Montage Memories
From now through December 20, your family can enjoy the Montage Memories program at five luxury Montage Resorts located in Beverly Hills and Laguna Beach, CA; Deer Valley, UT, Kapalua, HI and Palmetto Bluff, SC. This package allows children eat, stay and play free. Additional benefits vary by resort and can include a resort credit for breakfast ($50-100/day), valet parking and/or daily half-day access to their Paintbox kids club for one child. Montage has also announced their newest development in Los Cabos opening in late 2017. This seaside resort will be located on Santa Maria Bay and set within the exclusive new enclave of Maravilla Los Cabos. It will feature 122 expansive guestrooms and suites along with 52 Montage Residences.
Family Friendly Beaver Creek
There lots going on this season in Beaver Creek for families. From March 12-April 2, Beaver Creek 
celebrates Springfest with a variety of kid-friendly activities and events to enhance your ski vacation. Performers of all types will light up the spring-themed stage throughout these three fun filled weeks. Your children can enter contests, take photos with the spring characters, join in parades and so much more. Beaver Creek also offers an evening teen program called BC<3T2. Designed for ages 13-17, the activities include a Twilight Snowshoe & Pizza Party and Teen Trick Class at The Anti-Gravity Center (to learn ski and snowboard tricks). Beaver Creek is also offering a Fly Free, Play Free package that includes free airline tickets for children on American Airlines, 25 percent off lodging, 25 percent off lift tickets, 20 percent off rentals, complimentary 4-Pack Tubing & Marmot Maze Tickets and complimentary 4-Pack Ice Skating Tickets.
Children Ski Free in Jackson Hole
The Jackson Hole Resort in Wyoming is offering free lift tickets for children age 14 and under through April 3 with a condo or home rental of four nights or more. Plus you receive 10 percent off your lodging for each paying adult. You will receive at least a 3-day lift ticket for your children, but this offer cannot be combined with other offers. Choose from a wide variety of accommodations in all quality ranges and locations near the mountain with 1-5 bedrooms; many are ski-in/ski-out. Some vacation rentals do require a longer stay. Jackson Hole Resort, one of the few family-owned ski resorts in the country, is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year and already has 13 feet of snow! The location also provides easy access to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park for some amazing wildlife viewing.
Children Free at Mohonk
From February 15-19 and March 20-31, children 12 and under stay and eat free when sharing a room with two adults at Mohonk Mountain House. In February, your family can enjoy a variety of family-oriented programs 
and activities: cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snow tubing and ice-skating (weather depending). Mohonk’s award-winning Kids’ Club is open daily with arts and crafts, nature activities, and more. Stop by the Greenhouse to experience the children’s garden, listen to underwater music in the indoor heated pool, and enjoy nightly entertainment for the whole family! A spa, gym with fitness classes and plenty of dining options are also available. In March, Easter celebrations will include a hunt for eggs and photos with the Easter Bunny. The resort does have a limited number of single parent rooms. Mohonk Mountain House is a Victorian castle resort only 90 miles north of NYC in the beautiful Hudson Valley. Rates include all of your meals and most activities providing an easy and carefree getaway.
Season of Giving
It’s the season of giving and hotels are already into the spirit. Through individual guest contributions and through their children’s program, the Affinia Hotel Collection (five New York City boutique-designed hotels) has been raising fund to support Pajama Program, a non-profit organization dedicated to delivering new, warm pajamas and books to children in need, many of whom are without parents and/or permanent homes. The organization serves children ranging in age from newborn to 18 who live in group homes, shelters and temporary housing. Affinia Junior is the hotel chain’s children’s program which offers an array of child-friendly games, snacks, baby needs and a backpack for each child filled with goodies. Currently Affinia is offering a variety of specials including New Year’s Eve and American Girl Doll packages, 3rd or 4th night free offers and more. Their spacious accommodations are ideal for families visiting New York City.
Ocean Explorer
The St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, Ca near San Diego 
wants you to have a whale of an experience. Their Ocean Explorer package includes four tickets for a Whale Watching Cruise, “Wild Dolphin and Whales of Southern California” DVD, eco-friendly tote, Tide Pool exploration at the resort and a children’s souvenir sand bucket and shovel. The package is available for two adults and two children per room and includes a suite accommodation with Personal Butler Service and 4:00pm check-out, if available. The promotion is valid through the end of this year. The resort offers a children’s program for ages 5-12, Miraval Spa, scavenger hunts, croquet, golf (free twilight golf for children), tennis, surf lessons, other watersports and more.
NPS Turns 100
To celebrate the National Park Service turning 100, the NPF and 
the White House have teamed up to launch the Every Kid in the Park initiative, which will offer every 4th grade student across the country free access to our National Parks throughout the 2015-2016 school year. As advocates of this program, Austin Adventures is thrilled to provide their own young adventurers the special privilege of traveling free in 2016. Book a tour for four, and your 4th grader’s trip fee is waived! What better excuse to get your children into the great outdoors? Whichever National Park adventure you choose (Yellowstone, Bryce/Zion, Yosemite, Glacier and The Grand Canyon), the opportunity to play, to explore, and to learn are endless.
Seedlings
1 Hotels, a new socially responsible hotel chain with locations in South Beach Miami and New York, has launched a children’s program called Seedlings. Not only does the program connect your children with their natural surroundings, but it also takes a fun, hands-on approach to teaching them how important it is to take care of the environment. It is currently available in Miami for children ages 4 to 12 at Basecamp, an indoor play area with a mini rock climbing wall, as well as craft and creativity stations, or they can head to the hotel’s beachfront for hands-on projects, including making a bird seed feeder and creating seashell art with nature-friendly materials and shells from the beach. 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach also provides kids with tents to build in their guestrooms, board games and in-room movies. On select dates throughout the year, children are able to learn about solar and wind energy, and participate in hands-on learning on marine life through a partnership with the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science. At the 1 Hotel Central Park in New York, parents staying with infants and small children are greeted with an organic stuffed bear and a 100 percent GOTS certified organic cotton rattle, plus Bambini Boutique brand shampoos, lotions and soaps, which are made from natural ingredients. Guests with newborns are given a dye-free, chemical-free In2Green baby blanket. Older children, staying in select suites, receive a solar-powered lantern and a sleeping bag to camp out in their room.
Star Wars at Disney
Disney unveiled plans for Stars Wars-themed lands coming to parks in Florida and California, plus plans for a new Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The new lands will be at the Hollywood Studios park in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim. Each expansion will cover 14 acres. Disney said the Star Wars lands will “transport guests to a never-before-seen planet, a remote trading port and one of the last stops before wild space where Star Wars characters and their stories come to life.” Also, you will be able to “take the controls” of the Millennium Falcon spaceship on a “customized secret mission and an epic Star Wars adventure that puts guests in the middle of a climactic battle.” Also at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, a new Toy Story Land will sit on 11 acres. Attractions will include a family coaster on which riders sit on the back of Slinky Dog; a flying saucer attraction featuring the Little Green Men; and “Toy Story Mania!”, where guests “glide into the Toy Story Midway Games Play Set and take aim at 3D objects.”
Family Ski Experience
Ski season is just around the corner and deals abound! At the Fairmont Heritage Place Franz Klammer 
Lodge in Telluride, your family can get free lift tickets for up to two children age 12 and under along with a 2 or 3 bedroom residence and welcome amenity full of snacks and supplies with their Franz Klammer Family Ski Experience. All guests receive free airport transfers (from Telluride or Montrose airports), free valet parking, internet access, 24 hour concierge, ski valet, and daily housekeeping. Members of Fairmont President’s Club also get a $50 Hotel Credit (no cost to join). The package is available from November 22, 2015-April 3, 2016. This upscale and private residence club is situated in Mountain Village and a gondola ride away from the town, shopping and dining. There is a spa, pool, indoor and outdoor hot tubs, steam, sauna, evening activities for children, game room and more.
