A suite on the beach?

[123LuckyMom]

Would you mind sharing the names of the resorts you found with suites? Have you stayed in any of them personally? Either Turks and Caicos or the Caymans sound great, and we've never been to either, so it would be a new adventure for us!

[drako]

Many of the resorts in Turks and Caicos are condo/suite style accommodations. I have never been to Turks or Grand Cayman so I can't speak personally of the resorts. You can find reviews on tripadvisor and check out the forums on fodors.com. You can post questions there and many people who are familiar with the islands will give you some good advice. I have posted several questions there and have gotten some good insight. Some of the places we are considering in Turks and Caicos are Ocean Club West, Royal West Indies Resort, The Alexandra Resort, and Sands at Grace Bay. There are many others and you can see if you search on expedia or another travel website. There is an IGA foodstore from what I have researched and some of the resorts are within walking distance and some of the resorts offer a shuttle to it. I don't remember specifically but search the forums on fodors and you will find an answer to those questions.

As far as Grand Cayman, we were looking into Grand Cayman Beach Suites. I think there are a lot of suite style accommodations as well but that is the only one that is coming to mind that I remember narrowing down to. Grand Cayman is considered to be a very safe island which is important to me since we would be traveling with a toddler.

The food on both islands is supposed to be very expensive even purchasing food at the local food store. I think I remember reading that the groceries were about 15-20% more than they are in the states. Some of the restaurants in the resorts and local restaurants on both islands have websites and you can get an idea of how much going out to eat would cost. One of our friends went to Grand Cayman and said expect to pay about $1000 or more for food for the week (I think meaning if you ate out every meal every day). Make sure if you are checking out prices look to see what they are quoted in (US dollars or what ever the local currency is).

Hope this helps. Also, keep in mind both islands are northern islands so they can be cool over the winter. That is why we want to go late spring or summer. Good luck in your search!

[american_mama]

DH and I are having an identical conversation tonight, except that he is the one who is increasingly set on a separate room for us. We are 98% likely to be staying at Dreams La Romana in the Dominican Republic. If we book through our frequent flyer program, we will get what they call "a jr suite," but according to the hotel website and 1-800 number, there are no such rooms at the resort. I'm hoping for a description before we book.

I know from rave reviews here on BBB that Grand Palladium in Mexico, south of Cancun, has all junior suites. They have other properties elsewhere, including the Dominican Republic, that may have the same layout. If you look at the guidebook Fodor's Carribean, they have resort and hotel reviews that include rooms info. at the end of every review. for the Dominican Republic, I have found the Fodor's info. to be quite accurate.

I was at a website a few days ago that had resort packages around the world for families with toddlers, including some in the Carribean. I thought it was toddlertogo, but when I searched for that, I found these instead. Most seem to focus on the child care/infant care/nanny options rather than the room arrangements, but skim them and see if they are helpful. they also list small independent hotels that have suites, one of which we will be staying at for the latter part of our trip. In the Dominican Republic, the Punta Cana area is known for having great beaches, good value, and lots of options.

http://www.parents.com/fun/vacation/...-for-families/
http://travelwithkids.about.com/od/c...acations_3.htm (Much more useful than I thought at first glance... maybe not good for original poster, but includes links for resorts with good room options for a family of five, resorts with good waterslides, etc).
http://www.vacationkids.com/babytravel.php

I think a lot of places offer what you are looking for; it might help to narrow it down to a few countries and then focus on then. From what I know, the Riviera Maya/Playa Carmen area in Mexico and the Punta Cana area in the Domincan Republic are very family- and budget friendly.

[theriviera]

Try looking for places that have a Westin/Sheraton/Marriott vacation ownership property. They usually rent the one bedroom suites. Warning though, you may have to sit through a one hour timeshare presentation. We unplugged our phone when we got there (so as not to wake the baby during naps) and they never reached us to schedule one

We recently went to the Westin Lagunamar in Cancun.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...Peninsula.html

We had a one bedroom unit with a full kitchen and it was really nice. The ocean is totally swimmable and the resort is super family friendly.

Other options:
Harborside Beach Resort at Atlantis, Bahamas:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...d_Bahamas.html

Westin St. John Resort and Villas:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...n_Islands.html

Marriott Vacation Club locations:
http://www.marriottvacationclub.com/...ts/index.shtml

[geochick]

I know from rave reviews here on BBB that Grand Palladium in Mexico, south of Cancun, has all junior suites. They have other properties elsewhere, including the Dominican Republic, that may have the same layout.

We go to Grand Palladium Mayan Riviera every winter.It's supposed to be the best of the Palladium resorts, and the most family friendly. They have standard rooms, junior suites, and suites. We always stay in the suites so that our kids can sleep in a different room from us. We LOVE this resort. You can't beat the prices in the Mayan Riviera...I've looked. The all-inclusive nature of these resorts makes it simply unbeatable!

Other Mayan Riviera resorts that have family suites:
Karisma Azul Sensatori
Catalonia Riviera Maya
Barcelo Maya Palace
Dreams Puerto Adventuras
Gran Melia Cancun

[123LuckyMom]

These are wonderful suggestions! Beware the "junior suite", though! That usually means there is a sitting area, but no door between it and the bedroom! If you really need separate rooms, as we do, a junior suite won't work.

I'm still eager for more suggestions! What we've decided to do is to go to FL to visit my aunt now just to do a nice thing and escape the cold at the same time. Then in June we'll go with my mother and my sister to a very luxurious rental house we've stayed in before in Puerto Rico and visit family there. Neither will be the vacation we'd hoped for, but we'll save up our pennies and make a real plan for next year, and we'll have all this good advice to draw on then!

[khalloc]

We stayed at the Aruba Beach Club in Aruba. Its an older timeshare, but its RIGHT on the beach. Especially if you get one of the Deluxe or Superb Deluxe suites that are literally ON the beach. You have to go to their website and look at the rentals or exchanges section and find on of the ones right on the beach. We stayedin #160. It was 1 bedroom 2 bathrooms, kitchen, large living room. The sliding door in the living room opened up to the beach. We went with our 2 kids. We put them in the bedroom and we slept on the pullout couch. But they were only 1 & 3 then. They dont have 2 bedroom places at Aruba Beach Club. But it worked out fine for us. We wanted a separate bedroom for naptime and bedtime so we all wouldnt have to go to bed at the same time.