We just had a wonderful vacation at Beaches in Turks and Caicos. We booked a while ago, during the Winter. Planning a sunny vacation, gives us something to look forward to, when it is freezing in Colorado. As we couldn't go anywhere during Spring Break since the kids had different weeks off, we planned it for right after they finished school. In Colorado, that happens to be right before Memorial Day, since the kids start school quite early in August.
We had heard about Beaches and read good reviews. We looked into going to both Caribbean and Hawaii, but Beaches had better deals on flights. Bill's Mom Helne and Grandpa Jack also joined us. Turks and Caicos is a short 2-hour flight from Atlanta.
Beaches is an all-inclusive resort. Having been to all-inclusive resorts, we worried about the quality of the food, crowded pools and restaurants. Reviews rated Beaches as number 1 all inclusive family resort, and now we know why.
21 restaurants, most serving very good a la carte menus, inclusive of wine and other alcoholic beverages; 7 pools, including water slide park that the kids went to everyday, lazy river and more; miles of beach with included water activities like kayak, little sailboats, standing surfboards, snorkling, and 2 tanks of scuba excursions per day; and another of kids favorite - pool, ping pong, and Xbox lounge!
Our room in the Caribbean village was standard (2 double beds and sleeper sofa) connected to Bill's Mom's king bedroom (we should have gotten that as it came with a trundle for the kids). But it was very central to all the activities and in a quiet location. The staff was all very friendly. We met a number of families who have been to Beaches multiple times (Bill met one guy who has been there 10 times and gone on more than 50 dives with the resort).
At first the kids didn't understand what it meant to be all-inclusive. They were calling everything "free". We told them nothing was "free", as we had paid a lot for the trip. So they correctly started calling everything "pre-paid"!
Two negatives from our trip: 1. Our first day was spent healing. Audrey threw up the night before our morning flight and had a slight fever. I had the same GI bug a few days before, so was familiar with the progression and was certain she was going to be better in 24 hours. She slept most of our flights (connection in Atlanta) and slept when she got in until the next morning, and didn't eat much all day. But she was fine the next morning. Bill had a fever the next day, and spent it mostly in bed, but thank goodness was also better by the next morning! 2. Mason's eczema flaired up again. By the end of the week, his body and face were covered in little bumps from either the sunscreen, sun, chlorine pools or combination. We had brought his usual vanicream sunscreen, but later read online they changed the formula. We hadn't brought his eczema cream, so will put that on when we are back in Colorado and hope his skin will clear in a few days. And we also got a few different sunscreens to try this season.
Kids enjoyed more independence, as we would sit on one side of the pool, and they could go do the slides or go to the restaurant near by on their own. Everything felt very safe.
Bill went on 3 dives, I took an afternoon at the spa for a massage and facial (not included :D) with his mom, and enjoyed the pools and restaurants. We tried about a dozen of their restaurants, which ranged from decent to very good.
We enjoyed it so much, we booked our next visit before we left, and got an extra 10% off. We booked two rooms to return with our friends John and Julie and their daughter Lexi during spring break 2018! Can't wait!!
