With the cost of travel expected to rise in 2011, hotels around the country look to be competing by adding value instead of slashing prices. Upscale hotels have gotten creative with their amenities, offering VIP experiences that extend beyond property lines.  Now it seems that trend is extending to amenities designed for kids.

Child programs at hotels have graduated from simple babysitting to educational and luxurious experiences for young guests. Instead of being confined to a playroom while their parents enjoy time at the hotel’s spa, kids are being taken out for their own mini-adventures.

The Acqualina Resort & Spa in Sunny Isles Beach, just north of Miami, gives kids a chance to play at being marine biologists, teaching them the names of various whale species and having them inspect seaweed under a microscope. The Kiawah Island Golf Resort near Charleston, S.C., offers junior naturalist classes and a teen club that would rival any summer camp. It even offers bike-riding lessons for children as young as 3 years old. The Tamarind hotel in Barbados invites attendees of its Flying Fish Kids Club to participate in jewelry making, beach sports, glass bottom boat rides and an after-hours “Mocktail Party.”

Of course, like most luxury amenities, the cost to participate in these activities is rarely included in the room rate or resort fee. With that in mind, it’s debatable whether or not simply having access to high-priced child-care options is enough to make a traveler choose one luxury hotel ahead of another.

Photo courtesy of Tamarind Barbados