Family hotels that respect the parents.

Four things, in order: a real kids' club with set hours and trained staff rather than drop-in babysitting; family suites or connecting rooms built for four people rather than two adults and a sofa bed; a pool that works for every age, with somewhere shallow and somewhere for real swimming; and a kitchen that treats the children's menu as cooking rather than an afterthought. The clearest tell is whether children are planned for or merely tolerated. Confirm club ages, hours and any extra cost before booking.

Increasingly, yes. Brands such as Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton and Rosewood run structured children's programmes and dedicated family-suite categories, and the strongest resorts here, Maui's Grand Wailea and Sardinia's Forte Village among them, build their whole layout around families. The exceptions are adults-leaning city and design hotels that accept children without planning for them, so look for a named kids' club and a real family-room category rather than assuming.

Yes, and multigenerational trips are one of the fastest-growing reasons families book a luxury resort. Most large resorts offer connecting suites or multi-bedroom villas designed for exactly this, often with a shared living room and kitchen. For three generations under one roof, a villa with its own pool usually beats a row of hotel rooms: everyone has somewhere to gather, and it frequently costs less per head than separate suites.

It depends on the flight you will tolerate and the season. For all-ages range, Maui's Wailea resorts and Sardinia's Forte Village are hard to beat; active mountain families do well in Whistler and Jackson Hole; and the Riviera Maya and the Maldives suit warm-water trips, with most Maldivian resorts now welcoming children. Match the destination to your children's ages and your tolerance for travel time before you choose the brand.

A real kids' club with proper hours, a shallow or separate children's pool, connecting rooms or suites, and a flexible all-day dining option. Confirm the club's age ranges and whether it costs extra before you book.

They can be, because they remove daily decisions and keep food and activities easy with children. The best family all-inclusives in Mexico and the Caribbean pair a strong kids' club with good food, while the weaker ones cut corners on dining, so read recent reviews first.