hi. my husband and i are planning to visit t&c in november. we will be bringing our three litttle kids, ages 9, 6, and 2. The older two love to snorkel. we are thinking about coarl gardens, mostly because of the reef right there and the spacious rooms appeal to me. someone else had recommeded ocean club west to us. we are having trouble deciding what is best suited for our family, any comments are much appreciated! we do not want a hotel that has shows,and all that crazy stuff. something fairly quiet, on a beautiful beach, with a convient location. LOVE the idea of snorkeling right off the coral gardens shore, but will our boys be bored? also, both of these hotels advertise babysitting available. has anyone out there used these servies? makes me nervous, but might be worth a thought??? i am thinking of bringing along my little sister as our sitter, might be worth the extra money? thanks all!

I'm hoping for the best too. We are heading for Coral Gardens with our 9yr old in a couple of weeks. I can only hope that there is just one other child his age for him to hook up with.(that's all it takes for him) Taking your sister may be a good idea however. We've done that before too. I'll be glad to give you a report upon our return if you like. FYI I checked into a &quot;daypass&quot; to Beaches for a treat for one day, however they do not allow daypasses during high season. Thus it might work out for you in low season.<BR>It may cost some $$ for one day but at least it would be some special for your kids one day. With the $$ you'll probably save at CG you could probably justify it. Have fun!

thanks so much for your input. i will look for your thoughts on coral gardens in a couple of weeks. have a great time, wish we were leaving sooner

When we were at CG it was more adult oriented. There were no kids and it was a pretty quiet place. If I had kids I'd go to Beaches. (I have kids, they're grown up...LOL)

Hi. We just returned from OCW. There were a ton of kids the ages of your kids...lots for the 2 year old!! We have two teenage girls and debated staying at CG also..but I am glad we didn't. It was no big deal to hop in the car and drive down to snorkel for an hour or so...In fact, we made it into our outing for the day and found someplace to have lunch either before or after. I did not perceive CG as a kid's type of place...and I think it was really annoying to the guests at CG to have all of the rest of the island swoop down on their beach to snorkel. The beach at OCW is nicer for swimming and the pool will be fun for the kids. Also, OCW has lighted tennis courts which kept my kids busy after dinner at night...tennis and the balls are free which was nice for a change! We did go to CG twice...but there are other places to snorkel too...so it really didn't matter to us to stay on the reef. Good luck! Neither place has that &quot;Hoopla&quot; that it sounds like you want to avoid. It's not a &quot;Hoopla&quot; place unless you go to Beaches or Club Med...which is all adults. Either way, you can't help but love the place....just bring your wallet if you plan to eat!!<BR>SPB

great response, thanks so much. we booked our week at ocw for november, yippie!

ummmm....I'm available for adoption.....have a great time, you'll love it there.