The problem with most all-inclusive resorts is that you often grow tired of the routine by the third or fourth day. Running downstairs to place a towel on a beach chair to save your spot, listening to the Canadians sing songs from Saskatoon as they get more and more drunk by the swim-up bar, and, perhaps more important, eating the same uninspired food day after day. So by the time my family arrived at the Riu Ocho Rios for our weekly turn, I was more than a bit jaded. Even my love of Jamaica didn't heighten my expectation.

Boy, was I in for a surprise. The beach was a splendid curve of white, so beautiful that wedding after wedding was performed on the sand. There were more than enough chaise lounge chairs on the sand and near the two large pools, so I never felt the need to get up early and save a special spot, rooms overlooked the vast expanse of ocean, and, to my sheer delight, the food was far better than the dozen or so all-inclusives I visited in the past. People would start lining up on the beach by 11:30 a.m. to get a taste of the spicy jerk chicken that was prepared everyday at a small hut. The spice was sublime, as good as any jerk shack I've been to in Negril or Montego Bay. Then there were the variety of restaurants, including one that served my son his first steak. He's now an insatiable carnivore.

This being Ocho Rios, you'll want to venture off-property to climb up the frothy waters of Dunn's River Falls. There are also options to horseback ride on a secluded beach, venture down a river through the jungle-like interior, or visit the birthplace of reggae superstar, Bob Marley. Afterwards, it's nice to know you can return to that prefect crescent of sand, grab another banana daiquiri, and listen to live reggae as you dance to the beat. That's what I call a vacation.

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