I need help in a bad way. I want to take my family to Jamaica in September and am so overwhelemed. I am looking into these "Beaches" resorts. We have a 13 and 11 yr old. Alot of the reviews I am reading are saying that these places are run down, food is horrible. This is on tripadvisor that I am seeing this...
So, I want your opinions. Where to go?? Boscobel, T&C, or Nigrel? Have you been to any of them? What condition is the resort in and what is the food like? HEEEELLLP

I've never been to a Beaches Resort and I can't imagine I ever would--I don't have children of my own and the few occasions that my husband and I travel with his grandchildren, that chain has never held appeal for me. You've hit the nail on the head in terms of reviews--people paying a certain amount of money expect a certain standard of service, upkeep, and quality. That being said, lots of people love Beaches and continue to go back and visit, year in and year out. I have a cousin who has traveled to Beaches Negril with his family and wouldn't trade that vacation for anything, nevermind that it cost $10,000 including airfare for his family of 5 to go there during February vacation one year.

Since you seem a little wary of Beaches already, what makes you want to pursue that line of thinking for your vacation? Would any all-inclusive resort that accepted children work for you? Must it be a family-oriented resort? What is your budget? Would you consider staying non-AI if you found something in your price range? What are the essentials you need for a really good vacation? (Pool, shopping, water sports, bars, nightlife, cultural attractions, jet skis, a variety of restaurants with or without buffets?) The list can go on and on. It just depends on what you and your family want.

hmmmm, those are some good thoughts. What gets me about the AI is that the planning is done for me. I am super busy and don't have the time to suft website after website after website. For $5500 I can get me, my husband, and 2 kids to a beaches resort. That includes airfare from minneapolis. That's where the appeal is. The criteria is must have lots of water stuff to do. Must be warm. Must include GOOD meals. Hotel or resort must be in good repair. That's about it!

I have walked thru the Beaches Turks and Caicos property...as beaches go it is in great shape, people on Trip Advisor Love it! The new part is ready to open--Italian Village, great looking new buildings..12 mile white beach...can not beat it anywhere..

That sounds like a pretty good price to me for a family of four, actually.

Your rooms will be luck of the draw--you can ask for the more recently updated rooms and you may get lucky. Or you may be in rooms that are in need of renovation.

You'll have plenty of activities both in and out of the water at any of the BEaches resorts, so you're all set there.

The weather and the water will be warm in all Beaches locations in September, so you're all set on that requirement. As a sidebar, it will be very humid that time of year, not to mention the height of hurricane and rainy season. Which is not to say that it would rain the entire time--you could be very lucky and have perfect weather with the bonus of fewer crowds. But you need to be aware of the weather risks before booking.

The GOOD food requirement--keep in mind that this is a family friendly resort. And that the buffets will certainly offer a wide variety of choices but that the kitchen staff will be catering to the lowest common denominator in terms of general palate. The food will be perfectly fine--it's not inedible. But if you downgrade your food expectations you'll be happier. You'd have to be traveling to a much more luxurious level of AI resort to be getting really good food, I'm afraid.