Visiting Park Hyatt Maldives with Kids

Are you looking for the best Maldives resort for kids? If you are considering visiting the Park Hyatt Maldives with kids, this post is for you! The Park Hyatt Maldives is one of the best 5 star Maldives hotels and one of our favorite resorts in the whole world. It takes two days to get there from Baltimore, but it’s worth it once we set foot on Hadahaa, our home away from home. It’s the most tranquil place we’ve visited, which is always a nice change of pace compared to our extremely busy lifestyle. The team at Hadahaa treat guests like part of the family with service that truly comes from the heart. Service is personalized and impeccable, where each guest has a host who makes sure they have everything they need.

We’ve stayed there twice without our kids and brought them along this time to experience the new kids activities the resort recently rolled out. Although it is famous as a romantic couples destination, the Maldives is actually a wonderful family destination as well! There are so many things to do in the Maldives with kids that everyone in the family will enjoy. Here’s what families need to know about visiting Park Hyatt Maldives with kids, from family-friendly activities to accommodations suited to families, dining, and more.

Getting to the Park Hyatt Maldives with Kids

Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa is located in the North Huvadhoo atoll in Maldives, very close to the equator and quite a distance from Male. We shared about our journey there via Emirates First Class in our first review of Park Hyatt Maldives and our return a few years later, so be sure to check those posts out. This time, we flew from the US to Male with a layover in Doha on Qatar Airways Business Class Qsuites, which was extremely comfortable and luxurious. When traveling this far with kids, flying business class is the way to go so everyone can sleep and arrive relaxed instead of cranky.

We flew with miles from our favorite travel reward credit cards. If you don’t have the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card yet (learn more about it here), we recommend it since you can transfer Chase points to 13 different travel partners including our favorites Hyatt, United, and Southwest Airlines.

From Male we took a one-hour domestic flight to Kooddoo and then a 30-minute speedboat ride to the resort. Staff from the hotel were there to greet and help us each step of the journey, starting in Male after collecting our luggage. Hasan helped with our luggage, checked us in for our domestic flight, and found us cozy seats at the Moonimaa Lounge, where we were able to spend our layover in Male. The lounge has ample seating, food, drinks, showers, and WiFi to pass the time comfortably.

During the speedboat ride to the resort, staff welcomed us with iced tea, cookies, and crackers. They also gave us cold hand towels to refresh ourselves from the very long journey. When we arrived to the resort, the General Manager Nikolaus and our personal host Shahum were waiting on the arrival jetty to welcome us. It’s an extra touch that makes this resort stand out for its exceptional service.

It’s important to know that the roundtrip domestic transfer fee, which includes the domestic flight and speedboat transfer is $520 per adult, $430 per child aged 2-11 years, and $160 per child under 2 years old. The transfer fees are typical for resorts in the Maldives unless you stay somewhere really close to Male, so make sure to figure this cost into your Maldives family vacation budget.

Booking Park Hyatt Maldives with Points

We’ve always booked our stays at the Park Hyatt Maldives with a combination of points and award certificates, making it an affordable Maldives resort. The Park Hyatt Maldives is currently a Category 7 Hyatt property requiring 30,000 Hyatt points per night for a standard Beach Access Villa. For details and dozens of photos of the standard beach villa at Park Hyatt Maldives, check out our previous review.

We redeemed Hyatt points for some of the nights and used a Category 1-7 Hyatt award night that we earned after staying 60 nights at Hyatt properties in a calendar year. Those 60 nights also earned us Hyatt Globalist status, entitling us to free breakfast, a daily sundowner cocktail with canapés, and a room upgrade to a Beach Access Pool Villa (based upon availability).

If you’re not booking with points, the Park Hyatt Maldives family package is a good option. It includes breakfast for 2 adults and 2 kids up to 12 years old or 50% off breakfast for kids aged 12-16, a complimentary extra bed and 50% off a second room for the kids.

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Beach Access Pool Villa

We stayed in a Beach Access Pool Villa (read our former review of that room type for full details) for the majority of our stay. The villa accommodates up to 2 adults and one child, but the hotel allowed our family of four to stay in one villa. We did have to pay an extra person surcharge which was $160 USD per night after taxes and gratuities, which are automatically added to the bill.

If you’re a family of three, then any of the villas at the resort can comfortably accommodate 2 adults and one child. There is a King bed and a daybed that can sleep a child. They brought a rollaway bed for our 2nd child, but since this is not standard procedure so you would need to check in advance if that will be allowed for your family. Our kids are young enough that it wasn’t an issue. If you have older kids, you’ll want to stay in the 2 bedroom villa for more space and privacy.

2 Bedroom Beach Pool Villa

If you have 2 or more children, the best option at Park Hyatt Maldives is the 2 Bedroom Beach Pool Villa. We stayed in Villa 9 for 2 nights and it was really nice having a separate bedroom and bathroom for the kids. Since this trip was a celebration of our 15th wedding anniversary, we appreciated having full privacy in this villa. The bedrooms are actually each a separate villa connected by a covered foyer area, so you don’t have to worry about being quiet either since the sound doesn’t carry between the heavy wooden doors and walls.

The master bedroom had a King bed and lounge area with sliding glass doors opening up to the deck and pool area. The spacious bathroom had separate his and her vanities and closets, a separate room for the toilet, indoor rain shower, and an outdoor shower and soaking tub. We appreciated having so many showers when it was time for everyone to get ready for dinner.

The villa also has its own huge private pool and beautiful covered deck area with plush couches and a table for al fresco dining. We spent a lot of time playing and relaxing in that pool. It was especially perfect during the pandemic to have a private pool big enough to entertain our kids for hours on end right on the beach.

Each villa has a different layout outdoors, with some offering more privacy with lush tropical vegetation surrounding the pool area. Other villas have an open layout where you can see the ocean from the pool and bedroom. We asked for a private villa, but ended up preferring the view from the open villas.

Insider tip: Villa 6 and Villa 2 have the best ocean views where you can get shots  like this drone shot, which you can see on our Instagram and Tiktok accounts. Make sure to follow us on social media for regular travel tips and inspiration! We are on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube as well. Watch our video below of the gorgeous pool at Villa 2, a Deluxe Beach Pool Villa.

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The 2 bedroom beach pool villa requires an additional charge to upgrade if booking a standard beach access villa with points. The cost to upgrade will vary depending on the date of stay, but the upgrade rate for our dates was $1,000 per night to upgrade from the Beach Access Villa to the 2 Bedroom Beach Pool Villa. We visited the Maldives in August during low season and the monsoon season.

Overwater Sunset Pool Villa

Since it was our children’s first time in the Maldives and they’ve never stayed in an overwater villa, we decided to stay just one night in the Overwater Sunset Pool Villa during our stay. They were too young for us to be comfortable with it when we visited Bora Bora a few years prior, but this time we felt confident enough in their swimming abilities to try it.

This way we were able to also experience 3 different types of villas at the resort and see which was the best fit for our family for the next visit. We were already thinking about when we could schedule a return visit before leaving. It’s that amazing! Hopefully we’ll experience the new 3 Bedroom Overwater Presidential Villa next time, which is currently under construction and is slated to open at the end of 2021. It is the last villa at the end of the jetty and it’s enormous!

The Overwater Sunset Pool Villa accommodates up to 2 adults and 1 child, but they allowed us to stay as a family of four. The villa has a King bed and day bed, which honestly would have been big enough for our 2 kids to share. They brought a rollaway bed so our kids would be more comfortable, and there was still plenty of space for everyone.

The Overwater Sunset Pool Villas were not available during our previous visits, when the overwater villas did not have pools. We thought the addition of the private plunge pool on the deck was a major improvement and allowed us to spend more time on the deck. The kids splashed around while we relaxed on the cozy lounge area with thick cushions and shade.

We also enjoyed being able to snorkel right off our deck, where the reef was full of vibrant coral and fish. We even saw a black tipped reef shark swim by while we were snorkeling around our villa. Don’t worry, they are harmless and don’t bother people. We saw many colorful fish from the deck since the water is crystal clear and you can see to the bottom of the reef.

The villa interior has not changed since our last visit, so check out our earlier review of the overwater villa for more details on the room and its luxurious amenities, like the beautiful bathroom with ocean views from a huge soaking tub.

Activities at Park Hyatt Maldives for Kids

We were thrilled to be among the first to experience the new children’s activities at the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa. During our two previous visits we noticed that the resort didn’t have many children visiting and offered no kids program. Since we wanted to bring our kids, we encouraged management to develop a kids program. Thankfully they listened and now offer daily exciting kids’ activities.

The Park Hyatt Maldives kids club is not a small indoor space but rather the entire island- nature’s playground. The resort offers a different kids activity daily aimed at discovering local traditions, flora, fauna, wildlife, and food. The activities encourage appreciation for nature and respect for the environment, which is so important to teach children, especially nowadays.

The kids schedule offered during our visit included kids yoga, ice cream tasting, ice cream making, nature scavenger hunt, palm leaf weaving, coconut tree climbing, Maldivian junior chef, and a reef talk with the resident Marine Biologist Ruben who taught us (we stuck around because it was so interesting) about local plants and animals, including the kinds of fish we’d see while snorkeling in the house reef.

The kids’ favorite activity was Junior Castaway, where they learned how to survive on a deserted island if they were shipwrecked. They learned how to forage for food, how to make drinkable water from ocean water, how to build a fire and make shelter. They got to sip fresh coconut milk from coconuts they helped find around the island. It was really engaging and something they looked forward to all week.

All the activities mentioned above are complimentary, but there are a few additional activities that require a fee. Guided snorkeling with the resident marine biologist and Discover Scuba Diving has a charge. We did a guided snorkeling tour which was so much better than snorkeling on our own since he pointed out interesting fish and coral to us. It was fun testing the kids’ knowledge from the Reef Talk and seeing how much they had actually absorbed, which was quite a lot! We parents also learned so much about local plants and marine life in the reef.

Private Island Picnic

We crossed a major bucket list item off during our time at Hadahaa. The resort offers a Private Island Picnic, which is something our family will never forget. They take you on a 10-minute speedboat ride to a nearby uninhabited island and serve you a private picnic under the shade of umbrellas. We had the option to snorkel with a guide or just play in the water and wander around the island, which was so much fun! We felt like we were in The Swiss Family Robinson while having the entire island to ourselves to explore and play together in the sand and turquoise ocean.

Kid-friendly dining options

We were happy to see that Park Hyatt Maldives has a children’s menu for dining, which is offered at all the restaurants. The kids menu had a variety of options that the pickiest of eaters (our son) and more adventurous eaters (or daughter) could enjoy. Favorite options included chicken fingers with fries, spaghetti, fish sticks, and hamburgers. The chef also was able to make a kid-sized portion of an adult entree upon request, which we appreciated. The prices were surprisingly reasonable for the Maldives, with all but one of the kids meals priced at $12 or less.

The atmosphere is casual enough for families, with both The Dining Room and The Bar serving food right by or at the main pool. We loved having an early dinner at the pool or at The Bar while the kids could still swim in our sight.  We savored our sundowner cocktails and canapé before our meal, and the kids got a kick out of ordering Shirley Temples each night. We loved snuggling up on the swinging chair at The Bar with our drinks watching the sunset.

We had full board for part of our stay, which includes non-alcoholic drinks and two courses for breakfast and lunch and three courses for dinner. The advantage was that we could try a lot of different dishes from the menu as well as mocktails and juices. There’s a ginger mocktail that was our favorite so try it if you like ginger. Having full board was definitely a treat and is worth it if you like to have multi-course meals on vacation. It was so much food that we overindulged each night, but the food was so delicious that we couldn’t help ourselves!

Breakfast was included with our stay since we are Hyatt Globalists. At this resort the Globalist free breakfast benefit is normally just for 2 adults, but they generously extended complimentary breakfast to our children as well when we were not on full board. Breakfast is phenomenal- you can order 2 items off the menu in addition to the buffet. After the kids had their pancakes they swam in the pool right next to the Dining Room while we lingered over our breakfast. It was the most relaxing way to start our days in paradise. You can read more about breakfast at Park Hyatt Maldives here from our first visit.

We also recommend a floating breakfast during your stay, which has an upcharge but is such a unique experience. Plus you’ll want to get some photos for the ‘Gram! 😉

Last thoughts on our Park Hyatt Maldives family vacation

While Park Hyatt Maldives used to attract primarily adult travelers, the resort is catering to families now with the newly added kids activities and 2 bedroom villas that give families the space and privacy they want on vacation. Later this year, they will be unveiling a 3 bedroom presidential suite for even bigger families. The resort does not have a traditional kids club that is housed indoors where kids sit around a lot. Instead Park Hyatt Hadahaa encourages kids to spend their time outdoors discovering new things. Their kids program encourages kids to be active and explore the island with daily kids activities aimed at fostering creativity and learning, which we think is pretty awesome! This makes it one of the best family resorts Maldives has to offer.

When it was raining and the outdoor kids activities had to be cancelled, the kids met up with other kids in the business office. There they watched movies and noshed on popcorn that our wonderful host Shahum brought them. They had fun hanging out with their new friends while we enjoyed some couples time.

We indulged in a blissful couples massage, which we highly recommend! Every time we come to this resort we get a couples massage and Spa Vidhun never disappoints! Check out our chocolate spa experience from a previous visit over Valentine’s Day.

Make sure not to miss these top activities at the resort. Hopefully they will soon bring back the Manager’s Cocktail reception, which they suspended during the pandemic and movie nights under the stars. Have you been to the Park Hyatt Maldives? Please comment below and share how your experience was at Hadahaa.

*Disclosure- Park Hyatt Maldives hosted us for part of our stay, and we extended our stay using our Hyatt points and award certificate. As always, all opinions are our own.