Schweizerhof Zermatt is one of my favorite choices for families who want the Matterhorn without making the logistics difficult. It is steps from the train station, with a winter kids club, indoor pool, family suites and easy access to the village and mountains.

CERVO is Zermatt for travelers who want Matterhorn views, excellent ski access and a serious spa without the traditional grand-hotel formality. Here’s how I’d choose between Nomad, Alpinist, Huntsman and Overlook, plus who the hotel suits best.

A restored Ravello palace with one of Italy’s most famous infinity pools, extraordinary sea views and a wonderfully calm way to experience the Amalfi Coast.

A secluded Positano icon with private sea-view terraces, a cliffside beach club, complimentary boat trips and one of Italy’s most spectacular tennis courts.

A historic Sorrento hotel with Bay of Naples views, five acres of gardens and private elevator access to the marina for remarkably easy Capri days.

The Capri resort for travelers who prefer serious wellness, Il Riccio Beach Club and a quieter Anacapri base to living around the Piazzetta.

A favorite of one of my most well-traveled client families, J.K. Place Capri is an intimate 22-room hideaway with exceptional service, sea views and brilliantly easy island logistics.

The Capri-town hotel for travelers who want the Piazzetta outside, a real terrace upstairs and Mare by Casa Tua for beach days at Marina Piccola.

A modern Amalfi Coast hideaway with a rare private beach, private dock and exceptional sea-view suites. Here is what I would actually book and what to know first.

Ravello’s family-owned Pink Palace combines huge Amalfi Coast views, Michelin-starred dining and a private beach club 15 minutes below the hotel.

Positano’s most recognizable hotel, with extraordinary sea views, a heated art-filled pool and the new Le Sirenuse Mare beach club in Nerano.

Formerly Hôtel Barrière Les Neiges, Fouquet’s Courchevel is the livelier, more social Palace in 1850, with direct Bellecôte ski access, a serious spa and an Alpine Club that works particularly well for families whose children ski during the day.

If Cheval Blanc is Courchevel at its most polished and Aman is Courchevel at its quietest, Airelles is Courchevel in full winter-fantasy mode. Here is what families should know, which suites I would book and how it compares with the other great hotels in 1850.

L’Apogée is one of the Courchevel hotels I would look at first for a family that needs actual bedroom separation rather than a room that merely sleeps four. Here is which suite I would book, what parents should know and how it compares with Airelles, Cheval Blanc and Aman.

Thirty rooms plus nine hotel houses with three and four bedrooms, a kids club, three pools and an 18-hole course in the Alpilles.

A 31-suite Palace hotel on a 200-hectare art and wine estate between Aix and the Luberon. Ten suites have private pools.

The Luberon without sleeping in its most famous village. Two pools, two restaurants, three-bedroom suites and Bonnieux a walk downhill.

A Palace hotel built into the hillside of Gordes, with panoramic Luberon views, beautiful pools, a Guerlain spa and one of the best children's programs at any luxury hotel in Provence.

A beautifully redesigned five-star hotel in Mougins with two pools, a Spa by Clarins and a peaceful setting just minutes from Cannes. Romantic enough for a honeymoon, relaxed enough for a family trip.

A hilltop Palace above Vence with beautiful gardens, a La Prairie spa and some of the best private family villas on the French Riviera. Come for the views. Book the villa because traveling with children is considerably nicer when everyone has a bedroom.