The Best Family Hotels and Resorts in Hawaii
- Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa (Oahu; www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com; tel. 800/HILTONS): Camp Penguin, Hilton's year-round daily program of activities for children ages 5 to 12, provides a wide range of educational and fun activities for $60 per half-day (no excursions) to $90 for a full day with excursions, including lunch. Everything about this hotel is kid-friendly, from the wildlife parading about the grounds to the submarine dives offered just out front.
- Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, Ko Olina, Hawaii (Oahu; www.resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort; tel. 714/520-7001): Mickey Mouse comes to Hawaii. Located about an hour's drive from Waikiki and 25 miles west of the Honolulu Airport in the 640-acre planned resort community of Ko Olina, Disney built this high-rise hotel and spa (with timeshare condos) on 21 acres on the beach. Opened in 2011, it offers a great alternative for families -- there are even Disney characters (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and so on) walking the resort and stopping to take photos with kids. Disney is at its best here -- not only does Disney have a full children's program, but they also have areas and activities for teens and tweens.
- The Fairmont Orchid Hawaii (Big Island; www.fairmont.com/orchid; tel. 800/845-9905): The Keiki Aloha program, for kids 5 to 12 years old, features supervised activities from watersports to Hawaiian cultural games for $65 for a half-day and $85 for a full day. The resort has some great money-saving deals, too; for example, children 5 and under eat free at various restaurants on the property.
- Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa (Maui; www.maui.hyatt.com; tel. 800/233-1234): The Camp Hyatt program, for kids 5 to 12 years old, operates daily from 9am to 3pm and offers young guests a range of activities, from "Olympic Games" to a scavenger hunt. The cost starts at $45 for a half-day and goes up to $80 for a full day.
- Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea (Maui; www.fourseasons.com/maui; tel. 800/334-MAUI): The most kid-friendly hotel on Maui not only offers a complimentary kids' program year-round and an everyday activities center (daily 9am-5pm), but also makes children feel welcome with extras such as children's menus at all resort restaurants (and even from room service).
- Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa (Kauai; www.kauai.hyatt.com; tel. 800/55-HYATT): In addition to the Camp Hyatt program for kids 3 to 12 (costs start at $60 for a half-day with lunch or $50 without lunch, and go up to $80 for a full day or full night), it's the collection of swimming pools (freshwater and salt, with slides, waterfalls, and secret lagoons) that makes this oceanfront Hyatt a real kids' paradise. Summertime features theater nights, when the whole family can enjoy one of hundreds of movies filmed on Kauai.