Hello! My family will be flying down to Miami in April to visit grandparents. We are looking for a place to stay for approximately 3 - 4 nights. What I'm wondering, is if anyone has any recommendations for places to stay with young children? Our kids will be 5 and 7 and we'll be traveling from Seattle - so a great outdoor swimming pool would be most appreciated

After Miami we will be driving up to Disney to spend a few days there before flying home. I'm would also love to know of any favortie hotels on the Disney property that again, hosts great swimming pools.

Budget is fairly open. The kids will be the focus of this trip - but their father and I are always happy with nice linens - good room service, etc.

Thanks so much in advance for your input!

What is your budget? If you are going the week before or after Easter, remember that is peak season and prices will be expensive.

What about a condo on the beach in Miami? Most condos are now condotels in that you get the pros of a condo (multiple bedrooms, living room, dining room, & kitchen) with the amenities of a hotel (on site dining, daily maid service, multiple pools, fitness center, etc).

The Trump Sonesta Resort would be excellent and is a condotel.

As far as Disney, stay on property. I love Disney's Yacht & Beach Club and they have a cool pool (a beach!).

Thank you so much for your post. Great idea about the Condo setup - I would have never thought of that and will look into it this week

I do plan on setting aside a chunk of our savings for this trip. We will be going when it is spring break for the kids - which is also Easter weekend. I was surprised to see that many of the hotels are already sold out!

Thank you again for your thoughts.

I agree that you should stay on property at Disney, preferably one that has the monorail station. Very convenient, especially if you want to take your young children back to the hotel for a nap. Be aware--DisneyWorld is huge! Just driving from one park to your hotel or another park will take a lot of precious time out of your day (especially with little ones). We like the Contemporary because of its close proximity to the Magic Kingdom, and Chef Mickey's character breakfast is inside that hotel. It also has the monorail station.

I agree that the Beach & Yacht club has the best pool. I prefer the color scheme of the Beach Club - the Yacht club is bit staid for me. Here are links with great photos:

Beach Club: http://disneylinks.net/Resorts/BeachClub/

Yacht Club: http://disneylinks.net/Resorts/YachtClub/


Here is a link that will let you click on pictures of any of the resorts - just remember to click where the line points, not on the words themselves:

http://disneylinks.net/Resort-Park-Presentations/

I agree with the earlier poster who said that going near Easter can be a very busy time. You will definately need a good touring plan for visiting the Disney parks. Our family has gone to Disney World numerous times and I promise that a good touring plan can drastically cut the amount of time you spend in line. We have used a couple of services: www.buildabettermousetrip.com does custom touring plans for a reasonable fee. They send a survey and find out what attractions and entertainment you are interested in and they factor in your dining and entertainment plans. Or, www.tourguidemike.com is a subscription site that helps you build your own touring plans.

Wow - I can't thank you guys enough. I am planning on zipping up these details this week and the above will be tremendously helpful I haven't been to Disney since I was 10 years old (I'm 36) and I am really looking forward to seeing the smiles on my little guys faces. Really appreciate all of your help.

Where do the grandparents live in Miami and how near to them do you need to be? You may not to spend 30 - 40 min in transit to visit. If they live near Coral Gables then check out the Biltmore Hotel. Not only does it have a great pool, but it's also near the Venetian Pool - a naturally spring fed pool made from a coral rock quarry.
Check out mousesavers.com in planning your Disney trip.

Venetian Pool is an excelent recommendation, if you are into great pools. Yacht club is beauxcoup bucks if all you want is a great swimming hole. For that, just get tix to a water park! What we do is stay at one of the hotels on Disney property, usually at a Lake Buena Vista Hotel instead of a moderate hotel only because they put the bus stop out yonder. The LBV hotels, use the same buses that go all over Disney property and pull up at the Hotel's front door.

Have a wonderful trip!