FacebookTop 10 Classic American Family Resorts
Top 10 Classic American Family Resorts Overview
Planning a vacation with relatives, or even just your immediate family, can be a one-way ticket to a headache. Instead of taking requests, let any of the following Top 10 American Family Resorts arrange the vacation activities. All you have to do is sit back and watch the fun unfold – and, of course, get in on the fun too! Whether you are taking an old-fashioned American road trip or flying into the classic luxury resort you’ve been saving up for, everyone will be delighted with the destination. With play options for both kids and adults, the whole family will want you to plan next year’s trip – and you’ll know just the right resort to call!
Woodloch Pines Resort - Hawley, Pennsylvania
Compete in the Family Olympics and Guitar Hero contests, or make an impact on the kids in bumper boats! Woodloch has their very own Social Staff to ensure your family is entertained. Like a “cruise on land,” Woodloch has provided comfortable and stylish accommodations, three meals a day and something for every age, from a toddler room to Broadway shows. With all of this and more set in lush mountain scenery, we couldn’t ask for a better fit for family fun in the Poconos! And sharing with a sibling has never been so easy: enjoy amenities at the Lodge at Woodloch, Woodloch Pines’ sister property. Visit the 18-hole golf course or 27-room spa while the kids are with Boomer Bear’s Cub Club on a scavenger hunt or singing in Karaoke Idol!
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Mohonk Mountain House - New Paltz, New York
As one of America’s oldest family-owned resorts, Mohonk has had a lot of practice creating a vacation spot that makes everyone happy. That’s why Mohonk made our No. 2 spot - along with the fact that your rate includes bountiful breakfast and lunch buffets, four-course served dinners, Afternoon Tea and Cookies and most resort activities daily. The idyllic backdrop of a castle on ragged grey cliffs surrounded by blue sparkling water accompanies you and the family on your Hudson Valley adventures. Try a hand – and another hand, and both your feet – at rock climbing. Take a few swings on the 110-year-old Scottish golf course while the kids are horseback riding through extensive trails. Or, tour the gardens alone or with another family member for quality bonding time. Don’t worry about making the right turn in the Victorian Maze; each directional decision renders 19th-century fashioned landscaping beauty. The only complaint you’ll hear on this trip is when you have to leave.
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Grand Hotel - Mackinac Island, Michigan
Imagine giving the kids an expansive, breathtaking backyard that you’ll want to play in, too and you’ve got the Grand Hotel! With no cars, the family travels by horse, carriage, bike or foot. Which means kids will exercise discovering the natural beauty of Michigan instead of exercising their thumbs in video games. Challenge them to a swimming race in the 220-ft.-long serpentine pool or maybe let them challenge themselves. Children’s programs teach the kids how to Duck Pin bowl, play Bocce Ball or Putt-Putt golf. The attention to detail at Grand Hotel doesn’t just extend to the outside (the hotel uses 5,200 geraniums, its trademark flower, in all its flower beds combined). The inside accommodations are lavish and entrancing. No two rooms look the same or have the same history! Stay in one of six guest rooms designed by a U.S. first lady, rooms with a lake-view or the spectacular Masco Cottage.
The Greenbrier - White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
Live like kings and queens in a guesthouse that has been decorated in the spirit of Greenbrier’s heritage, but not foregoing modernity. You can even partake in old-age royalty sports, like falconry at the Falconry Academy. Send your little prince or princess to Adventure Zone where they can take part in a hands-on workshop designed to help them understand and appreciate the arts. They’ll be giggling at puppet shows or awed by the Allegheny Mountains on carriage rides. Your teen will be equally entertained with expeditions kayaking, mountain biking or receiving a spa treatment. We don’t see how a kid of any age would miss out on this fun! Bring out the kid in yourself and take the family to the 55-ft. Alpine Tower! Perfect for building family trust or strengthening family bonds, let each find their way to top. Or, swing onto one of three courses for a round of family golf.
Hotel Del Coronado - Coronado, California
We sure learned a thing or two when we found out that Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon filmed “Some Like It Hot” at The Del and that other American greats have sought out The Del, including Thomas Edison, Babe Ruth and the Reagan family! Your family can now enjoy the same historic luxury in the elegant Victorian-style rooms. Watch the kids’ surfing lesson from the shade of your beach umbrella or let them experience Kidtopia with its different themed rooms, arts and crafts and a funhouse mirror. Your teen will most likely have already found Vibz, the teen lounge that has billiards, foosball, darts and more – along with the opportunity to meet other teens. It’s already a National Historic Landmark, but we’re ready to name it a National Family Landmark. Stop by Deck Rec for a henna tattoo – don’t worry, Mom and Dad, it washes off – and then have the whole family hop in the pool for Dive-In Movie night!
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Villa Roma Resort - Callicoon, New York
With a diverse list of age-appropriate activities, your kids will be enraptured. There are color wars and Wii tournaments for the type A in the bunch and an opportunity to produce their own show or tie-dye t-shirts for your right-brained tikes. If for some crazy reason your kids don’t want to partake in bumper boats, nature trails or the rock climbing wall, you can take them to two onsite playgrounds, shuffleboard courts or the arcade game room. You arrange your own program of fun by taking a cooking or line dancing class, cross-country ski, visit the spa and so much more! This classy, newly-renovated Catskills hotel designed itself around the individual and collective needs of your family! After spending the afternoon splashing around in the zero-entry play pool with water spouts and dumping buckets, kids can grab an ice cream from Villa Roma’s ice cream parlor and Mom and Dad can cool off with a cocktail on the veranda.
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Skytop Lodge - Skytop, Pennsylvania
For families that want to sprawl out there are cottages with connecting bedrooms and porches for the kids to run through, or there are spacious rooms at The Inn or The Lodge. All are gems of Dutch Colonial interior design and country charm. Let the kids choose between two kid camps: Camp in the Clouds with active and experiential pastimes like soccer, nature walks and swimming or face painting or hay rides, or Kid’s Ambassador’s Club where children learn valuable skills like etiquette, dining and sportsmanship. Meanwhile, you can tailor your own itinerary. Rock climb, paintball or take a wilderness survival course. When the family rejoins, fish in private trout streams or toboggan down one of the last remaining runs in the area. Or, dine together in the Lake View Restaurant or enjoy the view sitting in front of your own fireplace. The sky’s the limit when it comes to family fun at Skytop!
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Madden's Resort on Gull Lake - Brainerd, Minnesota
Nowhere else in the Midwest will you find a resort with more recreational amenities than Madden’s. We suggest Madden’s very own Gull Lake waterpark, complete with water trampolines and water toys! The kids will beg to be at Adventure Cove, a camp that keeps them happily entertained while you are free to indulge in Panache Spa treatments overlooking beautiful Wilson Bay. Fill your days at The Classic, Madden’s championship golf course, or take it easy on the Social Nine. Madden’s has been the leader in Minnesota golf resorts since 1926 and it shows with the exceptional number of 63 holes offered on four different golf courses – all ready for your tee off. The list of fun Madden’s has for you doesn’t stop there! Did we mention that they also have a full-service marina with kayaks, canoes and sailboats? Tennis, croquet, trapshooting, indoor pools – the list goes on and on! Madden’s is your family’s next lakeside vacation!
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The Broadmoor Resort - Colorado Springs, Colorado
Settling for nothing but the best is a long-running tradition for Broadmoor. Rooted in the area’s history of gold-mining, Broadmoor delivers the finest luxury setting coupled with abundant entertainment. The Children’s Concierge suggests a trip to the highest altitude zoo in the U.S., the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, or to the top of the 14,000-ft. summit of Pikes Peak via the Cog Railway. Or, just let the kids jump feet first into the 11,000-sq.-ft. outdoor infinity pool and Slide Mountain. Broadmoor’s list of suggestions doesn’t stop there – see a movie at the Little Theater, catch stunning views of the property from paddle boats, take family tennis lessons and more! Rooms and cottages are decorated with European-style elegance, from the bed sheets to the light fixtures. Enjoy views from some rooms of Cheyenne Mountain and Cheyenne Lake. Broadmoor wants the whole family to join the fun – that means pets, too!
Mount Washington Resort - Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
Your family can set their own pace exploring the surrounding Bretton Woods. Blaze new trails and discover the forest for yourself, or take a guided canopy tour. Hear White Mountain lore, go whizzing above the tree tops on a zip lines ending with the Williwaw Racing Zip which gives a stunning 20-minute ride for the best views! If you prefer to keep your feet on the ground and your head out of the clouds, join your kids for dinner and hear all about how they learned to ski at Hobbit Ski and Snowboarding School, made pinecone bird feeders and played themed games at Kid’s Club. Don’t let the snow stop you from having a blast on your New Hampshire family vacation! Bretton Woods is New Hampshire’s largest skiing area with 434 acres. That exhilarating canopy tour also runs in the winter, so there’s no excuse not to buckle up and enjoy the ride at Mount Washington Resort!
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