Oyster's Best Resort Waterparks
Slip 'N Slide not cutting it in entertaining the kids this summer? What about a trip to a resort waterpark, complete with wave pool, lazy river, and slides galore? Travel Channel and Oyster.com have the best tips for resort waterparks sure to keep you cool and the kids happy.
Nickelodeon Suites Resort
Orlando, Florida
Guests at the Nickelodeon Suites Resort, one of Orlando's best options for families outside of a theme park, have free access to 2 on-site waterparks. The Oasis waterpark, seen here, has an Olympic-size pool, water slides, and a kids' play area (just note that this pool might be closed during the off-season).
Beaches Negril Resort & Spa
Negril, Jamaica
Kids' activities galore, including a large waterpark in the center of the resort and "Sesame Street"-themed activities, makes this one of the best family resorts in Jamaica. Guests seem to prefer it even to the cheaper Beaches Sandy Bay. The resort has plenty for adults too--parents love the spa.
Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa
Maui, Hawaii
The 809-room Hyatt Regency was one of the first mega-resorts in Kaanapali and it still rivals newer hotels in almost all aspects, especially in regards to the pool (one of the most impressive in Maui). It boasts a waterfall, rope bridge, 150-foot water slide, and a children's section seen here with its own water slide, sprinklers, and sandlot in the center of the shallow water.
Grand Wailea Resort Hotel and Spa
Maui, Hawaii
Maui's Grand Wailea resort has an extraordinarily elaborate pool complex. Its highlights: 4 water slides, whitewater rapids, caves, a lazy river pool, rope swings, and a "water elevator" inside a man-made volcano.
Fairmont Kea Lani Maui
Maui, Hawaii
The Fairmont sits on a 22-acre beachfront property that includes 5 restaurants, access to world-class golf, some of Maui's largest rooms, and 4 well-designed pools with swim-up bars, footbridges, basketball nets, and a water slide. Picnic packages are available for kids to bring to the pool because they'll never want to leave!
Rose Hall Resort and Spa, a Hilton Resort
Montego Bay, Jamaica
This relaxed, beachside golf resort is more popular with families than rum-chugging partiers. Rose Hall's main feature is the Sugar Mill Falls complex of water slides, waterfalls and swinging bridges, all in a huge lagoon-shaped pool.
Atlantis Paradise Island Resort
Bahamas
Larger-than-life Atlantis boasts a 141-acre Aquaventure waterpark featuring 2 slides with vertical drops over 50 feet, a mile-long lazy-river ride (with waves, tunnels, and rapids along the way), a tube that gushes past sharks, and a plethora of other scenic slides.
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort is home to "The Dig Site" -- a huge pool and water slide complex -- plus a small, quiet pool near each building cluster.
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada
The Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino offers more for kids-- streaming lazy river pool, shark aquarium -- and plenty for adults -- quality spa, lively bars, premier cuisine. Mandalay's 11-acre pool complex includes the wave pool, clearly the kid favorite, which produces waist-high (on an adult) ocean waves every few minutes.