Kennebunkport, Maine is one of the best family destinations we have ever visited. While we love trying new places each summer, we all decided that Kennebunkport is somewhere we’d like to visit every summer from now on. The first weekend we were in Kennebunkport, we stayed at The Lodge on the Cove. Its’ a family friendly resort nestled on a wooded cove. We had a wonderful stay and would highly recommend it for other families.

Here are 10 reasons we enjoyed The Lodge on the Cove:

1. The Pool: The Lodge on the Cove has a great pool for families. It’s right along the cove and makes for a peaceful, lovely setting. There’s an amazing little shallow end for kids. The boys had a blast being able to “walk around” in the pool. Then the other half of the pool is deep enough for jumping in an swimming around. There were pool noodles at the pool for the kids to enjoy and plenty of big warm pool towels to use. Every Thursday throughout the summer the pool party continues after dark during “Glow Swim” where they set the pool aglow with light-up beach balls, glow in the dark noodles and more. The pool is adjacent to The Dory, the next on the list….

2. The Dory:

The Dory is The Lodge on the Cove’s poolside bar. The food is outstanding and so is the service. We enjoyed drinks and snacks poolside while the kids splashed around. We also had dinner at The Dory one night. They serve Annie’s Mac & Cheese which is an obvious hit with the kids! The veggie burger is the best I have ever had. Last but not least, The Dory makes one heck of a milkshake!

3. The Games: The games at The Lodge on the Cove are perfect for setting the “family lodge” feel. From the outdoor games to the games in the Lodge, there’s something fun every where you look at the resort. There are tons of cool games at The Dory, which makes family meals even more fun. One morning Maggie and I took a walk to get coffee and orange juice and we stopped to browse the games. Then we decided to enjoy our morning drinks and over checkers – she had never played before! She says the best part of her stay at The Lodge on the Cove was learning to play checkers.

4. The Bikes: There are tons of bikes for guests to use. You can spot them around the resort and there’s even an area of kids’ bikes. The center of town is a quick bike ride away and there’s a great path along the water.

5. The Breakfast: Complimentary fresh pastries, whole fruits, cereal, juice and coffee are available each morning at The Lodge. Our crew wakes up super early. Mom and Dad need coffee ASAP and the kids want a little breakfast (even if we are going out to breakfast later on). It was fantastic to be able to pop into the bright, sunny Lodge for coffee and pastries right when we woke up.

6. The Location: The Lodge on the Cove is nestled along a quiet, pretty cove. You feel secluded and relaxed. Then, when you want to be in the center of town where all the shops, restaurants and activity is, you simply walk about 10 minutes and you are there. We didn’t move the car the entire time we were there. The resort is in the perfect location in Kennebunkport.

7. The Clubhouse & S’Mores: The Clubhouse is really a key feature of The Lodge on the Cove for families. This fun little house on the property is stocked with games, places to sit, room to play AND a real record player with tons of records. My kids had never seen records before and learned how to use the record player and then would dance and sing. We had some rain while we were visiting the resort so having a cool clubhouse to enjoy was key in making our stay as fun as it was. Instead of sitting in our room in the rain, we had somewhere fun, on site, to take the kids.

At night, you can find a bucket of s’mores supplies in The Clubhouse. Then, just outside is a fire to sit around and roast marshmallows. This made for really special time as a family and lots of summer memories.

8. The Ad Ons for Kids: The Lodge on the Cove has fun new enhancements you can add to your stay for kids. If you’re traveling near your child’s birthday, you can add on the Birthday Surprise which features a guest room decked out in Happy Birthday decorations prior to arrival, a birthday banner, streamers, balloons, a birthday voucher for a milkshake at The Dory, and a giant cupcake ($50). You can also add on the Princess Voyager where your child receives a floral crown, compass, grass skirt, make-your-own flower lei and coloring book ($35). My girls thought this was pretty awesome since their favorite movie is Moana.

9. The Staff: The staff at The Lodge on the Cove couldn’t have possibly been any more welcoming to families. They were all so kind, engaged with the kids and helped in any way they could. They had awesome local suggestions from activities to places to eat. Traveling with kids is not always easy so having a resort staff that is always smiling and asking how to help makes the trip so much better.

10. The Decor: The decor at The Lodge on the Cove was one of my favorite parts of the resort. Sometimes, when choosing a really family friendly place with tons of kids’ activities, you can lose the hip, stylish aspect. Which the kids might not notice because they’re having a blast but Mom does. The decor at The Lodge on the Cove was refreshing, fun and truly beautiful for a place that’s also so kid friendly. The Lodge on the Cove consists of 30 rooms with semi-private decks and bright, chevron patterned wall treatments. The overall decor is a mix of vintage and contemporary furnishings. The social hub of the resort is the octagonal-shaped main lodge that is stylish but still comfortable enough for all the awesome games. I may have taken some photos to bring home and try to recreate the decor in our own house. It’s just such a wonderfully decorated resort!

We truly enjoyed our weekend at The Lodge on the Cove and I would highly recommend it for families!

For more info on Kennebunkport, Maine for families, check out this post. 

Disclosure: We were not compensated for this post. We did receive lodging in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.