Last October we spent a week at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa. We had an absolutely amazing time and I can't wait for our return trip (hopefully this Fall)! I realize I never gave an entire overview of the resort and I definitely need to tell you all about it!
Beaches will pick you up at the airport and shuttle you for free to the resort. Once we arrived, I was greeted with a drink and sent to check-in. While I was checking in, the kids sat and colored at a kids area in the lobby. This is such a small thing that means so much! It's just one of the many ways Beaches pays attention to the small details.
Of course, we arrived at Beaches super early and before our room was ready, but that's okay! At Beaches everything is already paid for, so you're free to get into whatever you want at that point. We dropped our luggage in a pile on the curb outside the lobby and they were delivered to our room for us. Don't worry, we grabbed our swimsuits first! We asked Charlie if he wanted to eat or head to the beach first. He's 4, so…. beach it was!
After a quick change in the bathrooms, we were sitting on the beach looking at the beautiful water. After probably an hour, we planned on grabbing lunch, but thought we would check on our room first. As it turns out, it was ready. We were walked to our room in the Italian Village. I had no idea which of the four amazing villages (Caribbean, Italian, French, or Key West ) we would be in, but knew from looking online that they were all great.
The Room
The room we stayed in is a Italian Concierge Family Suite with Kids Room. I was absolutely in love with the fact that our suite had a separate room for the kids. We had requested a crib, but once we saw our room, we decided the trundle bed would work great for Owen.
The kids room also has its own TV and Xbox console. We didn't use the Xbox, but I can see it being a huge hit as the kids get older (or as Dad has more free time)!
See our room tour:
The Food
We did go find food after we got settled into our suite. Throughout the our stay, we ate at almost all of the restaurants that were open. My favorite place for breakfast was Barefoot by the Sea. There's just something pretty awesome about eating at a restaurant while my toes are in the sand! Of course, this one is also right in Italian Village, so it's super close to where we stayed.
Tom and I had lunch one day at Neptunes while the boys were at Camp Sesame, I had breakfast with a friend (Kathy from Penney Lane) one morning at Sky, and lunch with another friend (Lani from Life Anchored) at The Cricketers Pub (I had some amazing chicken and mashed potatoes, twice actually) . We grabbed desserts to-go from Cafe de Paris and some awesome pizza from Bella Napoli (I ate an entire BBQ chicken pizza alone).
My advice to you is to plan out which restaurants you definitely want to hit and take note of when they are open. Not all restaurants are open for all meals, so make sure you don't miss something you really want! There's just not enough time for all of this yummy food!
The Beach
Of course, we went to the beach! There are 12 miles of it! Charlie didn't like playing in the water too much because of the waves (a big hurricane came through the week before and I think we were still feeling the effect of that), but he loved playing in the sand!
Owen loved the water and the sand. Tom went way out in the water. Me? I'm good with the water or sitting in a lounger with a drink in my hand.
The Pools
There are 10 pools, 2 kiddie pools, and 4 whirlpools. While we did not get to all of them, we had plenty of pool time!
The pool we were in most often was the main pool in Italian Village because it was closest to us. There is always something going on at the Italian Village pool! I saw dance competitions, karaoke, and a dj, just to name a few.
Don't let me forget about the Waterpark! Charlie was a little too scared to do any of the water slides, but both boys definitely had fun playing in the waterpark with the Pirate Ship!
Kids Camp
Honestly, we were leery about leaving the boys at a daycare type thing at some place we'd never been. As it turns out, the boys absolutely loved Kids Camp and so did we!
Photos courtesy of Jersey Family Fun
All nannies and Kids Camp staffers at Beaches Resorts are members of the International Nanny Association, America's oldest and largest in-home child care association. To become accredited, each nanny must meet the minimum requirement of 2,000 hours of child-care services. Additionally, Beaches nannies have been trained in safety, nutrition and child development.
The boys enjoyed baking cookies with Cookie Monster, a birthday party for Elmo, playing in the pool, and just being kids. We even went to pick them up one day and Charlie didn't want to leave and Owen was napping!
Sesame Street
Beaches talks a lot about Sesame Street, but I figured the characters would be rarely seen. That is totally not the case! We saw Elmo at the pool a few times, several characters just walking around the resort, and then we saw them in special activities like the parade, the beach party, and at the character breakfast.
Activities
There are activities for everyone! Tom checked out the water sports a bit and took a kayak out.
You can also SCUBA and snorkel right from the resort. We did opt to take an excursion (at a reduced fee for Social Media on the Sand attendees) with Island Routes.
It seems like there is always something going on! We were in a concierge room, so they left us a schedule for each day's activities. This was really handy, but if you're not in a concierge suite, you can easily find the schedules posted around the resort. You can even visit the activity hut for games to borrow and lots of other fun things!
Tom and the boys really enjoyed doing the limbo during the Beach Party!
I'm not usually a spa person, but there is a Red Lane Spa at the resort (at an additional fee). I may have to put that on my bucket list for next time!
We spent the week eating, drinking, and doing all the activities we wanted without ever worrying about pulling out our wallets. The only thing I did charge to the room was a small stuffed Elmo for Owen that we snagged after the parade. I just had to give my room number, name, and sign a slip.
Have you been to a Beaches resort?
We received a discounted rate as part of the Social Media on the Sand conference. All opinions are, as always, my own.
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