Hello Friends,
Seeking advice on Turks and Caicos, which we've never visited. Planning our end-of-school year trip for mid to late June. Would appreciate any info. on happenings or conditions at that time of year. No interest in Beaches Resort, so I really don't need any info. on that one but any other resorts accepting of young children would be helpful. Would like to enjoy 8 days/7 nights; budget of $10k for lodging/food/car. Have read great reviews for Grace Bay Club and understand that children are accepted in the newly-built villas. My children would be 8 and almost 5 at time of travel.

Anyone have any insight into GBC with children? Any scoop on the children's programs mentioned on the web site? Our children usually hang out with us, but it's nice to know that the programs are available if they want to participate for an hour or so. How far is the walk from the villas to the beach? Do the on-site restaurants accept young children? If so, are there specific times or conditions for dining with little ones? Is room service available? If there is a "children's dining time," then is the menu limited? We encountered this at the Malliouhana in Anguilla last May. Although we clearly understood the rule about dinner with young children, my husband and I had not expected the menu to be so limited during children's hour. Adult entrees were severely limited. We were fine with dining earlier, but didn't understand why so many dishes "could not be prepared an hour earlier." Weird. Even the room service menus were quite limited for dinner. Thankfully we rented a car, so we enjoyed the many excellent restaurants on the island.

Sorry for all the questions, but you Fodorites are the best and I know I'll get the info. I need. I still owe you all my review from our trip to Anguilla. Mead's Bay and Shoal Bay East were absolutely perfect for our children. The water was gentle and crystal clear. The restaurants were incredible! We still miss the Grand Marnier French Toast at Tasty's and the seafood enchiladas at Picante. My kids loved the chocolate pudding at Picante, and they still talk about the restaurant on the water (Straw Hat).

Thought T&C would be a great trip for us. I've also read about The Somerset, so any info. on that resort would also be appreciated, but it may be too expensive for my budget. Thanks!

Hi
Grace Bay Club is wonderful and I have also heard of good reviews. They do have a restaurant on the property that is adults only.
You might want to look into the Palms also I hear they have a great kids program. The beach is a little more calm at that end of Grace Bay.You are also within walking distance to some shore snorkling, in front of the Coral Gardens resort.
Both are great resorts

We were at GBC in October and loved it. We went for an anniversary trip and left our 4-year-old with family. So I can't really give you any advice on what they offer for kids since we didn't look into that.
When were shown around the resort, we were told that children are now accepted and one of the pools was the "family" pool. Considering the fact that they accept families now, I can't imagine that their only restaurant is "adults only" anymore. But maybe I'm wrong.
I have a trip report with pictures on this board. Let me know if you can't find it.

Turksoldtimer & Caribtraveler: Many thanks for the replies. I'm going to research a few other places since it seems that Grace Bay Club or Somerset would break the $10k budget. (Forgot to mention that airfare also needs to be included in that amount.)

Caribtraveler: What beautiful pics!! Took me awhile to find your "Hot Date" review. Congrats on your 7th! How was traveling without your little one? My husband and I are scheduled to take our first trip sans children for our 10th Anniversary this April. We're heading to Paris, and I'm a bit nervous about leaving them behind. Hubby says that we're many years overdue, so I'm trying to relax and look forward to the trip. We just got back from Orlando where the kids had a fantastic Christmas at Disney. (Another delinquent trip report I must write.) My hubby says we owe ourselves a nice trip and that the children will be just fine with the grandparents looking after them.

Funny how I'm so busy researching our next family vacation, and I should really be posting some messages on the European boards regarding restaurants to enjoy on our Paris trip. I guess those maternal feelings run deeeeeep. Hee, hee!

Nice resorts with great pools for the kids mid range are The Sands, The Alexandra, Royal West Indies, and both Ocean Club West and East

Ah Paris... C'est merveilleux. Have a GREAT time!
How was it traveling without our son? Woohoo! Par-ty!
Seriously, we do it every year so no nervousness at all. We're lucky to have great family members (grandparents and siblings) who live nearby and love to watch him. He was about 1 1/2 the first time we left him for an anniversary trip. We worried the entire travel day to the Bahamas. When we called my sister-in-law that evening to check on him, we could hear him laughing hysterically in the background (his then 5-year-old cousin was being silly). My sister-in-law said "oh he's been having a ball all day". Although happy he wasn't unhappy, my husband and I were a little hurt he wasn't missing us.
You absolutely owe it to yourselves. And it's absolutely normal to feel nervous that first time you leave them for awhile. They're your babies after all!

You know to leave a notarized letter with the grandparents to make all/any medical decisions for the children if the need rises? Their medical cards too... their doctors/dentists names with addresses and numbers, and your complete itinerary with hotel numbers?
If you need a sample letter, I can give you one. We're experts at those.

Caribtraveler: Good advice about the notorized document. I've prepared copies of the insurance cards, our itinerary, copies of passports, etc. and given those to grandparents as well as a neighbor. At the risk of sounding like a total loon, I've even had our attorney update our wills. I'm not a doom-and-gloom kind of person, but I want the peace of mind in knowing that our affairs are in order in the event that something should happen.

The sample letter would be great. Thank you!

P.S. - May have to defer T&C until another time. GBC and Somerset both cost over $1k per night in the summer, and that's before the 20% tax/surcharge. Ouch! We'll probably head back to Anguilla. Stayed at Malli last year but would like to try something new. Will probably post an inquiry for anyone who has recently stayed at CJ with children. We checked out CuisinArt on our last visit and it's not for us. The beach seemed really windy on that part of the island, and there just wasn't enough shade around the pool. (No trees, just a few umbrellas) Those are the first things my husband noticed when we stopped for lunch there. He said he'd burn in 5 mins. there.

We also did Anguilla first and then T&C. We took out then 1 year old to T&C and had a great time. We stayed at the Royal West Indies which was lovely. They had complimentary sand toys, bikes, kayaks, catamarans..perfect for the kids.

Another good option would be the Sands or Crystal Sands Villa on Sapodilla Bay.

One more thought..Coral gardens would eb good for close access to snorkeling.

You can just do this in a word document. We get it notarized and leave it with whomever is watching our son. We always pad the consent date (see all the way at the bottom) by 3-4 days just in case our flight is delayed for whatever reason.


MEDICAL RELEASE FORM


Parents' Names:
Address:
Home Phone:
Hotel Name & Phone:
Cell Phones:

Child's Name:
Date of Birth:

Drug Allergies:
Food Allergies:

Physician's Name:
Address:
Phone:

Dentist's Name:
Address:
Phone:

Primary Insurance Company:
Phone:
Billing Address:
Policy Holder's Name:
Relationship to Child:
ID #: Group #:

Statement of Consent:
In the event of an emergency or non-emergency situation requiring medical treatment, we, [YOUR NAMES], hereby grant permission to our child's grandparents, [THEIR NAMES], to make any and all medical decisions in the event of an accidental injury or illness, until such time we can be contacted. This permission includes, but is not limited to, the administration of first aid, the use of an ambulance, and the administration of anesthesia and/or surgery, under the recommendation of qualified medical personnel. This statement of consent is valid from ....... to .........


Signatures: Date:

OK-I was just reading about T&C and had to add to your letter. One the bottom in huge letters it says that all face and hand stitches must be done by a plastic surgeon. This is important! If it is on the treatment letter, they must honor it from what I was told. I was afraid my inlaws would forget that part and my kiddos would end up with big scars like mine.

I am wondering why no interest in Beaches resort. We were there in 2000 when there were only 4 other resorts on the island. I see now there has been dramatic increase in options. Has Beaches gone south in value, quality or are there some others that are drmatically better value?

I would think Beaches with its wonderful pool and water slides in the French village would be a hit with kids.

Unless you get a real good deal at Beaches it is not worth the money they want. You can stay at a five star resort and eat out at all the fancy restaurants on the island for the price they want for a family to stay for a week. The beach at Beaches is very crowded in peak season.

Caribtraveler: Thanks for the template. Very helpful. Also appreciate the input of KrisTX, as I hadn't considered her addition.

vp4: You asked about my lack of interest in Beaches. Some of our friends have gone, and they were deeply disappointed with their visit. They couldn't believe that the resort has the nerve to call itself a 4* or even a 5*. Two years ago while vacationing, we met a family who had left Beaches T&C after their kids stopped eating. They got a refund for the remainder of their trip and checked into Parrot Cay, which I didn't even realize accepted kids.
The latest review on TripAdvisor was written by a woman who was celebrating her 10th wedding anniversary at Beaches T&C and brought along several family members to the tune of $40k. Sadly, her trip left a lot to be desired. Most of the reviews on various boards are pretty poor for Beaches T&C, and many people whose children suffer from allergies or asthma post pictures of what appears to be mold on the walls, in the A/C unit and under the carpet in their rooms. Once they discovered the mold, they realized why they coughed and sneezed non-stop whenever they were in their rooms.

Some friends visited the Beaches in Negril in 1998 and absolutely loved it, but I would need to speak with folks who have visited more recently. We love Jamaica but haven't visited in many years.

Wow! I am surprised Beaches has gone downhill so much. We visited in September of 2000 and it was fantastic. The French Village was undergoing construction but the rest of the resort was awesome. There were no crowds, probably due to schools opening earlier. The restaurants were good. The pool was great. I guess too much popularity and success causes its own problems. Are there any other resorts in T&C now that offer large pools and waterslides? What is generally considered the top resorts in T&C? Also, how do folks travel there from NYC area? Back in 2000, we went on Miami Air. Are there direct flights or do we have to connect from Charlotte or Miami or Atlanta? Thanks.