When I was invited to attend the opening of a new wing of the hotel chain beaches in Turks & Caicos, I was truthfully excited about the complimentary much-needed vacation. That said, I had a pre-conceived notion of the "all-inclusive" resort concept. Beaches is
part of the Sandals chain which I assumed was overweight middle American people slugging back frozen drinks, beers in foam holders, giant neon script writing in the pool and sheer mania.
I am an extreme case of someone who hates crowds, chains, buffets and transacting with several people. On vacation, I like to check out and steer clear of "others."
I am writing to dispel this pre-conceived notion because I had the most opposite experience you could imagine. I must preface this by saying that I stayed in one of the new luxury suites, so I experienced the Rolls Royce of Beaches rooms. The thing is: I didn't even know that Beaches had a Rolls Royce experience.
Here's how it went down: the room was a spectacular, well-designed oceanfront room with a beautiful bathroom, amazing balcony with double-chaise lounge, a massively stocked complimentary minibar, and the most clever kids' entry room with 2 bunk beds, a pull out trundle and a separate sink for kids' tooth brushing, washing up etc.
The room came with "Paul the butler" at your beckon call. Beachfront and fully stocked pool cabanas were part of the rundown also.
Restaurants included fine dining with New York quality lamb chops, bench-style Japanese so the kids are entertained and the parents can smell like the grill all night, casual Mexican, beachfront seafood, a pizza and ice cream place, a French cafe for a casual muffin and cappuccino, and a choice of restaurants to have breakfast, lunch or dinner at a civilized buffet.
The endless and free cocktails weren't watered down and brands were top shelf. Bartenders indulged my request for my famous "skinnygirl cocktails" and even named one "the skinnygirl beaches" which they printed signs for (visit www.skinnygirlcocktails.com). The staff members are warm and happy, and there are plenty of them.
Kids are a huge priority, yet I felt like I was at a grown up resort. The Sesame Street camp, Xbox 360 lounge, 50s diner, massive water park, pirate village and poolside movies didn't have anything to do with me because I didn't want them to.
I'm sort of a non-conformist, so I was surprised when I even loved the welcoming beachfront barbecue. The word barbecue is an understatement since the enormous selection of beachside food stations was incredible and actually delicious.
As a natural foods chef, health is a priority, so egg white omelet's in the morning, acres of fruit, and thoughtful greens like arugula and frisee were a surprise. Soymilk was even readily available which most Marriott's won't have.
The gym was sufficient and simple yet furnished with all the necessities.
I am a spa junkie and definitely an expert on this topic. I'm often disappointed by a massage, and no steam room can ever sufficiently warm me up.
I was in shock at the reasonably priced spectacular massage, offerings of creative detox treatments like coffee scrubs and wraps, excellent and inexpensive blow-dry and mani/pedis, and that small steam room blasted me with so much heat that my skin is still glowing.
The beach was beautiful; the water beyond turquoise and the overall experience was spectacular.
This "luxury included experience" (Beaches' new coined term) was just that: it completely included luxury, and I loved the experience.