My husband and our two children are planning a trip to the Iberian penninsula this May. At departure our children will be ages 1 and 4. We are taking two full weeks to see Spain and plan to hit 4 places--Madrid, Seville, Granada and somewhere on the Costa del Sol, probably Nerja (we want a few days on the beach to decompress after sightseeing, and the Costa del Sol seems like the logical geographical stop). Generally we are very seasoned travelers who have been to Europe several times and once with our son when he was 2, so we have an idea of what to expect out of a trip of this sort with two kids in tow. What I would love is to get any recommendations for kid-friendly hotels in these 4 places. We'd love to find places with pools--a place for our kids to unwind and splash around in after a day sightseeing. Also I'd love to hear any recommendations for kid-friendly restaurants in these cities. And lastly we are planning to insert a day in Madrid and a day in Seville where we do something completly kid-oriented to break up the sightseeing for the kids (ie a zoo or water park). Any recommendations there? Thanks for your help!

Oh, I might add that we're looking for hotels that are centrally located, ie center of town near the sights, etc. Thanks!

The Marriott Marbella Beach Resort has units with up to 3 bedrooms and I believe they even have activities for kids. You can check them out on the Marriott website. We stayed there last time and are staying again in Nov. It's a good location for day trips to Nerja, Granada, Ronda, etc., but only with a car.

One place I think your children might really enjoy is in Nerja--the caves. They are really spectacular.

I'm sure others will have good recommendations. There are several great Spainish websites that also can be of help--red2000.com, okspain.org, spainalive.com, spainish-living.com, to name but a few.

A one year old is going to be a problem in Nerja. There are a lot of stairs to the beaches, which are small and not equipped with facilities, as I recall. The caves are fun, but also have stairs and are somewhat dark and long. You don't really know how a little one will react. There is a flat beach called La Herradura east of Nerja that is very family-friendly, but the beach is made of small stones, not sand. Nice stop for an afternoon, though.

The ocean will still be chilly in May, so you are wise to look for a swimming pool. As much as I think Marbella is more "nondescipt tourist" than Spanish in style, the right resort will probably be a godsend after navigating the hills of Andalucia with small children. We spent a very pleasant time in Sitges, just south of Barcelona, when our son was that age. There, the beach is flat, sandy and easily accessed. Barcelona is a wonderful city to visit for all ages; you may want to consider it for the second part of your trip. I love Granada, but don't find it particularly child-friendly. Be sure to have food on hand for the children, since they aren't going to wait until 9 p.m. for dinner like the Spanish do.

On the plus side, May is a wonderful month to go - look at the dates for Feria de Abril in Seville and Dia de la Cruz in Granada and other festivities at whatsonwhen.com

artlover, thanks for the tip on the Marriott. And also for the websites. I'll give them a look.

patg, just how chilly will the Costa del Sol be in late May--the plan is to be there May 27th-May 31st? When does this area warm up enough to swim?

We'll be bringing a baby backpack for the one-year-old so we're not skiddish of stairs.

Thanks for the tip on Granada. I had guessed it wasn't so kid-friendly, but both my husband and I are pretty stuck on seeing the Alhambra. We've only planned 2 nights and 1 full day there, leaving the bulk of the time for the other 3 places.

Went to Barcelona last year, so that's not on the list, but thanks.

Any other tips would be great!

In Seville, you can take the kids to Isla Magica -Magic Island-, a theme park based in America after the Discovery, with pirate and native american -from Central and South America- inspired food places,water rides, theatre shows, etc.

As far as hotels, there are few with pools in the center and most of them
don't opne their pools until June, but it depends on how hot it gets at the end of May next year. Just don't count on it. Central hotels with pool:
Dona Maria, Los Seises, Casas del Rey de Baeza, Fernando III, Alfonso XIII.

A little further away: NH Plaza de Armas, Melia Sevilla, Hesperia Sevilla.

Even further: Tryp Macarena, San Gil, Occidental, Novotel Marques de Nervion, Melia Lebreros.

Casas de la Juderia is building a very nice rooftop pool and also a spa and gym, but I'm not sure they will be finished by May.

I forgot to mention, put Spain in the topic box when posting, you will get many more replies.

artlover, I checked the Marbella Marriott resort, which looks great, but I did notice that they indicate that the place is currently under construction. Was this the case when you were there? Any info on that?'

Thanks, olga for your thoughts. I'll look into Isla Magica as well as the hotels you suggested. Thanks for the tip on posting too.

I'd love other ideas for the trip.

samtraveler,
we're going to be there in a few weeks, so I'll include this information in my trip report when we get back. The last time we stayed there they indicated there was construction as well, and it was so minor I was surprised they even mentioned it (so minor, I forgot what it was). But I'll let you know.