• Boy in water parkboy in waterpark image by PETER LAKOMY from Fotolia.com
  
  Most of the time when traveling, a hotel is simply a place to sleep after a day full of adventures. If you are lucky, you'll find a kid-friendly hotel, which usually means they provide a pull-out couch. There are a few hotels in the Dallas area, however, that can provide entertainment all by themselves.Three hotels in the Dallas area in particular offer themes suitable for children that will spark their imagination and launch them into a new world.
  
  

Great Wolf Lodge

• The Great Wolf Lodge, located in Grapevine just north of DFW Airport, is an indoor water park and resort for the whole family. It has activities for toddler-aged children all the way up to adults. For example, there is evening story time for the toddlers, enclosed water slides for the young children, live-action adventure games for the teens and jumbo whirlpools for the adults. The water park itself has a million gallons of water across nine slides, six pools, a water fort and a lazy river. The resort also has a large outdoor water park. In addition to the range of activities on the property, the suites themselves follow the Great Wolf Lodge theme. For example, there is a KidCabin suite that gives the kids a log cabin within the family suite. Within the log cabin is a bunk bed, day bed and TV.
  
  Great Wolf Lodge
  100 Great Wolf Drive
  Grapevine, TX 76051
  (800) 943-1127
  greatwolf.com/grapevine/waterpark
  
  

Hotel ZaZa

• Hotel ZaZa is near Dallas' West End Historic District and the Dallas Arts District. One thing that makes the hotel unique is the 17 concept suites, which are each decorated to fit a specific theme. Not all of the concept suites may be suitable for kids, but several of them are. For example, the Shag-a-delic suite features funky decor such as wall-to-wall pink shag carpet, a circular bed and lava lamps. The Texas suite features a Texas theme with leather and cowhide.
  
  Hotel ZaZa

  2332 Leonard St.
  
Dallas, TX 75201
  
(214) 468-8399
  hotelzazadallas.com
  
  

The Stockyards Hotel

• The Stockyards Hotel is located in the middle of the National Historic Stockyards District in Forth Worth, which is just west of Dallas. The hotel first opened in 1907 and still exhibits the ambiance of the Old West. The rooms themselves have different themes. The Western Room has natural, rough-hewn furniture, wooden shutters, skulls decorating the walls and lamps made from spurs and horseshoes. The Native American room displays Native American accessories such as decorated lampshades and paintings. To contribute to the western atmosphere, the stockyards historic district itself offers many activities, including rodeos and horseback riding.
  
  The Stockyards Hotel

  109 E. Exchange Ave.

  Fort Worth, TX 76164
  
(800) 423-8471 

  stockyardshotel.com