Dubai’s new hotel kids’ clubs and what families can actually book

A three-year-old and a ten-year-old can both have a good afternoon at a Dubai resort, but they may need completely different reservations. At Atlantis, The Palm, the younger child can use Little Explorers with a parent, while the older child can join a supervised Explorers Club programme. At Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the revamped club introduces design-led workshops for ages four to 12. Nearby at Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, the hotel describes guided activities for ages three to ten. These are three substantial changes to what families can do on a resort stay, and the small print can matter as much as the new play space. [Atlantis Explorers Club] [Jumeirah Beach Hotel relaunch] [Marsa Al Arab children’s activities]

Start with the age of each child on the date of the visit. Then ask whether the activity involves a parent, a supervised session or separately arranged childcare. Finally, check the session against the room category and rate. A club designed for a wide age group can still have sessions that fill up, and a room marketed for families can include a lounge benefit under the word club as well as access to a play facility. A few minutes spent identifying the right programme can make a short stay easier to plan.

What changed and who can use it

Jumeirah Beach Hotel adds hands-on play and a refreshed family pool

The hotel’s December 2025 announcement describes a renovated kids’ club designed by OliOli, the Dubai play museum. It gives concrete examples of what children can do. A child can assemble a drawing robot, make a lightbox design or shape a piece of clay. The release also names paper folding, bracelet making, dance and construction challenges. If a particular workshop is the reason your child wants to go, ask which activities are on the schedule for your stay. The announcement describes the breadth of the refurbished club, while the session roster tells you what will be available on Tuesday morning. [Jumeirah’s 15 December 2025 programme announcement]

The hotel announced the reopening of its family pool in the same release, describing a revised layout. That gives families another place to spend time together before or after a workshop. The hotel’s pool and beach page lists complimentary access to five temperature-controlled pools for overnight guests and advertises separate day passes for external guests. A pool pass and a place at a workshop are two different arrangements. If you are visiting for the day and hope to do both, ask the hotel about workshop eligibility before purchasing pool access. If you are staying, check which pool you want and where to meet the children after the session. [Jumeirah Beach Hotel pool and beach access]

Room choice matters separately. In September 2024, the hotel introduced Ocean Family Club and Ocean Balcony Club rooms. The current Ocean Family Club page describes a 50-square-metre room with a king bed and two fold-out beds. It publishes occupancy combinations including three adults and one child or one adult and three children. The room page also lists complimentary access to the Jumeirah Circle kids’ club for younger guests, alongside lounge and pool benefits. If you want a room for two adults and two children, enter that exact party in the booking and confirm the room can be allocated with both fold-out beds. For a baby cot, the hotel lists it as available on request, so include it in the same enquiry. [September 2024 room changes] [Ocean Family Club room and inclusions]

The property page separately names the Family Club and Jumeirah Circle Kids Club. If you are comparing a Club room with another room, ask what the price difference buys for the entire household. A lounge benefit can help a family regroup for food between activities, while the children’s programme serves a different purpose. The room page gives a clear place to start with the kids’ club inclusion, but it does not supply a complete workshop schedule or an entitlement to a particular time. With two siblings in the published age band, ask whether they can join the same session. For a younger sibling, ask what accompanied play is available for that date. [Jumeirah Beach Hotel facilities] [Room-specific benefits]

For a family weighing the room upgrade, the hotel’s separate lounge page gives a useful example of what the shared space is for. It describes a children’s buffet alongside afternoon tea and a period of evening entertainment hosted by a Kids’ Club team member. Ask whether the rate you are considering includes the lounge and whether the published programme applies on your dates. A family with different dinner times may get more out of this benefit than one that intends to spend every afternoon away from the property. The children’s buffet and the activity club solve different problems, so look for both on the reservation if you expect to use both. [Jumeirah Beach Hotel lounge programme]

Atlantis separates supervised sessions from parent-led play

Kerzner announced the renovated Atlantis Explorers Club in December 2024, describing ten specialised areas. The current club page shows how that translates into activities, from imaginative role-play and exploration stations to video games. The standard supervised club is aimed at ages four to 12. The resort FAQ says proof of age is required on the first visit. Bring the identification requested by the resort, especially if a child is close to the age boundary. The hotel’s activity page directs families to the Atlantis Dubai app for registration and points to the latest programme because times can vary by day and season. [Kerzner’s renovation announcement] [Current programme and registration] [Atlantis age and admission FAQ]

Look at the zones with the child before you request a slot. Explorers Town is set up as a miniature village for role-play, including firefighters, vets and market shoppers. Creation Lab is the option the resort describes for building and experimentation. A child who likes to move can ask about climbing and slides at Adventure Station, while The Snug offers a quieter place with books. These are features of the club, with use shaped by the programme and the team on the day. Ask about the balance of structured and free play if you are choosing between a shorter introductory visit and several longer sessions. [Explorers Club zone descriptions]

For the youngest guests, the operator lists Little Explorers as parent-supervised indoor and outdoor soft play for ages zero to three. That can give one parent something to do with a toddler while an older child joins the main programme. It also changes the family’s timetable. If both adults want to attend a separate activity, they need to arrange childcare. Atlantis advertises professional babysitting from seven months, and its FAQ asks hotel guests to book babysitting at least 24 hours in advance. For a child under four attending the main club with a trained babysitter, the FAQ lists admission and babysitting charges, subject to availability. It also specifies babysitter assistance for children in diapers in the main club. [Little Explorers and babysitting] [Childcare conditions and notice]

The allowance is the part to pin down before deciding which room to buy. Atlantis’s FAQ lists one session per stay for guest rooms, one per day for Imperial Club rooms and two per day for suites and Signature Suites. Its property terms say the guest-room session has a supplement, describe one session per stay for Imperial Club and suites, and list two per day for Signature Suites. Both list AED 160 per child for an additional session. The difference can materially change the cost of a three-night trip with two children, so ask the hotel to confirm the number of sessions per child, any supplement and the treatment of the particular rate you are looking at. An exact written allowance is a stronger basis for comparing rooms than a general statement that Explorers Club access is available. [Atlantis FAQ allowances] [Atlantis property terms]

If the family only needs one session, confirm which day and time you can reserve. If the club is central to three afternoons, ask about all three before committing to a rate based on the advertised benefit. A programme that looks ideal on a resort map still has to fit around arrival, meals and pickup. The FAQ distinguishes a family Open House from supervised adventures and describes restrictions on parents and private nannies during the main programme. If a child wants to see the space before joining, ask the team about the current family or tour window. [Family and supervised session distinctions]

Marsa Al Arab starts younger and publishes a separate teens programme

Jumeirah opened Marsa Al Arab in March 2025 and describes Jumeirah Circle as its family club. The hotel’s activities page gives the guided age band as three to ten and describes storytelling, themed games, treasure hunts, science and nature play. It says children aged three to five may come with one adult only and identifies the club as a shoe-free space. If your child is three and you are deciding whether to plan something elsewhere, ask whether the chosen activity allows drop-off or requires you to remain. The accompaniment wording is a useful point to raise with the club for the exact activity. [March 2025 opening record] [Age band and accompaniment provision]

The operator’s Circle page also identifies a separate Teens Club. Its operational bullets give both clubs hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a closure from 1 to 2 p.m., while the introductory text describes care from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Confirm the actual session window with the hotel. For an eleven-year-old sibling outside the published three-to-ten range, ask which programme the hotel can offer for that age and whether it requires advance registration. The existence of a teens facility leaves an opening to explore. The booking team can confirm the relevant age threshold and what is running on the day. [Circle Kids Club and Teens Club operator details]

The resort’s family materials describe a mix of indoor and outdoor activity, including cinema and interactive gaming alongside workshops. For a family choosing between time together and supervised time for the children, pick the activity first. Ask how the booking works for each child and how long it lasts, then decide what the adults will do during the same period. If you are staying in the marina residences, include the full property and rate name in the enquiry. The club page describes the resort’s programme, and the property can confirm which benefits apply to your reservation. [Jumeirah’s account of the family programme]

Plan the handover and the pickup

For a supervised session, give the team the name of the adult who will collect the child and ask what the hotel needs from that adult. This is especially useful if one parent is arriving later or if grandparents are staying in a different room. Bring any age documentation the property requires. At Atlantis the first visit calls for proof of age, and the regular programme and parent-accompanied soft play have separate rules. At Marsa Al Arab the guidance for three- to five-year-olds makes it worth confirming what the accompanying adult is expected to do before arranging an appointment elsewhere. [Atlantis supervision and age checks] [Marsa Al Arab accompaniment wording]

Leave room in the plan for the activities you will do together. If two siblings have different sessions, you may be better off putting the pool or a meal between them than trying to keep both children on the same schedule. At Jumeirah Beach Hotel, a swim in the renovated family pool can be that shared part of the day. At Atlantis, the family Open House is a different option to ask about if one child would prefer to see the club with an adult. For a long weekend, one confirmed session and an activity everyone can join may fit better than several bookings spread across arrival and departure days. [Jumeirah family pool reopening] [Atlantis Open House]

Build the stay around the children’s ages and actual session times

For a family with a toddler and a primary-school child, Atlantis publishes two clear routes to compare, with a parent at Little Explorers and a supervised programme for the older child. Confirm whether the two activities line up in time. For siblings aged six and nine who like making things, Jumeirah Beach Hotel’s refurbished club gives them a shared age band and several kinds of workshop to ask about. A family with a three-year-old and an older sibling can use Marsa Al Arab’s programme to enquire about accompaniment for one child and a different session for the other.

For any of these trips, price the room and the planned activities together. Count the children, the nights and the sessions you actually intend to use. A place in a room category with generous lounge benefits may still need a separate activity reservation. If one child uses a babysitter, add that cost and the notice period before choosing the room or promising a schedule to the family. If a child needs accommodations for meals, participation or pickup, tell the club before arrival so it can say which session will work. The booking is easiest to use when it names the children, the programme and the time, alongside any amount due and what a parent needs to bring.