Ten Best Caribbean Resorts for Families

Breezes - Curacao Resort

2006-01-02T14:29:00.000-05:00

Starting in at number 10 - a great choice for families everywhere - Breezes, Curacao is an awesome!

If you can't wait, here's our list. Make sure you check out each page:

Okay, back - at number 10, Breezes Curacao Resort.

339 rooms and suites with huge rooms - a two double bed room is around 450 sq. ft! You will love their beachside playground. Note we didn't say "poolside". This one is right on the beach. Breezes has a nice arcade for the kids, plus kids' menus at all the restaurants.

You can request a mini-refrigerator for your room. The junior suites come with microwaves, but there are plenty of eateries including a beach-side grill and the SuperKids Snackbar, and two non-smoking restaurants.

For adults, check out the free scuba introductory course. Breeze holds a very fun Dance Contest which will have you laughing and taking tons of pictures. And don't miss their free trapeze lessons! You'll come home with a different perspective.

Breezes Curacao is the largest resort on the island, with a 1,500 foot beach, a skating rink, and a 30-foot rock climbing wall. There are two lighted tennis courts for night play and free lessons from the pros.

And just listen to this list of activities: treasure hunts, arts and crafts, sandcastle-building, circus workshop, and more. You'll be pleased to know the nursery for two and under is the best we've found.

While the little ones are having fun with toys, your 2 to 12 year old will be learning about local culture - taught every Monday - through storytelling, dancing and language instruction.

Close by, take your family to visit the colorful town of Willemstad, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The kids program does incorporate a visit to the famous Curacao Sea Aquarium, where kids encounter turtles, dolphins, sharks, and sea lion in an interactive setting.

Up next, Club Med's best effort in Guadeloupe. It's called Caravelle and it's a Gem! Take a look! >>

Club Med - Caravelle, Guadeloupe

2006-01-02T14:11:00.000-05:00

A medium sized resort, Club Med, Caravelle, Guadeloupe, has 329 rooms and suites, and their room with two double beds is around 312 sq. ft. But Club Med, Caravelle has something special: family rooms that easily sleep six. There are well designed ramps throughout the property for strollers. This resort has a full-blown arcade. And, mom and dad, Club Med, Caravelle, Guadeloupe, has evening group babysitting for your children 4 months and up.

If you'd like, you can partake of their detox massages, and there's even a fun cooking class with demonstrations that feature local Caribbean-French dishes. Don't miss the catamaran trip to Petite-Terre, a small island with crystal-clear water for snorkeling.

Club Med, Caravelle uses some cool equipment to teach 3 to 7 year olds to learn tennis in the Petit Tennis program, which helps them develop hand to eye coordination. And did we mention the beach?

1,500 feet of oceanfront coconut-tree lined beach with one of the kids programs located right there!

Club Med, Caravelle, Guadeloupe offer renovated guest rooms. Now half have been completed and the remainder will be complete in the off-season of 2006. Also, word is that several family suites will be added.

This is a fun place. With the famous Circus School, to sailing instruction, Petit Tennis, hip-hop, windsurfing... standard with Club Med's kids from 2 to 13, Club Med, Caravelle allows families to be exposed to the French island culture. Supplies and cuisine are French, including cheeses and breads, but you'll find local Colombo d'Agneau (Lamb Creole-style) and Blaff de Poisson (fish in bouillon).

Not to totally alienate, the resort recently hired more English-speaking (instead of French) staff, and has American favorites like pizza and pasta on the menu.

Hey, the Dominican Republic is becoming the most popular destination of families. Club Med Punta Cana is our number 8 family friendly resort - Next! >>

Club Med - Punta Cana - Dominican Republic

2006-01-02T13:56:00.000-05:00

A large resort with 519 rooms and suites with the basic two double beds running about 312 sq. ft. Three swimming pools staffed by lifeguards, and for you with infants, bottle warmers, baby bathtubs, and strollers are all available at no extra cost. Club Med, Punta Cana also boasts mini-refrigerators in each room and there's even a teen lounge on the premises.

Can't really get away from it all? You can still exercise in Club Med, Punta Cana's Crunch Gym, plus to really unplug, make sure you get the hot stone massage and go off on a "parents only" snorkeling excursion.

Club Med's are famous for their Circus School for kids, where youngsters as young as 4 learn to swing from a flying trapeze (harnessed in and over a safety net, naturally), and try their skill at juggling and acrobatics. Later in the week, the parents are invited to a full-blown show featuring their kids. It's a lifetime memory!

Club Med, Punta Cana helps kids get into the local culture with their music and mask-making classes at the Putumayo World Playground Adventure. And, while you're not learning or watching, Club Med, Punta Cana has a wonderful beach less than 10 minutes from the airport.

Expect a high number of youth counselors; sometimes as many as 40, because of the great number of kids activities. Besides the Circus School, kids 2 to 13 can try out the Mini-Gym to learn basic gymnastics, and the new Hip Hop Kidz dance program, puppet shows, arts and crafts, sports like soccer, basketball, archery and softball - all fun-filled and taught by staff.

And listen to this, kids are given a choice of three activities every hour - so they're always doing something they like. Kids feel they're in charge at Club Med, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

We travel to Jamaica to find our number 7 resort for kids! Beaches is the most popular kids resort in the Caribbean! Next >>

Beaches - Negril Resort & Spa - Jamaica

2006-01-02T13:17:00.000-05:00

Beaches, Negril has 200 rooms and suites. Their basic room with two double beds is around 230 sq. ft. What sets this apart on our list are the five pools staffed by lifeguards. The resort also has fun pajama parties for the kids and lessons in sandcastle building. (Hey, where is the sign-up list for adults?) One of the funnest features is their true Japanese restaurant where the food is prepared tableside. Kids love this!

Parents - you get butler service if you're in any of the two-bedroom suites. Your butler will arrange private dinners and custom activities. Beaches, Negril also offers couples' spa services such as "Scrub-a-Dub-Dub: Two in the Tub" (woo-hoo!), and all-adult beach volleyball.

If you're familiar with the Beaches' Caribbean Adventure with Sesame Street program, with those zany characters, you'll be happy to know the same program is here.

A trend that Beaches is in tune to is that of bringing children along on the wedding and honeymoon. Beaches appropriately calls this FamilyMoon and has packages for the family with free group portraits, T-shirts.

Kids can spend afternoons cooling off in the Pirate's Island water park with its 204-foot spiraling slide, their "too-awesome" Splash Deck, and my favorite, the 394-foot lazy-river ride.

Like our Turks & Caicos Beaches, Beaches, Negril offers an up-to-date video game room and kids activities based around themes. However, at Beaches, Negril, their Kids Kamp for kids 12 and under distinguishes itself from other resorts in the Beaches system by painstakingly working the cultural rhythm of Jamaica into kids activities. For example, Dance Class with Zoe focuses on calypso or reggae. Elmo becomes a storyteller of Jamaican legends.

Expect your little ones to be greeted by a kids' coordinator with Big Bird cookies and a drink!

And Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort and Spa makes number 6 on our list. It's one better than Negril, in our standing, and one you won't want to miss. Beaches Turks & Caicos - Next >>

Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort & Spa

2005-12-12T17:35:00.000-05:00

One of our best friends left the coziness of her small USA city to live in the enchanted Turks & Caicos. Why? Because she loves to dive! It's known as one of the premiere dive locations in the Caribbean, and Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort introduced their Bubble Makers program - not yet available elsewhere - for young would-be divers, teaching them basic underwater-breathing skills. Using real scuba apparatus, kids 7 and 8 become familiar with the equipment in a pool while hunting for underwater toys at a depth of 6 feet.

General manager, Joseph Zellner, says he can't keep parents away - they want to participate, too! There is a more advanced version, called Seal Team, for 9 and 10 year olds. A five day National Geographic scuba program teaches children 10 and up how to actually ocean dive - and how to identify fish and reefs.

Then there is the Beaches Kids Kamp for children 5 and under. They are separated from the 6 to 12 year olds and have their own play space. We thought highly of the Beach Science program for the kids 4 to 7, which mixes education and fun and encourages budding scientists to dig for sharks' teeth, or to launch amateur rockets off the beach.

RESORT INDEX:

Size: 453 rooms and suites; a room with two double beds is about 498 sq.ft.
Features: ask about the Sesame Street themed rooms; 12 miles of white sand beaches; pools staffed by lifeguards
For Mom & Dad: sunrise yoga; body scrubs with Blue Mountain coffee beans (most expensive on earth); ask about single parent friendly months
The facility appears like a French village with Parisian-style architecture, cuisine, ambiance
Bake cookies with Cookie Monster
Works with One World Foundation to work with autistic children

The number 5 resort for families is back in Jamaica - but on the other side of the island than Beaches. It's the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort in Montego Bay - Next! >>

Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort - Montego Bay, Jamaica

2005-12-12T17:03:00.000-05:00

For many years the Jamaican Tourist Board concentrated on adult couples. Remember the "Come back to Jamaica" jingle? Research showed the tourism boards that families were a natural market for them because Jamaica is still a very rural island with strong family values.

And you'll be interested to note that those values come into play when the resorts are staffing - especially at the moderately priced, all-inclusive Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort in Montego Bay.

We couldn't help notice how Sunspree has taken the KidSpree Vacation Club, which serves children ages 6 months to 17 years and broke it down into four age groups. They found an ease in staffing the infant to 3 year olds because the fact local residents are so disposed to taking care of children. These super nannies are well versed in CPR and first-aid.

The 4 to 12 year olds spend most of their time outside in tennis clinics, playing games at the beach, learning the latest reggae dance move, and getting to know the Jamaican culture better.

RESORT INDEX:

Size: 498 rooms and suites; a room with two double beds is about 265 sq.ft.
Features: half-mile of private beach; shaded playground; two laundry rooms
For Mom & Dad: adults-only pool with swim-up bar; fitness center; romantic rafting
Multimillion dollar renovation recently
173 connecting rooms, yippie! and 26 family suites
Only 15 minutes from Montego Bay airport, eliminating the long airport transports synonymous with a Jamaican vacation

Coming up next, from Nevis, West Indies - a Four Season Resort that makes kids kings and queens! At number 4! Next! >>

Four Seasons Resort - Nevis, West Indies

2005-12-12T15:55:00.000-05:00

Location, location, location - the mantra of all buying or selling land. You will be delighted to note that Four Seasons Resort on Nevis, has an enviable spot in the West Indies, with no neighboring hotels to compete for its wide stretch of Pinney's Beach.

Most guests arrive unconventionally at this former coconut plantation. You'll have to get the private hotel "shuttle", a boat that zips 25 minutes across the water from St. Kitts. You can also get a flight from San Juan or St. Kitts.

In case you're thinking the "Kids for All Seasons" is as tightly scheduled as other Four Seasons properties, we believe you'll be happy to know that the schedule here is "loose". General manager, Martin Sinclair, worked with the laid-back atmosphere of this luxury resort to fine tune the program into fun. For instance, Sinclair says they avoid complicated pre-registration policies or set-in-stone schedules. "The think I hear most from parents is that the program is very accessible and simple in how it functions."

And functions it does! High class service is standard. The "Kids for All Seasons" facility is in the middle of the resort, so wherever you are - spa, dining, beach - you're not far from the kiddos.

Fun? Imagine cake baking, croquet, and a supervised lizard hunt, followed by story time in the shade of a palm tree. Can you hear the breeze through the palm fronds? No? Close your eyes...

RESORT INDEX:

Size: 196 rooms and suites (many recently renovated), a room with two double beds is 560 sq.ft. (the largest in our top 10!)
Features: child bathrobes; milk and cookies on arrival; free-form infinity pool; babyproofing kits for your room on request; 17 family suites; DVD player in all rooms
For Mom & Dad: chilled towels and fruit; specialty massages; golf course by Robert Trent Jones II; beachfront restaurant with West Indian cuisine
All families with children ages 3 to 9 get a Sea Turtle Adoption Kit, with a satellite transmitter by the Caribbean Conservation Corporation to be tracked at home via the Internet; kit also includes a plush turtle toy and treat made by the resort's pastry chef
Playground has a small general store - kids sized; the "Kids for all Seasons" children's program has a mock pirate ship, jungle tree house, stuffed monkeys adorn the trees

Okay, so who is at number 3? What could be the third best on our list of family friendly resorts in the Caribbean? You'll have to check yourself - here - Next! >>

Westin and Sheraton at Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort, Grand Bahama Island

2005-12-12T15:13:00.000-05:00

Winter in the Bahamas is temperate. So Westin and Sheraton at Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort alternates its events by season. For instance, Liselle Harris, manager of activities and entertainment says, "In August we might have coconut bowling, whereas in January we might have a bonfire at night to roast marshmallows."

What we find so cool, and you will too, is the way they incorporate local Bahamian culture and tradition into the camp's programming. In winter, young guests might learn about Junkanoo, a local celebration commemorating early historical figure John Canoe. A grand parade ensues and according to Harris, "we had child-sized Junkanoo costumes made, with crepe-paper skirts, feathers, and colorful headpieces, and we fit right in."

RESORT INDEX:

Size: 1214 rooms and suites; a room with two double beds is 375 to 400 sq.ft. (These two hotels are sister properties and share the properties and share the children's program and amenities.)
Features: seven swimming pools, all staffed by lifeguards; new shaded playground; full-sized cribs; inflatable castle on the beach
For Mom & Dad: beachside massages; only resort in the world with tennis courts that have surfaces equaling the Grand Slam courts; 14 restaurants
Facts: only a 45 minute hop from Miami making it a great choice for kids who haven't mastered long air travel; front desk calls young guests right after check-in making them feel special, telling them about camp
Off property activities: dolphin encounters, eco-tours, and sailing

Hey, up next - the Number Two resort for kids in all the Caribbean. Barbados beckons. Here! >>

Almond Beach Village - St. Peter, Barbados

2005-12-12T14:16:00.000-05:00

This resorts does what every resort should do; they ask the parents what is working and what's not in their Mini-Club for 2 to 4 year olds and their Kids' Club for 5 to 12 year olds. And this is just what you want. Someone responsive to what matters to you.

Donna Maxwell, the resorts' program director says, "Over the years, we've responded to parents suggestions, moving the bulk of the Kids' Club outdoors, with fun activities such as swimming races, snorkeling, pool Olympics, and kayaking. We also added attractions families can enjoy together, such as puppet shows and outdoor fairs."

And Almond Beach Village does something special to incorporate the culture of Barbados into the family experience. The resort offers Calypso dancing and limbo on the pool deck. In addition, you can get involved in the arts and crafts using natural elements found on property. But our favorite would have to be the "Taste of Barbados" program where you can sample nut cakes and other local sweets. Bring it on!

RESORT INDEX:

Size: 380 rooms and suites; a room with two double beds is 226 sq.ft.
Features: swim-up movies (how cool!); junior chef classes; 77 pairs of connecting rooms; free shuttle to Bridgetown (capital) for local arts and crafts, shops; shaded playground
For Mom & Dad: Island safari tours; privileges at adult-only sister property Almond Beach Club; traditional English afternoon tea
Recently renovated
Mile long beach on the Caribbean; village atmosphere
Sports: Hobie Cats, aqua-cycle, kayak, limbo and Calypso dance lessons, nature walks

Where is the Number One Kid Friendly Resort in all the Caribbean? The Bahamas! Atlantis Paradise Island is Our Top Pick! Next! >>

The Best - Atlantis - Paradise Island, Bahamas

2005-12-12T13:59:00.000-05:00

Where else can you have the legend of Atlantis re-created for you and your family in a fun way that you will remember for a lifetime? The legend comes alive at The Dig, an underground maze that simulates the ruined Lost Continent. It's complete with royal treasure, phantasmagorical flying machines, and hieroglyphics. And your kids will thrill to the live eels, lobsters, and piranha!

Discovery Kid's Camp at Atlantis is the only one of its kind in the world. It integrates the resort's extensive marine habitat with modern technology. DKC is broken down into three age groups from 4 to 12 years old. There is a Base Camp with a replica of a wrecked Spanish galleon. At the Science Outpost, kids will be able to touch animals in their touch tanks and gaze at life under the high-powered microscopes.

Technology Lab offers up the latest in computer assisted marine science with access to the Internet and programs that teach and tell about the environment surrounding the island. Nature Crafts is an area where kids can make art from shark's teeth.

Children 1 to 5 will be able to participate in the hour-long Mommy, Daddy & Me sessions, twice a week with robotics, storytelling, and music. And don't miss the Aquatots program for kids 3 and older. Five children are chosen by lottery to join the Atlantis Sea-Keepers and enter the Estuary Lagoon to feed the baby marine life! Imagine the photo opportunity there.

New for 2005, an Earth and Fire pottery studio, where families can paint their own creations as souvenirs.

RESORT INDEX

Size: 2,317 rooms and suites; a room with two double beds is about 475 sq.ft.
Features: 11 swimming areas fully staffed by lifeguards - two "kids only" pools; widest range of water-rides from lazy river to the Leap of Faith where you are propelled through a clear tunnel submerged in a shark-filled lagoon; 29 restaurants with kids menus; 23 non-smoking floors; a theater that shows three recently released movies daily at no charge - free popcorn, of course
For Mom & Dad: 11,500 sq.ft. Mandara spa with water therapy; fitness center complete with cardio center; adults only restaurant
Selling Points: boasts a 34-acre outdoor aquarium with over 200 species of marine life, including huge sharks; aquarium runs throughout property