Family-Friendly Hotels in Peterborough, Ontario

The Holiday Inn Hotel Peterborough Waterfront is the most fun option for children in summer. It stands directly on the Trent-Severn Waterway, with connected indoor and outdoor pools, a hot tub and a fitness room, and rooms look over the river, the city or the harbour. There are several places to eat on site, which helps when children are tired, and it accepts pets. It is less than five minutes by car from central Peterborough. Guest scores are more modest than elsewhere in the list, but for a family that wants to swim indoors and out and watch boats on the water, its setting is hard to match.

The Best Western Plus Otonabee Inn is my pick for a calmer family stay. It sits creekside with tranquil gardens, an indoor pool and a hot tub, and breakfast is served in a room overlooking the water. Rooms include flat-screen TVs, small fridges and coffee facilities, handy for milk and snacks. The Peterborough Lift Lock is about five minutes away by car, and the Canadian Canoe Museum just over two kilometres from the hotel, two outings that tend to please children. Guests rate it well across several hundred reviews. I would book it for families with younger children who need quiet evenings and an early night.

The Hampton Inn Peterborough has the highest guest score of the five, from a smaller number of reviews. It offers family rooms with air-conditioning and free WiFi, a saltwater indoor pool, a fitness centre, a daily buffet breakfast and free on-site parking, along with barbecue areas. A breakfast included in the stay and a pool with gentler saltwater make mornings and evenings simple with children. For a family weekend where you plan to spend the days outdoors in the Kawarthas and come back to an easy routine, it is the most complete package in the list, and I would choose it for families with children of mixed ages.

Two hotels sit beside the Kawartha golf club. The Super 8 by Wyndham Peterborough has an indoor pool with a spa bath, a free continental breakfast, an airport shuttle, and rooms with a microwave and mini-fridge, and it has the largest number of reviews among the five. The Comfort Hotel & Suites, a four-minute walk from the club, offers an indoor heated pool with a spa bath, an on-site restaurant and spacious, contemporary rooms with a microwave, fridge and coffee maker. Both accept pets. They suit families on a budget-minded trip, or parents who want a round of golf while the children swim.