Where to Stay in Jordan With Kids: The Best Family Hotels by Location (Petra, Dead Sea, Wadi Rum, Amman & Aqaba)

If you're wondering where to stay in Jordan with kids, this guide is for families trying to build a practical itinerary and decide which hotels are worth booking in each location.

Quick answer: Where to Stay in Jordan with Kids?

Before choosing hotels, I'd recommend starting with your route. Our 9-Day Jordan Family Itinerary: Petra, Dead Sea, Wadi Rum & Aqaba Road Trip explains exactly how we structured our trip and why each stop worked well for our family.

One of the biggest things we learnt is that there isn't one "best family hotel in Jordan". The right hotel depends entirely on where you are in your itinerary and what you need from that stop.

• In Amman, the most important decision is usually location. Depending on your plans, it may make more sense to stay near the airport, close to the city centre, or further north if you're visiting Jerash and the surrounding area.

• At the Dead Sea, direct beach access matters more than almost anything else. Having the water, mud baths, showers and hotel facilities all in one place makes the experience much easier with kids.

• In Petra, convenience becomes the priority. Early starts make a huge difference, so staying close to the entrance can make one of the longest days of the trip much easier.

• In Wadi Rum, the accommodation is part of the experience. Choosing the right camp is less about luxury and more about things like private bathrooms, what's included and whether the camp is well organised.

• Finally, in Aqaba, the focus shifts to relaxation. By this point in the trip, resort facilities, pools and beach access are often more important than location or sightseeing opportunities.

This guide covers where to stay in Jordan as a family, including the hotels we chose ourselves, what we'd do differently next time, and how accommodation choices can have a surprisingly big impact on the overall trip.

Just a quick note: some links in this guide are affiliate links. This doesn't affect the price you pay, and we only recommend hotels we would happily stay in again ourselves.

How to Choose Family Hotels in Jordan

When researching the best family hotels in Jordan, it's easy to focus on star ratings and room photos.

In reality, I'd prioritise:

1. Location relative to your itinerary

2. Family room availability

3. Hotel facilities

4. Breakfast included

5. Parking if self-driving

6. Pools where appropriate (check when they are open as many outdoor pools are seasonal)

For us, convenience often mattered more than luxury.

Amman: Choose Your Location Around Your Itinerary

Families often spend too much time worrying about staying in central Amman. Looking back, I don't think the city centre is the most important decision. The bigger question is whether you need to be north, central or south of the city.

If you're arriving late into Jordan or have an early flight home, staying closer to the airport makes life significantly easier. If you're planning to visit the Citadel and Roman Theatre, then a central location makes sense. On the other hand, if your itinerary starts with Jerash and northern Jordan, staying north of the city can save valuable time the following morning.

For us, Amman worked best as a practical starting and finishing point rather than somewhere we'd spend lots of time at the hotel. That said, a pool can still be worthwhile, especially during warmer months or after a long travel day with kids.

If You're Staying South of Amman (Airport Area)

This is the best option for:

• late arrivals

• early departures

• families wanting to minimise airport transfers

Hotels such as Hilton Amman Airport offer the convenience of being close to Queen Alia International Airport, while still providing family-friendly facilities and a pool.

If You're Staying in Central Amman

This is the best option if:

• you want to visit the Citadel and Roman Theatre

• you're spending a day exploring the city

• you'd like restaurants and shops within easy reach

Options such as InterContinental or Amman Rotana are popular with families looking for comfortable accommodation with good facilities and central access.

If You're Staying North of Amman

This is the option I'd recommend if:

• you're heading to Jerash the next morning

• you're visiting Ajloun or northern Jordan

• you want to avoid driving through the city during rush hour

Hotels around the Abdoun and northern Amman areas can make a lot of sense for family road trips. If you're planning to visit Jerash and northern Jordan, staying north of Amman can save a surprising amount of time and avoid driving across the city during rush hour. Most families either stay in northern Amman and day trip to Jerash, or stay close to Jerash itself if they want an earlier start.

For families wanting to stay near Jerash, Olive Branch Hotel is a good family option. Located close to the ruins, it offers family rooms, free parking, breakfast and an outdoor pool, making it a practical base for exploring both Jerash and Ajloun.

If you'd prefer more hotel choice and facilities, I'd personally lean towards staying in north Amman instead. You gain access to a much wider range of family hotels with pools and international brands, while still being within around an hour of Jerash. For most family itineraries, that tends to be the easier option.

Our Advice

Don't choose your Amman hotel based on star rating alone.

Choose it based on what you're doing next. A family arriving on a late-night flight will benefit far more from an airport hotel than a luxury city-centre hotel.

Equally, if Jerash is your first major stop, a northern Amman hotel can save both time and stress the following morning.

Read Things to Do in Amman With Kids: What's Actually Worth Your Time to decide which area of Amman makes most sense for your route.

Dead Sea: Choose the Hotel Before You Choose the Destination

The Dead Sea was probably the place where the hotel mattered most. Before visiting, we'd repeatedly read the same advice: book somewhere with direct beach access. After visiting, I completely understand why. The Dead Sea itself isn't somewhere most families spend all day. You float, take photos, try the mud and then you're generally ready to wash off.

What really matters afterwards is having:

• freshwater showers

• easy beach access

• pools

• somewhere to relax

This is why we chose the Hilton Dead Sea Resort, and honestly, I think it was one of the best accommodation decisions of the trip. The beach was right there. The facilities were excellent. The pools were a bigger hit than the Dead Sea itself. In fact, Joshua our 7 year old son probably spent more time in the pool than he did floating.

Read Hilton Dead Sea Resort Review: Is It Right for Families? for our full review.

You should also read Dead Sea With Kids for advice on what to expect when visiting with kids.

Petra: Convenience Matters More Than Luxury

Petra is the one place in Jordan where location genuinely changes the experience. Before visiting, we were obsessed with being as close to the entrance as possible. We wanted an easy early start, especially with Joshua, and we knew Petra was likely to be one of the longest days of the trip. That decision worked well.

Being able to walk to Petra removed the hassle of parking, traffic and morning logistics. All of our energy could go into exploring the site rather than worrying about getting there.

Where we perhaps got it wrong was focusing so heavily on location that we overlooked facilities. By the end of the day, after miles of walking, what we really wanted was a pool. At the time, we thought we'd never use one. After Petra, it felt like exactly what we needed.

We stayed at Petra Aretas Hotel, which offered excellent value, included breakfast, family-friendly rooms and an easy walk to the entrance. If we were booking again, we'd still prioritise location, but we'd also look far more seriously at hotels with pools like Mövenpick Resort or Old Village Resort.

Read Best Hotels Near Petra for Families: Where to Stay for Early Starts for our full breakdown of Petra accommodation options.

Wadi Rum: The Camp Is Part of the Experience

Wadi Rum is completely different. Unlike Petra, you're not just choosing somewhere to sleep. You're choosing part of the experience itself.

Most families arrive in Wadi Rum imagining they'll remember the bubble dome or luxury tent. What surprised us is that Joshua barely talks about the room. What he remembers is the jeep tour, climbing dunes, watching the sunset and sleeping in the desert. That doesn't mean the accommodation doesn't matter.

The biggest differences between camps are usually:

• private bathrooms

• air conditioning

• quality of food

• what's included

• transport arrangements

• jeep tour quality

I would worry less about the perfect Instagram dome and more about the practicalities. A comfortable camp with good reviews often provides a better family experience than a photogenic camp with poor organisation.

Read How to Choose a Wadi Rum Desert Camp (What Families Need to Know) before booking.

Pair this with Wadi Rum Jeep Tour With Kids: Is It Worth It? Our Honest Review to understand how tours fit into the experience.

Aqaba: This Is Where You Slow Down

If Petra is about convenience and Wadi Rum is about the experience, Aqaba is about recovery. By the time we arrived, we'd already explored Amman, floated in the Dead Sea, walked Petra and crossed the desert in Wadi Rum. We didn't want another attraction. We wanted a break. That's why we chose Grand Tala Bay Resort.

The resort had pools, slides, beach access and enough facilities that we barely left during our stay. We spent our time swimming, relaxing and enjoying the Red Sea. Looking back, Aqaba wasn't memorable because of what we did.

Read Grand Tala Bay Resort Aqaba Review: Best Family Base by the Red Sea.

It was memorable because of what we didn't have to do. If you're travelling with children, I think Aqaba works best as the reward at the end of the trip. Also see Is Aqaba Worth Visiting With Kids? Best Beaches, Hotels & What to Expect if you're still deciding whether to include Aqaba at all.

Final Verdict - Where to Stay in Jordan with kids?

If you're wondering where to stay in Jordan with kids, the answer isn't one hotel—it's the right hotel in the right place.

• In Amman, choose based on your itinerary.

• In Petra, prioritise convenience.

• In Wadi Rum, focus on the experience.

• At the Dead Sea, pay for beach access.

• In Aqaba, choose somewhere you'll actually enjoy spending time.

The biggest lesson is that every stop in Jordan serves a different purpose. Trying to apply the same hotel criteria everywhere doesn't work. Instead, choose hotels that support what you're doing in each location. When we did that, the trip felt easy. And when you're travelling with kids, that's often the difference between a good holiday and a great one.

plan your TRIP TO jordan

If you’re planning your family trip to Jordan, these guides will help you pull everything together:

About Plan Family Escapes

We’re a UK-based family sharing real, experience-led travel guides based on trips we’ve taken with our school-age son Joshua across destinations like Lapland, Turkey and India.

Everything we share is based on what we’ve personally experienced — with honest advice on what actually works when travelling with kids, focusing on making family travel easier, more comfortable and genuinely enjoyable.