We are traveling to Jamaica during Spring break time and are looking for a resort with a kids club to accommodate my 3 & 5 year old boys. I narrowed it down to the Holiday inn Sunspree, Sunset beach Montego bay and the FDR Pebbles. All around the same price - Please help I need recent info on these.
My family, with a 3-year old boy in tow, spent a week at FDR Pebbles in March 2005. We had a good experience and got out of it what we expected: a much-needed break for mom & dad while somebody else entertained the kid. The nanny we got was very good with our boy and he had a great time. There were lots of kids around to keep him happy without us having to constantly entertain him all the time. That said, the place is small and kind of rustic. It has a sort of summer-camp feel to it. The food was adequate, but a bit repetitive and the hotel beach, though beautiful, is a bit small and pebbly (hence the name of the resort). They have very pretty, lush landscaping, but that also means they had lots of mosquitoes. Our boy got devoured by the bugs the one night we were a little careless about bug repellent.
We walked along the beach to the nearby Sunspree one day and it looked much larger than the Pebbles, and pretty nice. The beach by the Sunspree is broader and smoother.
I found that the small size of the Pebbles, however, was an advantage when leaving the kid with the nanny because it was always easy for us to find them and check in on them. It gave us a little peace of mind to know that they were never very far from sight.
As I said, we enjoyed our stay, but I'm not sure if we would go back. The Pebbles, with its great nanny service, served us well because our boy at the time was too young for most of the other hotels' kids clubs and we were desperate for a little babysitting help. By the time we take our next beach vacation, however, we will be able to choose from a wider variety of hotels that have activities for kids (most take kids starting at age 4). I think that if you don't really need the "vacation nanny" services offered by the FDR resorts, there are better places to go to.
We walked along the beach to the nearby Sunspree one day and it looked much larger than the Pebbles, and pretty nice. The beach by the Sunspree is broader and smoother.
I found that the small size of the Pebbles, however, was an advantage when leaving the kid with the nanny because it was always easy for us to find them and check in on them. It gave us a little peace of mind to know that they were never very far from sight.
As I said, we enjoyed our stay, but I'm not sure if we would go back. The Pebbles, with its great nanny service, served us well because our boy at the time was too young for most of the other hotels' kids clubs and we were desperate for a little babysitting help. By the time we take our next beach vacation, however, we will be able to choose from a wider variety of hotels that have activities for kids (most take kids starting at age 4). I think that if you don't really need the "vacation nanny" services offered by the FDR resorts, there are better places to go to.
Went to FDR - runaway bay - with then 1 year old. Was told, thru tons of reseach, that RB was far better for younger kids then Pebbles. The resort is fine, food fine, nanny SUPER. So depending what you are needing....We did Beaches Negril a year later with 2 and 1 year old. While the resort was nice the program and care for my kids was terrible. Not harmful or anything, they just did not care. FDR goes out of their way!!
We have also been to FDR--Runaway Bay which is perfect for small children; the resort is small so again they can come find you, but there are also enough places for adults to have some quiet times. We thought the food was surprisingly good. Hunt around some more for the difference between Pebbles and Runaway Bay for small children; I like Brijax had heard that Runaway Bay was better for little ones.
Hope this helps,
Mary
Hope this helps,
Mary
