Until recently, I associated the Leading Hotels of the World loyalty program with words like “boutique” and “luxury”. Especially in Europe, where most hotels limit occupancy to just two guests per room, I never would have associated this Citi ThankYou transfer partner with “family travel”. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Leading Hotels of the World has some really awesome-looking family-friendly properties — but you’ll need quite a stash of Citi points to take advantage of the best-looking options. Still, I thought it worth highlighting that the LHW footprint includes places better-suited to family trips than I would have expected.
Leading Hotels of the World maintains a page of family-friendly hotels
Much to my surprise, when I Googled looking for the best Leading Hotels of the World properties for kids, I immediately came across this page on the LHW website listing some of their top options for kids on a page titled “Beyond the Kids Club”. A few of the properties on that page look awesome. This is how they describe the page:
These members of The Leading Hotels of the World cast aside cliché notions of a “Kids Club” and invite their smallest guests to embark on experiences that are as exciting as they are enriching. More than babysitting and board games, these hotels offer young guests the opportunity to exercise their imagination in the wilderness, perfect their culinary skills alongside top chefs, create their own rhythm in a world-class studio and make new friends all over the world. These elevated Kids Clubs will take family vacation from child’s play to world class.
That sounded really interesting to me as I enjoy the chance to both help my kids learn new things and play and make friends with kids from different countries.
I was really surprised at just how family-centric some Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) properties are. As an entity, Leading Hotels of the World feels very similar to Small Luxury Hotels of the World or Mr. & Mrs. Smith in that it is more of an association of independent luxury properties than a “chain”. While my family has loved some boutique hotel properties, and I enjoy a luxury hotel experience as much as anyone, I generally associate “family-friendly amenities” with major chain resort brands rather than independent hotels. That’s not to say that I don’t appreciate boutique hotels, but rather that LHW is not a loyalty program I would think to search when family-friendly amenities are a priority for a trip. Some of the Leading Hotels of the World examples I found through that link and elsewhere on the LHW site have changed my perception and now have me looking at LHW with a renewed interest.
This post is just meant to share some of those examples because they challenged my perception of LHW, and they perhaps give the program a broader appeal than the niche “boutique hotel” box in which I had placed them in my own mind.
Villa del Parco & Spa, Forte Village (Sardinia, Italy)
I could only imagine how much fun the Villa del Parco & Spa at Forte Village in Sardinia might be if my kids were a little older:
This property has go-karts, a water park, a replica Barbie house, bowling, soccer academies run by the Real Madrid Foundation, 13 tennis courts, padel, pickleball, and a lot more. Talk about an active vacation!
The downside is that it isn’t cheap, whether paying with cash or points. For sample dates I searched this summer, room rates (for a room that only accommodates 3 people) started around $3K per night, with award rates starting at more than 37,000 LHW points per night.
Keep in mind that points transfer 1,000:200 (that’s effectively 5:1) from Citi, so you’d need 185,780 Citi ThankYou points per night for the above redemption. That’s about 1.6c per Citi point, but you’ll need a lot of Citi points for a getaway here with enough time to enjoy even half the facilities.
Unfortunately, that’s a bit too rich for my blood, whether with cash or points.
However, there are some family-friendly properties that could be more reasonable.
Falkensteiner Family Hotel Montagon (Tschagguns, Austria)
Falkensteiner Family Hotel Montafon in Tschagguns, Austria, really seems to pride itself on being the only German-speaking Family-friendly Leading Hotels of the World property, and they highlight plenty of family fun on their website.
Falkensteiner Family Hotel is a rarity in that most hotels in Europe limit occupancy to 2 or 3 guests per room, whereas the Falkensteiner Family Hotel has rooms that accommodate a family of 4 (or even 5 in some rooms). Room rates aren’t cheap, but awards may be more palatable.
Keep in mind that 9,510 Leading Hotels of the World points = 47,550 Citi ThankYou points. That’s about 1.53c per Citi point, which makes it a reasonable use of points. I could imagine this property being more popular in the winter, given the skiing available — expect both cash and award rates to vary.
Halekulani Okinawa (Okinawa, Japan)
It’s not just Europe; Leading Hotels of the World maintains a separate page with links to family-friendly hotels by region. In Asia, Halekulani Okinawa looks great to me (just let the home page video auto-play and you’ll probably agree).
Rooms at this property can accommodate four people. While the search result below was only for two guests, I can confirm that the price was identical when I searched for 2 adults + 2 kids.
At 4,715 Leading Hotels of the World points, this property would set you back fewer than 24,000 Citi points per night. That represents a value of 1.8c per point.
In addition to offering a kids club (which has a fee at this resort), the property offers a bunch of beach activities that come at additional cost, but could be a lot of fun with older kids, like parasailing, snorkel tours, and the “ocean walk” seen below.
Nayara Tented Camp (Costa Rica)
If your kids have always wanted a treehouse, you might want to look at Nayara Tented Camp. This place is in the rainforest of Costa Rica, has a sloth sanctuary, and the standard rooms look like tented “glamping” type outfits — each with a private plunge pool overlooking the rainforest.
The hotel website boasts on-site naturalists and easy access to a wide range of activities like hiking, zip lining, whitewater rafting, night walks through the rainforest, chocolate and coffee tours, and a lot more (this is a PDF of activities and prices).
I looked up some sample summertime dates. Award pricing is certainly not cheap, but at 18,583 points per night, it’ll set you back around 93K Citi points per night for a property that charges around $1600 per night and looks like quite a unique experience that could be a lot of fun.
While that’s far more transferable points than I’d usually consider spending for a hotel, I could absolutely see the appeal.
Bottom line
These are hardly the only family-friendly Leading Hotels of the World properties — the website has quite a few interesting options. This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive or even best-of list, just some examples that caught my eye. I thought it was worth sharing these because Leading Hotels of the World hasn’t generally been on my radar because my perception has been that most properties probably cater to adults traveling as a party of 1 or 2. I was surprised to find that there are quite a few LHW properties with a family-first focus. While that certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, it broadens the way that I think about LHW and makes me more interested in seeking out the hidden gems I’ve been missing in this program.
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Shhh.
This is great! I’d love to see a similar post for Choice properties (expanding the “good uses of Citi points for family-friendly hotel stays” there). With all the sour news on Hyatt deval, for a family with kids that doesn’t want to have to book 2 rooms (double the standard award price, if there is even availability, and no guarantee of connecting rooms) and doesn’t want to all sleep in the same room, Hyatt is still the best chain for booking suites. But Choice might be a close second.
Would love to use my LHW status from platinum card but family of 4 with 2 kids 2 adults is almost impossible to find on points. Although there are a few gems.
The Lowell Hotel in New York City is kid-friendly in its own way. I’m personally aware of them setting up a room for kids with a tent and sleeping bags. As well as temporarily decorating a room for kids in fun fashion. And, an off-menu ice cream party. It’s just a matter of asking. (I’ve asked at other properties as well and all too often they’re happy to help. It’s fun for them as well.)