Family holidays: All together now
On her first holiday abroad with her baby daughter, Jennifer Morris has a reassuring experience at family favourite Beaches Negril in Jamaica
Watching from my sun lounger as my seven-month-old daughter sticks her hands in the gentle jets of water pouring into the swimming pool before laughing hysterically to my husband, I breathe a restful sigh. We had wondered if we’d been overly ambitious when, desperate for some winter sun having spent so much of last summer indoors with our newborn, we’d arranged a trip to the Caribbean.
It being Sandals Resorts’ 40th anniversary year, we decided to try out its family-friendly sister brand, Beaches. It turns out Beaches Negril in Jamaica proves a thoroughly reassuring environment for taking such a step.
Shade seekers
Our primary concern is keeping baby Alba cool and shaded while still enjoying the beach and pool, and down at the white-sand Seven-Mile Beach we are relieved to find large, thatched huts with ceiling fans. We set up a play mat and my husband Jamie stays under cover with Alba (being more of a sudoku-in-the-shade kind of guy), while I drag my lounger into the sun.
We order virgin cocktails from the beach’s waiting staff (tips are included), but clients can opt for a private cabana at an additional US$190 per day, benefiting from curtains, a stocked ice box and a dedicated concierge who will deliver lunch.
We discover the shaded baby pool set away from the lively main pools and waterpark, which are awash with excited older children and offer more of a party vibe (Alba’s time will come!).
Join the club
A simple solution to clients keeping little ones out of the sun would be to drop them at Beaches Negril’s complimentary Kids Camp. Catering for children aged 0-17 from 9am-9pm, the club represents excellent value. Beaches’ three (soon to be five) resorts have an exclusive partnership with Sesame Street, and when we take Alba down one afternoon we’re delighted to encounter Elmo himself hanging out in the baby room.
Classically anxious first-time parents, we’re reassured by the comprehensive registration process conducted by the thoroughly trained nannies, and the fact no child will cry for more than about 15 minutes before a parent is fetched. Jamie and I take the opportunity to go on the waterslide like big kids ourselves.
There are all sorts of activities available for older children at the Kids’ Camp, including beach Olympics and reggae jam sessions, and facilities include a teens-only nightclub. Leah Marshall, director of sales, Unique Vacations UK, tells me: “[Beaches resorts] have luxury inclusions for guests of all ages including watersports like sailing, snorkelling and paddleboarding and educational activities with Sesame Street characters.”
Clients can pay extra for special encounters with the Sesame Street gang, including bedtime tuck-in. Excursions can be booked on-site too, via Island Routes.
Buoyed, Jamie and I book babysitter Shanice one evening (private childcare starts from $25 per hour). Alba sleeps through the experience, but that doesn’t stop Shanice scooping her up for a cuddle when we run into her at the weekly Sesame Street parade.
REFRESHED ROOMS
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
Getting there: Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Tui offer non-stop flights to Montego Bay, averaging 9 hours 40 minutes.
Travel requirements: Currently, travellers must get authorisation to enter from the Visit Jamaica website. Anyone aged 12+ must present a negative Covid molecular or antigen test result, taken within the 72 hours prior to the date of travel. Fully vaccinated travellers with a negative PCR result are exempted from self-isolation. Under Jamaica’s Covid-19 Resilience Corridor scheme, guests are required to stay within their hotel/resort except for permitted excursions.
Resort updates: Two new Beaches resorts are planned for Jamaica’s Runaway Bay and St Vincent and the Grenadines, joining Negril, Ocho Rios and Turks and Caicos.
We stay in a Tropical Beachfront Oversized Concierge Family Suite, and post-dinner Jamie and I typically play board games and drink wine on the balcony while Alba sleeps in the cot we’ve requested – taking it in turns to nip downstairs for loaded frozen yoghurt from the new YoYo’s cafe.
The nature of the accommodation means footsteps can sometimes be heard from above, so it might be worth requesting top-floor rooms for clients sensitive to noise. There is also some construction work taking place during our stay. We don’t find either to be an issue into the evening, however.
More generally there are some major updates coming for the resort, including the addition of a bowling alley in due course. Meanwhile, a number of Beaches Negril’s 185 rooms and suites – Grand Butler Family Suites and Concierge Kings – have recently been updated with fresh paint, new beds and replacement soft furnishings.
“Our resorts are ideal for extended families or mutigenerational groups as we have large three- or four-bedroom suites that can accommodate up to 14 guests at a time, as well as interconnecting rooms,” says Marshall. “A lot of guests have missed out on their annual big family holiday due to Covid and are willing to splash out on a longer and more luxurious holiday this year and in 2023 and 2024.”
Beaches Negril has seven wheelchair-accessible rooms, with shower rails, handles by toilets and freestanding sinks. Most restaurants are accessible and beach wheelchairs are available.
DINING OPTIONS
Delicious fresh sushi restaurant Soy and teppanyaki spot Kimonos serve dinner from 5.30pm, which works perfectly with Alba’s bedtime. We hold out until 6pm to watch the sunset at seafood restaurant Stewfish on the beach (recommend clients head here for breakfast – the local platter is mouth-watering). The concierge can make dinner reservations for Kimonos and Italian restaurant The Venetian.
Food is conveniently available at other outlets throughout the day too. We pick up delicious jerk chicken from Bar.B.Q for impromptu lunches and grab coffee from Cafe de Paris for our 6.30am beach walks.
Adult time
In need of a bit of “me time”, I book into Red Lane Spa early in my stay. My massage therapist Coleen recommends a Deep Relief treatment, from which I emerge feeling like a new woman. Pregnancy massage is also available. Jamie visits the basketball court – although I can’t be sure he doesn’t sneak off to the X-box Play Lounge.
By the end of the week we remark on how relaxed we feel despite having the baby in tow. And watching Alba experience the pool, sand and sea adds a new layer of holiday joy.
Book it
Seven nights all-inclusive for two adults in a Tropical Beachfront Oversized Concierge Family Suite (under-twos go free) starts from £3,365pp including return flights with Virgin Atlantic from Heathrow and resort transfers. Price is valid for travel departing 4 September 2022.
Beaches Negril
Smarter: Book clients’ airport parking in advance through Holiday Extras, which offers seven days’ meet and greet parking in June at Heathrow from £139. Ideal for late-night airport trips with children (holidayextras.com).
Better: As part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, Sandals is honouring the legacy of its founder with the establishment of the Gordon “Butch” Stewart International School of Hospitality and Tourism and the 40 for 40 initiative, spearheading sustainable transformation projects benefiting Caribbean communities.
Fairer: Beaches is the first resort company in the world to attain the Advanced Certified Autism Centre designation, with a core focus on Kids Camps, entertainment, watersports and accommodations.
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