Acqualina Resort & Spa, Sunny Isles Beach, Florida

Toddlers, kids, tweens and teens share the good life with their elders at the beachfront Acqualina Resort & Spa, in Sunny Isles Beach, north of Miami Beach, Florida. The luxe, Mediterranean-style, family-owned resort earned the coveted Forbes five-star award for six consecutive years and was acclaimed Trip Advisors No. 1 U.S. Luxury Beachfront Resort for four consecutive years.

Reached through grand gates, the 98-room, high-rise hotel is located on 4.5 acres of prime oceanfront property with direct access to the beach (most oceanfront resorts are separated from the beach by a public boardwalk); accommodations feature views of the Atlantic and/or the Intra-Coastal Waterway.

Chess at the hotel. Photo: Acqualina Resort

It’s a family-friendly venue, where I spotted kids in stroller and youngsters confidently walking through the gracious lobby corridors or perched on chairs under the vaulted entry; others were swimming in the family pool or playing organized games in the recreation pool (the third pool is for adults only). At mid-day, teens sat in small groups, most having lunch outside at the casual beachside Costa Grill. A few were ordering grab-and-go meals at Kosher-to-Go and a couple of girls looked like they were having a picnic on the beachside lawn. At night, the popular dining rooms are AQ Chop House by Il Mulino and the iconic Il Mulino Italian restaurant, where I enjoyed a bruschetta, grilled vegetables and vitello (veal) al limone. 

There’s a children’s center for youngsters redesigned in 2016 and ideal for rainy day activities (face painting anyone?) and there’s an impressive number and quality of camp-like programs — each directed by experts — to appeal to multiple ages and tastes. The innovative computer and experientially based Aqua-Marine program for campers aged 5–12 is an innovative, educational find. Other activities geared to the water-world include opportunities to learn to scuba dive, swim, snorkel or jump on a paddleboard and paddle around the sandbar; a three-hour excursion offers the opportunity to see marine wildlife, such as dolphins and turtles and egrets. And, there’s a firsthand way to learn about Florida’s eco-system when young adventurers kayak through the local mangroves in nearby Oleta State Park. For budding athletes, there are sports lessons on the basketball court or the lawn (soccer and football). For the artistic, there are plein-air painting classes influenced by sun, sea and sand and led by a Miami artist. And there’s a story hour, a fitness guru and an etiquette guru a la Miss Manners.

Kids in the Kitchen. Photo: Acqualina Resort

The spacious, 20,000-square-foot, two-story Acqualina Spa by ESPA — also a Forbes five-star award winner — offers 11 treatment rooms, an ocean view, an outdoor co-ed lounge terrace with a waterfall in the hot tub and the rare opportunity for children as young as 7 to experience their first spa treatment. These take place in the Royal Treatment Suite, designed for two and when accompanied by a parent. The two-room duo suite was recently redecorated with Fendi furnishings and includes a sitting room, a treatment room with a full shower, a jetted bath tub and two treatment tables that face doors that open out to a balcony overlooking the ocean.

Yes, it’s a place in the sun designed for family fun.

Acqualina Hotel. Photo: Acqualina Resort