Luxury family hotels: our 5 addresses, from Gordes kids’ club to Deauville’s adjoining suites

Taking a family holiday at a luxury hotel raises a simple question that brochures avoid: where do we put the children? A suite with a sofa bed is not a family room, a ten-square-metre ‘children’s area’ is not a kids’ club, and a single swimming pool means someone will have to keep quiet. We have selected five French addresses where these three issues are resolved, explaining exactly how each one addresses them.

1. Airelles La Bastide de Gordes, in Provence

2 photos · scroll →

It is the only one of the five to feature a pool dedicated to the kids’ club, distinct from the main pool. This detail might seem trivial; in reality, it dictates the entire day. Children have their own water area with sun loungers and supervision, while parents enjoy the rest of the estate.

La Bastide clings to the hillside of the village of Gordes, overlooking the Luberon valley below. Lawn games set up on the terraces, led by croquet, keep screen-free late afternoons occupied. The format is particularly suited to children aged six to twelve, autonomous enough for the club yet still eager for outdoor activities.

2. Airelles Château de la Messardière, in Saint-Tropez

1 photo

Ten hectares of grounds above Pampelonne Bay, and above all a miniature train connecting the kids’ club treehouses to the rest of the estate. Here again, it is no gimmick: across grounds of this scale, transporting children between their room, the beach, and the club is a genuine consideration.

The treehouses perched among the umbrella pines are another compelling feature. They lend the stay a backdrop that children talk about long after returning home, which remains the finest metric of success for a family hotel. Saint-Tropez in August does require planning ahead, however: family configurations are booked several months in advance.

3. Hôtel Barrière Le Royal, in Deauville

2 photos · scroll →

Le Royal is the best-equipped French property for interconnecting rooms: Deluxe Sea Suites connected to Superior Rooms, Prestige Suites linked to Prestige Rooms. This is the setup most families seek, yet one that the majority of luxury hotels offer in only very limited numbers.

Everything else follows suit: the beach right opposite, the kids’ club, the pool, and a town easily navigated on foot with a pushchair. Deauville also boasts the advantage of being two hours from Paris, making a three-day weekend without flying easily achievable. The hotel is also the headquarters for Horse Month, a period when rates rise sharply.

4. Hôtel Barrière Les Neiges, in Courchevel

1 photo

In Courchevel 1850, Les Neiges opts for apartments rather than suites: multiple bedrooms, a living room, a fireplace, and direct ski-in ski-out access. For a skiing family, this layout resolves the hassle of wet gear and conflicting schedules between adults and children.

The hotel remains a high-end resort five-star, with prices to match in February. Outside school holidays, the price difference is considerable and the experience far superior: the slopes and the club are much less crowded.

5. Airelles Val d’Isère

1 photo

The former Hôtel des Neiges in Val d’Isère, taken over by Airelles, offers two-bedroom suites with a separate living room, set in a decor borrowing more from a Venetian palace than a Savoyard chalet. It is a bold, confident design choice that generally delights children.

See also

Hotel news in FranceHotel stocks & real estate

Which regions invest the most in the hotel industry in France?

For a family, the main appeal lies in the living room: it is the space allowing parents to stay up past 8 pm without waking anyone. On a week-long mountain holiday, this extra room is worth far more than an extra square metre of bedroom space.

The three questions to ask before booking

1. Is the room genuinely interconnecting? An extra bed in a double room is not a family room. Ask specifically for interconnecting rooms and inquire how many the hotel actually has: if there are only three, they will already be booked for the summer.

2. What are the kids’ club age brackets and actual opening hours? Many hotels advertise a club for ‘4 to 12 year-olds’ that closes at 5 pm and stays shut on Mondays. Check whether it is included or charged by the hour; over a week, the difference runs into hundreds of pounds.

3. Is there a second pool? This is the finest indicator of a hotel’s true family-friendliness. An establishment that built a dedicated children’s pool has addressed the issue; one that merely posts ‘children’s hours’ for a single pool has not.