BY: NICOLE DEFOREST
Looking for a fun filled holiday for families that include access to a free water park?
I’ve travelled to over ten countries in the Caribbean and seen well over 300 hotels and I’ve come up with my “go to” list for the best hotels with waterparks.
“Beaches” Turks and Caicos and Jamaica are hands down my favorite hotel chain for families. Everything about this hotel chain is five star. You will be served the best food, with amazing service and tons of daily and themed activities. How often can you say you baked cookies with Cookie Monster himself? And to top it off they were the first to start with splash pad and water slide fun for the whole family. Being five star, this chain does come in at the top for budget or most expensive, but if you want the best you will get it here and won’t be disappointed.
Royalton is a new up and coming chain that is more affordable than Beaches but still top notch when it comes to service, food and quality. All the hotels are brand new with a modern décor and elegant feel to them.
The Punta Cana location has access to the sister hotel Memories on property with one of the best water parks I’ve seen in awhile. With big slides for older kids and adults to a small area for younger kids and toddlers this hotel has it all.
I’ve spoken about the Barcelo chain in one of my previous blogs, more detailed explanation on this chain in that blog, again it’s an excellent option for families. Both hotel complexes in Punta Cana and Riviera Maya have mini water parks with smaller slides geared more to ages thirteen and under but still pumps the activities for older teens. A great family hotel and will always be one of my favourites.
The Riu hotel chain has just made the running with their brand-new facility in Punta Cana. It’s called the Riu Vortex and has free unlimited access staying at most of the Riu hotels in Punta Cana which is great as they offer hotels in everyone’s budget. This park has a combination of slides for the big and the little that is sure to please everyone.
Now for the more budget minded families I have two options for you.
The first is the Oasis Palm in Cancun, with only a fifteen minute transfer from the airport this hotel has it all. It was recently renovated, has good food and quality services and they’ve built a pirate ship full of fun for kids to enjoy going down the water slides.
This hotel always comes up more cost effective than a lot of hotels in the area.
Lastly is the Sirenis Tropical in Dominican Republic. This hotel’s water park is as nice as the Memories hotel but at half the cost. This complex has smaller slides for younger children and toddlers, but it also has the tall and winding slides for the big kids and even adults. This hotel is on a beautiful stretch of beach with great food and wonderful service. It too has had some renovations over the last few years. One of my favourite things about this hotel is that it has one bedroom suites at a cost that is slightly higher than their standard rooms. This hotel allows three kids in a room which is a bonus for larger families.
No matter what your budget we’ll be able to find a hotel that accommodates your budget as well as bringing fun for the whole family.
