Franklyn D. Resort & Spa Family Activities

So focused on families is FDR, that it's almost impossible to believe that anyone without kids would come here. However, empty-nesters who've been visiting since their college aged kids were in diapers still do. FDR is all family, all the time -- apart from the two (out of three) adults-only restaurants onsite, there are not many places on the property to escape without children being in the picture. For most guests, the biggest perk offered by the resort is the inclusion of a 'vacation nanny' in the rate. She's there to escort your kids to kids' camp, play with them on the beach, accompany them for naptime, tidy up your suite and babysit afterhours (after 4:40 p.m.).

Yellow Bird Kids' Club
The resort's Yellow Bird Kids Club (open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.) is a fully supervised indoor and outdoor facility that caters to kids up to 12 years old, and there are no regulations for potty training. Outside of official nanny hours you can only leave your child at the children's camp for one hour. The day's activities are announced on a chalkboard inside the facility, with things like beach picnics, rabbit time with the resort's pets, cooking classes and Save the Flag games on the agenda. Nannies bring a list to the parents ahead of time to discuss before the day starts which activities the children are permitted to take part in.

The indoor portion of the kids' camp is nothing glitzy (rooms look like the elementary school from your own childhood, most likely), but has all kinds of games and soft toys, as well as a computer station and a Jamaica corner where kids can learn more about the country they're visiting. Outside, there's a full playground with slides and swings and a mini petting farm with bunnies in cages. An area with shaded picnic benches is the spot where arts and crafts activities take place and kids learn techniques like leather and wood burning or mobile making.

Teen Center
The separate Teen Center, also open-air but covered with a roof, is accessed by a flight of stairs by the pool and looks fairly Spartan at first. On closer inspection, you'll find there's table tennis, foosball, billiards, a cyber center, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii stations and board games galore. Beach activities for kids include beach volleyball and a water trampoline, in addition to boat rentals. There's a disco, too, tucked into the side of a building. With painted murals and a bit of a musty smell, it's not the hippest ambiance -- age appropriate music plays at different times nightly for different age groups (6 to 7:30 p.m. is kids time, 8 to 9:30 p.m. is for teens and at 10 p.m. the disco is open to adults only, though most prefer to enjoy their beverages outside).

Pools
The property has three pools, all of which are open to all guests (there are no children's-only or adults-only pools) and have lifeguard supervision. The main pool in the center of the resort is shallow on the edges and bottoms out at six-feet. There's also a small kiddie pool that's two feet deep, with some splashing water features. Fronting the ocean is the kids' favorite -- the slide pool -- where a 100-foot-long water slide spirals into a shallow swimming area. While there's no zero entry pool, all pools have lifeguards on duty. Pool hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.