WaterColor Inn & Resorts offers Florida sun and fun at its best -- especially if you have kids. The resort, named by "Travel and Leisure" magazine as one of the top 400-family vacation resorts, is a 499-acre gem nestled on the Gulf of Mexico and a rare coastal dune lake.

Like so many resorts on the Gulf of Mexico, the WaterColor Inn at Santa Rosa Beach offers an exclusive hotel as well as cottage, home and condo rentals that are available for even a single night as well as for the entire summer. Regardless of your housing choice, WaterColor offers an enjoyable, safe and relaxing vacation for all ages. Unlike so many other resorts, the WaterColor Inn & Resort balances the needs of both families and adults so that kids can run and play with abandon and adults can enjoy the sun, adult beverages and the amenities without being disturbed by the screams of "Marco Polo."

Such balance is due to the carefully planned layout by famed architect David Rockwell. The resort's lobby leads to an adult-only pool, one of six pools on the property (including a Kiddie pool located at the BeachClub and a water geyser play area at Camp WaterColor) that is serviced by the restaurant for food and drinks. An adjacent boardwalk leads directly to the beach, a long stretch of 1,400 square feet of fine, white-powder sand and blue seas. One can walk for miles along the beach and in the fall and winter months, only see a few people. In the summer, the beach is full of families, sand buckets, beach chairs and flying Frisbees.

There are "two" WaterColor Inn & Resorts. The first one basically starts with school vacation at the end of May and goes through the start of school, around mid-September. This is when the resort is at its family best with families renting out the houses and condos, sometimes with more than one family. In the summer, the resort is crackling with children riding bikes, partaking in a variety of activities planned for children such as those offered at Camp WaterColor, Family Movie Night, Father/Son Football, Beach Bonfires and Mommy and Me Teas. As a local family eating at the resort's restaurant told us, "In the summer, this place is crawling with kids."

Family activities noticeably slow down during the fall, winter and early spring months. The resort admits it gets more weddings and couples bookings during these months but that is not to say that the children's activities are closed down. The camps still operate, but on a more limited schedule.

The beauty of a resort like WaterColor is that it allows for as much activity or relaxation as desired. Bike riding is popular (and two bikes come with each reservation) as well as canoeing or kayaking on Western Lake, playing soccer or volleyball, or working out in the fitness center.

You'll find family-relaxation activities such as miniature-golf and outlet shopping in the immediate area as well as in the popular resort town of Seaside next to Watercolor, and in Destin, a short-drive away. There is a Publix grocery store across the street from the property, convenient for quick supplies, as well as a children's hospital.

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