Recommend Caribbean Resort for Grandma's 60th B-Day

[Anonymous]

Grandma wants our family to celebrate her 60th birthday at a Caribbean resort next March (2014). Originally, we were considering the Hard Rock in the Dominican Republic, but we have excluded it because it is in a Malaria zone and there will be young children there (3.5yrs and 1yr in March 2014). Here are the criteria:

All-inclusive
Attractive for a wide range of ages (kid-friendly while not being overrun with kids)
Nice amenities/plenty to do on property
Upscale but reasonably priced
Proximity to larger airport with lots of access a plus

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Highly recommend Beaches Turks & Caicos. If you go at an off time, the prices are more reasonable.

[Anonymous]

We've been to Beaches Turks & Caicos twice and loved it. I would say it could be considered "overrun with kids" though - at least that is my recollection (it's been several years) but they also had a couple of kid-free restaurants and I was on the beach kid free and it was very peaceful.

[Anonymous]

Just back from Beaches and agree with PP - definitely overrun with kids, although the place is so big and spacious that it doesn't feel particularly crowded - just that there is a high concentration of little ones. However, I just spent a ton of time researching all-inclusives for a 3 generation trip with my family and after endless analysis we booked Beaches again (Jamaica this time). Here's the thing: if by plenty to do on property you mean beach, pool, swim up bar, a tennis court, and maybe some snorkel equipment, you should check out some of the nicer places on the Riviera Maya - the Azul properties are gorgeous. If you mean, in addition to the above, water slides, a playground, kids shows, kayaks and sailboats, etc., your choices are narrowed substantially - basically Club Med (DR, Cancun or Ixtapa), Beaches (any of the 3), or Dreams (any). Beaches is the nicest of these but not cheap.

[Anonymous]

Beaches Negril...great time for entire family. Highly recommend checking it out.

[Anonymous]

Right. Prior T&C Beaches poster here. Beaches was amazing for my gang (ages 8 and 10) because they loved the water slides, hot tubs, pools, swim up bars. My 3 year old liked the Sesame Street stuff, but she would be happy anywhere. OP's kids are younger and might not need as much by way of entertainment.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the tips. At Beaches T&C, I'm getting $7600 for the week for a family of four (parents and 2 kids). Does this sound right? I know March is peak time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the tips. At Beaches T&C, I'm getting $7600 for the week for a family of four (parents and 2 kids). Does this sound right? I know March is peak time.

definitely within range, although there are so many different room configurations that my guess is you could get a little cheaper of the 4 of you were willing to share a regular hotel room in the Caribbean Village, and could spend at least 2x that if you wanted a 2 room oceanfront suite.

I'm the PP that just booked Beaches Jamaica - you might want to look at the 2 there (Negril or Ocho Rios); my experience was it was a lot cheaper than T&C. They are much smaller than T&C but have the same activities. In some ways I think I will prefer that; for ex, there are 3 pools instead of 5 but we only went to 1 in T&C anyway; there are 5 restaurants instead of 16 but frankly taking my kids to the Japanese Teppanyaki at T&C was one of my less intelligent moves - a buffet, pizza and burgers is all we need; etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just back from Beaches and agree with PP - definitely overrun with kids, although the place is so big and spacious that it doesn't feel particularly crowded - just that there is a high concentration of little ones. However, I just spent a ton of time researching all-inclusives for a 3 generation trip with my family and after endless analysis we booked Beaches again (Jamaica this time). Here's the thing: if by plenty to do on property you mean beach, pool, swim up bar, a tennis court, and maybe some snorkel equipment, you should check out some of the nicer places on the Riviera Maya - the Azul properties are gorgeous. If you mean, in addition to the above, water slides, a playground, kids shows, kayaks and sailboats, etc., your choices are narrowed substantially - basically Club Med (DR, Cancun or Ixtapa), Beaches (any of the 3), or Dreams (any). Beaches is the nicest of these but not cheap.

If the Riviera Maya is appealing, check out the Barcelo Maya Palace or Barcelo Maya Colo. Very nice property with tons to do for all age groups, from pools with water slides, kids clubs, water sports (snorkeling, kayaking, sailing), outdoor pingpong tables, big beachside chess boards and, of course, white sand, blue ocean water and some adults-only swimming pools for those who want a break from kids. There can be a lot of people there in March, but we've never felt like it was overrun or we were competing for space/activities. When we've gone in March and stayed in an oceanview Junior Deluxe suite at the Palace, it's cost us around $6000 including air fare for four. It would be a little less at Tropical/Colonial or you can stay further back in the resort and the room cost would go down a bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just back from Beaches and agree with PP - definitely overrun with kids, although the place is so big and spacious that it doesn't feel particularly crowded - just that there is a high concentration of little ones. However, I just spent a ton of time researching all-inclusives for a 3 generation trip with my family and after endless analysis we booked Beaches again (Jamaica this time). Here's the thing: if by plenty to do on property you mean beach, pool, swim up bar, a tennis court, and maybe some snorkel equipment, you should check out some of the nicer places on the Riviera Maya - the Azul properties are gorgeous. If you mean, in addition to the above, water slides, a playground, kids shows, kayaks and sailboats, etc., your choices are narrowed substantially - basically Club Med (DR, Cancun or Ixtapa), Beaches (any of the 3), or Dreams (any). Beaches is the nicest of these but not cheap.

If the Riviera Maya is appealing, check out the Barcelo Maya Palace or Barcelo Maya Colo. Very nice property with tons to do for all age groups, from pools with water slides, kids clubs, water sports (snorkeling, kayaking, sailing), outdoor pingpong tables, big beachside chess boards and, of course, white sand, blue ocean water and some adults-only swimming pools for those who want a break from kids. There can be a lot of people there in March, but we've never felt like it was overrun or we were competing for space/activities. When we've gone in March and stayed in an oceanview Junior Deluxe suite at the Palace, it's cost us around $6000 including air fare for four. It would be a little less at Tropical/Colonial or you can stay further back in the resort and the room cost would go down a bit.

OP here. Just checked out the Barcelo Maya Palace website and this looks like a great option -- and less than half the price of Beaches. Thanks!!

[Anonymous]

My suggestion for far less money than Beaches -- Franklyn D Resort resort in Jamaica. Very laid back, but there are activities too. Not 5 star by any means, but great staff. Nanny is included in price which is very helpful for younger kids.