Splish, splash then take a nap at these 15 best US hotels with water parks

There are plenty of family-friendly destinations where you can visit a water park, but it’s even better when you can hit the waves without ever leaving your hotel. That’s why we rounded up the best U.S. hotels with water parks for your next family vacation. With few exceptions, water park access is included in your …

May 19, 2025 - 18:08
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Splish, splash then take a nap at these 15 best US hotels with water parks

There are plenty of family-friendly destinations where you can visit a water park, but it’s even better when you can hit the waves without ever leaving your hotel. That’s why we rounded up the best U.S. hotels with water parks for your next family vacation.

With few exceptions, water park access is included in your stay, making these 16 water park hotels so much more than just a place to sleep (though you may need a good night’s rest after splashing all day).

The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark

blue and green waterslide
THE KARTRITE RESORT

Anyone who has visited New York’s Catskill region knows it can get a bit chilly outside of the summer months, but it’s always a balmy 84 degrees at The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark.

Kartrite’s indoor water park is the largest in the state of New York. It boasts separate play areas for toddlers and big kids, private cabanas, multiple slides, a lazy river, a surf simulator, and an indoor-outdoor swimming pool.

Rates start at around $200 per night, which includes water park passes for up to four guests.

Grand Hyatt Indian Wells Resort

Lazy river and pool at outdoor water park
GRAND HYATT INDIAN WELLS RESORT

The Grand Hyatt Indian Wells is home to the HyTides water park, the largest water park in Palm Springs. Families can race each other down the 30-foot dueling waterslides, float along the 450-foot lazy river, swim in one of seven pools and splash in the kids play area. If you time your stay right, you can attend one of the hotel’s complimentary nighttime Glow Parties, with a DJ, colorful neon lights, face painting, late-night waterslide rides and more.

Related: Forget Coachella: Why Palm Springs is a great option for families

Room rates start at around $320 or 21,000 World of Hyatt points per night. There is a daily resort fee of $45, which is waived on reward stays.

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point pool - Florida
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort. MARK KNIGHT/HYATT

The Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa in Bonita Springs, Florida, is only a short ferry ride from the beach, but you don’t even need to leave the resort for a splashing good time.

The on-site water park has four pools, a lazy river and five waterslides, including a set of dueling racers, a corkscrew slide, a kid-size slide and a double tube slide. There’s also a pool and hot tub just for adults and cabanas available to rent.

Room rates start at around $270 or 21,000 World of Hyatt points per night. The $45 daily resort fee is waived for reward stays.

Timber Ridge Lodge & Waterpark

indoor water park
TIMBER RIDGE LODGE

There are more than 50 water parks in Wisconsin, and Timber Ridge Lodge & Waterpark in Lake Geneva is one of the best. The spacious guest suites have all the comforts of home (including a full kitchen), and the 50,000-square-foot water park brings the great outdoors in with a realistic woodland theme.

The water park has both indoor and outdoor attractions, including a toddler pool, an activity pool for older kids, a lazy river and a pair of 35-foot-high slides — one of which throws in music and colorful lights to enhance the experience.

Related: 5 reasons to love Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport

Rooms start at around $140 per night, not including taxes and a $35 daily resort fee. One-bedroom suites come with four water park passes and two-bedroom suites come with six passes.

JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa

JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa has several family-friendly activities on-site, including a kids club, fish and hummingbird feeding, and an outdoor lawn with games like cornhole and table tennis. But the hotel’s AquaRidge WaterPark is likely where you’ll spend most of your time.

AquaRidge has a waterslide tower with three slides, a lazy river, a splash pad for young kids and several swimming pools. If you are visiting without kids (or they are at the kids club), you can pay an additional fee to visit the adults-only Sky Island pool complex.

Room rates start at around $300 (including a $55 nightly resort fee) or 44,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night. 

Related: Fun in the desert sun: A family guide to Scottsdale, Arizona

Great Wolf Lodge

Water slides at indoor water park
GREAT WOLF LODGE/FACEBOOK

Great Wolf Lodge San Francisco/Manteca in Northern California is one of the water park resort brand’s newest locations, though there are more than 20 locations across the U.S.

This particular location has a treehouse-themed water play area for kids, a wave pool, a lazy river, water-based activities like basketball and an obstacle course, a family raft ride, and slides for all ages and heights.

The resort also has a ton of other activities included in the cost of your stay, like yoga, arts and crafts, dance parties, and character meet-and-greets. For an additional fee, you can also enjoy bowling, a ropes course, minigolf and more.

Room rates start at around $200 per night, which includes a $40 daily resort fee. Your stay includes water park access beginning from the time you arrive (even if your room isn’t ready yet) until the water park closes on the day you check out.

Okana Resort & Indoor Water Park

indoor water park
OKANA RESORT

The newly opened Okana Resort & Indoor Waterpark splashed down in Oklahoma City in April. The 404-room resort is home to both an indoor water park and an outdoor adventure lagoon (open from Memorial Day to Labor Day).

At the indoor water park, you’ll find waterslides, an interactive splash playground, a wave pool, a FlowRider surf simulator and and adults-only hot tub. Outside, the Okana Beach water park has additional slides, a large pool, an inflatable obstacle course, a swim-up bar and more.

In addition to standard rooms and multiroom suites, bunk bed suites are also available. Room rates start at $130 per night, plus taxes and fees.

Kalahari Resort

waterslide
KALAHARI RESORTS

With an unparalleled concentration of indoor and outdoor water parks, Wisconsin Dells has been called the Water Park Capital of the World. You’ll find the state’s largest indoor water park and an equally fabulous outdoor water park at Kalahari Resort.

Related: The tallest waterslide in America is now open in Wisconsin

The safari-themed park has all the requisite features you’d expect at a world-class water park, as well as a water coaster, trapdoor waterslide and two funnel slides. In the fall of 2026, the resort will debut an $85 million indoor water park expansion, with new slides, a whirlpool spa, an adult swim-up bar, a large pool and a retractable roof so visitors can enjoy the summer sun.

Room rates start at around $215 per night plus taxes and a $45 daily resort fee.

Gaylord Opryland Resort

GAYLORD HOTELS

Many hotel water parks have design concepts that are distinctly geared toward kids, but the SoundWaves water park at Gaylord Opryland Resort is the exception to that rule. The mostly white interior has pops of blue and wood accents for a sophisticated, contemporary feel.

Related: Something for everyone: 6 things to know before you visit a Gaylord resort

Indoors, you’ll find a kids play area, lazy river, rapids river, surf simulator, activity pool and waterslides. Outside, there’s a wave pool, an adults-only pool, and additional slides and play areas.

Room rates start at around $460 per night plus taxes and a $25 daily resort fee for packages that include water park access for a family of four. Reward redemption rates start at around 36,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night, but you will have to pay extra for water park access.

Orlando World Center Marriott

Orlando World Center Marriott. TARAH CHIEFFI/THE POINTS GUY

The Orlando World Center Marriott is less than 10 minutes from Disney World but has a water theme park all its own. The hotel’s Falls Pool Oasis has a lagoon-style pool, splash pad, hot tub and three waterslides, and the adjacent River Falls Water Park boasts three multirider tube slides, a lazy river and a zero-entry area where young kids can play in the shallow water.

Related: The best hotels near Disney World you can book with points

You can also enjoy daily pool activities like animal encounters, arts and crafts, and games. There is also a nightly laser show at the main pool area and, on select nights, you can attend a Mermaids & Glow Party.

Rooms start at around $230 (including a $47 nightly resort fee) or 33,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night.

Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa

Hyatt Lost Pines Lazy River Slide
HYATT REGENCY LOST PINES

The Crooked River Waterpark at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa has a smart layout that you don’t see at many other water parks.

Related: Best points hotels in the US where kids are treated like VIPs

The 1,000-foot-long lazy river winds around and connects the other features of the water park, including a zero-entry pool with a sandy beach area, an adults-only pool, a float-up bar and a waterslide.

Room rates average around $400 or 21,000 World of Hyatt points per night.

The Grove Resort & Water Park

Hotel with water park
THE GROVE RESORT & WATER PARK

The Grove Resort & Water Park is less than 15 minutes from Disney World and its popular water parks, but there’s no need to pay the extra cost for Disney’s pools and slides when there’s a water park at your hotel.

Related: The best Orlando hotels for large families

Access to the Surfari Water Park is included in the cost of your stay, and the park offers a lazy river, waterslides, pool, kids splash pool, and a FlowRider surf simulator. If you book a cabana or premium seating, you’ll have a dedicated server to deliver food and drinks from the poolside restaurant.

Room rates start at around $230 per night, which includes water park access and a $45 daily resort fee.

Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort And Spa

Kids playing in lazy river
HYATT

The water park at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio distinguishes itself from similar parks with an organic design that almost makes you feel as if it were built by Mother Nature herself.

Related: Hotels with the best lazy rivers to beat the heat and float away

The lazy river was made with a dark bottom and is surrounded by trees and greenery for an authentic-feeling river float experience. Even the pools have a naturally carved feel. There’s also a waterslide, kiddie pool, zero-entry pool and FlowRider surf simulator.

Room rates start at around $345 (plus taxes and a daily $35 resort fee) or 17,000 World of Hyatt points per night.

Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa

HYATT

At the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa, you don’t have to choose between the beach and the water park. This Hawaiian resort is only a short walk from Shipwreck Beach, but you can swim in the multilevel pools and saltwater lagoon, float along the lazy river (more of an exploration path than a typical circular lazy river), and slide down a 150-foot waterslide without ever leaving the hotel.

Related: Best Hyatt hotels in the world

The grounds of the pristinely maintained resort — including the water park — are planted with colorful tropical plants and towering palm trees, echoing Hawaii’s lush, natural beauty.

Room rates average around $675 or 35,000 World of Hyatt points per night.

Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa

hotel exterior
AULANI, A DISNEY RESORT AND SPA/FACEBOOK

Disney’s been in the family vacation game for decades, and it knows what families want. When it opened Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa on the island of Oahu, Disney knew just any old pool wouldn’t do.

Related: Hotels with saltwater lagoons for swimming without the swells

The expansive water park at Aulani has multiple pools, a lazy river, interactive splash zones for kids and waterslides all built into realistic rock formations. For an additional fee, you can explore the resort’s private snorkeling lagoon.

Room rates start at around $700 per night, excluding taxes and fees, but you can save up to 50% when you rent Disney Vacation Club points through David’s Vacation Club Rentals.

Bottom line

When you travel, it’s unlikely that you’ll stay exclusively at your resort without venturing out to explore your destination. When you stay at one of these top water park resorts, however, you may find enough on-site fun that you never want to leave.