Child friendly resorts in Asia

Angsana Laguna Phuket 4,263 THB

Angsana Laguna Phuket is part of the integrated Laguna Phuket resort complex, which has a reputation for its family-oriented atmosphere. In addition to family friendly rooms, Angsana takes the usual children’s facilities a step further with the Tree House Kid's Club.

There are activities in and around the resort including indigenous crafts, cooking classes, and exploring. Resident baby elephants Lucky and Lilly take strolls on the beach with thrilling photo and banana feeding opportunities. Elephants aside, swimming and building sandcastles on the beach never lose their appeal. One child dines free at lunch and dinner with every adult. Remember to ask for the children’s menu.

Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket 2,371 THB

Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket is another of the five hotels making up the Laguna development, are treated to a complimentary birthday party. Children under four eat and drink for free when ordering from the kiddy menu and, when not scoffing miniature meals, little ones are kept happily occupied at the Kids’ Club.

Older children can head to Camp Laguna. Babysitting costs from Bt150 per child per hour.

Holiday Inn Resort Phuket Mai Khao Beach 2,269 THB

Holiday Inn Resort Phuket Mai Khao Beach farther north is a smart family-friendly option with gardens and a fabulous stretch of beach. Its TeenZone runs from 8am till 11pm with console gaming, table tennis and more, while the Kids Club has supervised educational activities for children aged five to 12. Tots four and under require adult supervision, which can be arranged via babysitting services.

Conrad Bali Resort & Spa 1,800,788 IDR
the resort will provide baby robes, baby oil, powder, nappies and soap, as well as a baby bath and potty. Two of the in-house restaurants have kids’ menus (and so does room service).

The Kura Kura Club (for children from age three) starts the day’s activities at the Kids’ Pavilion with its turtle ponds and indoor and outdoor play areas. Attractions include island legends storytelling and splashing around in the lagoon pool. Who could go wrong with sprawling hectares of gardens and a beach?

For children who MUST head indoors, the Games Zone has computer and video games, a pool table and more. There’s also a toddler area for under-threes. Oh, and if your poor darling is worn out from all the activity, they can head to the spa and select a revitalising treatment from the Spa Kids’ Menu. A full day Kura Kura Club package is Rp120,000, and a half day is Rp70,000 per child. Each day has a different theme, including Tasty Tuesday, Wednesday’s Under the Sea and Sunday’s Un-Birthday Party.

Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa 1,408,394 IDR
caters for families with special 60sq m Family Rooms sleeping two adults and two children. Connecting rooms are also available (but aren’t discounted).

Alongside a children’s menu, all items on restaurant menus are offered in smaller portions, with a 50 percent discount. The babysitting service is Rp30,000 per hour (sitters speak English and Bahasa Indonesia).

Gecko Kids Club welcomes children aged three to 12 and there’s a great-for-kids beach garden and lagoon pool, as well as a children’s pool and outdoor playground. In addition, the Players Games Room sports indoor sporting fun for the over-12s with table tennis, billiards, darts and various board games, as well as PlayStation Three and air hockey.

AYANA Resort Bali 2,365,197 IDR
the Kids Program makes space for cultural fun in full or half days. Children aged two and up will have a new activity programme each day (half day US$12, full day US$23, unit activity US$6). There’s also a separate children’s swimming pool with two water slides tucked into the greenery near the Kids club pavilion. The revamp of the Kids Club facilities includes additions such as Wii, X-box, flat-screen TV, foosball table, mini billiards table, trampoline and more.

The facility has also upgraded the activities list, with the Rai programme for children aged two to four, and the Raka programme for those five years and up. With distractions like ceramics, Balinese dress-up, traditional games, tree planting and even an outdoor petting zoo to choose from, parents can get away for a little pampering, content in the knowledge their kids are having a blast..

Meritus Pelangi Beach & Spa Resort, Langkawi 418 MYR
where KiKi Klub members between four and 12 are entertained for free from 9am to 9pm. (Toddlers under four are welcome with a parent’s supervision.) Kids love the club’s mascot, a five-foot fluffy bird with bright yellow beak.

There’s the usual playground and children’s pool, as well as baby chairs, drawing sheets and toys at restaurants, and you can even request a baby car seat. KiKi’s Animal Farm tops the list of must-see on the kids’ list. Babysitting services are available (English, Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin are spoken; around RM8 for one hour; RM20 after 11pm).

Four Seasons Resort Langkawi 1,491 MYR
recommends its lower-level pavilions (villas) 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 available. Kids get child-sized bathrobes, juice before bedtime, and a special menu doubling as a mask for kids to colour. 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 at around US$24 per hour per baby. Sitters speak English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.

Bringing up a young yogi? Among the activities offered at the free Kids For All Seasons club (children aged four to 12) here is children’s yoga, where animal poses help children “meditate on the beauty of nature”. Games, music and storytelling are incorporated. Morning walks with a naturalist are no less spiritual. For the sporty, there are tennis lessons and more.

Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa 602 MYR
closer to the city centre in Kota Kinabalu but also on the beach, is not to be left behind. It offers a Kids Club that is among the largest in Malaysia, open from 8am until 8pm.

Hand-painted walls highlight features of Sabah, from the jungle to the sea. There’s a toddler section with padded walls and soft toys, a creativity area for painting, crafting and other skills, a computer and TV room – and a welcome coffee area for parents to relax.

When tiring of the beach or playground, with swings, seesaws, slides, a sand pit and toy cars and bikes, tots can feed the fish during regular sessions at the resort’s three koi-filled ponds. Or head to two large swimming pools with a safe corner for smaller children, or the wading pool. All restaurants have children's menus. Babysitters are around RM30 for one hour. Just shout for potties, cots and other baby equipment. How’s that for a family friendly escape?

Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort & Spa 10,402 PHP
in Cebu, the Philippines, describes its three-level Adventure Zone indoor playground for children aged four and above as "designed to challenge agility, balance and nerves in an environment that couples the excitement of an adventure playground with the safety of a nursery" (from Php300 per child for two hours).

There's also an E-Zone, with video arcades and table soccer, as well as a Toddler's Zone (with fewer drop slides and more cushions) for children of three and younger. Kiddies can soak up the fun at the children’s pool (open from 6am to 9pm), located in the main pool area. The resort offers spacious Deluxe Family Rooms, with two queen-size beds. Babysitters speak fluent English and the cost is Php300 per hour. Guests can enquire about family activities like fish feeding and underwater safaris.

Plantation Bay Resort and Spa 9,164 PHP
has a Children’s Center with all the usual games, plus a nurse available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The fun cranks up a notch for teenagers and big kids with archery, mini golf, climbing, karaoke, and a firing range – when you get sick of the four pools and the giant lagoon pedal-boats.

Bringing up a young yogi? Among the activities offered at the free Kids For All Seasons club (children aged four to 12) here is children’s yoga, where animal poses help children “meditate on the beauty of nature”. Games, music and storytelling are incorporated. Morning walks with a naturalist are no less spiritual. For the sporty, there are tennis lessons and more.

Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort 4,494 PHP
is another family-friendly Cebu resort, with more shoot-em-up games for those who like to play cowboy, or anyone who likes to make noise. At the Dolpo Kids Club, children are greeted with a “Beach Bag of Goodies”, including a soft toy, colouring book, and a sports bottle that can be refilled with complimentary beverages during meal times. Among the daily activities are fish and shark feeding, hula-hooping, sea shell hunts, and native dance lessons. The VIP treatment doesn’t end here. Cookies, milk, and bedtime stories are provided to end the day on a relaxing note.

Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort 240 SGD
set on Siloso Beach, a very relaxed family choice with a fun ambience and a Rasa Spa. A refurbishment has resulted in five less rooms but oodles more fun, especially for the kids. As well as new water slides at the children’s pool, there’s also a poolside ice-cream bar that is fabulously equipped with a popcorn machine and a soda fountain that wouldn’t look out of place in a Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. There’s also a flying trapeze on the beach for adventure-seekers over four (S$10 per swing). Splash into the large freeform pool or part the bubbles at two outdoor Jacuzzis. If the beach seems just too far away (it’s a five-second stroll) then plonk your lazy bottom on one of the sun loungers placed on sand by the pool.

Mothers listen up. This is a very child-friendly Singapore hotel with its very own kids’ club called The Cool Zone (open 9.30am until 9pm).

The Coco Beach Resort Price On Request
quite rightly describes its wide beach with soft sand as its “biggest playground for kids”, but there’s also a constructed version with swings, seesaw, slide and climbing ladder, and a wading pool for tiny tots. A kids playground, table tennis, and football are also nearby. The resort is in Mui Ne (near Phan Thiet) a couple of hours drive from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).

All of Coco Beach’s rooms are bungalows or two-bedroom villas on stilts. Protection nets are available to keep the balconies safe. Nice touch. In the villas, each bedroom has its own bathroom, and there’s a living room and big terrace with sofa and armchairs to wallow in. Staff will gladly wash and sterilize baby bottles and heat up baby food. Family meals are easy at the Paradise Beach Club restaurant, where kids can play on the beach once they’ve eaten (there’s a kiddies’ menu) while parents linger, watching them from the table. Babysitters speak only Vietnamese (around US$2 per hour). The refurbished rooms are unpretentious and charmingly rustic. If that's to your taste, you'll love this unfussy beach set-up.

Palm Garden Resort Hoi An 2,728,898 VND
is a modern getaway which offers spectacular beaches, UNESCO world treasures, and family friendly fun, with its private, lifeguard surveyed beach, hosting water sports, beach volleyball, soccer competitions, and much more. There are several, appetizing suite’s for big families seeking their own private paradise with three secluded junior suites and one palm garden suite all on offer. For those fooling enough to leave the confines of this resort, and all of its opulent spa services, five star dining, entertainment (you get the point), the hotel plans several tour packages to nearby UNESCO heritage sites, Hoi An Ancient city and My Son, and several other stellar historical sites.

Hyatt Regency Danang 2,977,540 VND
is set on the central coast of Vietnam often referred to as China Beach. This Danang resort serves up family friendly holidays, with its impressive Kids@Hyatt Regency Danang – offering rock climbing lessons, water sports and a Kids Spa – in addition to on-call babysitting services.