Five Best: Family suites
Children are welcome in these hotels – in fact, they're positively pampered.
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The fastest way to spoil your children is to book the Children's Kingdom Suite at this five-star resort near Girona. The two-bed suite has its own train set and doll's house, as well as a mini home cinema, Sony PlayStation, library and a large collection of toys and games. Parents will be equally pampered, having their own plasma TV, DVD player, hydromassage bath (with an extra TV in the bathroom), computer and the hotel's own Molton Brown spa. And once all of the hotel's facilities have been exhausted, the fishing town of Tossa de Mar is a short drive, and Barcelona an hour, away.
Alva Park Resort and Spa, Platja de Fenals, Lloret de Mar, Costa Brava, Catalonia, Spain (00 34 972 368 581; www.alvapark.com). The suite starts at €2,500 (£1,786), including breakfast.
Holiday Inn Resort, Thailand
Youngsters can sail the high seas and go digging for buried treasure – or at least they can imagine themselves doing so in the Holiday Inn Phuket's pirate-themed family suites. Children's beds come in colourful ship shapes and treasure chests hold toys and games in a separate bedroom, which also has its own TV set and Xbox. There's an adjoining bedroom for parents, and a host of adult-oriented activities from cookery classes to learning basic Thai and batik painting.
Holiday Inn Resort, 52 Thaweewong Road, Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand (00 66 76 340 608; www.phuket.holiday-inn.com). Family suites start at 9,500 baht (£150), including breakfast.
The Athenaeum, England
This family-owned Piccadilly institution offers an elegant option for clans wanting a hassle-free stay in the capital. Its five-star serviced family apartment is subtly geared towards children, but without parents feeling that they are staying in a nursery. The coffee table doubles as a PC and games console, and one wall has been turned into a giant whiteboard for when artistic inspiration strikes. There are two plasma TVs, as well as a fully equipped kitchen and Philippe Starck furnishings. Thoughtful touches include cookies and milk at bedtime and child-sized dressing gowns. The hotel's concierge can also take care of any activities, ranging from tickets for a musical, to tips on the best places to eat and shop.
The Athenaeum, 116 Piccadilly, London W1 (020-7499 3464; www.athenaeumhotel.com). The family apartment starts at £380, excluding breakfast.
Kurland Hotel, South Africa
There are only 12 suites in this gracious Plettenberg Bay hotel, which is situated on a sprawling polo ranch and beach resort on the Western Cape's Garden Route. Its Luxury and Family suites feature a loft bedroom for children, with up to four beds, a play area, child-friendly furniture, toys and its own bathroom. Elsewhere, the elegant Cape Dutch architecture of the homestead building, with its ornate gables and whitewashed walls, complements the sumptuous interiors.
Kurland Hotel, Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape, South Africa (00 27 44 534 8082; www.kurland.co.za). Loft suites start at R2,040 (£146) per adult, R1,020 (£73) for 13- to 16-year-olds, R540 (£39) for five- to 12-year-olds, with under-fives free; breakfast included.
Soneva Fushi and Six Senses Spa, Maldives
Families with older children and teenagers can create their own island paradise in Soneva Fushi's Villa Suite and Tree House. After arriving from the capital by seaplane, parents can luxuriate in the villa, with its four-poster bed and open-air bathroom, while their offspring are let loose in their own tree house. Connected by a wooden walkway, it has bunk beds, bathroom, terrace and, best of all, a waterslide directly into the private pool. All the latest hi-tech entertainment gadgets are there, as well as a private stretch of beach and personal Man Friday.
Soneva Fushi and Six Senses Spa, Kunfunadhoo Island, Baa Atoll, Maldives (00 960 660 0304; www.sonevaresorts.com). The Villa Suite and Tree House starts at US$1,568 (£784), room only.
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