Our Reviews of Beaches Turks and Caicos

My mother and Phil took the family on vacation to the Four Seasons in either Scottsdale or Carlsbad many times. I’ve been wanting to do something similar for my kids and grandchildren for a while now. By picking a location out of a hat, we decided on Turks and Caicos. Heather narrowed it down to Beaches because of how perfect it looked for Caleb and Lucy. We booked in December and vacationed there the last week of April.

Here’s a my review and Caleb and Lucy’s review (as imagined by me).

Food

Me:

Three stars might be a bit harsh. The food was good. Sometimes it was very good. I recommend the chilled cucumber soup and the fish tacos at Barefoot. I also really liked the conch fritters there, though I was the only one who did. (Chris was expecting corn fritters like the ones at Town Docks in Meredith.) And the popcorn delivered to our room for our evening snack was a fan favorite.

The fact that the food was good and not excellent was actually a plus. I never overate.

The food was also easily accessible and plentiful and “free”. Beaches is all inclusive. I absolutely loved never having to worry about a bill.

And you can’t beat the view from many of the restaurants.

Caleb and Lucy:

We highly recommend the cereal cups provided in the room (several of which ended up on the floor), the spaghetti and meatballs, the mac and cheese from the food truck, the brick oven pizza, the cheese and crackers delivered to our room every afternoon, and the fro yo.

Lodging

Me:

Again, harsh. Comparing it to the Four Seasons isn’t fair. Nothing will ever be the Four Seasons again.

I only had minor annoyances with the rooms. One of which was the toilet in the bathroom of our bedroom ran intermittently. It did not keep me awake, but it did not amuse me during those periods of time during the night when I was awake. In addition, the sprinklers were timed and positioned to spray the front porch right before my morning cup of coffee.

But there were four comfortable bedrooms with four roomy bathrooms, a fridge stocked with beverages, and a living area for everyone to congregate in before they headed out for the night and I headed to bed.

There was also a washer and dryer which I used frequently to try to get the spaghetti stains out of the kids’ clothes. I was not successful.

Caleb and Lucy:

We got to go find Grampy in his bathroom every morning!

Excursions

Me:

We did one excursion – the family catamaran and snorkeling cruise. The day was beautiful. The water was beautiful. The island was beautiful. During the snorkeling phase, the adult kids were more in survival mode than snorkeling mode – which provided many laughs. The visit to the island seemed rushed, but that may have been because we somehow managed to be the last family off the boat. The music seemed a bit loud to me, but that didn’t seem to bother anyone else. One of the guides asked me for Heather’s hand. I told him yes.

Caleb and Lucy:

Caleb – I got to see a family of dolphins, and I fed an iguana a grape off of a stick. I liked being on the boat and watching everyone swim. I liked the music. I would not recommend the 8-foot slide into the ocean waves for a 4 year old.

Lucy – Mom wouldn’t let me climb on the webbing of the catamaran, and she kept leaving me to go swimming. But Grandma distracted me with cheese and crackers, and the Shirley Temple was excellent.

Entertainment

Me:

NA

There was a variety of entertainment. Since I partook in very little of it, I’ll forgo a star rating.

I did see the Kiddies Talent Show. It was very cute. And a bit painful. My favorite was a little girl who sang Pink Pony Club. I had never heard the song, but Caleb and Lucy seemed to know it and jumped right in dancing.

As far as other entertainment goes, Dave and the adult kids would go off in search of it after Caleb and Lucy were in bed. I know they went to the hot tub a few nights.

And they went to a silent disco where they danced to Pink Pony Club.

Caleb and Lucy:

Our top picks include the Kids’ Club where Caleb participated in a treasure hunt dressed as a pirate, the pirate themed water park with slides and a lazy river, the Sesame Street show, and the kiddies talent show. We enjoyed dancing at both shows, and we thought the kids were very talented.

Pools

Me:

There were several beautiful pools on property. The main pool had lots of activity including a water aerobics class and loud music. The grout in the main pool could have used some scrubbing. Most of the pools had swim-up bars which everyone seemed to like. One afternoon while Caleb was in the Kid’s Club and everyone else went bar hopping in the other pools, Lucy and I enjoyed our own leisurely cocktail in the main pool. We had quite a nice time sipping our drinks while people watching.

Caleb and Lucy:

In our opinion, there was no reason to ever leave any of those pools. We couldn’t get enough of the strawberry daiquiris and Pina coladas. Though the last day was a bit rough. A number of them ended up in the pool.

Beach

Me:

The beach was perfection. Soft, white sand and clear, turquoise water.

Caleb and Lucy:

What Grandma said.

Butler Service

Me:

When we booked at Beaches, we selected a four bedroom “villa” because it would accommodate all of us. It also happened to come with butler service.

I’m really not a butler type of person. At least I didn’t think I was. I considered calling the resort before hand and telling them butler service really wasn’t necessary and would make me uncomfortable.

It was the best thing ever, and I will search it out in all future family trips.

We had two butlers. Jeffrey and Dennis.

They gave us a phone so that we could use WhatsApp to message them with requests. They reserved our cabana and beach chairs each morning at the location of our choosing – either at one of the pools or at the beach. They stocked a cooler for us at that location. They brought lunch at different times, to different locations, and from different restaurants based on our individual preferences. When Dennis came to check on us at the beach, Heather and Nicole mentioned they saw someone with a White Claw. He brought us White Claws. They arranged for our table at various restaurants at our requested times and escorted us to breakfast and dinner so we didn’t have to wait in line.

They made things so easy and stress free.

Caleb and Lucy:

NA

We really liked Jeffrey and Dennis, but we get similar (excellent) service from Mom and Dad.

Overall

Caleb, Lucy, and Me:

Caleb repeatedly said he did not want to leave and asked if we could go on another trip.

I told him yes.