Know what's a great add-on to your resort vacation? A break from the emotional labor of having to plan every moment of activity for the family unit. Take it from me, a mom who was initially surprised that school breaks and summer holiday trips with my elementary school-age child were not actually that restful or carefree for me. Instead, trips were mostly just more cooking, but in a kitchen with a different view and the pots and pans all in confusing places. (Still, kid-friendly Airbnb rentals are great choices for traveling with other families.) However along with learning what to pack for a family vacation, and enjoying years of cheap family vacations as well as ones that are plush, I have discovered that you just can't beat traveling to a resort with a great kids club. These clubhouses for little kids are where babysitters entertain and maybe even educate your young ‘uns while you fall asleep at the pool with a frozen drink. Being able to drop off your kid and know they'd have activity for a few hours or heck, even all day while I hit the spa? Priceless. And my kiddo liked it, too: I remember how proud my son was of the tie-dye shirt he made at a kids club at a Maui resort, and how excited he was to tell me about the little boy he befriended that day.

While many hotels have babysitting services, a resort with a kids club is preferable since it entails a custom-built facility with toys, games and colorful décor, signaling to your kids that there’s something fun there for them (as opposed to just your sterile hotel room, where a babysitter would be minding them). The very best clubs lean into the resort’s strengths, with nature walks detailing the flora and fauna, or cultural lessons involving local history. And of course, there’s usually something involving action, in the pool, playground or the nearby park. Finally, tops kids clubs are sensitive to your child’s stage of development—while most take ages 5 to 12, some resorts have staff and equipment suitable for kids as young as 6 months and as old as teenagers. Fees for all this? Those range too, from being free with your stay to being a la carte premiums starting at $75 per half-day. I’ve checked the facts and reviews and crunched the numbers for this curation of the best U.S. resorts with kids clubs…make your reservations now, because school break is just around the corner.

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