u/rekon32

Trying to decide between three options for a 4-night family trip (kids are 4 and 7) before my two FNCs expire and will use points for the remaining nights. Flying from LAX, fine with up to a 6-hour flight. Down to three contenders and could use some real world input:

Option A: Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica (Punta Cacique) — newer property, looks incredible but not all-inclusive and only one pool has a slide. Curious if anyone's stayed since it opened and how it held up for families.

Option B: Hilton Tulum Riviera Maya (All Inclusive) — has an actual water park/Family Zone with slides, all-inclusive, kids club for both ages. Wondering if the AI food/service holds up well. We've had amazing experiences at recent Conrad breakfasts and have never stayed at an all-inclusive.

Option C: Conrad Tulum Riviera Maya — five pools, well-reviewed kids club, but activities lean more craft/culture than water park. Not all-inclusive. Wondering how it compares as a redemption vs the AI option next door.

Has anyone done any of these with young kids? Which felt like the better use of an FNC + points, and is there something else in this range I'm missing? Appreciate any firsthand experience!

Hi everyone,
We’re starting to plan a family trip for late May / early June next year and would love some feedback from people who have traveled to these cities with kids.
We’ll be traveling as a family of four with two daughters who will be 5 and 8 years old. Our current plan is:

London – 5 nights
Paris – 4 nights
Barcelona – 5 nights

We’re coming from Los Angeles and we can possibly extend to 16 or 17 nights.

We’re not looking to do every museum or attraction. We generally prefer a mix of iconic sights, good food, parks/playgrounds, and experiences that both kids and adults will enjoy. We also like to keep a somewhat relaxed pace and avoid changing hotels too frequently.

A few questions:
* Does 5/5/4 nights feel about right for these cities with children?
* Would you allocate more or fewer days to any of them?
* Is late May / early June a good time to visit in terms of weather and crowds?
* Are there any family-friendly experiences in these cities that ended up being unexpectedly memorable for your kids?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

EDIT: Thanks for all the feedback. For context, we just returned from a 3-week family trip around Japan and found that planning around one major activity per day with lots of downtime in between worked really well for our kids. We'll likely take a similar approach in Europe and are rethinking the city split based on many of the suggestions here. Thank you so much!