Three years ago, we had the opportunity to go on our first adult(family) vacation.
What do I mean?
Well, for all our my husband and my adult lives we vacationed by visiting family members. Stayed with parents, visited relatives. You know the drill.
And while it was nice to take the kids to England to meet the relatives, going in summer when the sun and our son rose at 4am was NOT a vacation.
So, when I stumbled across this all-inclusive resort in Jamaica that featured Vacation Nannies who watched your kids for you during the day, well, I actually drooled a little.
FDR Pebbles was build in 2000 by Frank D. Reece who claims credit for creating the concept of the Caribbean all-inclusive.
Whatever.
This idea is brilliant. His resort is green certified (if you care), small (3 acres), and locally owned. The guest to staff ration is one to one. The both times We've visited, we met locals at the resort. By local I mean actual Jamacans like a lovely couple from Kingston and one of the first female Supreme Court Justices of Jamaca (and her cousin from Brooklyn). Yes, it is more rustic than Club Meb but Oh-My-Goodness do I love those Vacation Nannies!
Our Vacation Nanny took control of the kids from 9am to 4:45pm. The kids loved both of them - Shafay and Ty Cia. Unlike all-inclusives that have "kids clubs," this is not vacation daycare. If the kids want the beach, they get the beach. Bored with the beach, they can go to the kids' center or the pool. Our Vacation Nanny is there to entertain them. I could go on and on but my TripAdvisor.com review says it all.
There is no vacation for mom's when kids come with you unless you are at FDR Pebbles. And the clincher? After 5pm, you can arrange for your Vacation Nanny to babysit your children for $4 an hour. We had six "date nights" in a row both times we went.
Finally, everything is included. Glass Bottom boat trip? Included. Wine or beer or cheese, milk, cereal, fresh fruit, soda in your hotel room fridge? Included. Know how to SCUBA dive?, one free tank dive a day. Included. Want to learn how to SCUBA? Lessons and a tank dive included. Historic tour of Falmouth including oldest church in Jamaica and stop at shops? Included. Included. Included.
As soon as we have the money, we will be going again to FDR Pebbles. My son asks if we are going to Jamaica everytime we drive by an airport. I ask my husband when we are going to Jamaica every time we put the kids to bed. It was spectacular.
I had the best prices booking through expedia and hotels.com however you get there, if you're a parent who wants family vacation with guilt-free time off from the kids, FDR Pebbles is perfect (just don't expect perfection, it has some rough edges but who cares - VACATION NANNIES!).
Al Gore: Climate Barking at COP29
2 hours ago
Posts
I have been hearing so many good things about these FDR places on blogs all over the place. I started hearing about them when I was talking with another mom at a "regular" resort and now I am fascinated. Did you have any worries about using a nanny you didn't know anything about at first? Was there any pause or did you just jump right in? I know you wrote this post a long time ago, but hopefully you'll remember :)
ReplyDeleteI loved my two nanny's and am still in contact with both of them. The great thing about FDR Pebbles (as opposed to FDR Resorts) is that it is small and so its easy to find your kids if you are worried. But I never had any worries, doubts or pauses. Also, you can read my reviews of FDR Pebbles at tripadvisor.com, BJs Vacation Club, and Expedia.com. My nanny Ty Cia called me the other day and told me the resort has been completely renovated so I'm really hoping to get a chance to go back again soon. I'm not a resort traveller but for a laid-back, family-but-getting-a-break-from-the-kids vacation, I can't imagine anything better than FDR Pebbles and their wonderful nannies and staff. I have never had a second's hesitation recommending them (ask my bored-t0-tears neighbors).
ReplyDelete