Free Kid's Club at the Andaz Papagayo in Costa Rica

For me, the best type of vacation is often one that provides a nice mix of both family time and adult time. Adults-only trips are great on occasion and trips that are nothing but family time 24/7 can also be great, but after a few days of either extreme, you can yearn for a little bit of balance. Whether you accomplish this balance by bringing grandparents, a nanny or babysitter from home, using a resort kid's club, or hiring a local babysitter, there are usually costs involved that can make you think twice.

However, there are some special places that understand both the need and benefits for both adult and family time on the same trip, and these special spots not only have high-quality kid's clubs and babysitters on the premises, but they don't charge an extra fee to make use of these services. One of those special spots is the Andaz Papagayo in Costa Rica and their Cambi Kid's Club.

This kid's club is open daily does not charge for many of their sessions and activities for children from 4 - 12, or potentially even for 3-year-olds during their slower seasons. We used a similar included service at both the Andaz Maui and the St. Regis Punta Mita and it is such a game changer for the vacation when there is not only a very high quality on-site kid's club, but one that doesn't cost anything extra for your kiddos to attend.

The physical space of the Andaz Papagayo Kid's Club is a few notches above your standard kid's club building. In fact, this building welcomes you before you even enter the doors with a smiling face and hopscotch!

Not only is it in the location where a presidential suite was originally going to be located, but the building has an outdoor play area, multiple indoor sections to explore, a small toilet for the younger set, and if you think that is good, just wait until you see the hallmark center play area....

The heart of this kid's club is this beautiful indoor play structure. My kids would both legitimately want to move into that clubhouse!

This is the coolest indoor play area I have seen yet at a hotel kid's club! There is no charge for this kid's club during the day for hotel guests, but there is in the evening if you would like your children to attend from either 6 - 8PM or 6 - 10PM when they do themed fun evening activities. The charge for the evening is $35 for two hours or $50 for four hours per child.

Alternatively, you can hire a babysitter through the kid's club for your kid(s) at a rate of $20 an hour for up to two kids. If your child does not meet the minimum age for the kid's club during the day, you can also hire a babysitter for them to play during the day at those rates.

We did not have our daughters with us on this trip to the Andaz Papagayo, but I would not hesitate to bring them next time. I have no doubt that they would be begging to spend part of each day at the Cambi Kid's Club. Not only was the physical space perfect for kids, but the staff member we met was so warm and caring that I know they would feel right at home in this space built just for them.

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Now that you have seen the kid's club, let's review some basics about the Andaz Papagayo for a minute to let it all soak in. The Andaz Papagayo is relatively easy to get to since it is just 30 minutes from an airport served by many major carriers, the property is a Category 4 Hyatt meaning you can use Category 1 - 4 certificates or 15,000 points per night to stay. On award nights you pay no resort fee, the hotel has both included valet parking and included mini bar offerings (non-alcoholic) for all guests. Then, on top of all of that, there is a seriously world-class free kid's club!

If you want some video peeks into the Kid's Club hurry over to my Instagram Story before it disappears! If you miss that, don't worry as I'll have more video of the kid's club on my full review of the property soon.