Kid-friendly, non-cheesy resort?
 

Looking for recommendations for a reasonably priced, not too cheesy resort for Jan/Feb. We?d prefer some way to put our 2 yr old son to sleep and be in an adjacent room or balcony. Meals could be included, or not. Any thoughts?

Definetly Beaches Turks and Caicos. To have him sleep in the next room, you will have to get a Honeymoon one-bedroom suite and he will either have to sleep on the pull out sofa or you can order a crib.

We went with teenagers, but we always saw groups of kids who were in the kiddie care center having loads of fun (though I don't think they would take a two year old out of the main building)....I guess it was the older kids that we saw. Food is wonderful. Repeat, wonderful. Don't listen to any bad posts about food. (and we are from New Jersey....we do know a thing or two about food).

Aaaaaackkkkk!

Sorry davsaz. There is a reason there are so many negative posts re Beaches TCI.

sararudh. Since you are specifying non-cheesy, I'd suggest looking at non-AI's (unless you are willing to spend quite a bit for the upper-level AI's).

If you want to go the AI route, I'd suggest avoiding any Sandals or Beaches resorts. (All you have to do is look at their ads to see vast piles of cheese.)

You might think about places that you could have a separate bedroom with a condo set up.

What do you like to do? Shop? Sightsee? Dive? Snorkel? Take day trips? If you could be more specific about what else you are looking for, it would be easier for us to make suggestions.

Also, where are you coming from geographically? That can make a big difference in cost and travel time, and with a two year old, you probably don't want to spend all day in the airport or on a plane.

We're from NYC, we'd like to stay on the beach.

Beaches T&C is like every other resort out there - If you read through tripadvisor.com, there are equal #'s of raves for the resort. I can't wait to add my thoughts to tripadvisor after our upcoming vacation there in June - the tickets arrived today. Yahoo!

Um, that may be MuyLinda, and I hope you have a wonderful trip and enjoy yourself to no end and post glowing reviews, but I would never stay at a resort that has as many negative posts as that one does, and after seeing the place with my own eyes, I can see why some of the posts are on there.

If you look at the places that get good reviews across the board, their ratio of good reviews to negative is more like 80 to 90%.

I don't want to spend the kind of money that Beaches charges to get a 50-50 chance I'll like it, because chances are good - as a frequent Caribbean traveler with certain expectations - I won't.

In general, level of satisfacation with any vacations depends on expectations being met or exceeded.

With their success in recent years, the AI resorts have been able to raise prices. Beaches T&C is definitely not inexpensive, for example.

The amount one pays for a vacation definitely impacts your expectations, so an expensive AI will result in high guest expectations.

That is just a general thought...

A specific thought is that with a 2 year old I would strongly consider a beachfront resort with beachfront condos, so you can get :
a) more room than a hotel room
b) the beachfront patio you want
c) resort amenities, such as kid camps, organised activities, restaurant, boutique, concierge etc
d) kitchen facilities in the condo.... with small kids this is big, you won't want to run to the restaurant every time you want to heat up some food or milk for your kid.

Needless to say, I am going to recommend the Cayman Islands for this, although bulletin board rules prevent me from recommending the resort I think could suit you best :)

Visit www.wheretostay.com for reviews, visit www.caymanislands.ky for full island information

I think expensive is relative and not every vacation plan fits every family. As a frequent Caribbean traveler with certain expectations as well, I'm pretty confident as a family we made a good choice with Beaches T&C.

I've seen Beaches and in my opinion, it's not great and not in the "reasonably priced" category. If you want the same great beach, look at any of the condo resorts on Grace Bay -- Ocean Clubs, The Sands, Royal West Indies. You will get separate bedroom, kitchen, all the amenities you might need for a 2 year old. Also look at Hyatt Hacienda Del Mar, Puerto Rico, Aruba Marriott Ocean Club, or any other the condo resorts on Aruba. We always stay at these type of resorts with our kids because all four of us in a hotel room is not my idea of a vacation!

I have been to beaches T&C twice and while it is a little cheesy and the food is only ok to good. You can't beat it as a place to go with a baby or toddler. First time my daugter was 9 months and then at 21 months. She loved it, the place is just kid friendly. They have a resturant that just serves kid food (mac and cheese, pizza, hotdogs, fruit PB&J cookies) We would feed our daughter and then drop her off at the kids club. I will admit it is very expensive but when we went we got a good deal (2800 for the week with airfare). We are not going this year because it is much more expensive (We wanted the lowest concierge category - like a jr suite) with two kids and airfaire is $6000.00. We are trying the Westin Our Lucaya this year.
But if you can get a great deal at Beaches it can't be beat for a vacation with a toddler.

I have been to Beaches and do not recommend it. Yes, there IS a reason why there are so many negative posts regarding Beaches on this forum. You might want to check out the Radisson Cable Beach for an all-inclusive. I understand they are rennovating the rooms there. We stayed there years ago any enjoyed it. Currently we own a timeshare at the Marriott Ocean Club, Aruba. It's a long flight from NYC (about 4 1/2 hours) so you might want to reconsider that with a two year old. The Marriottresort is beautiful, clean and very child friendly.