Family Holiday: A Prime Opportunity for ‘Quality Time’

Is this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play? I don’t remember growing older, When did they? “Sunrise, Sunset,” From “Fiddler on the Roof” 1964 Alley Music Corp. and Trio Music Co. Inc. All rights administered by Hudson Bay Music

All young parents always find it difficult to believe, but take it from those of us with grown families: Time passes far, far too quickly. Upon recall, those toddlers of yours, now sitting rapt in front of the TV, will be away in college more quickly than the dizzying blur generated by the fast-forward on your VCR. And it’s then, when the youngsters are gone, that so many parents look at each other wistfully and sigh: “I wish we had spent more time with them.” Because life styles have changed so dramatically during the last few decades, and because more youngsters are being cared for by nannies, au pair girls and housekeepers, it’s more important than ever to share time-- quality time--with your offspring. There simply don’t seem to be enough hours in a day for family togetherness--doing things with the kids and getting to know their dreams, gripes, fears and problems. A vacation can be prime time spent together. It was for us. Religiously, our family would escape on a shared holiday whenever schedules permitted; a week here, two weeks there, a long weekend now and then. We fondly remember Sun Valley, joining a horseback trip into the Big Horn Crags in August and waking up to an unexpected three inches of snow on top of the mountain; the Captain’s Gala on a cruise ship from Barbados to Surinam, all of us resplendent in black ties and long gowns; setting up housekeeping in Florida at Key West’s Pier House, fishing from the bridges, barefoot, brown and perpetually hungry. They’ve all become happy memories that are the most precious of inheritances that we can leave our children--a legacy that will be enjoyed for many tomorrows.

Today, resorts that cater to families are everywhere, providing social directors, children’s counselors and activities for youngsters of all ages, from toddlers to teens. Here is a selection of some of the top favorites.

SOUTH SEAS PLANTATION

In southwest Florida, in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, is a pair of islands where pirates hid, shipwrecks were frequent and buried treasure is still to be discovered, so legend says.

A barefoot kind of place, Sanibel, 12 miles long and 3 miles wide, is lauded by conchologists as the best shelling grounds in the Western Hemisphere and one of the top three in the world. Connected to the mainland by a toll-road causeway and merely minutes from Fort Myers, it’s a perfect hideaway for a Swiss Family Robinson holiday, 1980s-style. Resorts abound, but the queen of the crop is at the northern tip of Captiva, the smaller of the two islands, hooked onto Sanibel by bridge.

Meandering over 330 acres of this barrier-reef island that appears to be straight out of the South Pacific, South Seas Plantation has received many accolades and earns our Oscar for a family escape. Guests can choose from among more than 500 one- to three-bedroom villas, cottages and condominiums; spacious 2-, 3- or 4-bedroom beachfront homes, or 20 rooms in the antebellum-style Plantation Inn.

Sentries are posted at the resort gates to ensure privacy, and the resort offers a 2 1/2-mile beach, 20 tennis courts, a nine-hole golf course, 15 swimming pools, whirlpool baths, fishing, windsurfing, water-skiing, bicycling, a yacht basin, a sailing school, charter boats, three restaurants, a social director, a children’s counselor and a playground. You’ll also find lawn games, shops and a Mississippi-style excursion boat that carries guests on explorations to such places as Cabbage Key, the winter home of novelist Mary Roberts Rinehart, and Useppa Island, a restored private luxury resort that’s open to visitors on a get-acquainted basis.

Nearby recreational facilities include the 5,000-acre J. N. (Ding) Darling National Wildlife Refuge, which offers canoe trips and superb shelling, and Fort Myers across the causeway with Thomas Edison’s Winter Home plus Everglades Jungle Cruises.

Rates for South Seas Plantation include a package (April 14 to Dec. 19) for eight days/ seven nights from $448 to $672 per person double. Children 12 and under (maximum of two) are free when sharing a villa with parents, using existing bedding. Rates are lower after mid-April. Telephone (813) 472-5111. For information on Sanibel / Captiva, write to Lee Island Coast, 2126 1st St., Fort Myers, Fla. 33902-2445 or telephone (800) 237-6444.

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C.

Changing Times, Money magazine and Better Homes & Gardens have singled out Kiawah Island as an ideal family vacation site, and it has our vote as well. Located 21 miles south of Charleston, S.C., it is a study in what adhering to ecological standards can produce--one of the finest resorts on the Eastern Seaboard. A 10,000-acre island with 10 miles of beach and two self-contained resort villages, Kiawah has made room for man without disturbing, as much as possible, what was originally there.

Structures are low-rise, made of weathered wood that blends without blemishing the surroundings. The vacation settlements of West and East Beach Villages are about two miles apart, and each provides its own facilities. There are two 18-hole golf courses, one designed by Gary Player, the other by Jack Nicklaus. Two tennis centers offer 28 courts, and there is sailing as well as bicycling, playgrounds, a 20-station “fitness trail,” water-skiing, fishing, crabbing, windsurfing, catamarans and two swimming pools.

A back-island Jeep safari carries guests to explore the salt marshes where more than 20 species of mammals--including white-tail deer and raccoons--and 30 species of reptiles--amphibians, alligators and sea turtles included--share the territory with vacationers.

Supervised recreation programs for different age groups are organized by the recreation staff and include among their activities nature crafts, puppet shows, face painting, beach games, volleyball, table tennis tournaments, soccer matches, roller-skating on paved trails and junior golf clinics. While kids are in the care of watchful counselors, Mom and Dad can enjoy separate activities if they wish.

Combined, the two villages provide 1,200 villas and 300 cottages, plus 150 rooms in the Kiawah Island Inn. Accommodations are available in shaded cabins built on stilts, contemporary condominiums or the deluxe inn. Guests may dine at fine restaurants on the property or pick up their own groceries at either of two shopping villages.

Don’t miss the Saturday night cookouts and oyster roasts that feature fresh crabs, oysters, barbecued beef, pork ribs, chicken, seafood gumbo and and homemade pie. All this and a Bluegrass band, too.

Rates for homes, villas and cottages vary, depending on location and season, from $50 per room in the off-season to $100 during the peak season of March 24 through Nov. 2. Two-bedroom-villa weekly rates are $924 to $2,350 during the peak season. Discount rates are offered through special package plans. For information, telephone (800) 845-2471.

HOTEL HANA-MAUI

And then there is the Hotel Hana-Maui, a fragile remnant of old Hawaii. Some things sure to grab the youngsters’ attention are feeding tame fish that will eat from their hands, having all the hot dogs and hamburgers they want for lunch every day, going without shoes, and swimming at one of the most beautiful and uncrowded beaches anywhere. They (and you) will explore hidden coves and secret pools and learn to ride a horse at a real ranch.

This small (for Hawaii) resort, tucked away on the remote west coast of Maui, has been garnering the hard-to-get children’s cachet for years with a complete family program that never seems like one. Part of this resort’s attraction is a wide scope of family- and children-oriented programs, but it’s also due to the genial Hawaiian staff that has served the hotel for a generation and cvontinues to perpetuate a lovely Hawaiian outlook that children are special. It shows. My, how it shows.

Up front, Hotel Hana-Maui does not have the challenging golf courses and multi-unit tennis layouts of such big, splendiferous Hawaiian resorts as Mauna Kea Beach, Westin Hotel’s spread on the Big Island of Hawaii, or Rockresort’s pleasantly posh Kapalua Bay on the more accessible end of Maui at Kamuela.

Instead, Hotel Hana-Maui has only 82 mostly one-story, bungalow-style, laid-back luxury rooms and suites, along with two tennis courts and a pitch-and-putt golf course that makes almost every duffer look good. It does, however, have an idyllic location and a beach that author James Michener called one of the finest in the world. Not a bad endorsement from a man who has sought Bali Hai on almost every island in the South Pacific.

This somewhat remote hotel is readily accessible by connecting flights to Hana from Maui International Airport. For those with time and a flair for adventure, there is an optional 52-mile, cliff-hugging, waterfall-strewn and tropical-tree-studded road to Hana that boggles the mind. For that, plan on at least a three-hour, four-roll-of-film drive.

Full American-plan prices at Hotel Hana-Maui--rates that include such extras as the most authentic Hawaiian luau that any hotel guest is likely to find in the Islands--range from about $200 to $240 double for cottages and $275 to $300 for suites per day. Special arrangements for children require only meal charges: $22.50 per day for children under 7 and $45 a day for ages 7 through 17. Telephone (800) 252-0211 or write to Hotel Hana-Maui, Hana, Maui, Hawaii 96713-0038.

CLUB MED--ELEUTHERA

In a way, a family vacation at the Club Med resort on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera contradicts our announced concept of parents and children getting away to spend more time together. There’s simply so much for the kids to do and, more important, so much that they’ll enjoy doing, you might see them only briefly during a 12-hour stretch of sunlight.

On the other hand, the almost endless daily program of activities at a Club Med is optional for both parents and youngsters. You can, if you wish, spend all your time together. Or, you can let the youngsters go off to safe, supervised swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, computer classes and games, arts or crafts while you choose a game of tennis, take a sail, fish, snooze or simply laze in the sun. You can strike any balance that you prefer.

By now, you probably have noticed that the accent on family vacations negates the sybaritic, swinging image that Club Med has acquired over the years. That kind of fun is there, of course, at some of the 90-plus Club Med villages around the globe. But during the last decade of its 34 years of existence, Club Med has been showing its maturity (and great business sense) by offering its everything-for-one-price vacation concept to families.

Of the 30 or so villages so styled, most are in Europe; only three are in the Western Hemisphere: Club Med-Fort Royale on Guadeloupe, a ski village at Copper Mountain, Colo., and Eleuthera. The latter is easily the best in the West. (Two other Club Med villages, one in the Dominican Republic and the other in Ixtapa in Mexico, cater to families during the summer only).

At Eleuthera there’s a Mini Club for the 4-to-12 set. In addition to the type of activities mentioned above, there is a circus-style school where youngsters can learn techniques of juggling, clowning and even trapeze and wire work--with safety harnesses, of course. The instructors are from the University of Florida’s High-Flying Circus School. There’s supervised fun from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., followed by a dinner-movies-games period from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Rates, including air travel from Los Angeles, transfers and accommodations for one week, range from $1,099 to $1,485. Children 2 to 6 years of age are accommodated free; those 7 to 11 receive a 50% discount on accommodations only. For information on Eleuthera and other Club Med vacations telephone (800) 528-3100.

KAH-NEE-TA RESORT

When your vacationing family sits down to a dinner of buffalo steak, game hen or venison, that can be taken as a solid clue that you’re in a very special resort. Oregon’s Kah-Nee-Ta lodge is such a place. About a two-hour drive from Portland, the lodge is within the 60,000-acre Warm Springs Indian Reservation. The resort and extensive vacation and recreational facilities are owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes, which is comprised of the Warm Springs, Wasco and Paiute Indians.

The high desert setting is a dramatic one, set below towering bluffs and buttes, behind which, hidden canyons and mountain lakes offer hiking and horseback riding adventures.

Accommodations are varied. Tops is the striking 144-room central lodge, with Western Indian decor and furnishings, located on a bluff overlooking the rambling Deschutes River. There are also 24 cottages and even 20 Indian tepees. The latter are just a step above camping out, but some of the cottages are equipped with a kitchen and easily handle a family of six.

Recreational facilities include a ramada of 50 friendly horses, an Olympic-size pool heated by natural warm springs, golf, tennis, a playground and a game room. During the summer, there’s dancing and cocktails for adults, and a counselor for youngsters. Family activities include good fishing in the river or mountain lakes and even rafting down the Deschutes, which may be white-water or quiet-style, depending on the season. There are special cookouts on Sundays, and the Indian tribes perform authentic dances.

Rates May 1 to Sept. 15 are $69 to $99 a night for two at the lodge; one-bedroom cottages, (no kitchen), $49 a night double; two-bedroom cottage with kitchenette, $69 a night double. No charge for children under 6. Older children are $8 additional. Write Kah-Nee-Ta Resort, Warm Springs, Ore. 97761; telephone (503) 553-1112.

FAMILY CRUISE - SITMAR’S FAIRSEA

Cruise lines have only been seriously catering to families for the last half-dozen years or so. At one time, they really didn’t need to, but then in the late 70s came new cruise lines, more and bigger liners, all chasing the same market. In order to expand business, many lines offered family rates or discounts for children, an idea long overdue in the cruise business. But it’s one thing to lure families aboard ship with special rates and another to provide safe, supervised activities for children of all ages, particularly activities that children will enjoy.

Today, most lines do a good to excellent job. Certainly all the larger cruise liners do. And few do it better than Sitmar, especially on summer cruises to the Caribbean and Mexico aboard the Fairsea or its sister ship, the Fairwind.

Their typical 7- to 14-day summer cruises works a special staff of a dozen youth counselors, including even a drama and dance instructor to help bring out the artistic nature of young cruisers. There’s a swimming pool just for the kids, plus a teen center and disco.

Just as adults receive a nightly listing of the next day’s activities, so does each child. For teens, it’s a 9 a.m. to midnight potpourri of fun; for youngsters, it’s almost as long. Both are designed for all interests and age levels.

And it’s not merely puzzles, arts and crafts, bingo, sports contests and deck games. Although all of those are fun, such activities can sometimes become too much like de rigueur summer camp at sea. But add disco lessons, video games, beauty sessions, weight training, ice-cream-sundae-building contests and pizza parties, and toss in activities that fully develop true cruise enjoyment such as a tour of the ship, talks with the captain and other officers--even fascinating and entertaining ports-of-call lectures geared to their age level--and you have a host of happy young cruisers.

Meals and port visits are usually taken with parents, and families may opt for all the “together time” they want. But the extensive tot-to-teen program allows parents ample time to relax or to join in their own shipboard program with the certain knowledge that their young ones are enjoying themselves.

Family rates vary with the length of the cruise and size of the cabin, but generally children’s rates run about one-third of the minimum per-person adult fare. Considering all the free activities as well as the saving of baby-sitting costs, a cruise on the Fairsea is a seagoing bargain, even in luxury class. Check with your travel agent for sailing schedules and additional bargain rates on what Sitmar calls its Super Saver fares.