All-Inclusive Resorts
by Candyce H. Stapen
All-inclusive resorts make parents look good. After
all, when one price covers windsurfing, snorkeling, kayaking, and
sailing plus meals, your kids can play all day and eat whatever
they want. You don't have to be the bad guy, saying "no" to such
budget-breakers at a la carte hotels as one more lesson in jibing
or one more chocolate soufflé. Another bonus: family all-inclusives
offer complimentary and creative children's programs that keep your
kids and often your teens happily occupied.
It used to be that the downside of one-fee pricing
meant basic rooms, indifferent service and all the mediocre food
you could swallow. Not any more-that is if you choose wisely. To
cater to more savvy travelers, many all-inclusive properties now
feature tasteful furnishings, concierge services and tasty food.
And some give travelers, even families, the option of adding the
luxuries of big rooms and butler service.
Paradisus Resorts
Paradisus Resorts, a division of Sol Meliá Resorts and a leader
in luxury at an all-inclusive price, recently debuted a Family Concierge
program. The first of their five properties to feature this service
is Paradisus Palma Real, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Book a
roomy, 560-square-foot family concierge suite that comes with a
sitting area and sofa bed, and you get a walkie-talkie for instant
communication with the family butler/concierge.
No need to get off the lounge chair to ask about dinner at a certain
restaurant or an off-property nature tour. Kids also receive a welcome
Paradise Kidz hat and T-shirt at check-in and the room comes stocked
with kid-sized robes and slippers, special bath products, as well
as a mini bar with milk and juices. Family Concierge guests may
also swim in a special (less crowded) pool.
All Paradisus properties are slated to have the Family Concierge
by the end of 2007. Paradisus Riviera Cancún, Puerto Morelos, Mexico,
should have the program by October 2006 and Paradisus Playa Conchal,
Santa Cruz, Costa Rica by early 2007.
What else do you get at Paradisus resorts? Oversized rooms with
flat screen televisions and marble bathrooms and Jacuzzi tubs as
well as complimentary 24-hour room service and premier brand alcohol.
For couples only, Paradisus offers Royal Service, which adds a personal
butler and late check out. In addition, at Paradisus Resorts' complimentary
kids' clubs, children, depending on the property, take tennis lessons,
make crafts, play pool games, build sandcastles and enjoy beach
games.
Although the ages and hours vary, most programs do not operate after
5 p.m. or offer designated teen-only activities. Paradisus Palma
Real's Kids Club, open 10 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. daily, targets ages
five to 12. At both Paradisus Riviera Cancun and Paradisus Playa
Conchal, Club 4, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., serves ages two months to
four years, while the kids' club functions from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
with a break for lunch, for ages five to 12 (800-33-MELIA; www.solmelia.com).
Club Med Resorts
Even Club Med, the granddaddy of the basic rooms
but no-extra-fee activities, has invested more than $160 million
in its Caribbean and Americas' resorts. When the Club Med Cancun
Yucatan, Mexico, reopens November 11, 2006 after a $20-million renovation,
the hotel adds a bit of luxury and, for the first time, welcomes
families.
More than half of the resort's 396 rooms have been expanded to 416
square feet and offer balconies with views of the Yucatan peninsula.
If you want top service, book a room at the Jade Villa, a concierge
building with free wireless Internet and its own beach. Rooms come
with bathrobes, slippers and a stocked mini-refrigerator. And did
we mention the car service that picks you up at the airport?
The Cancun Yucatan property is also the first North American Club
Med to be designated a Discovery Resort. This means that the resort
encourages guests to explore the area by offering more than the
usual amount of off-property excursions, including a half-day outing
to climb the Maya temple at El Meco, complimentary with a seven-night
booking. A Mini-Club for ages four to ten starts the last week of
December 2006 and Passworld, the program for teens and 'tweens,
launches November 18, 2006 with movie nights, dances and sports
teams. The Passworld teen hangout will be ready for summer 2007.
Club Med Cancun, like Club Med Caravelle, Guadeloupe offers the
relatively new Babies on Board program, designed to ease the schlepping
burden. Parents can request strollers, baby bathtubs, bottle warmers,
and potty seats at the front desk (888-932-2582; www.clubmed.us).
Beaches Resorts
Beaches Resorts has three all-inclusive properties
on Jamaica, including one on the sugar-soft sands of Negril (our
favorite Beaches' property), as well as one on beautiful Grace Bay
beach, Turks & Caicos. Book a two-bedroom suite and the resort throws
in the free services of a butler who will draw you a bubble bath
or arrange a romantic meal on your balcony or a family float trip.
The resorts offer comprehensive programs for infants to 12-year-olds
and feature the Sesame Street characters. The nursery cares for
infants to 23-month-olds from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tots two through
five splash in a wading pool, collect shells and make puppets as
well as bake cookies with Cookie Monster and dance with Zoe. At
Kids Kamp from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. six- to seven-year-olds build sandcastles,
swim and take nature walks. From 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., eight- to 12-year-olds,
sail, snorkel and take on XBOX challenges. Parents and kids can
join the characters in a Sesame Street parade as well as breakfast
with them. Teens have a hangout and a teen dance club.
Looking for a place to get remarried? New this year are Beaches
Resorts' FamilyMoons, ceremonies and festivities that celebrate
the joining of two families and their children (800)BEACHES; www.beaches.com).
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Great Places, Great Deals
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Aruba: Book a
five-night or longer stay at the Hyatt Regency
Aruba Resort & Casino, located on the island's
Palm Beach, through December 17, 2006 and receive
a $100 resort credit per room plus the fifth night
free. Although undergoing a $20-million makeover,
the property is fully operational (800-55-HYATT;
http://aruba.hyatt.com).
Georgia: Beginning November
17, Calloway Gardens, a resort and preserve encompassing
13,000 acres in the Appalachian foothills an hour
southwest of Atlanta, shines with an extravagant
holiday display of eight million lights. You don't
need to stay at the resort to enjoy the drive-through
"Fantasy in Lights," but the dazzle makes a good
reason for booking overnight. The Fantasy In Lights
Festive Family Package includes lodging, breakfast
buffet, two family portraits, admission to the
light display and the gardens from $167 per room,
double occupancy, Sunday through Thursday. Fantasy
in Lights is available through December 31 (800-CALLAWAY;
www.callawaygardens.com).
Wyoming: With the crowds gone, the bison
gathered around the geysers and Old Faithful erupting
in snow, winter is beautiful in Yellowstone National
Park. Families with teens and adult children can
take advantage of the Yellowstone Association
Institute and Xanterra Parks & Resorts' Northern
Yellowstone Adventure. On a guided snowshoe walk
with a naturalist look for bison, eagles and wolf
cubs. The winter package, 30 percent off the regular
rates, also includes four nights' lodging at the
historic Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and meals.
Offered end of December through January as well
as February 14, 2007. From $565 per person. The
Yellowstone Association offers additional learning
programs (307-344-5566; www.yellowstoneassociation.org).
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*****
– Candyce H. Stapen is the author of
27 books, including National Geographic Guide to Caribbean Family
Vacations.
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