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Luxury Family Holidays & Breaks

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Treats for all the family on a luxury holiday.

Not something we can all stretch to all of the time, a luxury family holiday is often a once-in-a-lifetime splurge – which makes it all the more important to consider your options carefully and choose wisely.

The past decade or so has witnessed a huge explosion in the number of luxury resorts and hotels purporting to cater to the lucrative family market, all around the globe. We’ve hand-picked those that go beyond paying lip service to the notion of child-friendliness and that do the job brilliantly, extending a genuine welcome to families.

Definitions of luxury vary widely, but at the top of the pile you might be able to surprise your kids with your own private stretch of beach or a villa on stilts over the ocean, and to enjoy the benefits of daily maid or even butler service. Many places offer the likes of in-room Playstations, separate kids’ pools or waterparks, playgrounds and movie-screening rooms.

Most luxury hotels and resorts also offer childcare provision so that parents can take advantage of adult offerings such as spas, top-notch sports facilities and swanky restaurants. The best establishments have officially accredited childcare with English-speaking staff.

Offers

Aphrodite Hills Holiday Residences, Cyprus

Superior Villa extras at Aphrodite Hills

Luxury villa resort in Cyprus

Imagine Roussillon, Languedoc-Roussillon

Save €300 per week at Imagine Roussillon

Special reduced rate for peak season

Atlantis The Palm, Jumeirah Beach, Dubai

Atlantis The Palm, Dubai: 5 nights from £4249 per family

Includes half board, deluxe room and flights

Recommended Partners

Luxury Family Hotels

Luxurious rural and coastal hotels ideal for young families

onefinestay

High-end and luxurious holiday homes with plenty homely comforts

Tips

Investigate whether a hotel really is family-friendly. Many advertise themselves as such while also catering to wedding parties and honeymooners, and if so you may feel awkward having kids with you. Or the décor may be so chi chi, you’ll be worried about causing damage. Read widely across review sites for other parents’ experiences.

Check childcare hours and age limits to ensure it’s adequate to your needs, and establish if it needs to be booked at the time of your trip, to avoid disappointment. Find out if there is evening baby-listening or babysitting. If you bring a baby monitor, don’t rely on a standard model – Bébétel, which works via mobiles and landlines, is a surefire option.

Doublecheck what’s available in-resort. You can normally travel light since most practicalities will be taken care of, but if specific products such as nappies or formula are needed, you need to bring or have them delivered by a company such as Bebebel.

Before booking a family room, consider whether you really are happy to share space for a week or two. Interconnecting rooms or a suite with some kind of partition tend to be more successful, or go for broke with a luxury in-resort villa allowing greater space and freedom.

If you’re hoping to eat alone in the evenings, or if the hotel restaurant looks too formal for your kids, find out about children’s eating arrangements such as high teas, early suppers or room service.