With its soft white sand and clear blue waters, the beauty of the island of Turks and Caicos is undeniable. It was definitely the type of paradise that my husband and I would have visited as a couple, but the big question was – would we be able to enjoy this island paradise with 2 kids – and more specifically with a high energy 5 year old and a demanding 2 year old???
I knew when I began researching our vacation that we needed a low stress resort. It had to have enough activities to entertain the kids and also provide mom and dad with the opportunity for peace and relaxation. After a lot of research, I felt that our best bet was to go with Beaches all-inclusive resort. It hit all of my major requirements – beautiful scenery, food readily available at any time of day, multiple pools, immediate beach access, kids camp and programming and free-flowing alcohol.
Happily, Beaches did not disappoint. We spent a wonderful week exploring and enjoying this gorgeous paradise. We would definitely come back again!!!
Accommodations
I am pretty particular when it comes to accommodations and at Beaches you have 4 different villages to choose from plus different types of units within each village.
I reviewed the Beaches website but also did a lot of research on public forums. Each village offers different amenities and experiences. In the end, I decided to book a 1 bedroom Villa Suite in the Key West Village. This was a middle of the road option in terms of cost.
We absolutely loved our suite and the Key West Village and honestly I don’t think I would want to stay anywhere else. We were on the ground floor of a gorgeous 2 story townhouse. The suite was spacious and included a living area with trundle bed, a dining area, a kitchen, washer and dryer, bathroom and bedroom. We even had a small private porch, lounge chair and all. The refrigerator was stocked with juices, water, beer and wine. We also had vodka, rum and tequila in one of the cabinets.
The villa suite was able to accommodate our family of four easily. We used the trundle bed for my son and requested a crib for my daughter. If necessary someone could have also slept on the couch. We used the washer and dryer quite a few times- I promise that the kids will have sand everywhere and multiple outfits will be necessary. Any messes were cleaned up by housekeeping on a daily basis.
The Key West Village was quiet and provided a nice sanctuary from the activities around the resort as the other villages either have big pools, activities or restaurants that drew a crowd. The walk to the main pool was a little more than 5 minutes and if you are worried about the distance, my recommendation is to take the beach front path – believe me you won’t notice the distance at all.
The Beach
Needless to say the beach itself is amazingly gorgeous, absolutely breathtaking and steps from your room.
The sand is soft and powdery. The water is clear and an amazing shade of blue – and even better – not freezing! The water was so calm that people of all ages were snorkeling. Our kids were able to go into the water about 10 feet before the water became too deep for them. They loved floating in the ocean and playing in the sand.
A few days we had pretty intense sun so we absolutely recommend getting up early to “reserve” the covered beach front lounge chairs. Essentially you lift a canopy over a pair of lounge chairs to create a seashell to protect from the sun and to provide some privacy. As you can see from the pictures, the kids loved the canopy.
These lounge chairs get filled up quickly so we would always lay towels out before breakfast (those families with butler service will have chairs reserved from the night before.) It was worth the early walk on the beach which is a reward onto itself.
Pool Time
The whole family enjoyed the main pool. There was always music playing or some type of pool game happening. The pool had a nice-sized sundeck where the kids could play and splash around on their own. For lounging, there were lounge chair floatees that were perfect for mom – or for floating the kids around the pool. There were also plenty of lounge chairs around the pool for relaxation and sunning. The main pool was crowded at times, as was the pool bar, but for the most part we were able to freely enjoy the water.
The only negative thing that I could say about the main pool was that cabanas are available but they are all reserved for the families paying for butler service. I understand that butler families are paying more but the reality is that some of the cabanas stayed completely empty during our stay. There should be a way to reserve the cabanas even if for an extra fee. The sun in Turks and Caicos can get extremely hot and the fee might be worth it for some guaranteed shade.
Each of the different villages at Beaches has its own pool. We felt fortunate because the Key West Village had a pool and lounge chairs in our quad right outside of our door (the buildings made a square surrounding the pool). The pool was quiet and was perfect for some down time. While the kids napped or watched TV, my husband and I took turns laying out.
Walking around the property I did not see pools like this in the other villages – it seemed that the other villages had larger pools with music, food and drinks – and of course more people. Though we spent a lot of time in the main pools, our quiet pool was a much needed sanctuary from the crowds at the main pool. Occasionally a server would come by and take a drink order but for the most part there was no bar or food service. Most of the time we had the pool to ourselves.
The Waterpark
Besides the beach, the kids absolutely loved the waterpark. The waterpark had slides, water pads for splashing, a pirate ship complete with water cannons and a lazy river. The kids could have probably spent the entire vacation here but for the gorgeous beach.
The Beaches waterpark is like a fully operational waterpark so if you still need to keep an eye on the kids (that’s us!), the waterpark will likely not be the most relaxing experience you have at the resort. Though there are lounge chairs in the area, they are rather removed from the slides and river so unfortunately it wasn’t really possible to sit and watch the kids. The kids had so much fun, however, that we didn’t mind “chasing” after them.
We made great memories floating down the lazy river as a family and I will never forget my son’s excitement after he went down his first water slide with dad in tow.
AMAZING KIDVENTURES!!
With the beach, the pools and the waterpark, you would think that the kids had plenty of entertainment but Beaches offers so much more.
Kids Camp
For parents looking for some time to get away (as in by themselves), there is a daily kids camp that plans activities for kids of all ages. These activities can include scavenger hunts, bonfires, board games, crafts, etc. There is a daily schedule that is included in the resort’s newsletter. Our son visited the main camp a few times to play games (pool, checkers, table tennis) and to participate in the crafts, but we felt our daughter was too young to leave in the toddler room (it pretty much looks like a daycare center.) The caretakers were friendly and attentive. I did feel, however, that kids over the age of 5 would most appreciate the camp experience simply because they could actively participate in the activities. Maybe in a few years mom and dad can truly be alone…
Sesame Street
The Beaches resort has a partnership with Sesame Street and to our kids delight there were many opportunities to interact with the Sesame Street characters. The activities were cute and kept the kids entertained.
Don’t miss the Sesame Street Parade (bonus: the kids participating in the kids camp on parade day, decorate headpieces and masks and can march in the parade with the characters.) Our kids loved the music and waving at the characters. Make sure you also participate in the Cookies with Cookie Monster event. Complete with aprons and chef hats, the kids decorated cookies with the help of Cookie Monster. After the decorating, the kids got to meet and take a photo with Cookie Monster.
The Sesame Street characters do walk around the resort and greet the kids. Please note that there is an opportunity to take pictures with the entire Sesame Street gang, however, this costs extra money and from my recollection it was not cheap.
The Beaches Train
I have to mention the Beaches train because my son is a train aficionado. The train circles around the majority of the resort and there are several stops at the different villages. The ride will not be amazing to parents but my son absolutely loved it.
Nightly Shows
Beaches hosts nightly shows which cater mostly to adults – including dancing, singing and game nights. There is however a Sesame Street show that happens at least once a week which is meant for the little ones. We took our kids to a couple of the adult shows and the kids were ok for the most part. Each night, there is a different theme to go with the show – for example our first night at the resort was “white night” (everyone wears white.) Not surprisingly our kids loved the chocolate night which includes a chocolate dessert buffet – plus delicious chocolate martinis for the adults.
Where To Eat
In total, Beaches has almost 20 different restaurants serving all kinds of cuisine – Italian, American, Japanese, Indian and French to name a few. Regardless of the cuisine many of the restaurants at the resort are very kid friendly and have kid friendly options – only a few of the restaurants are adult only and some only for dinner. Each different village has its own set of restaurants. We were at Beaches for 8 days and tried quite a few but definitely not all of the restaurants. Here are a few of our favorite “can’t miss” restaurants!
Our favorite place to have breakfast was “Barefoot by the Sea” which is located right on the sand (hence the name!) The breakfast choices were delicious and the view of the ocean made it even better. This restaurant even had kid sized picnic tables so our kids could enjoy their breakfast on their own. Unlike most of the other restaurants serving breakfast, this restaurant had an actual breakfast menu as opposed to a buffet which meant a slight wait for breakfast. The experience was worth it!
If you are looking for a breakfast buffet, we liked Bayside Restaurant which is located in the Key West Village. The breakfast buffets throughout the resort were generally the same – eggs, bacon, cereals, fruit, toast, muffins, yogurts but this restaurant comes with a great view and seemed significantly less crowded.
Dinos is great for a quick lunch and has delicious pizzas and salads. More importantly, next to Dinos is the take out “restaurant” where you can grab pizzas, nachos and sandwiches to take to the pool or out to the room. Great tip – grab some pizzas to go before you go to the airport because the airport is sorely lacking in food options!
For an extremely kid friendly meal for either lunch, dinner or snacks – i.e. hamburgers, hot dogs and the like – the kids loved Bobby Dee’s, a retro diner that served all kinds of American goodies. Even better, Bobby Dee’s has an ice cream bar that is open all day and late at night – so our kids had ice cream pretty much every night before bed! What are vacations for right!
If you are craving Italian, Mario’s is a great option. During the day, Mario’s has a lunch buffet. For dinner, Mario’s has a formal dinner menu, salad bar and kid buffet. They also provide coloring pages and crayons for the kids.
A definite can’t miss for the entire family is Kimonos, the teppanyaki restaurant. The chefs at Kimonos put on a great show and the kids loved seeing the food chopped, stirred and cooked before their eyes. Please note that this restaurant requires reservations so make them as soon as you arrive at the hotel so you can get your desired day and time. (Note: When you stay in the Villa Suites the concierge can take care of this reservation for you.)
I would also highly highly recommend having dinner at Soy Sushi Bar. The sushi was extremely fresh and the waiters happily brought our little ones chicken tenders from the diner next door, Bobby Dee’s.
If you are craving coffee and sweets definitely visit Cafe de Paris for some decadent pastries.
Though we had great experiences at most of the restaurants at Beaches I would completely avoid Reflections and Arizonas, both located in the Caribbean Village. These buffets left much to be desired and the food quality was poor. Reflections seemed to also serve as the employee cafeteria. We were also not very impressed with The Jerk Shack which was basically a very basic outdoor bbq.
