Kids' Splash Zone
Hotels near waterparks with a children's splash area or shallow play pool, from Tenerife and Mallorca to Dubai, Orlando and Edmonton.
A kids' splash zone is the shallow corner of a water park built for children too small for the slides: ankle-deep water, fountains, little slides, rope bridges and usually a tipping bucket. If your children are under 1.2 m, this is where most of the day happens, so it matters more than the headline slide. The 107 hotels gathered here sit around 36 parks with such a zone; the largest groups are around Siam Park in Tenerife (13 hotels), Lago Martiánez in Puerto de la Cruz (9), Wild Wadi in Dubai and Noah's Ark in Wisconsin Dells (8 each). The rules are what catch parents out. At Aquaventure on Palm Jumeirah, children under 1.2 m must wear a life jacket, which the park provides, and stay within arm's reach of an adult in the water; its Splashers playground is the place to start. Siam Park pairs its Lost City play structure with Coco Beach, a shallow wave pool opened in 2018 for younger children. In Niagara Falls, the Fallsview Indoor Waterpark has a Tiny Tots splash area and a tipping bucket under a roof, which makes it work in January. And at Cowabunga Canyon in Las Vegas, where outside food is banned, one small bag of toddler snacks per child is still allowed in, and swim diapers are sold at the General Store.
Kids' Splash Zone
Local tips
- Look at the hotel photos of the splash area, since a children's pool can mean anything from a paddling pool to a full play structure.
- Check whether the children's pool is heated, which matters for toddlers in spring and autumn in Tenerife or Mallorca.
- Pack swim nappies and water shoes; many hotel splash zones require them for younger children.
- Ask about opening hours, as some hotel play pools close at lunchtime or early evening for cleaning.
- Pick a room close to the pool area if you have a toddler who naps, so one parent can stay near the room.