Rebecca Droke, Post-Gazette photos From left, Colin Dalson, 4, his cousin, Troy McChesney, 8, and his brother Nolan Dalson, 3, enjoy the family's stay at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington. The "elf tuck-in" is a special program offered by Nemacolin for the increasing number of children staying at the resort.

By Cristina Rouvalis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

FARMINGTON -- The Robin Leach suite at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort is a favorite of the "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" host, and it's no wonder. The English Country suite personifies "champagne wishes and caviar dreams."

		Christmas events at Nemacolin "Elf tuck-ins" at Nemacolin will be held from 8 to 10:30 p.m., on the half hour, from Dec. 21-24. Nemacolin also will have Breakfast with Santa, which includes breakfast and children's activities, on Dec. 23. It is $25 for children and $40 per adult. Children 3 and under are free. For reservations, call Nemacolin at 1-866-399-6957. Related articles Club Med Sandpiper lets children and grownups be happily active or relaxed Kids' clubs aren't for everyone

But on a recent evening, the luxury suite is the home of five energetic boys who are bobbing on the gold couch and onto the plush rust-and-gold carpeting.

Suddenly, there is a rap, tap, tap on the door. In walk two fresh-faced elves with gold bells on their toes.

The Dalson boys of Mt. Lebanon -- Ryan, 9, Kyle, 6, Colin, 4 and Nolan, 3, and their cousin, Troy McChesney, 8, of Richland -- stop dead in their tracks as Elf Holly and Elf Ashley hand them Christmas stockings and read them "A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree" before prancing out the door.

"Shouldn't they have big pointy ears?" asked Troy.

"It was good anyway," Ryan said. "I thought my Mom was kidding about the elves coming."

This elf tuck-in is more than just an offbeat holiday treat. It is one of the many ways that upscale hotels and resorts are catering to kids and boomer parents.

Blocks and a few coloring books just don't cut it anymore. In the scramble to lure the growing luxury family market, hotels are courting children with amenities that give new meaning to "kid-friendly."

At the Ritz-Carlton Resorts of Naples, Fla., all VIKs -- "Very Important Kids" -- are greeted at their own small check-in counter, and at check-out they get a custom-made "Alligator and the Beach" scene puzzle.

At the Mauna Lani Resort in Hawaii, children hike through lava fields in search of ancient carvings and net fish in the ocean tide pools.

At Beaches Negril Resort and Spa in Jamaica, children bake with the Cookie Monster, have story time with Elmo and dance with Zoe.

High-end resorts aren't making much money off kids per se, what with extra staff and insurance. But they are learning that unless they offer innovative children's programs, they will lose out on the growing family luxury market.

"People with money travel with their kids now," said Joe Brancatelli, owner of the Web site for business travelers called joesentme.com. "You see it everywhere from the luxurious resorts in Florida to the desert resorts in Arizona."

That has changed in the past five years as older boomer parents with money decide to take their youngsters on upscale vacations, rather than leaving them at home as parents did a generation ago. Business travelers are also tacking vacations onto business trips and taking their spouses and children along.

Holly Sisler reads "A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree" to brothers, from left, Kyle, 6, Nolan, 3, and Ryan Dalson, 9, during the family's stay at Nemacolin Woodlands as part of the resort's "elf tuck-in." Click photo for larger image.

Many parents, who schedule their children in a steady stream of enriching activities at home, aren't looking for lazy beach vacations.

"Parents want to come back home not only with bragging rights on vacation, but also the opportunities they gave their children," said Vivian Deuschl, vice president of communications for the Ritz-Carlton.

"People don't have a lot of time. Whenever they travel, they want to make sure that everyone gets maximum benefit."

Although hotel kids' clubs for children -- typically catering to age 4 to 12 -- have been around since the 1980s to give pool-weary parents a breather, the ones today sound more like high-end, socially conscious camps for kids. (They typically cost $25 to $50 per child for a half day.)

The Coyote Camp at Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix is tied to the Southwest culture and environment. Children hike on desert trails in search of arrowheads, make pinch pots as they learn about the ancient Indians and plant cactuses in a pot they paint. "Many parents say at first, 'What? You want me to leave my kids here?' Then they discover it is educational. More like art camp, not day care," said Marti Monti, a counselor.

In fact, sometimes the camps are so popular that parents barely see their children.

"My daughter did not want to leave the club. We had to drag her away," said Pauline Frommer of Frommer Guides about a family vacation two years ago at the moderately priced Sunscape Casa del Mar resort in the Dominican Republic. Her then-5-year-old loved horseback riding on the beach, treasure hunts and her new friends.

"She didn't want to be around us and her little sister," Ms. Frommer said.

At Nemacolin, Shannon and Dennis Thompson's three daughters, age 10, 7 and 6, don't want to leave the kids' club. "I feel like a bad parent, but they beg to come here," said Mrs. Thompson.

The family from Annapolis, Md., vacations at Nemacolin every year because it is so kid-friendly and allows Shannon to get spa treatments and her husband to go to the shooting academy and fish.

"I want to let down a little, and it's hard for the kids to understand that. They want to go, go, go. This way everyone gets their own little thing."

Some resorts go even further than a kids' club. The Franklyn D. Resort in Runaway Bay, Jamaica, is an all-inclusive family resort that gives parents a full-time "Vacation Nanny" as part of the package.

It's not that parents want to ditch their kids, said Monica Levine-Sauberman, the Bardonia, N.Y., founder of familyvacationcritics.com, a Web site rating travel accommodations on family-friendliness. Most boomer parents want a mix of family time and romantic couple time. "I reconnect with my husband," she says. I think it is important for my kids to see me happy with my husband."

Mr. Brancatelli of joesent-me.com says, "I don't know of any family who dumps their child in a kids' club for the entire holiday. But the downside is that you have 7-year-olds who are comparing the Ritz-Carlton to the Four Seasons Hotel.

"Kids are often tougher critics than adults. Adults have a dollar value attached."

Plus, not all of the other guests at the fancy resorts and hotels want a kid-friendly resort. The same kind of traveler who groans when he sees a child sit in a first-class seat on an airplane might not want to see them skipping around a five-star resort. So places such as the Ritz recommend that those kind of travelers book the week after spring break or in the New Year. They also try to segregate the kids' activities. "No one is playing Marco Polo in the lobby," she said.

Nemacolin, which has made a big push to become more kid-friendly the past few years, also tells travelers who don't want to be around kids to book a room on the club level.

But for the most part, it prides itself on being family-friendly, the kind of place where customers with kids won't get dirty looks that seem to say, "How dare you!"

The holidays are a big kid season at Nemacolin, which has a huge gingerbread house in the lobby skimming the crystal chandeliers. It also features Santa's breakfast and "elf tuck-ins," which cost $25 per first kid and $20 for each additional child for a 10- to 15-minute visit. (The elves read a story but technically do not tuck anyone into bed.)

Suzanne Dalson thought it was worth every cent for her four boys, and she was happy that the elves were charming girls instead of scary-looking gnome-like creatures. "It was adorable. They will remember it forever."

Her 4-year-old son, Colin, liked the elves but was even more taken by something that was free. The day after Thanksgiving during Light Up Night, Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived at Nemacolin on the resort's dog sled.

"Can we get a dog?" Colin asked his mother in the crowd jammed with children.

"Only Santa can get them," she told her son. "They belong on the North Pole."