11 Best Family Friendly UK Holidays Perfect For Mini Breaks with Children
This is a collaborative post
We love going away as a family and are always looking out for new places to try with the right balance of hotel plush, while still being child friendly. Hotel Criteria definitely changes when you become a parent- don’t get me wrong, I still crave that feeling of walking into a beautiful lobby, a giant bed and a breakfast buffet that never ends, BUT, now the finishing touches that matter most, are more about the effort made to accommodate us as a family so we can all fully relax. With that in mind I wanted to share the most family friendly UK holidays we have enjoyed, alongside some great ones I’ve been recommended by other family bloggers – covering hotels great for mini breaks with children across the UK from Birmingham, London and Blackpool, to Cornwall and Wales.
Here are the top 11 recommended family friendly holidays in the UK…
1. Family Breaks at The Belfry Hotel
When we booked to go to the Belfry I was expecting a large resort style hotel mostly focussed around golf. What I didn’t expect, was the kids to be catered for, as much as the adults with children’s activities throughout the hotel.
The swimming pool was great, and being such a famous golf course, it was a nice touch having
Hotels For Families Near Thomas Land, Cadbury’s World & Kingsbury Water Park
We combined our stay with a visit to Thomas Land at Drayton Manor, which is brilliant day out for younger children. You can find out more about the child friendly facilities, prices and hotel availability over on the Belfry resort booking page.
2, The Esplanade Hotel, Fistral Beach, Newquay
If you’re looking for a coastal hotel to take the family, we recently stayed in a beautiful child friendly hotel in Newquay, Cornwall. We stayed at the Esplanade Hotel and first up the location was great – the building is right on the edge of Fistral cliff top, so its a just a five minute walk down to the beach and its got great views out over the ocean from the hotel. Fistral beach is a famous surfing beach, so its obviously not the calmest for swimming with the kids, but we enjoyed a few attempts at boogie boarding and also a lot of time, just enjoying watching the surfers. Where the kids spent most time while on the beach was the rock pools. There’s a vast stretch of them, full of warm pockets of water to splash in and look for crabs.
As well as a fabulous location, you can tell a lot of care and attention had been taken at the hotel to ensure they catered for families. As well as an indoor swimming pool there were lots of little touches that totally elevated the hotels family friendly feel.
On arrival the children were given activity bags with colouring, and even a kit to make, stuff and decorate their own teddy bear that Rose especially loved. Alongside the gifts there was lots for the children to do around the hotel. There was a cinema room playing family films throughout the day, a playground in the garden and even a mini soft play adjacent to the restaurant – perfect for wriggly kids not having to sit still waiting for their food to arrive. There was also family focussed entertainment each evening. To find out availability and book, head over to the Esplanade Hotel in Newquay booking page
Alongside the choice of hotels, there are also lots of holiday Cottages in Cornwall across the county, that are great for families to stay in, giving you more independence and freedom during your trip.
You can read more about our trip to Newquay over on – Our Holiday Review of the Esplanade Hotel
3. Highlands End Holiday Park, Dorset
Another West Country favourite with families is Dorset. Michelle from the blog ‘Fifty and Fab’ enjoyed many family holidays there, when her children were younger:
“We have so many memories of amazing holidays with our children at Highlands End Holiday Park near Bridport in Dorset. It is family friendly, with a pool, restaurant, play areas and lots of different types of accommodation to suit everyone. We have stayed in static caravans, taken our own touring caravan and also hired a log cabin. The views are stunning and the beaches are perfect for a traditional bucket and spade holiday.”
Michelle – Fifty and Fab Blog
She has also written a blog post over on her website sharing memories of her Dorset holidays
There are so many fantastic campsites across the UK that are perfect for family holidays. Campsites.co.uk is a website dedicated to camping holidays listing 200+ holiday parks in the UK. It’s full of information so you can choose the right site for your family, plus there’s even options for those without tents with fun and unusual glamping accommodation – from yurts to cabins, to even treehouses! I love the idea of staying somewhere so different with the kids. You can find out more and book over on Campsites.co.uk
If you are looking to go away camping in your own vehicle, then a clever way to increase the space you have is with Van Awning, Outdoor Roadie have all sorts of ingenious options to either extend the space of a camper or indeed add a tent onto a car.
4. The Big Blue Hotel Blackpool
From one end of the coast to another, Blackpool in the north of England is another hugely popular destination with families, with so many different places to stay. With so much choice, its great to hear from someone that’s visited before. Shell O’Connor over on the blog ‘The Willow Tree’ highly rates the Big Blue Hotel in Blackpool and has written a post on her blog all about her Blackpool stay. When staying in popular resorts such as Blackpool its a good idea to book family attraction tickets in advance.
To find out availability, price and book, head over the Big Blue Hotel Booking page
“The Big blue hotel is our fav hotel to visit when we go to Blackpool. It’s right next to the theme park (some rooms have views of the Huge coaster) rooms are perfect with a separate sleeping area for the kids and the hotel restaurant is lovely. All attractions are walking distance or a short tram ride away.“
Shell – The Willow Tree Blog
Hotels to Stay in Blackpool with a Family
5. Potters Resort in Hopton on Sea.
Over in Norfolk, Lyndsey from the blog ‘Me Him the Dog and a Baby’ highly recommends Potters Resort in Hopton on Sea.
“Potters Resort in Hopon on Sea, Norfolk is perfect for families. It’s one of the only all inclusive resorts in the UK which means you don’t have to think about much while you’re there. You get 3 meals a day, drinks and activities all included in the price as well as amazing entertainment throughout the day.”
Lyndsey – Me, Him the Dog and a Baby Blog
She has written more about her stay in Summer 2021 over on her blog – A Four Night Family Break at Potters
6. Roomzzz Apart Hotel London
Have you heard of an Aparthotel? I hadn’t until we stayed at the London Roomzzz aparthotel and as a family especially, it really gave us the best of both worlds! Essentially you get your own apartment (so no more waiting in the dark while the kids fall asleep) but also with the bonus of helpful staff and breakfast included.
Watch our tour to see how we found our first aparthotel experience…
7. The Chessington Hotel
Theme park hotels are always a winner with children, but it can often feel like there’s an inflated price tag that goes along with it, so its good to know whether they are really worth it. Chrissy visited with her family and shared a blog on just that topic, after a stay at Chessington World of Adventures – Is the Gruffalo Room Chessington Worth it?
“The Chessington Hotel is great for families as it can sleep 5 + a baby so perfect for bigger families and the children have a separate sleeping area and of course you have early access to the theme park too!”
Chrissy – Its Me Chrissy J blog
To find out availability, price and book, head over the The Chessington Hotel Booking page
8. Castle Hotel, Legoland
Another theme park with a big resort hotel onsite is Legoland. But again, you pay a premium to stay on site so is it really worth it? Lisa over on the blog ‘Women Who Win at Life’ has written a review of when she visited the resort hotel with her family – Legoland Castle Hotel Windsor: Is it Worth it?
“We loved the Castle hotel at Legoland Windsor. It was such a haven after the busy park and the theming is awesome! The lay out of the room works really well and our children loved the novelty of sleeping in bunk beds”
Lisa – Women Who Win At Life Blog
Family Friendly Hotels Near Legoland
9. Bluestone, Wales
Helen over on ‘Twins Tantrums and Cold Coffee’ loves family holidays at Bluestone in Wales. Having visited many times with her family she has written a blog with all the info for visiting families – Everything You Need To Know you need to know.
“We are massive fans of Bluestone in Wales. We’ve been there 5 times now since our boys were 2 and 9 months (twins) at all different times of the year and weather – even got snowed in there for an extra two days on our first visit! There’s so much for the children to do, at whatever age they are. The Blue Lagoon swimming pool is brilliant, their new indoor adventure activity centre was a huge hit on our latest trip, and the activities in the woods are excellent for older children. The lodges are beautiful, and there are loads of activities you can do without having to book and pay for, unlike a lot of places. We’ve done Christmasland twice which was magical. Definitely the best grotto I’ve ever seen. We’ll keep going back regularly for sure.”
Helen – Twins Tantrums and Cold Coffee Blog
10. Ribby Hall Village, Preston
Another holiday park similar to Bluestone, but in the north of England, is Ribby Hall. Full of family friendly activities, set in the beautiful Lancashire countryside, its easy to see why its so popular with families. Sarah over on the blog ‘The Good Thing is Though’ loves visiting with her family.
“We absolutely love visiting Ribby Hall in Lancashire. It’s so much more affordable than Center Parcs but still is jam packed with activities for kids and adults. There’s a lovely Italian restaurant on site plus a fitness centre and great splash pool. There’s also a spa on site which I’m hoping to try out when we visit in April.”
Sarah – The Good Thing is Though Blog
11. Butlins
Sometime you can’t beat a traditional family resort like Butlins – full of child centred activities, with everything all in one place. There’s also so many activities and entertainment included in the price when you stay, its great for budgeting when going away with children.
Nikki over on the blog ‘Unicorns Dinosaurs and Me’ loves going on holidays with her family to Butlins:
“We love going to Butlin’s because it’s such great value. Where else could you see acts like Stephen Mulhern, Diversity and Fleur East as well as all the other entertainment and activities.”
Nikki – Unicorns Dinosaurs and Me Blog
She has written a blog post over on her website detailing What its like visiting Butlins as a family post covid.
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