Hi. I'm a
travel agent and DH & I love to take our boys anywhere we can along with our annual WDW trip. Some places we love:
Beaches Turks & Caicos- This is the only "Beaches" chain I will recommend- the rest are just "okay"- this one was fabulous. The weather is great, the beach is a little narrow but if you go for a walk it is a bit wider further down. At the end of the beach you can see some great mansions.
The snorkelling was really good we saw a few barracuda and sea turtles. Beaches does free snorkelling trips about 40 minutes long and they are decent here. All you had to do was put your name down the day before to book- no hassle! IF you couldnt wait you could take the snorkles and a short walk down the beach had pretty good snorkelling - Thats where we saw the barracudas. As for children's activities- they have a pirate island, waterslides, special childrens dining, ice cream machines, a games center, and sesame street shows and parades. Everything was clean and staff were just wonderful.
Villa Beach Cottages- St Lucia- On the total other end of the spectrum is Villa Beach Cottages, a 14 room villa on this extremely friendly island. We spent 9 days having nothing but fun and relaxation. The staff make the difference at this establishment because you really get to know them. With only 14 units, you are truly more than just a number to them. I have to point out that this resort is not for the person looking for an all-inclusive experience. It's exactly the opposite - it is meant for a holiday where you set the agenda for yourself and pursue it.
Each room has a full kitchen and good grocery and souvenir shopping are available very close by. It's only a five minute walk, but you must walk along the side of a quite busy road that can be narrow in spots. You must just be very careful. An alternative is to use the on-site mini-mart, but the small size means that they can't match the variety that is up the street. Villa Beach also has excellent security. There is a guard on-site 24 hours a day. As with the Villa Beach day staff, Security staff are extremely friendly.
A few recommendations worth considering for your leisure time:
- Take a two-hour horseback ride on the northeast coast. It includes a portion where you can ride the horse into the ocean to a depth where the horse is swimming with you on its back. Amazing! US$60 per person including transfers to/from the hotel. Villa Beach will arrange the whole trip for you.
- Go to Anse La Raye for Fish Friday. Reasonable prices and great interaction with a very local crowd.
- Have Clara cook supper for you one night. Delicious food and outstanding service.
- Visit Rodney Bay and Pigeon Point. The history is fascinating here. Have a drink and/or lunch at the Captain's Cellar on Pigeon Point. Again, you have to see it to believe it.
Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch - Yucca, Arizona As a family who has traveled around the world, we found this place oustanding in every detail. Just as advertised. A relaxing place, with a beautiful backdrop, far away from hussle and bussle. It looks just like the pictures that hooked us to go. Clean as a whistle and very spacious accomodations with quality furnishings. The "staff" is really one big family. In fact, at times we felt more like family than guests. Riding horses, shooting billiards or shooting the breeze; doing some star gazing after dinner, finding desert toads, lounging poolside or reading a book. There was something for everyone. The only rule was "common courtesy." A perfect, no hassles place!!! These are some of the nicest, hardest working people we have ever met. They made our stay truly memorable. They love their horses, and they care for each one with great love and concern. They had one horse who had contracted cancer (I think) and it would have been easy for them to put the horse down, saying that they could not afford the overhead of feeding and grooming it. Instead, though they could not let anyone ride it and it was useless in breeding, they cared for it as if it were any other horse. I was very, very impressed. Accommodations were very good and the AC was not of the window variety, but central air and quite effective. Beds were comfortable and firm. And the food!!!! All you could eat, and it was absolutely wonderful, a great variety every lunch and expertly prepared and presented.
The only dislike I had here is the road up. Nothing they can do about it, but if you go, be careful and don't get going too fast, because the bumps sneak up on you.
Sorry to be so long winded- hope this gives you some ideas from all areas!
He is not a huge Disney fan as far as characters, movies, rides, etc. What he is a big fan of is their service, cleanliness, restaraunts, and accomodations. So where, if anywhere else
, does everyone vacation when not going to something Disney related. I am so leary of anywhere else just because of the customer service and cleanliness that we have come to expect. DH is particularly interested in some sort of family beach resort, be it in the US or Mexico/Caribbean, etc. Any ideas? Thanks in advance-Rebecca
) and he only goes because he HAS TO!!! And now that we have TWO kids, I use that against him. "We have kids now. We HAVE to go to WDW!!!" HAHA... 
. Part of our Disney trip this year was a 3 night 
