Most resorts in Jamaica call themselves "family friendly," and many are. But these Montego Bay hotels are among the few on the island that offer an incredible pool, calm waves at the beach, supervised kids' activities, cribs, and large rooms. Plus, these hotels go above and beyond with everything from private nannies to pirate-ship water parks.
Kids under 16 eat and sleep for free at this classic luxury resort. Anancy Children's Village has a series of colorful cabins that house supervised activities like video games, arts and crafts, and stories with nap time. From a great playground to a shallow kiddie pool to a mini-golf course to horseback riding stables to a private dolphin cove, Half Moon's 400-acre property offers ample resources for families, including full-time nannies. Rooms are large, and multiroom villas are also available.
Sugar Mill Falls -- a complex of waterslides, waterfalls, and swinging bridges in a massive lagoon-shaped pool -- is an instant family favorite. Private perches outside the falls help parents keep an eye on their kids. The Kids' Klub, a fenced-off and supervised playground with slides and swings, offers daily activities.
The kids' club contains lots of games, a small playground, and two shin-deep pools with animal-shaped floaties. Staff members regularly try to get children involved in group activities, and they'll even spend two hours losing to an 8-year-old at Connect Four on a rainy day. There is no water park, but the main pool is enormous and filled with various sports activities.
All three pools are only four feet deep, and kids love the Sunset's elaborate, castle-like water park, with its huge waterslides and its shin-deep play pool for younger swimmers. The kids' club features afternoon relay races that take over the lobby, and Club Mongoose serves as a drop-off center with video games and supervised flop space. Basketball hoops, miniature golf, swing sets, face painting, and various other attractions abound.
Private nannies are available 24 hours a day ($12 per hour before midnight, then $15 per hour), and kids can play at the supervised activities center or take lessons at the free kids' tennis clinic. Younger children can play in the one-foot-deep baby pool, and lifeguards are on the beach. Kids' menus are available for every meal -- picky eaters can live on chicken fingers with ketchup and chocolate milk shakes (should you allow it) -- and in addition to the large standard rooms, private villas are available with various room configurations.
The playground is old and rusty, but families love the lagoon-shaped pool, supervised kids' clubs, and the various sports -- from basketball to Ping-Pong to boccie -- that can be played in the large interior courtyard. Kids' menus are available at every restaurant (including in-room dining), and the large rooms come in several family-friendly combinations.