By Lara McClendon, a Marvelous Mouse Travels agent
I am writing this under the guise that this was my first time at an all-inclusive. Full disclosure – I did go to an all-inclusive when I got married. It was 1999 and I was just married. And it was our honeymoon. So I wasn’t really taking notes on the accommodations and how smoothly everything ran. Fast forward to 2023 and I find myself on a plane by myself about to enter a foreign country for the first time ever by myself. If you’ve ever traveled to a small foreign country, you know how different it feels at the small island airports. I had some concern about getting myself to the resort. But with Beaches Turks & Caicos (and all other Sandals / Beaches resorts), they are right there to help you. I immediately spotted the Beaches van and was greeted by a representative who took my name, told me my room number, and took my luggage. He also directed me to a cooler filled with water to have on the drive over.
Upon arrival, I was greeted with another beverage – this one with or without a dash of rum. My room was not ready yet, but I was free to explore the resort and was directed to several different restaurants where I could grab lunch. I chose a beautiful open air café where I was able to get a glass of wine and some sushi, along with bites from a gorgeous dessert buffet. Once my room was ready, I was brought to it and given a tour of the features as well as asked if I wanted any wine or beer or other drinks brought to the room for me to enjoy in my little villa.
Upon exploring the resort, I quickly realized how impressive the place was. So many things to do! I legitimately got lost several times, the resort was so big! Water sports, several pools, kids club, 21 restaurants, bars and pubs, little alcoves to relax in! I wasn’t going to be able to tackle everything in the short 3 days I was there, but I was going to give it my all.
For those interested in water sports, there was a little bit of everything – sea kayaks, paddle bikes, sunsails, snorkels to rent. You could sign up for a boat trip to go snorkeling if you chose. You could lounge on floats that were anchored to the sea floor so you wouldn’t float away. You could even do a two-tank dive every day of your trip. All included! And if you didn’t want to do open water activities, there was an entire water park with a lazy river and a surfing ride to try!
Lounging by the pools was easy. There were 10 pools that you could choose to lounge by, several with swim up bars. There even was a milkshake bar in the kids pool for kids only to swim up to! Seats were always available, both at the pool and the beach. Some cabanas did cost extra to rent, but there were some near the ocean that were first come, first serve.
In addition to the many sit-down restaurants, there were plenty of quick stop dining establishments as well. All you had to do was give them your name and room number and you could order anything they had to offer. There was a Caribbean jerk truck, a mac and cheese truck, an ice cream truck. All for just grabbing a quick lunch or a snack between meals. Only one restaurant required reservations when I went and that was the hibachi restaurant.
I found the most impressive thing when I went to Beaches Turks & Caicos was how nice it was to know that nearly everything was paid for! Aside from a spa treatment I did and a souvenir shirt I purchased at one of the gift shops at the resort, I never had to pay for a thing! The all inclusive was truly that. For me, there’s nothing better than paying up front for a vacation and not having that awful sticker shot you get when you get home. That did not happen with this trip.
After having experienced this all-inclusive, I am so excited to bring my family down and do it again!
