Europe’s top hotels for families

From Cornwall and Cork to Corsica and Croatia, we pick 20 great stays from Mr & Mrs Smith’s new family collection

British Isles
1 No 5 Maddox Street
London
This quiet collection of self-catering apartments off Regent Street may have grown-up, understated decor but they are stocked with every child accoutrement from bibs to baby monitors. The two and three-bedroom suites are made for families. Food-stocked kitchens, restaurant delivery services, daily housekeeping, a library of DVDs for all ages, 24-hour concierge, babysitting services and membership to a local gym are part of the deal.
Details From £234 room only (020-7647 0200,no5maddoxstreet.com). Cots can be added to the room free of charge.

2 Calcot Manor
Cotswolds
Amid the fields of Gloucestershire, this 14th-century manor’s coddling of children and parents alike means it’s difficult not to crown the country-chic escape queen of family hotels. Of 35 rooms, 13 are configured for families. There’s an all-day Ofsted-registered crèche (for newborns upwards), an area packed with games for over-8s, a daily kids’ tea, a children’s pool, a parent-pampering spa, a baby-listening service for evenings, an excellent children’s menu at the Gumstool Inn and baby “packs” issued on arrival.
Details From £249 B&B (01666 890391, calcotmanor.co.uk). Children in cots or extra beds (up to age 16) pay £30 a night, including breakfast and high tea. Thanks a lot for stopping by. Before we carry on I need to give thanks to http://www.lulurose.co.uk/ for their continued assistance and the support of their network. Having a support team like this means a lot to us as we continue to grow our personal blog.

3 The Beckford Arms
Wiltshire
An ambitious gastropub that marries unpretentiousness with style, the Beckford’s eight rooms are geared up for the perfect family weekend of long lunches, walks, playing in the garden and adult treats. Staff members are friendly and amenable. Standard doubles are big enough to accommodate cot beds for kids, who will love the pétanque piste, giant Jenga, sandpit, DVD library, free wi-fi and special menus. Adults go for the £35 in-room massages and the excellent seasonal British food. Babysitters are also available.
Details From £95 B&B (01747 870385, beckfordarms.com). Cots provided free for babies, extra beds for £25 a night.

4 Woolley Grange
Wiltshire
This sumptuous 25-room Jacobean manor in 14 acres close to Longleat was the first member of Luxury Family Hotels (luxuryfamilyhotels.co.uk). Small, cosily luxurious and comprehensively family-friendly, it retains a loyal following. It has everything from a heated pool and crèche to children’s teas and a room-service menu that includes purée. Parents focus on the small spa, Mark Bradbury’s farm-fresh British food and the cocktails. In summer, Woolley goes into overdrive, with mask-making, mini Olympics and rounders.
Details From £140 B&B (0844 4822152, woolleygrangehotel.co.uk). Children stay free when sharing their parents’ room.

5 Tresco Sea Garden Cottages
Isles of Scilly
The subtropical Tresco in the Isles of Scilly is a car-free haven for safe swimming, messing around in boats, bike rides and short hikes. These split-level stone houses come with private beach and hotel-style service; there are nine one-bedroom cottages and options for three-bedroom versions. Meals are taken in the Ruin Beach Café, where sandy-footed kids are welcomed with mini menus. A tennis court, croquet lawn, sailing centre and golf club keep kids amused and parents have their own sauna, hot tub and gym, plus access to the Flying Boat Club spa. If you don’t want to cook, Tresco Stores does dishes that can go straight into your oven.
Details From £230 room only (01720 422849, tresco.co.uk).

6 Liss Ard Estate
County Cork, Ireland
Dogs, children and peace-loving parents rate 15-room Liss Ard Estate hotel near Cork, a bright white manor in meadows, lake and woods with a restaurant that champions local suppliers. There’s a tiny spa, kids’ club and crèche. Rooms are styled with Scandinavian minimalism. The simple elegant dining room serves modern Irish seasonal dishes and healthy fare for children such as grilled meat and steamed vegetables. The lake has a sandy “beach”, and a jetty to launch canoes and kayaks.
Details From £77 B&B (00 353 28 40 000, lissardestate.com). Cots are free for under-4s and extra beds £17 a night for under-18s.

France
7 Résidence Nell
Paris
In the arty 9ème arrondissement, Résidence Nell has 17 serviced apartments with white interiors styled by Patrick Jouin, a Philippe Starck protégé. All have one double bedroom, separate living space (with a sofa bed for two) and mini kitchen. The concierge can organise anything from dry cleaning and manicures to chefs and trainers. Laptops, PlayStations, games and iPads are available to borrow. There’s a lift for lugging bags, a babysitting service and 15 types of home-delivery cuisine.
Details From £187 room only (00 33 153 24 98 98,residencenell.com). Cots are £17 a night.

8 Château les Merles
Dordogne
Rural Château les Merles is an elegant, 13-room honey-stoned hotel in the châteaux-truffled Dordogne. It’s a parent pleaser with antiques on its white walls, wine tasting, a gastronomic restaurant, massages and on-site golf. Children will love its swimming pool, tennis court, bikes for hire, playground and sandpit, child-friendly fare, forest trails, horseback hacking and river kayaking. Day and night childcare can be arranged. Don’t miss the markets in Bergerac, Lalinde, Libourne and Sarlat. An extra bed is £17.
Details From £95 room-only (00 33 5 53 63 13 42, lesmerles.com).

9 La Signoria
Corsica
Between mountains and sea, framed by conifers and palms, and filled with art, La Signoria is grown up but unstuffy. There’s a sun-drenched terrace and cosy bar, and the gated pool is stocked with toys. The La Palmaraie restaurant is upmarket but earthy, with a children’s service at 7pm. Fourteen of the 29 rooms are suites, with an assortment of self-catering villas. Adults’ needs remain key: there is a spa stocked with homemade Corsican products, hammam, babysitter and 24-hour room service. The hotel’s private beach is a five-minute shuttle-bus ride away.
Details From £170 room only (00 33 4 95 65 93 00, hotel-la-signoria.com). Extra beds £128 a night and cots £43.

10 Le Mas de Chastelas
Provence
Laidback Le Mas de Chastelas hotel is a 23-room hidey-hole moments from the St Tropez crowds, combining grown-up escapism with bucket-and-spade fun. Family rooms connect and there is a wealth of facilities for a small hotel: pool, tennis courts, library, restaurant, bar, transfers to the beach and in-room massages. Children are welcome in the classic French restaurant with a frill-free selection of burgers and sandwiches. Food from the 24-hour room service can be delivered anywhere in the grounds.
Details From £315 room only (00 33 4 94 56 71 71, chastelas.com). Cots for babies are free; under 12s stay in parents’ rooms on extra beds for £68 a night.

Spain and Portugal
11 El Palauet
Barcelona
This apartment hotel (with six two-bedroom apartments) on the Passeig de Gràcia is full of gadgetry and designer furniture. It also has character: the listed Modernist building has soaring ceilings, brick arches, stained-glass windows and frescoes. Sleek kitchenettes and 24-hour room service make meals easy; twin beds in one room make sleeping arrangements stress-free; and personal assistants will help you to discover Barcelona and to arrange dining experiences from home deliveries to chefs. A stash of DVDs, PlayStations and iPads keep kids busy while adults can hit the rooftop spa with sauna, solarium and a massage room.
Details From £407 room only (00 34 932 18 00 50, elpalauet.com). Extra beds and cots (both free) can be added to rooms.

12 Hotel Puente Romano
Marbella
On Marbella’s Golden Mile, the newly refurbished Hotel Puente Romano is undeniably resort territory, but its jovial atmosphere and village layout set it apart. Most of its 292 rooms are suites, and many interconnect. The beach, tennis courts, vast subtropical gardens, kids club, four pools, six restaurants (everything from sushi to pizza), golf club, Pilates, yoga and equestrian centre make this a family no-brainer. The beach club will be your main focus; at night parents unwind at the on-the-sand Suite Del Mar.
Details From £213 room only (00 34 952 82 09 00,puenteromano.com). Under 12s stay in parents’ rooms free.

13 Sa Rota d’en Palerm
Mallorca
This rustic family-run finca in Sineu is well away from the beach crowds. Lounge by the pool and in the gardens, enjoy laidback dining in the restaurant, take bike rides or visit the beach, 30 minutes away. Child-friendly menus, babysitting and a shop that sells local produce make life easy. The three rooms and five apartments are simple and unfussy, and their terraces mean that you can have a romantic meal à deux while your children are sleeping inside.
Details From £118 B&B (00 34 971 52 11 00, sa-rota.com). Cots are free; extra beds for under 13s are £24 a night.

14 Pine Cliffs Resort
Albufeira, Algarve
The 369 room-and-suite resort is an action-packed retreat. The golf course, safe shallow beach, beach club, spa and five pools are the attraction, as is the 7,000sq m kids club and crèche that includes a “children’s village” with mini golf, basketball, volleyball and bouncy castles. There’s also a tennis academy, plus the chance to learn to waterski, kayak, sail or windsurf. Single-storey Pine Cliffs residences and two-storey Pine Cliffs terraces have kitchens and laundries. There are eight restaurants.
Details From £110 B&B (00 351 289 500 300, pinecliffs.com). Cots and extra beds are free for under 13s.

15 Chiado 16
Lisbon
Four cavernous, contemporary apartment suites with kitchens fill a stately 18th-century townhouse atop a hill in Chiado. Meals provided by Tágide, the international and Portuguese restaurant next door, unfold in the sitting room: you can also order its food to your room during restaurant hours. The concierge will organise in-room spa treatments and babysitting, as well as sightseeing and tour bookings. You can explore Chiado and Bairro Alto, as well as the capital’s parks, museums, galleries and scenic riverfront.
Details From £133 B&B (00 351 213 941 616, chiado16.com). Cots are provided free of charge, extra beds are free for under 12s (£26 otherwise).

Greece
16 Emelisse Hotel
Kefalonia
The restful 63-room Emelisse is a five-minute walk from the pebbly beach and cobalt waters of Emblissi Bay, and has its own speedboat that you can charter for beach hopping. Its seven categories of room guarantee that you’ll find a perfect fit, from sleek suites with the option to self-cater, to two-storey villas, some of which have shared pools. There are restaurants, babysitters and a spa with Elemis products. Figs, honey-drizzled yoghurt and homemade cakes are served for breakfast, all-day mezze dining is available during the day and, in the evening, you can eat pizza at the open-air cinema.
Details From £140 B&B (00 30 26740 41200, emelissehotel.com). Under 6s stay free in cots or extra beds; under 13s are charged 20 per cent of the room rate.

17 Daios Cove Luxury Resort & Villas
Crete
This 300-room resort on a rock overlooking a Cretan bay has saltwater pools, an excellent spa and an array of aquatic activities, from scuba and sailing to yachting. There are plenty of other facilities too, including tennis courts, a kids’ club and a crèche (from four months) and a range of dining options.Each two or three-bedroom family villa has a private pool and is kitted out with everything from sterilisers to stair gates.
Details From £185 B&B (00 30 28410 62600, daioscovecrete.com). Cots and extra beds for under 12s are free

Italy
18 L’Albereta
Brescia
On a vine-lined hilltop in Lombardy, the family-friendly 57-room L’Albereta is an ivy-clad villa that exudes Italian glamour. A great spa — the award-winning Espace Vitalité Henri Chenot — two wineries and impeccable service lend adult credentials; the kids club, games room and kids’ pool win smaller hearts and minds. The Gualtiero Marchesi Restaurant serves pristine Modern Italian cuisine — and, as children stay up late in Italy, no one bats an eyelid if you bring them here.
Details From £269 room only (00 39 030 7760550, albereta.it). Cots and beds for children up to three are available free; extra beds for children under 12 are £26 a night.

19 Borgo Egnazia
Puglia
The 192-room Borgo Egnazia hotel is a fairytale resort-village. Set in olive groves and grouped around a piazza, it has great facilities: four pools, two beaches, a kids club, crèche , 18-hole golf course and knockout spa (don’t miss the Roman bath with Apulian pink-salt scrub). Get a room in the Borgo — they have more space and are closer to the pool. Casetta Bella rooms are split across two levels and have a downstairs living room with a cooking area and space for an extra bed.
Details From £187 B&B (00 39 080 22 55 000, borgoegnazia.com). Under 3s can sleep in cots free; extra beds can be added for pre-teens for £43 a night.

Croatia
20 Lesic Dimitri Palace
Korcula
Within the walls of a medieval town, this elaborately-styled “hotel” is more a collection of five serviced residences in an 18th-century bishop’s house, with private entrances and fully equipped kitchens. The restaurant, LD Terrace, serves updated Croatian recipes, plus child-friendly food can be ordered in-room during restaurant hours. A range of gadgetry, from iPads to laptops, and free wi-fi, keep children amused. The Venice Residence, a three-bedroom suite that can fit two cots in addition to its three beds, is best for large families.
Details From £298 B&B (00 385 20 715 560, lesic-dimitri.com). Children under 3 can sleep in cots in their parents’ rooms free; extra beds for those aged 3 or over cost £22 a night.