Families checking into Acqualina Resort & Residences in Sunny Isles Beach this summer get more than a beachfront room — they get a built-in reason to linger at the table. The Forbes Five-Star property is spotlighting AcquaMarine, its complimentary marine biology-inspired children's program for guests ages 4 to 12, as the centerpiece of several summer packages that also bundle daily breakfast, spa credits, and room upgrades. The play is straightforward: keep kids engaged so parents spend more time — and more dollars — at the resort's food and beverage outlets.
The F&B Connection
While campers work through coral reef lessons, seashell crafts, treasure hunts, and outdoor games each day, adults have unobstructed access to four signature restaurants on property: Il Mulino New York, the alfresco Costa Grill, Ke-uH Japanese restaurant, and Avra Miami. That dining portfolio, spread across 4.5 beachfront acres alongside three oceanfront pools and a 20,000-square-foot spa, represents the real revenue engine the kids program is designed to unlock. It is a model increasingly familiar to luxury resort operators who recognize that children's programming directly extends adult dwell time and per-guest spend — a dynamic well documented in broader hospitality food and beverage strategy.
"AcquaMarine is one of the things families tell us they remember most about their stay," said Deborah Yager Fleming, CEO & Partner of Acqualina Resort. "It gives kids a summer camp experience they genuinely look forward to every day, and it gives parents the freedom to enjoy everything else Acqualina has to offer, from our beach and pools to massages at Acqualina Spa."
Summer Package Details
Three stackable offers attach AcquaMarine access to tangible F&B value. The Summer Sanctuary package runs through September 2026 with a minimum three-night stay, delivering up to 15% off the room rate, a $150 resort credit, and daily breakfast for two alongside a complimentary room upgrade and late checkout. Two extended-stay packages — Fourth Night Free and Fifth Night Free — carry validity through December 2026 and each include daily breakfast plus a $45 spa credit per adult. All three are structured to push average length of stay upward, which amplifies per-visit restaurant revenue without requiring additional marketing spend to acquire new guests.
The programming model also carries brand-building weight. Themed daily schedules — a recent "Tropical Treasure Thursday" featured a coral reef activity, soccer, seashell searches, visor decorating, and treasure chest painting — give families a repeatable, memorable experience that drives return visits. For operators benchmarking resort amenity programming against guest retention, Acqualina's approach illustrates how experiential children's offerings can function as a loyalty mechanism rather than a pure cost center. Reservations for AcquaMarine are recommended in advance; full programming details are at acqualinaresort.com/childrens-activities.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
