All Aboard the Polar Express
Give your children a little holiday magic with the Polar Express Package at the Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Your package includes breakfast daily and one Premier ticket to the Polar Express for each family member, along with complimentary Christmas cookies upon arrival. The Polar Express train takes your family on a journey to the North Pole and a visit with Santa and his elves. Proceeds benefit various literacy charities in New England. Other hotel perks include complimentary internet and daily historical hotel tours. You will also find a gym, spa, indoor pool, movie theater, working farm and several dining options and can enjoy sledding, snow tubing, ice skating and cross-country skiing right at the hotel. This package is available for stays after November 29 with a minimum of two-nights.
Kidvasion in San Diego
Travel to San Diego during the month of October for Kids Free San Diego, nicknamed Kidvasion. Enjoy free children’s admission to
over 100 family attractions, museums, restaurants and with transportation companies. Participating attractions include the San Diego Zoo, Legoland, Belmont Park, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and SeaWorld. In conjunction, children ride free on Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner train where one child ages 2-15 rides free with each adult rail fare purchased for travel to and from Oceanside, Old Town San Diego and San Diego Downtown station. You can travel from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange County and points in-between. A variety of hotels are also offering specials to celebrate.
Precocious Plates at Loews
Loews Hotel & Resorts introduced a new children’s menu, called Precocious Plates, for children 12 and under. The new menu will be available at Loews signature restaurants, including Maritana Grille 
at the Loews Don CeSar in St. Pete Beach, Fla.; Café Adelaide at Loews New Orleans and Ocean & Vine at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. The idea is to offer dishes adults typically order but in children’s sized portions. The menu features half portions, including, depending on restaurant, Kobe Short Rib, Shrimp and Grits Tarragon Tiger Shrimp with Lobster Risotto at Ocean & Vine. “Typically kids’ menus cater to picky eaters and cover basics like chicken fingers and hamburgers, but kids with a healthy appetite and an adventurous palate shouldn’t have to feel left out,” said Executive Chef Keith Roberts at Ocean & Vine. “This is our solution.”
Tween Friendly Fun in Florida
Sunset Key Guest Cottages, A Westin Resort, off of Key West, has fun created packages for parent + tween (age 9-12
). Choose from Spaaah Total Wellbeing or Wet & Wild Adventure. With the Spaaah Total Wellbeing package, stay three nights and take part in a private, 1-hour workout session for two (tennis, yoga or Get Fit Boot Camp); receive two, 25-minute spa treatments with a post-treatment dessert bento box for two and two coconut-infused beverages; enjoy a demo on “no-cook” healthy lunches, snacks and treats; volunteer at the Key West Reef Relief or the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center; and take part in a private, custom jewelry-making class for two. Meanwhile on the 3-day Wet & Wild Adventure, tweens go on a guided kayak excursion or reef snorkel excursion; a volunteer excursion; a private, half-day charter fishing excursion where the chef will cook the day’s catch for dinner; a Dolphin Encounter at the Dolphin Research Center for two; and a photo scavenger hunt. The package is available through December 15, 2014 and accommodates one parent and one tween in a two bedroom cottage. Additional guests pay an additional fee.
Amelia Loves Families
Both the Omni Amelia Island Plantation and the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island have added family friendly amenities. 
The Omni is offering three new excursions: a 90-minute Paddleboard Adventure through the marshes; the Archery Challenge, where you learn how to shoot a bow and arrow; and daily Junior Segway tours designed for teens. The hotel’s Verandah restaurant has also added a Sunday Supper designed with families in mind, offering Southern cuisine like Fernandina shrimp and banana pudding. The 404-room, AAA four-diamond property recently went through an $85 million renovation with a multi-tiered pool deck with an adults-only infinity pool, a Splash Park water playground for kids, two hot tubs and fire pits, in addition to three Audubon International Certified Sanctuary golf courses and a shopping village. Meanwhile, The Ritz-Carlton has added a weekly Princess Tea experience where girls can dress up in tiaras and dresses for a “royal” tea party with Princess Amelia. The tea party, which takes place every Saturday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. features tea, treats and a photo with Princess Amelia. The 446-room hotel features four restaurants, a spa, tennis facilities, a 24-hour fitness center and 18 holes of championship golf. Their Family Bed & Breakfast, valid through February 27, 2013, includes coastal View room accommodations, full American Breakfast for two Daily, two Kids’ Meal Plans, valet parking and a discount on a connecting second room.
Family Fun in Portland
River Place Hotel located on the waterfront in Portland, OR has put together a family friendly package with the best of the best of Portland attractions. The Are We There Yet package includes 4 passes to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science & Industry), 4 Portland streetcar passes (to get around the city like a local), 2 souvenir Rocky rubber duckys, specialty flavored popcorn snacks, one complimentary in- room movie and complimentary use of the hotel kites, kayaks, frisbees and bikes. The package is valid for stays until October 31, 2013. River Place Hotel is a newly renovated Kimpton Hotel with 84 rooms and suites and lots of windows to appreciate the scenic surroundings. The hotel also has gym access, afternoon wine reception, restaurant and free internet access.
Pullman Rail Journeys
All aboard! Pullman Rail Journeys, which travels overnight between New Orleans and Chicago (or reverse), 
is offering Half-Pints at Half-Price for travel through August 31. Save 50% on the purchase of a second bedroom accommodating up to two children or choose the affordable Section Lower Berth and receive the Upper Berth for one child at 50% off. Rates include accommodations, all food and beverage including alcohol and exceptional service provided by Pullman Porters, Stewards and Conductors. Your children will have the time of their lives aboard the train while you enjoy the great service, relaxation and comfort.
Luxury In-Room Camping
The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes’ recently introduced an upscale In-Room Camping Experience. 
Your children get to camp out in a tent with double featherbed with a lantern for nighttime reading, a Florida-themed children’s book plus a stuffed alligator when you stay in an executive suite. The cost of the tent package is $50.00 and your family keeps the lantern, book and stuffed animal. The tent and bedding can be purchased for $50.00 with carrying case and stakes. The resort also offers great golf, pools, spa, gym, a Ritz Kids program, free eco-tours in the Florida Everglades, surrey bike rentals and a special unlimited ice cream bracelet for each child. Complimentary transportation is included to nearby Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld. Through the end of the year, the property also allows one child (17 and under) to play golf free per paying adult. Other added value family packages are available.
Nursing Moms Rock Hard
For nursing mothers, traveling can be a challenge. Thankfully the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago is partnering with Medela for a Nursing Mother’s Amenity Program. For $30 per stay, you will be provided with hospital grade breast pumps, minifridge, microwave, cooler bags, ice packs and bra pads. Proceeds directly benefit local families with children in Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago through The Jackson Chance Foundation. The hotel’s concierge staff is trained to handle nursing specific requests like how to safely send expressed milk. Currently the hotel offers a Family Rocks package that includes a Hard Rock Hotel Chicago branded sport sack loaded with all the essentials for your Windy City adventure: sun block, 4 bottled waters, 4 granola bars, 2 packets of Pop Rocks, bug spray, hand wipes and a Frisbee; two in-room movies of your choice complete with 4 bowls of popcorn and 4 ice cream sundaes topped with 4 large chocolate chip cookies and two Hard Rock Hotel Chicago Collectors Pins.
Suite Sherry
Stay in a suite at The Sherry Netherland hotel in New York City for 2 nights and get a second hotel room free for each night booked! 
The upscale boutique hotel features 50 rooms and is located right on 5th Avenue on Central Park near FAO Schwartz, Rockefeller Center and the Sony Wonder Technology Lab. The hotel offers a gym, free internet and Harry Cipriani, the upscale restaurant and bar that is an outpost of Venice’s famed Harry’s Bar. Rooms range from 370-450 sq. ft. while the one bedroom suites are up to 600 sq. ft. with either courtyard or city views. The suites offer a kitchenette equipped with stovetop, cookware, dishware, and utensils, and bathroom with shower and bathtub. Rooms and suites all have a refrigerator and complimentary bottled water.
