k6m3w

Hello all-

Finding it very difficult to find a resort that will allow our family of 5 to stay in 1 room together. We are looking for a fun resort for the kids (fun pool, with slides a plus) that is also towards the upscale / luxury end of the spectrum. Heard great things about Beaches Turks & Caicos but I think spending $12k for April break is a bit ridiculous. Would like to keep it under $500/night, or under $5-6k for 6 nights for hotel and airfare. Not a big fan of Negril, and want to stay away from Mexico, Punta Cana, and Puerto Rico.

Any suggestions/ideas? PLEEEASE as I've been on the computer for 5 hours now on this and am about to give up on the whole idea.

Thank You in advance

janisj

I'm pretty sure you'll have to book a suite or 2 bedroom villa. But after paying for 5 airfares that probably won't leave enough $$ to cover that sort of 'luxury' accommodations during Spring Break.

blamona

I can't think of a single resort to meet your needs

Most will make you get at least 2 bedrooms plus pull out couch

At your budget it won't be upscale but budget

April break is height of peak season, in May prices drop you'll have a little better luck for your budget

Budget won't get you upscale in most places anyway, but more budget friendly

The most affordable places you've knocked off the list, DR, Mexico

You don't say how old the kids are, but occupancies are restrictive based on how many persons including kids at most resorts. (for example, they're not going to let you cram in 5 persons in 1 bedroom!

So a couple of options (and some catch 22s)

Check out Vrbo.com, Flipkey.com, homeaway and airbnb, but put in sleeps 5. (don't ask for prices of 2 persons and add 3 more later, you'll be rejected!). There are self catering villas that might come close to your budget. Keep in mind at yur budget you'll be 1-3 blocks from the beach, and most villas anywhere will need cars to get around

There are some resorts to get around

Self catering you can bring in food (if $500 for room is budget, wait until you see how much to feed them!). Get a place with a kitchen so you can grocery shop too, if eating out 3 meals a deal assume $75)

Turks and Caicos is an expensive overall island, but you can check out in $500 range Ocean Club or Royal West Indies, but it will be close (and 22% taxes and charges).

You won't get anything anywhere in your budget with slides and watermarks, except maybe Mexico.

At your budget, either wait for summer when prices drop or don't discount Mexico!

blamona

PS airfare to most places that time of year usually $700 pp.

You might want to try Costco or BJs if you belong to those clubs

Not many water parks or slides unless you go to Atlantis or Beaches TCI. Atlantis, you can "cheat" by staying at Comfort Suites and getting free passes to Atlantis, but probably more than $500 nightly (and very expensive to eat)

tom42

That is one of the most expensive times to travel to the Caribbean. Not sure why you want to stay away from Mexico, but that is probably your best bet as far as finding accommodations for 5 in one room. Some of the all inclusives have suites as accommodations. I think you will find it very difficult to find a hotel with a standard hotel room that will accommodate 5 people in one room.

If you google "Caribbean hotels that sleep 5" or something similar, you will get a list of websites that might be helpful to you in searching for a resort.

Sassafrass

You might consider a cruise. We have done that the last two years in spring with DD and GD. DH and I pay for it and have a tight, set budget. We have gone for a week each time and have kept our expenses to between $1,000 and $1,200 PP total, including airfare, taxis, cruise, gratuities, extra day at a hotel before the cruise, etc.

Granted, we had inside cabins, but we also got two and GD was full price as they had a cabin to themselves.

On some cruises, kids even go free or at least reduced rates in your cabin. You could get two adjoining cabins for more space. The two ships we have been on had water parks with slides, fountains, etc. One had a rock climbing wall, basketball, miniature golf, etc. Pools on the ships were a little crowded, but our stops had good beaches. Both had fabulous entertainment, even for kids. Our DD and GD had so much fun on both of them!

We went on the Norwegian Epic and the MSC Divina. Norwegian has really super children and teen programs! Divina's kid stuff wasn't well organized, but kids under 12 went free with two parents in the cabin, so that is a huge bargain!

We got both cruises out of Miami so flights were much cheaper. That is how we could stay within our budget. If this is of interest to you at all, You can go to the cruise forum and I can also refer you to web sites for more info.

You might also consider Puerto Rico because flights would cost a little less.

Look at specials listed on TravelZoo. They show lots of AIs, including airfare.

suze

<Not a big fan of Negril, and want to stay away from Mexico, Punta Cana, and Puerto Rico>

Unfortunately you've specifically nixed places that would fit your budget at that time of year.

RoamsAround

There are two BIG REASONS why your 5 hours of computer searching have come up empty.

First, your budget isn't realistic in relation to your wants. $500/night for 5 people isn't going to get you accommodations that are "...towards the upscale / luxury end of the spectrum..." in the Caribbean during April, especially if you are planning to travel around Easter or Spring Break times and you are going to find it almost impossible to find a hotel/resort that will have accommodations that will hold 5 people in one room.

Second, as others have pointed out you've nixed the places that would come the closest to fitting your budget.

You are going to have to make some concessions by dropping down to a lower level hotel/resort - forget "luxury" and think "basic" - and reconsider the more budget friendly destinations like the Dominican Republic, Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Jamaica.

With your budget, look at cruises - you should be able to find numerous options in your price range if you book some of the lower priced rooms categories. Or for land based options concentrate your search to package deals at some of the more moderately priced All inclusive in the budget friendly destinations mentioned above.

Sassafrass

You probably have reasons for not choosing Mexico, but one of our cruise ports was Cozumel and we all thought it would be a good place to spend a few days. I didn't check prices of hotels, but the beaches were very nice. Some had water slides, etc. you had to pay to use them for the day, but they also had pools, changing rooms, showers, etc. It was actually one of our favorite ports for a beach day.

Personally, I would not choose an AI in the DR because I would like to wander around the island by car, and might not feel comfortable doing it there.

If you don't find something in the Caribbean, why not Key West? You could fly into Miami or Ft Lauderdale and rent a car.

Look also on the Southern Gulf Coast of Florida at the Pass a Grille Beach area. You could rent a house there with a pool. There are things like little ice-cream shops plus deep sea fishing, and amusement parks not far away.

Sassafrass

One more thought. Look at cruises from Los Angeles. Depending on where you are coming from, and flight costs, they might work. I know some of the ships are very nice.

Bassguy66

I'd start looking at condos....

janisj

The OP is new -- I sure hope he isn't waiting for an e-mail from Fodors that there are responses

mnag

Take a look at Sands on Grace bay. I put is a search for April 2015 for 5 nights and the price for a 2 bedroom condo (which would fit your family) is $2625 which is 525 a night without taxes/service fee (which I think is not a small add on). When you do a search using booking.com put in one room and 2 adults 3 kids which should bring up a 2 bedroom condo. We have stayed in a 2 bedroom condo at Sands and that should certainly fit your family. All other resorts look to be higher. There are no slides etc at the Sands (it is not like the beaches resort) but a nice resort nonetheless on gorgeous Grace bay beach.

mnag

Sorry that should be April 2016.

k6m3w

Thanks all for the great input and ideas, going to explore all of them... But in the end I'm feeling might be best to sacrifice pulling the kids out of school a different week as its 'just' lower grade grammar school 2 of them would be missing.

Sassafrass

Please come back and keep us posted as to what you find that works for you. It might be useful to others.

Sassafrass

Now I see all your kids are young, two in "grammar" school. Are you coming from the US or someplace else? I ask because we usually say elementary, so perhaps you are not located in the States, as I assumed. Knowing about the age of the children, and location, some of my advice for your trip would be based on flights.

With five little ones, I would look for places where I could get non-stop flights. Depending on where you are, some islands involve plane changes with two or three hour lay-overs, and long hours altogether of travel time. Flight times are not long, but one island we go to is often around 9 hours or more door to door, with two flights and one lay-over, and we are exhausted on arrival at both ends. We do it only because our DD lives there and we go to see her. I would never do it with five children in tow. Next time we go, we plan on an overnight each way.

We have done only cruises with our little GD up to this point because non-stop flights to Miami or Ft Lauderdale are short and cheap for us. Those are the only ports we have even considered up to now because of that.

So, besides getting a good place to stay, getting there is also something to consider in your planning.

janisj

>> I ask because we usually say elementary,<<

That may be a regional or generational thing. Where I live 'grammar' is just as common as 'elementary'.