Show the lowest price for this hotel
Oddly enough, there are no DVD players in the rooms here, nor are they available to rent at the resort. So if your kids are used to falling asleep to their favorite flick, be sure to bring your portable player or have your laptop handy. While the gift shop stocks plenty of emergency items like sunscreen and extra bathing suits, products are pricey so remember to pack your own. The resort has a cashless policy, and you're asked to establish credit on arrival for any extra services (craft fees, scuba instruction, spa services, babysitting) that you may incur. There's also a no-tipping policy (the only exclusion is spa therapists, who you should plan to tip through your resort credit account). Wireless Internet access is an additional charge that can be purchased at a daily or weekly rate.
All about the Extras
The Beaches staff members go out of their way to make sure kids are entertained and happy, and that parents are enjoying their hard earned downtime. There's milk and cookies in the room upon arrival, to start things off sweetly. And you don't have to worry about packing any beach toys since buckets, shovels and all kinds of inflatable and squirting toys are available at the pools and beaches. Masks and snorkels can run in short supply, so if it's a favorite family activity you might want to pack your own.
For babysitting after hours, resort nannies are available from 9 p.m. onwards at a rate of $10 per hour for up to three children.
The Red Lane Spa offers treatments for kids and teens, including Fancy Fingers and Twinkle Toes mani/pedis and hair braiding that can either be done in the onsite salon or by the pool. In addition to all the standard spa offerings for adults, there are also special teen facials and 40-minute Swedish massages priced at a discount rate for teens. A steam room and sauna are available, too, as well as a relaxation area. There's a well-equipped gym on site, too, that's open 24 hours and has Life Fitness and Cybex equipment.
If you're visiting during any sort of holiday, you can be sure the resort will be celebrating in family-friendly style--from a gala on New Year's Eve to Santa's arrival by boat over Christmas and an Easter fair complete with a cotton candy machine, maypole dancing and an egg hunt for Jamaican sweets. In addition, there are twice-weekly Sesame Street stage shows on Saturdays and Wednesdays as well as weekly parades, on Wednesday nights, complete with a marching band and costumes for the kids to dress up in.
The Art of Smart Timing
All of the resort's facilities and amenities are open year round, but during the busiest months (late December through mid-April) you're going to be sharing them with far more families than during the slower, off-season months (May and the end of August into October). November through April brings cooler temperatures and less humidity to Jamaica's north coast, and is a prime time, weather wise, to plan your visit. Keep in mind Americans won't be the only ones fleeing cold winter climates, as Canadians and Europeans are similarly inclined. Check the resort's website for discounts before booking--savings of up to 65 percent can be found when there are a lot of beds to fill. And keep in mind that hurricane season officially stretches from June 1 to Nov. 30 in these parts.
Getting there
Donald Sangster International Airport is approximately two hours east of the resort, in Montego Bay, and air-conditioned transfers to the resort are included with your booking.
For Mom and Dad
For all the omnipresent family action throughout the resort, it's surprising that more than a handful of kid-less adults choose to vacation here at any given time, too. But Beaches Boscobel is big enough that you can usually find an area (whether an interior public lounge or a corner of the beach) to relax away from the happily shrieking and splashing younger guests. The Red Lane Spa, naturally, is an oasis away from it all with couples' and individual treatments (massages, facials, hair appointments) for men and women. And if you're celebrating a special occasion (or just the occasion of having a babysitter for the night), you can book a private candlelit beach dinner for just the two of you by a gazebo on the resort's beach. Private vineyard dinners can also be arranged on a rooftop balcony overlooking the sea in a corner of the resort. For some in-room romance, there are packages that deliver stereotypical mood-inducing items to your room, such as rose petals, candles and champagne. For sporty couples, a round of tennis or golf at the nearby Sandals Golf Resort also makes for a fun adults-only getaway. And you can always hire one of the resort's sitters for the night and head into nearby Ocho Rios for a night on the town.
Show the lowest price for this hotel
Favorite family biking locales in North America combine stunning scenery with a relatively easy grid of bike trails and uncongested backcountry roads. All of these locales offer exhilarating rides, guaranteed to inspire all ages to travel on two wheels. Many of the cities on the list, like San Anton...
1. Celebrate a Historic Anniversary. Boston's historic Fenway Park celebrates its 100th anniversary this year -- the perfect time to take in a ballgame while enjoying the history of America throughout the city. Give your school-aged children an up-close and personal history lesson by visiting some ...
The unofficial start to summer is nearly here, and this May 25 to 28 weekend is filled with enticing deals for families. Get out there and start your summer!
Broadmoor Resort, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Escape to the Colorado mountains for a two-night Memorial Day Family Escape at the Broadmoor. ...
There are few rites of passage as exciting as taking a child on his or her first camping trip. Families bond while roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, making shadow animals on the tent wall, chasing after fireflies and inhaling fragrant whiffs of pine. Whether you are an experienced camper from pre-...
1. The National Mall
There's no question that the National Mall, the two-mile strip of wide-open green stretching between the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Capitol and surrounded by Smithsonian museums and national monuments, is a must-see destination for kids. "The Mall," chock full of our nation'...
1. gogo Kidz Travelmate
If you're traveling with a child weighing less than 50 pounds, you won't want to leave home without this ingenious contraption that in seconds lets parents convert most car seats into a stroller. With the gogo Kidz Travelmate, there's no more lugging both a heavy car seat ...
On a recent ski vacation, my family of five traveled with five cellphones, three laptops, three iPads, two iPods and just for good measure, a GPS! Given the prevalence of electronic devices in our daily lives and our somewhat compulsive reliance upon them, taking a true vacation feels almost imposs...
The 1969 film, "If It's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium," depicted a funny, but sometimes all too true, look at a tour group of Americans traveling through Europe so quickly they barely knew where they were and what they were seeing.
Today, tour groups are quickly becoming an attractive option for ...
When you think of an all-inclusive vacation, your mind goes straight to the Caribbean, doesn't it? But you don't need to leave the country to get an all-in-one vacation -- resorts in the U.S. also provide all-inclusive getaways with accommodations, meals, and activities all packaged in one easy pric...
All-inclusive resorts can be a lifesaver to families traveling. Instead of watching a budget go through the roof when taking on extra resort expenses or spending a trip saying no to the kids, all-inclusive resorts allow families to plan ahead and stay on budget, while giving kids all the fun they ca...