Beaches Resorts: Review

For the family that is looking for a reasonably priced vacation I would recommend a Beaches Resort. There are 4 resorts (3 in Jamaica and 1 in Turks and Caicos). Your airport shuttle, hotel, food, drinks, kids' programs and most water sports are all included in the price of your stay. The all inclusive is pretty much what it says it is. You can literally leave your wallet at home and not spend a dime more than what you paid prior to your trip (if you so desire). There are always things that you can spend your money on though, special kids' programs, the spa, getting scuba certified, souvenirs and premium drinks (we don't drink alcohol so I'm not sure what that entails. I know beer and things like margaritas and such are included).

Out of the 4 Beaches resorts the best (and most expensive) is Beaches Turks and Caicos. If you can, spend the extra cash (or shorten your vacation) and go to this resort. It is basically 3 resorts in 1 and has by far the best kid's water park out of the 4. The toddler/little kid water area is fabulous! The pirate ship kiddie slides and splash pad is the perfect tot size and the ground is soft, NOT concrete like in Beaches Negril. They even have a wave rider, so you can practice your boogie boarding/surfing skills. If you have the money, stay in the Italian Village because it is the newest and nicest. The other rooms are nice, just not the wow factor like the Italian Village. There are 3 large pools and several shallower pools for little ones, as well as the Kids' Camp.

The pirate ship kiddie slides at Beaches Turks and Caicos

Beaches Boscobel in Ocho Rios, Jamaica is next best resort. The resort is much smaller than Turks and Caicos and Negril, but the kid's water area is the second best of the resorts. The beach is small and nothing to rave about, but it IS private so no need to be haggled by pushy peddlers or annoying people offering you "snow" and stuff. The rooms are spacious, clean and bright. The kids' pool is a zero entry pool with an island that contains 3 little kid water slides. There are also 4 bigger kid water slides for those kids not ready to take the plunge on the BIG kid slides. For the kid at heart, there are 3 large water slides to enjoy. The resort also boasts a very shallow toddler pool, main pool and kids' Camp like all the other Beaches resorts.

We just returned from our stay at Beaches Negril and though it was nice, it was not what I was expecting. I was expecting the water park to be much bigger and more kid friendly. The splash pad was concrete, so I was worried about my toddler running and falling, and then scraping her knees ups. Needless to say, we spent more time at the beach, or in the warm whirlpool, than at the splash pad. The beach was by far, hands down, the best part of the resort. The only draw back to it was that it was a public beach. So you had to daily tell people that you were not interested in buying stuff, or renting jet skis, or as in my husbands case, not interested in drugs. The beach is shallow for at least 100 feet, shallow enough for my toddler to stand and not be engulfed by the waves. The water was calm and mellow and allowed me to relax and let the kids play without being terrified that they would be swept away and drown.

The hotel room was small (no bigger than your typical hotel room, and maybe even smaller). The bathroom was tiny. The view was nice, but it did not make up for the cramped feeling you get after spending 6 nights in close quarters with another adult and 2 young children. The Kids' Camp staff was the friendliest, but we didn't really use it much at the other resorts. It might be that we were there long enough to develop a small relationship with the staff.

The wide shall beach of Negril

In closing, if you are looking for a vacation that is worry free (no worries about getting to the hotel, about the cost of food, about tipping staff, about things to do) I highly recommend going to either Beaches Turks and Caicos or Beaches Boscobel. Beaches Negril was nice, but not better than Turks or Boscobel. So if you are looking for a super expansive resort (Turks and Caicos) or an cozy private beach (Boscobel) head over to Beaches.com and checkout the deals that are offered (and there are almost always deals to find).