are listed daily on the hotel app. Other obvious draws include the main pool and the shallower children’s pools. For those travelling with a brood it’s about as straightforward as it gets – pools, buffets, clubs and entertainment all on tap. 
  • Outdoor pool at Sonnwies Dolomites
    Georg RoskehotelSonnwies, Bolzano, Italy
  • Best for: winter
  • You sense a unique vibe at Sonnwies, an exclusively family-only wellness, ski and farm hotel when you first arrive. Perhaps it’s down to the mutual understanding shared by all the adults-with-hangers-on here. It’s a place for parents who want to enjoy the finer things in life no matter how many boundary-pushing blow-ups their toddlers or teens may have in store, such as the slopes of UNESCO World Heritage Site the Dolomites, organic fine dining and drinking, and luxurious but eco-friendly design. Fortunately, the many creative activities on offer in the phenomenal Kids’ and Babies’ clubs are likely to stop oncoming tantrums in their tracks, from pony rides and alpaca-patting to finding breakfast eggs at the little farm and taking part in productions in the huge theatre.Access to a 900m-long slope and lift comes included, with private ski lessons easily arranged for those aged two-and-a-half and up. Besides the farm fare, wine, fruit and cheese rooms, the daily afternoon tea, cakes and soft-scoop ice cream on tap, Sonnwies’ very highest highlight is its five pools, including a shallow option with cinema screen, speedy, screamy slides and an indoor-outdoor heated pool from which steam dreamily wafts, ideally situated for swimmers to marvel at the snow-capped mountains nearby, or fire-pit come nightfall. 
  • Puente Romano Marbella
    Hotel Puente Romano Beach Resort, Marbella, Spain
  • Best for: teens
  • Wander out to the balcony around sunrise and beyond the bougainvillea and ceiba flowers rustling in the breeze you’ll hear the Mediterranean rolling in. Built like a traditional Andalucian village with whitewashed walls, sky-blue ceramic tiles and winding terracotta pathways, Puente Romano opened in the late 1970s just down the Golden Mile from its older sister The Marbella Club. And after a series of refurbishments and embellishments – including a Six Senses spa, Nobu outpost and turbo-charged tennis club where Marko Djokovic (Novak’s brother) is available for children’s coaching – it may even have the edge now. That’s not to mention La Casita Club, a villa renovated and relaunched in 2022 to cater for five to 12-year-olds, offering events run by experts Sharky and George, an immersive escape room, cinema, Spanish lessons, pool and rooftop yoga classes. It joins the mini club for under fives and teen lounge, where adolescents can learn to DJ at the nightclub, take a sushi masterclass with Nobu’s Executive Chef Eleni Manousou or choreograph their own TikTok. While most of the best hotels in Marbella shout about their seclusion, this hotel is firmly rooted as a local hub – there will be a gang of cocktail-sipping marbellís and weekending madrileño couples strolling on the silver-sand beach. It is a busy machine of a place veiled as a laidback hangout.Dawn beach yoga gives way to lazy breakfasts of mushroom omelettes, just-cut jamón and freshly squeezed orange juice at Bali-feel Sea Grill before a dip in one of the pools. The spa gets crazy booked up for its CBD-based treatments (in partnership with leading CBD brand Kloris), as do martial-arts sessions in the gym (the wellness and fitness programme is ever-changing). In the evening, as the sky swirls dusty pink, everyone gathers by the first-century Roman bridge at buzzy La Plaza. Punchy chilli-coconut Mojitos do the rounds; superstar Dani García’s team delivers wood-fired tapas, succulent steaks and now French dishes from his latest restaurant addition, Babette; and Nobu chef Eleni Manousou works magic with market-fresh produce in spinach and miso salads or spicy salmon maki. The sun-baked Costa del Sol sometimes gets short shrift, but for an all-singing, all-dancing, everything-at-your- fingertips break, this is about as reliable as it gets. 
  • Caserio del Mirador Jalon Spain
    Caserio del Mirador, Jalon, Spain
  • Best for: countryside
  • If you’re very lucky, once in your life you come across a hotel that is so special you want to keep it a closely guarded secret. Against a backdrop of the soaring Sierra Bernia mountains, overlooking the winemaking town of Xaló, lies this unpretentious country house, only an hour’s drive from the hubbub of Alicante. Totally off-grid, with 95% of its energy produced from solar panels, this is the antithesis of Spain’s sprawling resorts, where owners Sarah and Johnny welcome in you and your brood like long-lost friends. Caserio del Mirador does family holidays but on a slow, slow burn. Stylish and chic, yes, but totally unfussy. Wherever you are – chilling out under shady verandas as little ones pootle about in the sandpit, splish-splashing in the pool or slumped on a linen-draped ginormous daybed, Aperol Spritz to hand while your minis snooze – there’s acres of rugged wilderness rolling beneath you. Raid the honesty bar that is piled high with cold beers and ice cream as they help themselves to ride-ons, dolls’ prams and pool floats.There are just six apartments and a stand-alone casita, all varying in size, some with extra bedrooms for little ones, all with mini kitchenettes and private terraces that frame views of sun-dappled hills and waving palm fronds, each filled with age-appropriate toys and books. Forget screen time; they’ll be too busy cuddling the bunnies, fetching eggs from the chickens, feeding pigs Peppa and Daisy and riding Furia and Turrón, the Shetland ponies, or the real-life tractor that’s nestled under parched groves. Every morning, a breakfast hamper is delivered to your front door, the smell of just-baked croissants and sun-ripened fruit wafting through the window to the ambient trill of birdsong. There’s a daily kids’ tea (except Monday and Wednesdays) where even the fussiest of eaters will be tucking into just-caught calamari and Sarah’s famous Sunday paella, with hearty, locally-inspired home-cooked meals for the grown-ups once the sprogs hit the pillow. Laughter drifts through the warm Mediterranean breeze with a night sky bejewelled with a billion stars; this is the laid-back, free-range family holiday you’ve long been yearning for.

  • Lesante Cape Zakynthos villa in greece
    Christos DrazosLesante Cape, Zakynthos, Greece
  • Best for: large families
  • .A dream for families with little ones, Lesante Cape is where the space of a private villa and the perks of a hotel combine. Villas here spill down a 500-year-old hillside olive tree plantation (trees were moved, not cleared, to make room), and range from one to three bedrooms. All come with private pools, sea views, fully equipped kitchens, as well as the option to order from room service. Outside, there are three restaurants to choose from, all serving up authentic local fare – fruit is picked from the neighbour’s garden, fish comes straight from the fishing boats that morning – as well as a dedicated kids’ menu. The ‘farm to table’ cooking experience in the herb garden is a real treat, where children can pick at leaves and watch as the chefs rustle up plates of fresh salads and sea bass. Days are spent by one of three pools – the designated children’s pool has a shady olive-lined meadow to one side, perfect for crawling around and practice walking, while the neighboring pool bar can bring over club sandwiches and watermelon salad, as well as warmed milk. At 4 pm, families trundle back up from the pool, kids slung across shoulders, stopping for a ypovrechio (a sweet served in ice water) from the cobbled cafe on the way. 
  • Image may contain Architecture Building House Housing Villa Fence Hedge Plant Chair Furniture Hotel and Resort
    Cullinan Belek, Antalya, Turkey
  • Best for: babies and toddlers
  • . Cullinan Belek is quite the construction; it feels positively Herculean in its sheer clunk and chunk. The shiniest, glitziest lobby, all squeaky marble, will see you and your travel-weary brood bedazzled as you’re fetched champagne, hibiscus tea, chocolate-dipped strawberries, and homemade macarons. Yes, it’s a big-bananas, all-inclusive kind of place. Still, it cleverly manages to retain a sense of style and intimacy with your own duo of personal assistants (ask for Ayse and Deniz) who ensure your stay runs as smoothly as honey.Kids’ will go mad for the easy-breezy swim-up rooms, rolling from their beds onto a lilo in seconds. There’s so much to do here, and quite frankly, it’s impossible to get bored: 13 swimming pools, an aqua park with 13 slides, tennis and basketball courts, a bowling alley and an arcade, not to mention a 36-hole golf course. The sheer size and openness are an adventure without it being in the least bit hard to negotiate, which is important when you’re rocking around with snoozing babies in buggies. Days whirl by in a flurry but are best spent lying horizontal in a linen-draped cabana on the private beach as your butler fetches you one more bellini and the little ones gorge on unlimited ice cream and zonk out after a morning at the sprawling Upupa Kids Club with soft play, a pottery room, cinema and outdoor playground. Meanwhile, the 11 restaurants are sparkling and sophisticated – you’ll pay extra for the a la carte, but the Beef Grill Club and teppanyaki at Nori Asian are not to be missed. When you can make a break for it, book a soul-soothing Balinese massage in the spa. Prepared to be dragged away. 
  • Pine Cliffs Resort Portugal
    Pine Cliffs Resort, Algarve, Portugal
  • Best for: large families
  • Nestled along the cliffs on the Algarve’s southern coast is Pine Cliffs Resort, a tranquil retreat spread across 72-hectares of shady forest grounds with a chic and loyal family following. It’s peppered with elements of ease – like its close proximity to Faro airport and host of creative child-friendly activities – but forgoes any traditional ‘resort’ cliche. Forget buffet breakfast queues, pool lounger battles and overcrowded beaches, this is a place to go and actually feel relaxed.Guests can choose between the property’s traditional white-washed villas, which are surrounded by lush gardens and handpainted hidden fountains, and the modern self-catering apartments which sit in the heart of the action. There are eight swimming pools and 15 restaurants and bars to work your way around, so if seeing it all is your MO, this is the place to be. Babysitting services are available and cots, bottle warmers and baby baths are offered at check-in. The nine-hole cliff-top golf course and 1,100 metre Serenity Spa mean there’s something specifically for parents who want to do more than lounge in the sun while the children spend time at the Scott Dunn Explorer’s Kids Club – the largest of its kind in the Algarve. The beach is a steep elevator ride away (never feat, there’s a buggy stand en route) and the 7,000 square foot pirate playground ‘Porto Pirata’ offers a daily schedule of treasure hunts and animal activities. If that wasn’t enough, little ones can choose between cooking, mini golf, tennis, padel, watersports and a nature adventure park to get involved in.
  • Le Barn Rambouillet
    Le Barn, Rambouillet, France
  • Best for: countryside
  • It’s a spicy, pram-treacherous train ride for families from St Michel to Rambouillet (an easier car transfer is recommendable for the uneasy traveller), but glide out of Paris’ elegant Haussmann thickets some 45 minutes and you’ll reach the Parisian-approved rural bolthole, Le Barn. This bucolic idyll of freshly baked baguette and mist-strewn meadows manages to create the allure of a friend’s tastefully rustic, easy-going farmhouse… the more sticky mitts, the merrier.While this may strike as utterly un-Parisian, try the remarkably affable waiters and hotel team, who can take the temperature of any internally stressed parent and conjure solutions – in our case, an early in-room supper for grizzly tots. A cluster of renovated barns, Montana-style cabin-like structures (with adjoining family rooms) and an old watercolour mill are enveloped by the Rambouillet Forest and fields grazed by horses that roll on to meet the Chevreuse Valley. The scene could easily be sketched into a children’s storybook – pony rides through the oaks and pine (book these in advance), bike excursions (complimentary) and endless Gallic country plaisirs (petanque, pottery, fishing, boating – the list goes on). Families descend for breakfast in dishevelled conviction for wafer-thin crepes, thick toast lathered in orchard jams, and perfectly boiled eggs. Restaurant La Serre’s seasonal menus sit comfortingly close to French traditions (with a refreshing absence of global palate pleasers), while afternoon home-baked cakes and hot chocolate help break up the day for families, who typically scoff these by the lounge’s traditional ceramic stove or in a sun-drenched conservatory that spills onto a wisteria-topped terrace. Here, Le barn brings in children’s entertainment over weekends while parents collect themselves over a cocktail and al fresco supper. It’s the ultimate way to round off a trip to Paris – or ditch the city hotels entirely, tick off a few museums then bolt for Bonelles. You may even squeeze a few rounds of petanque in before dark. 

  • Hillside Beach Club
    Hillside Beach Club, Fethiye, Turkey
  • Best for: full boardOn a private cove, lapped by turquoise water and bookended by pine-forested cliffs, Hillside Beach Club is a completely dreamy hideaway designed with families in mind. Suites have adjoining rooms with shared terraces; there are three restaurants and four bars, three beaches (two adults-only), and two spas, and the whole spot is utterly sublime… but the stand-out is the innovative roster of workshops and events for children and adults, among them BFI screenings, drumming workshops, silk painting, jazz yoga, live music on the beach and on a floating stage, while three kids clubs offer ents as diverse as DJing sessions for tweens, piano lessons for primary schoolers, plus sailing, diving, ebiking and tennis.A great option for only children who can meet new friends easily. Fethiye and all its outdoorsy diversions (hiking, paragliding, diving, ruins) are nearby.
  • Eagles Resort Halkidiki
    Eagles Villas at Eagles Resort, Halkidiki, Greece
  • Best for: babies and toddlers
  • Wouldn’t it be lovely to read more than 10 minutes of your book on holiday, or cool off in the Aegean Sea with your partner, while your kids are having a ridiculous amount of fun without you? Located on the third peninsula of Halkidiki in mainland Greece, a manageable 90-minute transfer from the airport, family-owned Eagles Villas is the answer to frazzled parents’ prayers. It’s not just down to the private pools, shallow beach and thoughtful in-room extras (cute mini bath robes and bubbles for the huge standalone bath tubs) but also for the Scott Dunn Explorers Kids Club.You’ll know you’re onto a good thing from the moment you arrive – a canary-yellow rash vest, smart forest-green backpack, hat and water bottle for your children in the villa. Wander down the hill to the Explorers Club base and you’ll find a light-filled room full of every wooden toy imaginable, with cosy corners for babies aged 4 months and above, and other spaces for toddlers to teens (officially, children can be booked in up until the age of 12). Cue days crammed with fun – bug hunts in the gardens, messy play and painting, sandcastle building sessions on the beach and swimming pool joy, with joyful picture updates sent through on WhatsApp (if you wish). As for you? Well, the infinity pool is quite the spot to take in sweeping views across the sea. Or the beach, with its gentle waves, is a place where you could lose hours simply floating on your back, enjoying rare peace and quiet. After a few hours apart, you can reconvene at sunset for an evening meal virtually on the water at Armyra, one of the best fish restaurants in the region (get a lemon-doused grilled fish of the day to share). You’ll return home relaxed, and dare we say it, rested, knowing you’re onto a very good thing.
  • Best for winter A llama farm adventure playground kids club with an art studio and ball pit an indoor water slide a...
    Naturhotel Forsthofgut, Leogang, Austria
  • Best for: winter.
  • A llama farm, adventure playground, kids club with an art studio and ball pit, an indoor water slide, a kids pool open 24 hours for those early morning wake-ups and a children’s menu with all the trimmings (including the tastiest homemade chocolate cookies) all enjoyed with the grand backdrop of the beautiful Austrian Alps. There isn’t much this hotel doesn’t have to keep littles and larges entertained. We quickly realised when booking in our 6-month-old and selecting the ‘baby package’ that little Daisy was just as important as we adult guests. A cot, baby changing station, daily homemade porridge, baby monitor and pram are all provided to make packing lighter. There’s entertainment all the way to teens, including horse riding trails, a games room and paddle boarding on the hotel’s natural pool.Forsthofgut has been passed down through five generations since 1617, with quality family time spent in nature at its core. The hotel is centred around a beautiful infinity pool which stretches out into a natural plant-filled pond, which you’ve most likely seen splashed on your Instagram. There’s also a wooden sauna with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the mountains, a steamy 45-degree adults-only onsen pool and a fine dining Japanese restaurant all sitting at the centre of the resort. Older guests, whose main attire for the duration of the stay is a white fluffy robe and branded slippers, spend the day milling between the waldSpa and flopping on one of the day beds or cabanas that are dotted around the bright green lawn lined with huge budding hydrangeas. Check the kids into the Minded Kids Club and make the most of the wellness haven adults-only WaldSpa, a huge complex with multiple floors of treatment rooms, saunas, steam rooms, a swim-out infinity pool, quiet relaxation rooms filled with loungers, open fires and tea stations. On the top floor, there is no fabric, an all-nude policy for those who enjoy to bare it all in the sauna.Adventure, fresh air and alpine landscapes are best enjoyed up the local cable car, a short five-minute walk away. Once at the top, enjoy the slopes, a real hot spot for skiing in winter, mountain biking in dry season and sipping a spiked hot chocolate or local brew any season. 
  • Best for babies and toddlers An evergreen beachside hangout this familyfriendly hotel in Sicily was a labour of love...
    Enno KapitzaVerdura, Sicily, Italy
  • Best for: babies and toddlers.
  • An evergreen beachside hangout, this family-friendly hotel in Sicily was a labor of love for Rocco Forte and his sister Olga Polizzi when it opened more than a decade ago on the south-west coast. The huge estate between the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento and the fishing village of Sciacca remains as slick as ever. Its architecture, a pared-back, modernist affair, has stood the test of time, the whitewashed buildings sitting strong in the rugged landscape dotted with olive groves and fragrant citrus trees. There are 20 Hollywood Hills-style villas with private pools, and while they might look terribly grown-up, with earthy tones of terracotta and ochre and handcrafted ceramics, they come kitted out with night lights, safety plugs, baby baths and other crucial paraphernalia. The whole place is subtly but deftly geared towards the smaller members of the family.Fussy eaters won’t have anything to complain about, feasting on spaghetti al pomodoro on colourful, unsmashable plates at Liolà trattoria. Food miles are minimal – the fish at all four restaurants is fresh from the sea. Extra energy is burnt off in the sports clubs where professionals train in everything from football to windsurfing, on the tennis courts, dive-bombing into the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and cycling around the 230-hectare grounds, which are flat enough to navigate with a buggy. The kids’ club is full of singing-and-dancing Sicilian Mary Poppins organising fun and games. Toddlers can take naps in a cool sleep room while parents have theirs under the parasols on the sandy beach or on a treatment bed in the state-of-the-art spa. Smart, easy to get to and high-octane, this may be where Diane von Furstenberg, Leonardo DiCaprio and Bradley Cooper come to attend Google Camp, but it’s also a laidback refuge for those looking for some vitamin D-fueled downtime and to feel the sea breeze on the whole family’s skin.

  • Domes Aulūs Zante Greece
    GEORGE FAKAROSDomes Aulūs Zante, Zakynthos, Greece
  • Best for: all-inclusive
  • The most family-friendly of the Domes hotels, a collection which includes 13 locations across Greece and Portugal, Domes Aulūs Zante opened in a protected turtle sanctuary on the island’s longest beach in summer 2022. Understated, slow-paced, sustainability focussed, it’s another of the Med’s new school of all-inclusive hotels, set within 230 acres of white-sand pine forest and with earthy-toned roomy suites that sleep up to six.The interactive kids’ club, inspired by the child-led Montessori and Reggio Emilia educational methods and open to four to 12-year-olds, meets UK Ofsted standards and includes a beachside gazebo classroom and botanical eco garden where your ‘Turtle Scouts’ can learn how to support the local reptile’s habitat. The whole family can go along on eco-friendly recycling excursions and trips to botanical gardens, or to meet the farmers and fishermen who supply the resort’s restaurants. And those after an even-more-exclusive stay can opt for its ‘Cool Living’ section: its ‘hotel within a hotel’ that includes suites in a private area with dedicated concierge services. 
  • MarBella Elix Greece
    Heinz Troll / ‘The MarBella Collection’Elix, Mar-Bella Collection, Igoumenitsa, Greece
  • Best for: all-inclusive
  • You should choose to arrive at Elix by private boat transfer from Corfu. Even the surliest adolescent will be exhilarated by the Mediterranean breeze, the coves and caves and secluded beaches. Like a hidden Bond villain’s lair, the hotel, opened in 2021, emerges from the pine-covered hillside, with a funicular running down to the cream-coloured sands of Karavostasi beach. In another life, this was a favourite hangout of German campervanners. Today it’s one of the best beach hotels in Europe, home to inviting sunbeds and a slick beach restaurant and bar, Azure.Helping to cut down the list of what to pack when travelling with a baby, the hotel provides strollers and baby monitors, plus has a well-stocked shop and heated and shaded children’s pool. The hotel draws on its surroundings, with complimentary sailing tasters and snorkelling around underwater meadows, hiking, yoga and mountain biking on land. A London creative events company organises everything from star gazing to Greek mythology games for children come summer. Choose from nine family-room options, some with panoramic private pools or two storeys – all of them, like the rest of the hotel, comfortable but super smart; beachy but beautifully pared back.