Methodology
How the Kid-Friendliness Score works
Every hotel is scored out of 100 from nine weighted factors. Each factor is scored on its own merits, then multiplied by the weight below. Nothing is hidden: the same numbers you see on a hotel page are the numbers that decide the ranking.
HeaviestVerified kids' club & drop-off childcare
33%The single heaviest factor. Full credit needs staffed care you can sign a child into and leave the premises, with stated ages, hours, ratios and check-in rules, confirmed by us. Parent-stays sessions score part credit; unstaffed playrooms and babysitting referrals score little.
Nearby kid-friendly activities
12%Family museums, zoos and aquariums, parks and playgrounds, beaches and age-appropriate attractions — judged on distance and how practical the trip is with children. Kept strictly separate from anything on the hotel's own property.
Rooms & sleeping setup
12%Separate sleeping space, interconnecting rooms, cots, bed rails and blackout curtains.
On-property water fun
10%Age-appropriate pools, zero-entry or shallow areas, splash pads and slides, lifeguard cover, safety features and any seasonal or height limits. Adults-only pools and spas earn no credit.
Indoor play & weather backup
9%Real indoor playrooms, supervised indoor programming, family game rooms and activity spaces, plus practical indoor options nearby. Generic lobbies and adult gyms are not counted.
Food for picky eaters
9%Kids' menus and hours, high chairs, allergy handling and in-room kitchen facilities.
Parent time while kids are at the club
8%What parents can actually do with the free hours the kids' club creates: spas, adults-only pools, date-night restaurants, classes and excursions. This factor is capped by the childcare score — a wonderful spa earns little if there is no trusted care to free up the time.
Safety & layout
4%Window and stair safety, traffic and water hazards, and how the building works with small children.
Getting around
3%Buggy-friendly routes, transport links, shuttles and parking.
Where the information comes from
Every listing starts from what the hotel publishes itself — its kids' club, pool, room and dining pages. That is enough for most of a listing, but it is not enough for the question that matters most: whether a parent may actually leave a child in the kids' club. Hotel websites are routinely vague about it.
So a listing built from published pages alone is labelled from hotel website — unconfirmed, and its childcare score is capped at 60 out of 100. We then write to the property with five plain questions about ages, hours, supervision, cost and whether parents can leave. Only once someone there answers does the listing become hotel confirmed, earn the "verified drop-off" badge and become eligible for a full childcare score. Nothing a hotel pays for can change any of this.
What families tell us
Reviews submitted through KidTrip ask specifically about kids' club quality, the ages actually served, real opening hours, safety and how easy booking was. Once a hotel has reviews, family feedback becomes its own factor worth up to 12% of the score, and the other weights shrink proportionally.
A review is verified when the parent confirms a code we email them, so one person cannot post repeatedly under throwaway names. Verified reviews count in full; reviews published without confirming an email still appear, clearly labelled, but count at a quarter weight.
Browse hotels with verified drop-off childcare