Little Luxuries: 5 Ritzy Resorts Tailored for Your Discerning Mini Travellers

(Ok, 6 But who's counting when it's this good?)

Modern life is full-on, isn’t it? You’re all living in the same house but rarely in the same moment. One of you, is in Doha on business, the other’s juggling school runs, football kits, Latin homework and the kind of emotional admin that doesn’t fit in a calendar.

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The rhythm is off. You feel it. Like in When the Rhythm Changes, when daily life stretches families into separate zones, mentally if not geographically.

That’s why holidays matter. Not for the Instagram shots or the sugar-rush itineraries, but for the rare chance to pause, re-sync and be truly present, together.

The plan, list 5 ritzy resorts for your mini travellers' summer. A neat, editorial five. But then Jumeirah tapped in. And honestly, who says no to a winter getaway with an abundance of sunshine and a kids' club that actually earns its name?

I’ve stayed at a few of these and I’d go back in a heartbeat. Here's where to press pause and do it properly.

Looking for family-friendly five-star hotels that actually treat kids like VIPs? Here are 6 luxury resorts where your little travellers are not just welcome, they’re wonderfully catered to.

1. The Lodge, Verbier – Switzerland

Luxury Alpine Chalet with Epic Kids' Activities & Bunk Beds for Six

For Michelin-fed mini adventurers and the world’s most charming duck hunt. We’ve stayed here and it’s everything you’d want from an alpine family escape. Laid-back with a big-hearted welcome.

Family-Friendly Snapshot:

✅ Accommodation: Bunk beds for six | Cosy alpine suites | Feels like home

✅ Activities (No Club Required): Pizza-making with the chef, duck hunts, 'Julie-wrestling' mountain hikes

✅ Dining: Feels like eating at a chef’s house but easy, unfussy and always shared.

✅ Vibe: Rustic-chic with a dash of Branson fun

Why Families Love It: The kids are entertained, the grown-ups unwind, and everyone shares the same mountain-high energy

Read an earlier review here

The Lodge is where ski chalets go to be reborn as alpine homes. Think: wood, warmth, floor-to-ceiling windows and bunk beds built for squeals.

Owned by Sir Richard Branson and run like one big happy family, the team here knows that happy kids = relaxed adults. There’s pizza-making in the kitchen with the chef. There’s a duck hunt (yes, really), Julie-wrestling (you’ll find out) and hide-and-seek that stretches across mountainside views and big timber halls. In summer, Verbier trades ski poles for hiking boots, mountain bikes and paraglider wings.

And the ease continues off the slopes — with a 24-hour driver service around Verbier, no shuttle-stress or ‘how are we getting there’ moments. Just hop in and go.

Meanwhile, you can enjoy long, unfussy meals with ingredients that taste like they came straight from the slope-side garden. And the best part? You’re all around the same table.

Oh, and that bunk room that sleeps six? Worth the trip alone. In both summer and winter.

2. InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula – Vietnam

Award-Winning Beach Resort with Jungle Adventures for Kids

For coastal jungle magic and the best spa-side childcare in Asia. We’ve stayed here and would go back in a heartbeat. It’s serene, surreal and surprisingly child-savvy.

Family-Friendly Snapshot:

✅ Accommodation: Sea-facing suites, connecting rooms, private balconies

✅ Kids’ Club: Planet Trekkers Club for lantern making, spa time, Vietnamese storytelling

✅ Dining: Breakfast in a ‘Non La’ at Citron they’ll actually get out of bed for and pizza at Barefoot they’ll talk about on the flight home.

✅ Vibe: Jungle and hideaway with cultural charm

Why Families Love It: The rare place that relaxes you while keeping kids endlessly entertained and all without screens

Read an earlier review here

Perched on Monkey Mountain and spilling down toward the South China Sea, this award-winning beauty manages to be both wow-worthy and wonderfully grounded.

Children get their own mini adventures. Basket boat fishing, monkey-spotting hikes and Vietnamese campfire stories at Planet Trekkers Club. There's even spa time for them. (30-minute massages for kids? Yes, please).

Meanwhile, you're a few barefoot steps away at the L_O_N_G Bar or melting into a beachside stone tub with the sound of waves and your sanity slowly returning.

At InterContinental Da Nang Sun Peninsula, every suite is a Bill Bensley statement. Part lair, part art gallery, part sanctuary. It’s a scene and yes, it's absolutely family friendly.

3. Round Hill Hotel & Villas – Jamaica

Classic Caribbean Charm with a Creative Kids’ Club

For barefoot elegance and generational memory-making. We haven’t stayed here (yet!) but it comes highly recommended from trusted parents who return again and again.

Family-Friendly Snapshot:

✅ Accommodation: Heritage-style villas with private pools and plenty of space

✅ Kids’ Club: Thoughtful activities rooted in Jamaican culture (no plastic in sight)

✅ Dining: Organic produce, menus that flex without fuss and servers who remember your favourite milk shake.

✅ Vibe: Timeless Caribbean grace that wraps around the whole family

Why Families Love It: Understated, sunny sophistication; the kind that quietly makes memories for life

Read the write up here

This is the kind of place your kids will talk about at their wedding. Round Hill Hotel & Villas feels like a heritage estate where the staff know your name, your breakfast order and probably your favourite beach chair.

There's a kids club with personality (not plastic), beautifully maintained villas with space to exhale and the kind of Jamaican hospitality that wraps around you like a warm towel fresh from the dryer.

The vibe? Old-school grace bridging with barefoot ease. Go once and you’ll understand why families return year after year.

4. Chewton Glen Hotel & Spa – Hampshire, UK

Extravagant Treehouse Stays & Forest Trails by the Sea

For seaside slow living with a dash of London escape. We’ve stayed here and it’s a storybook setting. The treehouses alone make it unforgettable.

Family-Friendly Snapshot:

✅ Accommodation: Treehouse suites with hot tubs, coffee machines & canopy views

✅ Kids’ Club: It s called The Beehive, their tree house styled kids club for forest play, croquet and trails to the sea.

✅ Dining: The Kitchen is your go-to. Relaxed, family-friendly and run by people who genuinely get it (yes, they’ll split the dish and still smile).

✅ Vibe: Country estate meets adventurous family getaway

Why Families Love It: No flights required, just a fast-track to family reconnection

Not just a hotel, Chewton Glen plays a starring role in this serial.

Not every five-star family trip needs a boarding pass. At Chewton Glen, luxury climbs into the trees. Literally. Treehouse suites sit in the canopy with hot tubs, coffee machines and forest views made for both birdwatching and bedtime stories. In the treehouses, they'll accommodate the family dog too.

It’s part country estate, part high-end adventure camp. There are trails to the sea, croquet on the lawn and a junior tennis kids’ programme. Here, it's more Enid Blyton than iPad time but watch as they come away with smiles. And the staff? That quiet, quintessential English warmth you don’t forget.

Fancy an hour or two sans the 'mini-ones?' Sure you do. The spa will happily make you forget what time zones even are.

5. Ritz-Carlton Penha Longa – Sintra, Portugal

Monastery Magic to Lakeside Family Adventures

For your forest explorers and a monastery-meets-playground vibe. We’ve stayed here and the setting is refreshing. Forest air, horseback rides and its own lake. Magic.

Family-Friendly Snapshot:

✅ Accommodation: Family suites with a private garden appeal.

✅ Kids’ Club: Creative arts, popcorn & movie nights, nature trails, horse riding

✅ Dining: Mercatto is the restaurant to book. Unfussy Italian favourites with just enough polish to hit the family-friendly sweet spot after a long castle-stomping day.

✅ Vibe: Nature rich setting with a Portuguese heart

Why Families Love It: Parents get spa time, kids get castles. Win-win.

Read a review here

There’s something quietly majestic about Penha Longa. Maybe it’s the centuries-old monastery on the grounds. Maybe it’s the scent of eucalyptus in the forest air.

Your Ritz-kids will spend the day building castles in the forest while you visit one down the road in Sintra. They'll stay entertained (painting, walking, swimming, popcorn and movies, Wii games, cooking, the list is endless). They'll especially enjoy a few sessions of horse riding at the nearby professional equestrian centre. There’s golf too and for the entire family. A spa that deserves its own fan club and restaurants that gently elevate kid-friendly food into something everyone wants to steal off each other’s plate.

6. Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab – Dubai

Arabian views, family-size suites and a kids’ club with actual swagger

For skyline views, family-size suites and a kids’ club with actual swagger. We haven’t visited yet, but it’s high on our list. Everything we’ve read suggests they’re rewriting the rules on family luxury in Dubai.

Family-Friendly Snapshot:

✅ Accommodation: Oversized suites with ocean views and intuitive family layouts

✅ Kids’ Club: Jumeirah Circle inspiring indoor-outdoor play, creative cultural crafts, chill-out corners

✅ Dining: There's Madame Li and Mirabelle family-friendly restaurants + access to some 30 more.

✅ Bonus Perks: Wild Wadi Waterpark entry, beach access, spa & wellness facilities

Why Families Love It: Luxe with a heartbeat. Proof that family travel can still be fabulously grown-up

You know those rare places that remember grown-ups still travel with kids? Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab is that and then some.

With skyline views, yacht-club cool and a kids’ club that looks like it was styled by an architect not a soft-play planner. They'll be asking to return before they've left. This is Dubai reimagined. Suites are ocean-facing and generously sized. Dining is a culinary tour before you’ve even left the property and the beach feels like it belongs to you.

The real perk? Everything flows. From a family yacht cruise, to Wild Wadi thrills to spa downtime. From morning lattes to sunset strolls. Everyone gets their rhythm back.

Bonus Picks for your Ritzy Resorts Mini Travellers (because I couldn’t stop at 5 or even 6)

📍 St. Regis Saadiyat Island – Abu Dhabi (Gorgeous, but avoid in peak summer heat)📍 A Royal Caribbean Cruise – Wonder of the Seas (Floating theme park, no overstimulation required)📍The Gallivant – East Sussex A coastal boutique gem with yoga, wine and a wild-child-friendly vibe.

Is a villa for the family and extended family more you?📍Browse Here* (Design-forward stays, curated for taste not just price)📍 Or perhaps your family loves it on the water* (Family cruising done stylishly and sanely)

Luxury Family Resort Quick-Compare Table

This, for parents wanting exquisite trips that are genuinely family centred not just adult resorts with a token kids’ menu. Pro tip: If the vibe fits your family rhythm, the rest flows easily.

The Truth is...

...our mini travellers don’t need zip lines and kids clubs 24/7. They need time with you, just not in the stress version of our day-to-day.

Choose places that take the edges off. Places that know how to care for children and you the parents. Places with soul, space and just the right amount of salt air or mountain mist.

These? They’ve done that for me. If you'd like help planning your own 'Little Luxuries' escape, the kind the kids will still talk about at their graduation? Then get in touch. Or drop a comment below. Let's get you a getaway that's in rhythm with all of you.

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