Travel + Leisure

CLOCKWISE: COURTESY OF VISIT GOLD COAST: COURTESY OF DUSIT THANI LAGUNA PHUKET RESORT; COURTESY OF ANGSANA LAGUNA PHUKET; COURT

ESY OF CHEVAL BLANC ST-BARTH ISLE DE FRANCE

TRAVEL + LEISURE / MARCH 2016

The Cool Kids’ Club

Some of the most well-known hotels in the world have

special programmes to keep the kids entertained on your

next family vacation. BY RAUL DIAS

The Kid’s SpaAngsana

Laguna PhuketTHAILAND

Besides kid-friendly activities

such as surfing lessons, meeting

the resident elephant, and

swimming sessions at the

kids’ pool, the Angsana Laguna

Phuket has a trump card up

its sleeve—a kids’ spa at the

tree house-inspired children’s

activity area. So, treat the

little ones to a wee bit more

pampering by booking them

in for a day at the spa where

everything from yoga classes to

colourful manicures await them.

angsana.com

The Tennis and Football

AcademyMartinhal Beach

Resort and HotelPORTUGAL

This one’s perfect for all those

budding Sania Mirza's and

Cristiano Ronaldo's out there.

The resort, set in a national

park on Portugal’s Algarve

coast, already has a host of kid-

friendly activities like wind-

surfing, dolphin watching,

junior lifeguard courses, and

bike trips. But the piece de

resistance is the in-house

tennis and football academy

where the coaches are all

former sportsmen/women who

make it their mission to get

your kids high on sports while

on vacation. martinhal.com

Zone 4 Kids Activities

Paradise Resort, Gold Coast

AUSTRALIA

Abbreviated to the cooler Z4K,

the activity programme at this

luxury family resort on Gold

Coast is packed with everything from an ice-skating rink and

gargantuan waterpark to a mini

fun park that features themed

play spaces such as 'Tiny Town'

with pedal powered cars and

working traffic lights, 'Under

Water World' with submarines

and slides, and the 'Magic

Garden' with its colourful ball

pit. paradiseresort.com.au

The ‘Cousteau

Experience’

The Ritz-Carlton ABAMA,

TENERIFE, SPAIN

The Ritz Kids’ Cousteau

experience at the hotel

pays homage to French

oceanographic explorer and

environmentalist Jean-Michel

Cousteau by introducing kids

to the natural wonders and rich

cultural traditions of the Canary

Islands. This immersive and

adventurous experience is based

on four pillars—water, land,

environmental responsibility,

and culture. Here, kids learn

about coral reefs and forests

along with the practices of

recycling and sustainability,

storytelling, art, and cuisine.

ritz-carlton.com

SWIMMING WITH A ‘MERMAID’

Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle De France SAINT BARTHÉLEMY

At this hedonistic Caribbean paradise owned by LVMH, your child’s

mermaid fantasy comes alive. Amarylis, the resort’s very own

‘mermaid’ takes the kids on a swimming tryst along the resort’s

beaches, before they all settle down for a picnic curated by the

resort’s in-house chef, and a photo session with Amarylis as a memoir.

stbarthisledefrance.chevalblanc.com

THERE'S MORE!

▪ For shell painting,

clay modelling, tennis,

mini volleyball, badminton,

and banana boat rides—

Penguin Club at Le Royal

Meridien Beach Resort &

Spa, Dubai, UAE.

▪ For cooking classes,

dogsled excursions, and

figure skating at an in-resort

skating rink—Club Palazzino

at Badrutt’s Palace, St. Moritz,

Switzerland.

▪ For fun batik painting

classes and raucous candy

hunts—Busy Bee Kids Club

at the Dusit Thani Laguna

Phuket Resort, Thailand.

▪ For piñata making

classes, treasure hunts,

and treatments at the

children’s spa— La Tortuga

Children’s Club at St Regis

Punta Mita, Mexico.

▪ For treasure hunts, painting

and baking classes, along

with playtime with Oisin, the

club’s five-foot-long dog otter

‘ambassador’—Oisin’s Kids

Club at Liss Ard Estate,

Cork, Ireland.

Zone 4 Kids at

Paradise Resort.

Surfing at Angsana Laguna. Fun at the Dusit Thani

Laguna Phuket Resort.

Swimming with a ‘mermaid’ at Cheval

Blanc St-Barth Isle De France.