Greetings fodorites!
We want to take the kids to the Carribean in June (we get itchy when school gets out). We have points to use at Hilton and/or Marriott properties, and are looking for a resort that is kid-friendly. We will likely want to be together most of the time, so I'm not looking for a week-long day-camp style kid's program, but instead just want to be sure I'm in a place where a 7 and 9 year old will feel welcome at the pool and in the dining room before 8pm. For activities, we like to swim, ride waverunners, play on the beach, snorkel, and eat (and yes, with us that counts as an activity!). A place where we could get a sunset cruise would be fun. The kids are also into pirates, real or imagined. (Thank you, Johnny Depp.) If we go somewhere tropical, I'm sure the kids would love the rainforest or zip lines or adventures of that ilk. The parents will be fine anywhere with a nice view and a margarita or a mai tai. Any suggestions of places we should consider? Or any places we should certainly avoid?
Thanks for your advice!
Laura

Marriott Aruba is a large scale resort with several pools. It is a great property. We went in 2004 and are returning next week. There is a jolly pirates snorkel cruise. There is also all the watersports imagineable. No rain forest as Aruba is a desert. Good food and easy to get around island. Great with kids. My kids were 10 and 11 last time, now 17 and 18. Time flies so enjoy!
We have also been to Marriott Cayman. Much smaller property. It was nice, but the pool was very mediocre. Not at the same level of property as Aruba.
I have only read about the Curacao Marriott and it looks very nice and gets good reviews. Not an easy island for me to fly to.
Caribe Hilton in Puerto Rico is a large property. I don't love Puerto Rico,but they offer many activities such as the rain forest.
I have looked into, but not gone to the Barbados hilton. It looks nice and gets some good reviews. Barbados is not an easy island for me to get to either (from Richmond VA).

Best Hiltons for points are the Hawaii properties. We have gone to the Hilton Waikoloa (the fave) and Hilton Honolulu. Both are great. Also, Hilton now owns the Grand Wailea in Maui. Gorgeous hotel. So, if I were going to use my hilton points, I would head to Hawaii.

Oh and we never dropped our kids in camps either, but we were traveling with another family the time we went to aruba. All of our kids were around 9-10-11. We decided to put them in the kids dinner one night and have a nice dinner on the beach at the Marriott. The kids did a three hour dinner and movie at the marriott. I felt they were too young to be alone in a room and they enjoyed the pizza and movie with the small group. So, that may be an option for you.

Hi, I have been to several Marriotts in the Caribbean (Curacao, Aruba and St. Kitts) I think Aruba or St. Kitts are your two best choices (also been to Barbados and seen the Hilton, don't think that's as good a choice). Aruba Marriott is really three large resorts in one so there's everything you could possible want including many pools, water sports, etc. The downside is that it can get crowded because there are so many rooms crammed onto the beachfront. But Aruba is a good, safe, clean choice for kids, easy to drive around, some familiar restaurants, etc. I also like the Marriott St. Kitts for families, it is a huge resort but less crowded, very long, wide beach but still all the amenities and you can also take the ferry over to Nevis for the day. Lots of fun beach restaurants near the Marriott, an interesting fort to tour which your kids might enjoy.

Thank you! That helps tremendously. Now I know where to focus my search! Thank you again...

If the kids are into Pirates the Marriott on St Thomas might be good. There is a lot of history of Blackbeard - they can see his castle etc....
There is a submarine cruise they may enjoy. My 11 yo son loved that! Snorkeling excusions are available too.
Very kid friendly.
There are def sunset cruises.

For Marriott points you may want to look at Costa Rica - it is a great family resort with zip lining nearby, volcanos, rain forest and they can see sloths at the National Park nearby, all of these things can be arranged by the onlien concierge at that hotel.

We really enjoyed our stay at the St. Thomas Marriott & its so easy to get around to the other closeby islands (we also went to Tortola, St. John & Jost VanDyke--all in 1 afternoon on a private boat). Wonder if you could get into the Ritz St. Thomas using the points....its a stunning resort, as well & they have 2 & 3 BR units as well.

If you toy with the idea of Costa Rica, I can vouch for the JW Marriott Guanacaste & also the San Jose Marriott for a couple nites flying in/out--it is the most gorgeous property & only a few miles from the airport--on a coffee plantation.

I agree Spongecake about San Jose Marriott! It is a fabulous property and the restaurants are very good too.

We stayed here and did a day excursion to the cloud forest and the famous waterfalls the name which escapes me now,

Thought I'd update... We ended up with reservations at the Aruba Renaissance for two nights and at the Marriott Surf Club for five nights. That was the best we could do to make the points and flights work, and now I'm excited that we can experience the private island and the lazy river, both, at different points during our stay. I've booked a snorkel cruise and a horseback riding trip, and am looking into renting a car for two days so we can do a little exploring on our own.
Thank you again for your advice, and I will take any other words of wisdom you have for our trip! Thanks,
Laura

Hi, even though moving from one resort will be a hassle, this is actually a good combination because you will be spending two days "in town" and then the rest out at Palm Beach. The one suggestion I would make is to rent a car for the entire time rather than just two days -- driving is easy and it will end up more economical and convenient -- the trip back and forth to the airport will probably be $25 each way. And since you have to change resorts, the car will be very helpful.