Children Love Kid-Sized Pools At Gulf Coast Beaches!

For kids, splashing around in a pool can be very exhilarating. But when it’s a pool made especially for them, it’s even more fun. That’s because the pool tends to be kid-sized, the water’s not too deep, sometimes there’s extras like slides or fountains, and there are other kids to hang out with.

Swimming—or even just splashing around (supervised by an adult, of course) in a children’s pool—has some great benefits.

Playing in water helps improve kids’ balance and strength, and kids can experiment without worrying about falling or crashing into hard surfaces. Swimming develops muscles and motor skills and helps to improve coordination. Water play also allows kids to interact with one another, creating an environment for social development and communication with other children.

Meyer offers more than 280 condos and houses with access to children’s pools. Here are a few to consider.

Phoenix X

Kids can make a splash in the kid's pool at Phoenix X in Orange Beach. The pool is only 1.5 feet deep and features a tall mushroom with water cascading down. The pool area also features a covered picnic pavilion and overlooks the beach. There is plenty of seating for mom and dad to hang out and watch the little ones play.

An amply sized outdoor pool for bigger kids and grownups is also located on site, as are two saunas, a barbecue area, tennis courts, racquetball courts and a shuffleboard deck.

Check availability for Phoenix X.

Shoalwater

Children will enjoy staying at Shoalwater in Orange Beach. Not only is there a children’s pool, but an on-site indoor pool and an outdoor pool also makes having a splashing good time a breeze. The property is also located on the Gulf and near many local amusements and restaurants.

A hot tub, an exercise room and a barbecue area make this property a leisurely place to play.

Check availability for Shoalwater.

Phoenix West

Situated overlooking the Gulf, the children’s pool at Phoenix West is a simple circular design—perfect for the littlest ones. Setting this property apart from others is the fun water slide situated in one end of the lazy river pool.

Other on-site amenities include a hot tub, fitness center, sauna, barbecue area, tennis court and more.

Check availability at Phoenix West.

Beach Club

Guests who vacation at Beach Club will find from one- to five-bedroom luxury accommodations located directly on the beautiful beaches of the Fort Morgan peninsula in Gulf Shores Alabama.

Along with spacious floor plans, Beach Club offers a wide variety of amenities, multiple pools, a fun children’s pool and activities to keep the kids busy.

The heated indoor pool ranges from three to five feet in depth and is great for exercise or play.

Or, enjoy a relaxing swim and catch some rays at the outdoor pool. Poolside service is available seasonally offering food and drink options.

The outdoor pool is heated seasonally during March and April, and ranges from three to five feet in depth.

The children’s pool, and at 1.5-feet deep it’s perfectly sized for babies and toddlers.

Check availability at the Beach Club.

Caribe, The Resort

With more than 40,000 square feet of pools, slides and a lazy river, there are plenty of places to cool off, swim, lounge and splash while visiting Caribe, The Resort in Orange Beach.

Kids will especially enjoy the whimsical lazy river, zero entry pools and kids’ pools. Plenty of slides keep fun in play at this vacation property.

Check availability at Caribe, The Resort.

Bluewater

Just steps from the large outdoor pool is a children’s pool at Bluewater, a condominium complex located right on the Gulf in Orange Beach.

The pools offer a view of the Gulf, but there is also a heated pool and a hot tub indoors.

Bluewater also features a barbecue area.

Check availability at Bluewater.

Gulf Shores Plantation

Six outdoor pools are available for fun in the sun at the Gulf Shores Plantation, including a children’s pool.

Also at this Fort Morgan complex is also the “Dome” indoor pool, located in building four. This building also features a hot tub, changing rooms, a sauna and a steam room.

Plantation Dunes on site features a new indoor saltwater pool.

Rounding out the fun at Gulf Shores Plantation are eight tennis courts, a basketball court, shuffleboard courts, horseshoe pits, a fitness room, a putting green, a café and beach store, outdoor barbecue areas and a golf course right next door.

Emily of Maineville, Ohio, brought her family to Gulf Shores Plantation for a visit. For her, the pools were a highlight. "The beaches are clean and family oriented," she said. "The pools and facilities are awesome! We love it there!"

Check availability at Gulf Shores Plantation.

Seawind

Fun for kids is a top consideration at Seawind condominium, located on the Gulf in Gulf Shores.

Here, vacationers will find a zero-entry kids' pool decked out with fun water features such as a mushroom with water cascading over the top and more.

Both kids and grownups will appreciate the large outdoor pool, with a swim through to the indoor pool, making it easy to take a break from the sunshine for a bit.

An outdoor hot tub and a sauna round out the complex's water features. A boardwalk to the beach makes the Gulf easily accessible.

Check availability at Seawind.

Safety First

When allowing the little ones to play in the pool, even a children’s pool, it is important to remember the following safety tips, as provided by the America Red Cross (list is not all inclusive; see www.redcross.org for more tips):

1. Ensure that everyone in the family learns to swim well. Enroll in age-appropriate Red Cross water orientation and learn-to-swim courses.
2. Never leave a young child unattended near water and do not trust a child’s life to another child; teach children to always ask permission to go near water.
3. Have young children or inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.
4. Establish rules for your family and enforce them without fail. For example, set limits based on each person’s ability, do not let anyone play around drains and suction fittings, and do not allow swimmers to hyperventilate before swimming under water or have breath-holding contests.
5. Actively supervise kids whenever around the water—even if lifeguards are present. Do not drop kids off at the public pool or leave them at the beach—designate a responsible adult to supervise.
6. Always stay within arm’s reach of young children and avoid distractions when supervising children around water.

A Family Tradition

Kimberley E. of McHenry, Mississippi, said spending time at a Gulf Coast condo and playing in the pools is an annual family tradition that was renewed in 2015 with her own children, several years after her grandmother passed away.

"Growing up, my grandmother would celebrate her birthday by renting a condo from Meyer Vacation Rentals over Labor Day weekend, and our entire family would spend the weekend at the condo, playing on the beach or swimming in the pools. We stayed at Sugar Beach condo every summer for many, many years. My grandmother passed away in 2007, and none of my family has returned since. This year is the first summer with my daughter and husband, and we decided to continue our family tradition of the Sugar Beach condo."

50 Years Of Fun In The Sun

Meyer Vacation Rentals has been helping families create forever memories at cool pools across the Gulf Coast since 1967.

Check availability at vacation properties with children’s pools.