The Best Family Hotels in Europe: 7 Stays Worth Planning a Trip Around

We’ve been traveling Europe with our kids since Alaska was three months old. We’ve slept in apartments, riads, ryokans, jungle lodges, and everything in between. And after 26 countries and two kids under six, I’ve learned something: the right hotel doesn’t just give you a place to sleep. It changes the whole trip.

Finding the best family hotels in Europe is harder than it sounds. Most “family-friendly” lists are just resorts with a splash pad and a babysitting service you’ll never use. This list is different. These are seven European hotels that made it onto our family’s actual bucket list.

This list isn’t sponsored. All booking links are affiliate links through Booking.com — you pay nothing extra and we earn a small commission if you book.

1. Finca Cortesín — Costa del Sol, Spain

The Costa del Sol gets written off as resort overdevelopment, and Finca Cortesín is the reason to reconsider. This is a converted estate in the hills above Marbella — far from the crowds, in the middle of gardens and olive groves. The pool looks like it belongs in an architecture magazine.

For families: they take children seriously here. Not “we have a kids’ menu” seriously. Actually seriously. The kind of place where the staff greets your kids by name on day two. We’ve spent a lot of time in Spain — we eventually moved our family here from Hawaii — and the difference between a hotel that tolerates children and one that genuinely wants them is something you feel immediately. September or October is ideal.

Check availability at Finca Cortesín →

2. Hotel Royal Evian — Evian-les-Bains, France

I didn’t know Evian-les-Bains was a town until I started researching this list. I knew Evian as a water brand. Now I know it as the Belle Époque palace on the French shore of Lake Geneva, with the Alps on every side and a kids’ club that starts from four months old. Four months. That one detail says everything about how seriously they take families.

The property has private lake access, water sports, boat tours, and an award-winning spa. For families who want luxury without sacrificing the “can my kids actually enjoy this” question — this is the answer.

Check availability at Hotel Royal Evian →

3. Castiglion del Bosco — Tuscany, Italy

We have spent significant time in Italy — months in Tuscany and Pistoia, weeks in the mountains of northern Italy — and I will say this without hesitation: Italy is the most family-friendly country in Europe. Full stop. Your children are welcomed everywhere, fed by strangers, adored by waiters.

Castiglion del Bosco sits in the Tuscan hills, a working wine estate with pool, hiking trails out the back door, and nothing but vineyard views. This is the slow Italy we keep coming back for — not the museum queues, the tourist lunch rush. The version where your five-year-old chases chickens before breakfast and your baby naps in a hammock while you drink the best wine of your life.

If Italy is pulling at you, read what it’s actually like to move to Italy with kids. And if the affordability question is on your mind, here’s the honest math on affording life abroad with kids.

Check availability at Castiglion del Bosco →

Family living slowly in a small European village — best family hotels in Europe — Slow family travel in Europe means your kids actually remember the trip.

4. Elounda Residence Resort & Waterpark — Elounda, Crete, Greece

We have been to Elounda, and it completely won us over. The bay. The village feel. The view of Spinalonga across the water at golden hour. Greek hospitality is a different category of warmth — and Elounda as a destination is one of the most underrated pockets of Crete for families.

We love this area, which is exactly why this resort made the list. It sits on the hills above town with panoramic bay views and one of the most elaborate waterparks in the region — four outdoor pools, water slides, a children’s pool, a kids’ fun park, and sea access below. All-inclusive buffet dining, a Greek taverna on-site, and a shuttle to Elounda village. Crete in May or early June is ideal — school holidays haven’t hit, the sea is warm enough, and the island is still yours.

Check availability at Elounda Residence Resort & Waterpark →

5. Hotel Forsthofgut — Leogang, Austria

Austria wasn’t on my radar as a family destination until I started reading about this hotel and couldn’t stop. Hotel Forsthofgut sits on a lake in the Austrian Alps in Leogang. In summer: hiking, swimming in the lake, mountain biking. In winter: ski-in/ski-out access to one of Austria’s most family-friendly mountain areas.

But the reason it makes this list of the best family hotels in Europe is the water world. The outdoor lake area with the natural swimming pond, the thermal pools, the water features for kids — it’s the kind of setup that means your children will not want to leave. Austria is underrated for families. This hotel is the proof.

Check availability at Hotel Forsthofgut →

6. Schloss Elmau — Bavarian Alps, Germany

This one is aspirational. I’ll say that upfront. Schloss Elmau is a luxury retreat in the Bavarian Alps — the kind of property that has hosted G7 summits and world-class musicians in the same week. It costs accordingly.

But here’s why it’s on a family bucket list: the children’s program here is exceptional. Multiple age-specific kids’ clubs, outdoor adventure programs, a setting in the mountains that feels like the most beautiful classroom your children will ever be in. Germany is deeply underrated as a family travel destination, and Schloss Elmau is the high end of that.

Check availability at Schloss Elmau →

7. Safari Resort Beekse Bergen — Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands

This one is a wildcard and I love it. Beekse Bergen is a safari park in the south of the Netherlands where you can sleep in a lodge, a villa, or a treehouse — and wake up with animals walking past your window. Giraffes. Zebras. Lions in the distance. Kids completely lose their minds.

The Netherlands is one of the most underrated countries for a family trip — easy to get to from most of Europe, incredibly organized, and full of the kind of low-key beauty that rewards slow travel. Add in a day in Amsterdam or cycling through the tulip fields and you have a trip your kids will talk about for years.

Check availability at Safari Resort Beekse Bergen →

Family choosing the best family hotels in Europe for slow travel — The trips that stick are the ones that slow down long enough to feel real.

What Makes a Hotel Actually Family-Friendly?

The word “family-friendly” has lost almost all meaning. It can mean anything from “we have a children’s menu” to a dedicated kids’ club, shallow pool entry, cots at no charge, and staff who genuinely like small humans. After years of travel across six continents, the thing I look for isn’t a kids’ club. It’s whether the hotel treats your children as guests in their own right. The best family hotels in Europe all share this.

How We Actually Choose Hotels With Kids

Free crib/cot — if they charge for it, they don’t actually welcome families
Highchair availability — non-negotiable with a toddler
Pool depth — a shallow area matters more than a big pool
Kitchen access or travel kettle — early mornings with tired kids are easier with your own setup
Cancellation policy — travel with children means travel with variables
Check-in time flexibility — ask before booking, not when you arrive at noon with jet-lagged kids

For travel insurance, we use SafetyWing — covers the whole family and we’ve actually used it.

Xoxo, Marae
Your travel mom bestie

MARAE, ROGER, ALASKA, & ATLAS

We met in remote Alaska in 2013 and quickly discovered we shared more than love – we shared wanderlust. After two years of trying to squeeze adventures into corporate vacation days, we made a bold choice: we quit our "dream" jobs to become seasonal workers, trading security for freedom. Seasonal work led to full-time travel, which evolved into building our digital nomad business. By 2019, we were working from anywhere with just our laptops, turning our travels into our livelihood. In 2020, Alaska joined our adventures, and instead of slowing us down, she made us braver. At 5, she's now explored 26 countries and speaks multiple languages. Baby Atlas arrived in 2024 and at 14 months has already visited 14 countries. Currently based in Spain, we're proving that family life gets richer with adventure, not smaller. Through our blog and The Brave Creator Passport, we help families travel fearlessly and creators build location-independent lives. Ready to get brave? Follow along @bravefamilytravel