karolinatx

My husband and I would like to take a vacation with our 18-month-old son this summer. A couple of months ago my son and I accompanied my husband on a business trip to Grand Cayman, where we stayed at the Hyatt Beach Suites. We had a wonderful time and would like to take a very similar but not identical vacation. The hotel was perfectly suited for our needs -- a kitchenette and a separate bedroom that could be closed off after my son's bedtime. There was a large grocery store within walking distance, the staff was gracious, and the waters were clear. The food on the island was also among the best I've had in the Caribbean.

Basically, the resort was very kid-friendly without catering to kids, which is a fine distinction, I know, but one that is important to us. Kids' clubs aren't that big a deal since my son is too little to participate, and we're ok hanging out with him all day -- we just want to do it somewhere nice!

Can anyone recommend a similar place? We're looking for something a bit more upscale than FDR in Jamaica, which seems to be the most-often recommended toddler destination in the reading I've done here. I'm not absolutely adverse to just going back to the Hyatt on Grand Cayman since we had such a good experience there, but having a kid has really slowed down our traveling as is and I'm hesitant to "waste" my one long vacation this year on somewhere we've already been. There's so many places in this world I've yet to go!

Oh, I should add that we live in Dallas and we're trying to keep things within a time zone or two to minimize jetlag issues and to keep travel time somewhat managable.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have!

GC_Sandy

Hi Karolinatx,
You might want to look at some of the resorts on Grace Bay in Provo, Turks and Caicos. The beach and water there have the WOW factor, even better than Grand Cayman. Most resorts are condo type resorts with kitchenettes etc. We have stayed twice at Royal West Indies Suites on Provo and really enjoyed the resort. There are more upscale places to stay, but there's alot of construction going on in Provo right now and RWI is away from that.

The restaurants on the island are really excellent and many to choose from. I would say they are about the same as Grand Cayman. We have been to GC over 30+ times and we love Provo just as much. There's not as much to do on Provo, it's mostly a beach vacation. You won't find the shopping like GC has and it's not as touristy. Provo reminds us of what GC was 20 years ago and we liked that.

There's a web site for Provo that's really good, something like whatwherehow.com that is very helpful. Maybe one of the other Fodorites on this board can help with that.
Sandy

girlonthego

Aruba Marriott has timeshares that are brand new and beach front. We stayed in the hotel section and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The food is great on the island. Water is clean and can be drank straight from the tap. Lots of pools. Sand is white and water is green-blue.

ejcrowe

Provo is a fantastic idea in terms of recreating your experience on Grand Cayman.

Something a little less luxurious that might also appeal is the Guavaberry Spring Bay two-bedroom cottages on Virgin Gorda. You can fly into St. Thomas or Tortola and then take a ferry over. There's a commisary on sight for buying groceries, and Virgin Gorda would be a beautiful island to explore.

caribtraveler

We've stayed at the Hyatt in GC. I'd also recommend Provo. We stayed at the Grace Bay Club which now accepts kids. We were in a regular room but they do have 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units with kitchen. It is a very nice property. Lots of great places to eat in Provo (I think that GC has more to pick from though). The water in Provo is nicer than in GC, in my opinion.

karolinatx

Thank you everyone for your replies! I will definitely do some research on Provo when I have a spare moment this afternoon. Can anyone recommend specific properties there that they liked besides the ones mentioned?

If anyone else has other suggestions, please chime in!

eileen

Here's another vote for the Aruba Marriott (either the Ocean Club or Surf Club which are the condos). It's similar to Grand Cayman in a number of ways -- the beaches are very similar in quality (sand color and turquoise water and the fact that you can walk the beach for a long distance). The Marriott is definitely kid-friendly but doesn't totally cater to kids. There are lots of good restaurants and the island is clean, safe and has good medical care, just like Grand Cayman. I actually like Aruba a bit better than Grand Cayman because although Americanized, there was more culture (Dutch/Caribbean/Spanish) in Aruba and prices in Aruba seem more reasonable than Grand Cayman. Personally, Grand Cayman seemed very much like Florida to me. My kids loved the Marriott Aruba Ocean Club and the units are spacious and lovely.

mnag

The Sands on Provo has a kiddie pool and a nice outdoor restaurant.

karolinatx

I'm loving all of these suggestions -- thank you so much! I just checked out the T&C Grace Club Villas, which look promising. Now I'm off to check out the Aruba Marriott!

jcjc

Just wondering...how is the snorkeling in Provo? Is there any shore snorkeling? (I know I should post this on the T&C forum but since the subject of Provo has come up here I thought I'd just slip this question in.)

karolinatx

Bumping this up to see if anyone has any suggestions for this year (last year we ended up going back to GC).