Family-friendly hotels and travel ideas, as recommended by Stylist editors

Recommendation: Borgo Egnazia from Kitty McGee, Stylist’s executive fashion director

While this resort is a bit blow-the-budget when you see it on paper, it is simply perfect for families with slightly older kids (8+) who can take advantage of the organised bike rides and golfing and tennis lessons. There are cooking classes for adults and children together, a kids’ pool and kids’ club. Plus, for the grown ups, there’s an incredible spa, daily wellbeing classes (eg pilates, yoga, meditation, stretching, body flow), wine tasting and cocktail making sessions. If you fancy a more wholesome holiday activity, the hotel will happily organise a walking or bike tour to help you explore the local area.

The hotel is a 15-minute drive from Ostuni, which has a sensational beach and brilliant restaurants. It’s also an hour from Bari, which isn’t typically super-expensive to fly in and out of.

A double room in La Corte at Borgo Egnazia starts from €440 per night on a bed and breakfast basis. Family Casettas in the Borgo (sleeping up to two adults and two children) start from €790 per night.

Recommendation: The Gunton Arms from Chloe Sharp, Stylist’s deputy art director

Living in Norwich means I’m spoilt for choice when it comes to British beachy mini-breaks, and when I don’t have the cash to splurge on travel, I opt for a staycation a bit closer to home, right here in Norfolk.

One of my favourite escapes is The Gunton Arms, set in a stunning 1,000-acre deer park steeped in history. The hotel features a collection of beautifully decorated, Pinterest-worthy rooms, each with views across the park. The estate also includes Suffield Lodge – a separate, luxurious four-bedroom flint and thatched cottage that’s the epitome of Norfolk charm and perfect for families.

The Gunton Arms itself is a treat, filled with contemporary artwork by the likes of Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst and many more.

It’s just over a 10-minute drive to Cromer, where you can entertain the kids with retro arcades and eat chips on the beach from No.1 Cromer (I highly recommend the battered Brie). Or 20 minutes from Gunton is Sheringham, where you can treat yourself to a caramel cornflake brownie for dessert at Winebees, the Instagrammable pink bakery.

A double room starts from £145 a night, and if you’d like to bring your doggy friend, please mention it when booking.

Recommendation: Can Couques (private villa) from Felicity Thistlethwaite, Stylist’s digital content director

If you’re dreaming of guaranteed sunshine, white sandy beaches and seaside restaurants, then there’s no better place to head to than Ibiza. The White Isle is famous for both partying and being family-friendly. There’s so much to the island, and there really is something for everyone. 

I went with my two-year-old daughter while 17 weeks pregnant, back in 2023. When we touched down, we picked up our rented car – and a car seat – and headed from the airport to the town of Cala Tarida. Our party was made up of seven adults, one toddler and one bump, but we found a perfect beachside villa positioned just a five-minute walk from Cala Tarida beach, where we rented sun loungers each day. The beach has six restaurants on the front and many more just off the main parade, meaning there’s plenty to chose from: from dance-y drinking bars with pumping tunes to more laid-back beachside dining. Everywhere we went had oodles of highchairs and plenty of snacks to placate a hangry toddler. 

Ibiza Old Town was just a 25-minute drive away, and so was the Hippy Market (well worth checking out if you’re over that side). But with me being pregnant, and with a feisty toddler in tow, we spent most of our time at the glorious beach with an inflatable unicorn and a bucket and spade. The locals couldn’t have been more friendly, and it’s cemented in my mind that Ibiza might be the most child-friendly destination of them all. 

A stay at Can Couques villa starts at around £463/night for eight adults or six adults and four children. 

Recommendation: Martinhal Sagres from Kitty McGee, Stylist’s executive fashion director

Martinhal hotels are brilliant for families with younger kids (up to eight years old, say, although there are bikes for hire and games rooms for older kids). 

I love the Sagres property, which is on the beach (although the sea is ice cold) and has several pools and inflatables, and a ‘village square’ with restaurants, trampolines and a playground with daily entertainment. The area is known for brilliant surfing, and the town is really cool, with plenty of vegan cafes, acai and smoothie bars. 

You can choose to stay in a hotel room or hire a villa (2–5 bed), which gives you flexibility as a guest, which is just what you want when you have a young family in tow. A night in a double room starts at £450. 

Recommendation: Black Knowe (glamping pods) from Felicity Thistlethwaite, Stylist’s digital content director

We tagged on a trip to The Giant’s Causeway after seeing Elton John perform in Belfast in 2022, and what I thought was going to be a nice extra night’s stay in the countryside turned out to be the highlight of the trip. 

We (me, my husband, our daughter - two at the time - and my husband’s parents) rented out two glamping pods in Ballycastle, expecting it would be a nice base to stay in after a trip to The Giant’s Causeway. But what we found was the most beautiful, tranquil farm setting, perfect for any excited toddler to run off their energy and soak up nature. 

The pods are set up for children, with bunk beds tucked into the space just behind a standard (comfy) double bed. The pods include a glorious bathroom (with luxury products), a fridge and a small sink for the basics. But the most impressive part of it all was the positioning: you can watch the sun set (and then rise again) from the comfort of the double bed with floor-to-ceiling windows. Another lovely surprise was that just over the fence outside the windows is a working farm with baby cows frolicking, alpacas trotting around and even chickens pecking at your door. 
We chose an add-on fire pit kit to keep the adults cosy with smores (and wine) while my daughter slept inside. It was the most family-friendly, wholesome and beautiful trip – absolutely would recommend to all! Pods start from £150 a night.

Recommendation: Sonnwies family resort from Lisa Smosarski, Stylist’s editorial director

Finding a family-only hotel in the middle of the mountains that is super chic as well as loads of fun for the kids sounds like an impossible task. But Sonnwies, an elegant chalet hotel in the Luson valley, is reinventing what child-focussed holidays can look like and should be at the top of every family’s bucket list.

Aside from the utterly stunning location which is perfect for family hikes or winter sports, the hotel has its own ski and ice-rink slope (Dec-mid March), full size climbing wall, sports centre, huge kids’ club, pony stables, farm and an ever-changing schedule of activities for children of all ages, all of which is complimentary when you stay. There’s also an idyllic outdoor swimming pool, water slides and a cinema-pool, all heated to a blissful 35 degrees throughout the year. The food here is excellent and alongside the kid-friendly choices like the pizza buffet, pasta bar and gelato-trolley there a daily-changing 5-course tasting menus for adults as part of the full board experience. Plus, there’s a cheese room – that’s an entire room dedicated to the cheese course, people – which is worth visiting for that alone.

As kids can be occupied from 9am to 9pm there’s a chance for parents to get some time off too to enjoy the spa, get out skiing, hiking or ebiking, or to take a well-earned nap by the pool without anyone prodding them in the face. All in all, it’s total bliss, for kids and adults alike.

Sonnwies offers family rooms from €620 per room per night based on two adults and two  children sharing a Double Room on a full-board basis, excluding alcohol and drinks from service.

Recommendation: Another Place, The Lake from Susan Riley, Stylist’s head of brand

Swim. Sauna. Dine. Breathe. It’s the name of Another Place The Lake’s new three-night break and it perfectly sums everything you’ll want to do here – hands-down my favourite spot in the Lake District. Perched on the tranquil shores of Ullswater (you can book a session to swim across it with their resident cold water expert Colin Hill; I have a wooden medal to remember my lesson), their lakeside cabin ‘The Sheep Shed’ acts as a cosy HQ for all things watersport. The best bit? While you’re kayaking or SUP-ing, the hotel offers inclusive supervised sessions with your kids in their Ofsted-registered Kids’ Zone (so charming) so that you can focus on falling in properly. Older kids have a den to chill in but Another Place’s 18 acres is a giant playground in itself. Swim in their glass-framed pool, soak in the sauna, play badminton on the lawn, head for a hike, then feast on woodfired pizza in the picture-perfect Victorian Glasshouse - the absolute perfect place for stargazing. Final tip: while the rooms in the main house are lovely, their shepherds huts and treehouse scattered round the grounds will give you Brit break goosebumps.