kwonger81
Registered
If you want info about diving, please look elsewhere.
We (my wife, me, and our 16 month old daughter) stayed at Beaches T&C Feb 12-18, 2009 in the Italian Village. It was my first time at an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean. Although I had been looking forward to getting some dives in (was just going to go with Beaches), we had decided that we didn't want to leave our daughter at daycare and my wife didn't feel comfortable about me diving without a dive buddy I knew, so I bowed to her wishes as I didn't want to cause her any unnecessary stress during our much-needed vacation.
Anyway, I'll comment on the resort for the benefit of anyone else planning a trip there. We had a fantastic time, although a free upgrade from the French Village to the Italian Village (just opened a few weeks ago) sure helped.
The place is very family-friendly (accommodating and kid-friendly staff, day care and kids camp, activites for kids, Sesame Street characters, etc.) and that sure helped - anyone with a toddler will appreciate how hard travelling with kids can be.
Food: There are 14 restaurants (a mix of buffet and al a carte, family-friend and adults only, and a range of types of cuisine) - our faves included Barefoots (fine dining with your screaming toddler), Mario's (we were fixtures there for the buffet breakfasts), and Reflections (pretty good Caribbean cuisine). The Beach BBQ on Friday nights was great. We thought the food was excellent at most places. And being able to take food back to the room and keep in the bar fridge was important, as our daughter eats at off-schedule times (e.g., pre-breakfast snack at 5:00 am, lunch at 11:00 am, dinner at 5:00 pm).
Accommodations: Our suite (can't remember what they called it, but it was 2BR with a king-sized bed) was the most luxurious place we've ever stayed at. 1 BR had a bunk bed + trundle (pullout) bed, so 3 kids could sleep there. Also had an Xbox. The other BR had a king-size bed and another sofa-bed, plus a 42" flat screen TV. Bar fridge, microwave, snacks. The washroom had a shower, jacuzzi tub, marble everywhere. Balcony overlooking the pool. Housekeeping staff came in twice per day.
Activities: We mostly swam in the pool in the Italian Village. 3 ft deep all around, heated pool, extra warm jacuzzi on 1 end, swim-up bar at the other end, unheated kiddie pool on 1 side. A bit crazy in the afternoon when it feels like everyone at the resort is there, but otherwise a beautiful pool. We tried a boat snorkeling trip once - rather disappointing in terms of marine life. We were going to try snorkeling from the shore (a 10-15 min walk to the left of the resort) which we heard was better, but a cold front came in making the water quite rough so we didn't get to go. We brought our daughter to the day care so that she could play with the toys there. The day care seemed great - very clean and all the staff seemed excellent - but my wife didn't have the heart to leave here there (why stress her out on our vacation?, she said). Older kids (5-7) seemed to really enjoy the camp activities. The Xbox Garage is a kid's (and adult's) dream - >50 Xbox machines in an arcade-like environment. Next door is Bobby D's where you help yourself to ice cream, cotton candy and popcorn - a kid's dream/parent's nightmare...
Overall, we were very happy with our experience. It was certainly pricey, but it's hard to put a price on the convenience factor when traveling with young children. We're thinking about going again - with direct flights from Toronto, no crime problem, and no malaria, it's a pretty ideal sun destination. Hopefully next time (if there is a next time), I'll get to dive though!
We (my wife, me, and our 16 month old daughter) stayed at Beaches T&C Feb 12-18, 2009 in the Italian Village. It was my first time at an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean. Although I had been looking forward to getting some dives in (was just going to go with Beaches), we had decided that we didn't want to leave our daughter at daycare and my wife didn't feel comfortable about me diving without a dive buddy I knew, so I bowed to her wishes as I didn't want to cause her any unnecessary stress during our much-needed vacation.
Anyway, I'll comment on the resort for the benefit of anyone else planning a trip there. We had a fantastic time, although a free upgrade from the French Village to the Italian Village (just opened a few weeks ago) sure helped.
The place is very family-friendly (accommodating and kid-friendly staff, day care and kids camp, activites for kids, Sesame Street characters, etc.) and that sure helped - anyone with a toddler will appreciate how hard travelling with kids can be.
Food: There are 14 restaurants (a mix of buffet and al a carte, family-friend and adults only, and a range of types of cuisine) - our faves included Barefoots (fine dining with your screaming toddler), Mario's (we were fixtures there for the buffet breakfasts), and Reflections (pretty good Caribbean cuisine). The Beach BBQ on Friday nights was great. We thought the food was excellent at most places. And being able to take food back to the room and keep in the bar fridge was important, as our daughter eats at off-schedule times (e.g., pre-breakfast snack at 5:00 am, lunch at 11:00 am, dinner at 5:00 pm).
Accommodations: Our suite (can't remember what they called it, but it was 2BR with a king-sized bed) was the most luxurious place we've ever stayed at. 1 BR had a bunk bed + trundle (pullout) bed, so 3 kids could sleep there. Also had an Xbox. The other BR had a king-size bed and another sofa-bed, plus a 42" flat screen TV. Bar fridge, microwave, snacks. The washroom had a shower, jacuzzi tub, marble everywhere. Balcony overlooking the pool. Housekeeping staff came in twice per day.
Activities: We mostly swam in the pool in the Italian Village. 3 ft deep all around, heated pool, extra warm jacuzzi on 1 end, swim-up bar at the other end, unheated kiddie pool on 1 side. A bit crazy in the afternoon when it feels like everyone at the resort is there, but otherwise a beautiful pool. We tried a boat snorkeling trip once - rather disappointing in terms of marine life. We were going to try snorkeling from the shore (a 10-15 min walk to the left of the resort) which we heard was better, but a cold front came in making the water quite rough so we didn't get to go. We brought our daughter to the day care so that she could play with the toys there. The day care seemed great - very clean and all the staff seemed excellent - but my wife didn't have the heart to leave here there (why stress her out on our vacation?, she said). Older kids (5-7) seemed to really enjoy the camp activities. The Xbox Garage is a kid's (and adult's) dream - >50 Xbox machines in an arcade-like environment. Next door is Bobby D's where you help yourself to ice cream, cotton candy and popcorn - a kid's dream/parent's nightmare...
Overall, we were very happy with our experience. It was certainly pricey, but it's hard to put a price on the convenience factor when traveling with young children. We're thinking about going again - with direct flights from Toronto, no crime problem, and no malaria, it's a pretty ideal sun destination. Hopefully next time (if there is a next time), I'll get to dive though!
