As I
interviewed new and prospective parents for my book
Travels with Baby, it became clear that one of the top
trips many parents hoped to make with their child in the
first few years would be to a relaxing all-inclusive resort,
especially one where they might get a little help with
childcare so they can truly relax and enjoy their vacation.
Yet as I set out to find the best recommendations for my
readers, I found that few all-inclusive family resorts were
prepared to provide care for children under 3 years old or
in diapers.
Franklyn
D. Resort, however, on the north coast of Jamaica, has a
team of Vacation Nannies that not only provides care for
young infants on up, but one nanny will do so exclusively
for your family each day of your stay. When you consider
that your personal
Vacation Nanny is included in the cost of your
all-inclusive package, and that children under 6 years old
always stay free, it’s clear that Franklyn D. Resort
presents a significant vacation value for families with
babies and young children. It’s also no wonder that the
resort received a 2009 Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Award.
Needless
to say, I have been mentioning the Franklyn D. Resort to parents on many occasions, and I was
delighted to try it out firsthand with my own family on our
trip to Jamaica. Here’s what I found:
Overview
of Franklyn D. Resort & Spa
Franklyn
D. Resort & Spa, often simply called “FDR,” is situated on a
small private beach on Runaway Bay on the north coast of
Jamaica. The resort is just over 1 hour west of the Montego
Bay airport, and transfers are provided by the resort on
minibuses. The all-inclusive resort boasts a guest-to-staff
ration of 1:1, something that only an intimately sized
property such as it is could claim, and a benefit you grow
to appreciate daily as you and many of the staff—along with
other families—come to recognize each other on a first-name
basis.
While
most guests come to stay with their families and extended
families, FDR also sees its share of adult couples,
honeymooners, and babymooners as well. When you see the
Oceanview suite I toured in the video, you’ll see why. In
fact, wedding packages are available and a beachfront
honeymoon suite will be opening soon. Yet the spaciousness
of all the suites makes FDR an attractive option for
families, even those with three (or four) children can be
easily accommodated here.
With
toddler and big kid play structures, a dedicated collection
of sand toys stored on the beach, high chairs at the ready
wherever kids may dine, and smiling nannies pushing
strollers around the grounds day and evening, you can tell
right away that children are expected and welcome here. We
even watched as good-humored waiters made way for a
5-year-old boy who put on his bow tie and wanted to help
them serving in the restaurants a couple of evenings. And so
he did.
Yet for
all of the small children you’ll see, you’ll be surprised
how few you hear—a testament to the great care and support
children and their families receive at this resort.
The Rooms
Franklyn
D. Resort is comprised entirely of suites, including
1-bedroom/1 bath suites, 2-bedroom/2-bath suites on one
level, 2-bedroom/2.5-bath on two levels. The resort also
offers two 3-bedroom suites, which are made by combining a
2-bedroom suite with an adjoining 1-bedroom suite, through a
connecting door—a great option for vacations with extended
family, especially with the additional 3rd
bathroom for the extra family and space for visiting. You
can take a walk through two examples of suites in the video.
All of
these suites are significantly larger than the usual hotel
variety, and even 1-bedroom/1-bathroom suites are large
enough to fit a rollaway bed in the living room without
interfering with the regular seating area. The
2-bedroom/2-bathroom suites feature a king bed in the master
and two twin beds in the second with room for a rollaway
(usually placed in between in 3-bears style).
Each
suite is equipped with a full kitchen (including full-size
refrigerator, stove, microwave, coffee pot, and electric
kettle), dining table, living room area with TV / DVD, iPod
docking stations, WiFi Internet access, and an outdoor
seating space. For our family, the 2-bedroom ground level
beachfront suite was perfect, with easy access for the
stroller once the baby had been strolled to sleep, plus we
had the playground just out the front doors and beach
hammocks out the back. The back porch, with two sets of
French doors opening onto it and chairs looking out at the
sea, were a favorite spot for morning coffee (and an
afternoon Red Stripe). With a larger group, the adjoining
1-bedroom suite would make a fantastic addition.
Dining at FDR
Breakfasts
include choices ranging from Eggs Benedict and pancakes to
fruit smoothies and delicious plantain porridge (a favorite
of Jamaican babies, I’ve been told), and are served in the
open-air Verandah dining room. Hot sandwiches, hot dogs,
French fries, ice cream cones, and the daily lunch menu are
served at the neighboring beachside grill, which is where
you’ll also find the nightly Kiddie Buffet that begins at
5:30 p.m.—an hour before regular dinner service begins at
the restaurants.
Family
dinners most often take place on the boardwalk beside the
sea, where you’ll catch good sunsets when you time your
dinners right. Both adults-only restaurants are located at
the opposite end of the beach, one serving Jamaican fare
such as fried bammy and jerk chicken in an intimate and
festive setting, while the other dishes out Italian by
candlelight on the pier. Certain nights, you may also enjoy
a barbecue buffet and entertainment right on the beach.
TIP: Per
our nannies’ suggestion, we found it helpful to walk our
girls through the Kiddie Buffet en route to our family
dinners on the boardwalk. Their full plates were graciously
welcomed at the table and they could begin eating right away
as we contemplated our evening feast and settled on our
orders. Though they finished eating before us, we had the
pleasure of watching them dance and leap about to the live
music with a team of new friends as we enjoyed our food. For
an additional $6 per hour, you can hire your nanny through
dinner and evening hours and enjoy the adults-only
restaurants and a relaxing date (more details in
Vacation Nanny 411).
You can
also make special requests through your nanny for foods and
drinks in your room, including milk, sodas, beer, cereals,
cheese and crackers, and fruit plates. Though it may hardly
seem necessary in most cases, those families making
significant time zone changes may appreciate a midnight
snack or early bowl of cereal as they adjust.
Activities at FDR
All-inclusive
watersports include sea kayaking, scuba, snorkeling, with
guided dives and snorkel trips, or check out your own
snorkel and fins at your leisure and simply drop in on your
own from the beach and neighboring beach accessed from a
gate by the spa. There are some terrific reefs just along
the beaches.
Some of
the stand-out activities at FDR include the “Big Blue”
waterslide with its separate pool, regional dance and fire
show, my children’s favorite performer: “Rubber Man,” and
glass bottom boat rides that depart multiple times per day
from the resort. Twice weekly, there is a group shopping
trip to Ocho Rios, where you can hunt for more souvenirs and
treasures or stock up on more Pampers and baby food. All are
included in your stay.
For
children, there is a specialty craft project each morning at
the Yellow Bird Kids’ Club (which nannies can modify to suit
toddlers). Every afternoon of the week, the bright bowls of
dye come out and the very popular “Tye & Dye” party
begins—parents and grandparents are welcome to join the fun,
but beware: it is addicting. After one round, you may find
yourself searching your suitcases for all sorts of other
possibilities to tye and dye. Fortunately, the gift shop
keeps a supply of plain white T-shirts in child and adult
sizes.
For teens and tweens, there
are also rafting and tubing excursions (additional fee),
computer and video games that include Xbox and Nintendo WII,
basketball and beach volleyball games, a traditional game
room with pool tables and billiards, theme parties and other
organized activities.
Excursions from the resort are also easily arranged for
additional fees, including horseback riding on the beach,
tours of the nearby Green Grotto Caves, trips to Dolphin
Cove (hold an iguana, ride a dolphin, snorkel with
stingrays), and trips to the 600-foot landmark Dunn’s River
Falls (read my
tips for your visit in this blog post). As you can imagine, your Vacation
Nannies may come in particularly handy if you’d like to do
some of these trips, and as it happens, you can even bring
them along on some if you like, as we did (more in
Vacation Nanny 411).
Childcare at Franklyn D. Resort
It's hard to top having
your family's own Vacation Nanny, particularly while staying
at a tropical, all-inclusive resort. One
couple I met from New Jersey that was visiting FDR for the
first time with children ages 11, 7, and 4 years, told me
they'd originally planned to spend the first part of the
week at FDR, then travel to another part of the island where
they had a reservation at a different resort. After two
days, they decided to extend their stay at Franklyn D.
Resort and actually canceled the other reservation because,
as they told me, they knew there would be no vacation
nannies--and they weren't giving theirs up until they had
to.
The Vacation Nannies are
professionally trained and certified in CPR, and are on duty
9:00 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. daily, with a 1-hour lunch break. You
can use her to help make your family time together more
relaxing at the pool or on the beach (where you can actually
close your eyes while your toddler plays), or even join you
in the restaurant to help feed your children. Of course, she
will also care for your children while you enjoy "grown up
time" at an adults-only restaurant, at the spa, in the
adults-only Jacuzzi perched by the sea, or out on the reef
with your snorkel.
You can hire your Vacation
Nanny for additional hours for $6 per hour. Families with
multiple children, especially with an infant and an older
more active child, may also choose to hire a second Vacation
Nanny for $20 per day. While I first thought having two
nannies was incredibly decadent, it quickly became clear
that it was quite sensible, given the difference in ages and
schedules of the children--and seeing how busy a
professional can be with just one, let alone two of my three
children at a time, gave me new respect for my job here at
home. To say the least, I've been missing our nannies,
Coretta and Jasmine, since our return.
Here are a few helpful tips
for those of you planning travel to Jamaica with a baby or
young child, and preparing for stays at FDR. Be sure to see
links below for more information as
well.
Car seats are required in private vehicles per
Jamaican law, though they are not easy to come by for
visitors. If you will be renting a car, or even
traveling by taxi, it’s recommended that you bring your
child’s car seat from home. Even the minibuses providing
transfers from the airport to the resort are equipped
with seat belts, and the drivers are quite accustomed to
seeing child safety seats onboard.
Brand name baby foods and diapers are available at
most markets in the larger towns, but it’s a good idea
to bring enough supplies to get yourselves settled in at
least. If you aren’t planning to venture out on your
own, you can ask your Vacation Nanny to help get
additional baby food during your stay or join one of the
twice-weekly free shopping excursions to Ocho Rios,
where you can pick up baby essentials, including
formula, at General Food Supermarket.
The water
at the resort is purified and safe for
drinking, and we all found it to taste quite pleasant
(no need for the bottled stuff). This isn’t the case
everywhere in Jamaica, so remember that when you venture
off site.
Gratuities are included in your package price and
are not expected by staff, but don’t be surprised if you
find yourself wanting to “gift” your housekeepers and
some of the staff a little extra, most especially your
Vacation Nanny. These people clearly go above and
beyond, and additional gratuities are permitted at the
resort—and are very much appreciated.
“Naming names” of helpful staff on your comment card
before departure is also an important way that employees
are recognized for their good work and contributions to
the resort.
Check for deals on the Franklyn D. Resort
website--and when getting an online quote, be sure to scroll down to see all of the varying rates you can
get through the different promotions. They have some
creative offers that definitely speak to families,
including the current “Bring Your Own Grandparent” (BYOG)
offer, which allows up to two grandparents to stay free
with your family with a free upgrade for your shared
suite.
Click here for current offers.
The
Bottom Line:
Did we
enjoy our stay at FDR? Yes. Would I recommend it to a
friend? Yes (and I have, and I have...). Would we stay there
again? In a heartbeat.
For
children, there is a specialty craft project each morning at
the Yellow Bird Kids’ Club (which nannies can modify to suit
toddlers). Every afternoon of the week, the bright bowls of
dye come out and the very popular “Tye & Dye” party
begins—parents and grandparents are welcome to join the fun,
but beware: it is addicting. After one round, you may find
yourself searching your suitcases for all sorts of other
possibilities to tye and dye. Fortunately, the gift shop
keeps a supply of plain white T-shirts in child and adult
sizes. 
