We just got back from our third trip to Beaches Turks & Caicos. I've already posted 2 reviews from our previous stays, so I won't go into detail about things I've already reviewed.

We used Mike McHugh of Dream Makers for the first time, to book this trip. He was great. He provided really nice, in depth descriptions of all the room categories. I would not have known the passports cannot expire within 6 months in T&C, if Mike hadn't let me know so I'm very grateful for that as well.

We chose the Governor's Honeymoon 1-bedroom suite. We chose that suite because it looked like it would be similar to the Parrot Cay which we had stayed in a few years back and liked, but looking at the map, it appeared that the Governor suites were very close to the beach. Sadly, our room was not close to the beach. We were in the third building back and the view wasn't very good. The suite was charming, very large, and had two very large balconies, but it was clear on the other side of the resort, so not only were we not close to the beach, but we weren't close to anything else either (with the exception of Arizonas sort of).

On our second day, out of the blue, we got a call from the concierge that we were being upgraded to the Italian Village. It was like they read our minds. To be completely honest, the Italian Village suites are considerably smaller than the governor's 1 bedroom suite, but for us (traveling with two small kids), the location really made a big difference, and the view and amenities are nicer. So we were very very happy with the unexpected upgrade (I suspect the upgrade was due to booking with Dream Makers as we have never been offered an upgrade in the past and we hadn't voiced any complaints about our suite).

They've expanded Soy (the sushi bar) and it is a lot nicer than the last time we were there, and the maki rolls are sooooo much better (on our previous two trips we only got pieces b/c the maki was terrible. They now have some very very good rolls. They cut them small, but that doesn't bother me). The first night we went there, there was a snafu with our order. We had been waiting for a long long time and we noticed that people who had arrived after us, were finishing up their meals and leaving and we still hadn't even gotten our appetizer. It turned out that a waiter put the wrong number on our tab or something and our entire order was brought it to another table. Everyone apologized profusely and the manager, Mercedes, personally apologized and told us that if we came back, she'd make sure we had a much better night.

So we took her up on it a couple nights later. As soon as we arrived, she ushered us over to a table that was decorated with fresh flowers. A bottle of champagne was on ice and she told us that she had taken the liberty of pre-ordering the things we told her we enjoyed the other night. Within about 2 minutes of sitting down, we had a huge tray of sushi piecies, maki and this really delicious garlic-tuna appetizer. She also threw in a few things she thought we might like and told us to feel free to order anything else she might have missed.

It was really an amazing night and completely made up for the previous experience. Mercedes is amazing. Incidentally, we remembered her from our first trip back in 2009. She was a stand-out manager back then too, so I'm very glad she's still with the resort.

I saw a previous poster complain about customer service. I do have to agree about the guy at the grill in Arizonas. He did seem very angry all the time for some reason, but I think he was very much the exception to the rule. Most of the employees were really fantastic.

Something new this trip are the zumba classes. I feel like in the past there was an additional charge to take certain fitness classes, but it appears they did away with that and the classes are all now included. I took zumba with Leonardo Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It was SO much fun and a fantastic work out. It is worth it to pack your work-out clothes and sneakers just for that!! I actually looked forward to the classes and they were a great workout. Leonardo is a fantastic instructor! I wish I had someone that good here at home.

This was the first time our older son (5-years-old) was old enough for Pirate Camp. He LOVED it! They had different activities every day. One day was all about pool games, one day they took a boat cruise and then had a picnic on the beach, another day they had a kickball game on the grassy lawn in the am and waterslide fun in the afternoon. In the prime sunburning hours (around 1-3) they did indoor activities (sometimes xbox games, sometimes air-hockey, sometimes arts and crafts). My older son is a little bit clingy, but he absolutely loved pirate camp, actually looked forward to it and made a ton of friends there who he continued to play with the whole week.

Our 3-year-old went to Sesame Camp a few days. It took him a little while to warm up on the first day, but he really really enjoyed it -- And get this -- Maxine from Sesame camp remembered my kids. She even remembered my younger boy's name and it has been two years since we were last there. Amazing!

My husband are I are *those* parents who will go and spy on our kids after we drop them off, and it was such an amazing relief to see that they were genuinely having a blast in camp. The Pirate Camp counselors are really really great with the kids. We watched them on one of the pool games days and they had all the kids giggling so hard they could barely breathe. It was awesome. My son saw me, yelled "Mommy!!" and ran over to give me a hug. I thought he was going to want me to check him out of camp, but he was having so much fun he asked to stay.

The staff at camp sesame are equally fantastic, but a little more low-key (which is appropriate with younger kids). Another bonus is that one of the sesame teachers taught our 3-year-old some swimming skills. He's already very comfortable in the water and had some basic swimming skills (holding breath and blowing bubbles), but after his very first day at camp, he came back actually swimming. I couldn't believe it.

One final nod to Mike McHugh with Dream Makers... he requested late check-out for us and we actually got it. We requested late-check out with out 2 previous trips and we were told they couldn't accommodate us, and this time it was no problem. It's not a huge deal, but when you have an afternoon flight, it is MUCH nicer to be able to keep some stuff in the room and shower/ get ready for your flight in your own room before checking out.

All-in-all, it was a fantastic vacation and fun was had by all!

Overall, the place was very expensive. The kids activities were okay, but not great. The food was mediocre, and the service was spotty to bad.

Hard to believe the great accolades this place gets.
The rooms are nice, but the nice rooms are very expensive.
Some great service from certain staff - and just terrible from others.
It seemed like the maintenance staff were trained in customer service - and the customer service staff didn't understand customer service. Examples: the guy who was cooking meat at Arizona's (one of the restaurants) looked so put out every time a guest asked for food that many people complained about him. Ironically, the guy at the "jerk station" was great. I suggested to management that they trade spots. The food is super mediocre at every restaurant - and I have never seen so much food wasted in my life. Stick to the local fish and you will be happiest (grouper, snapper, mahi-mahi). The burgers aren't bad either and the steaks are okay. This place could double the quality and halve the quantity and it would be better for everyone.

They ran out of their better liquors at the end of the day a couple times. The included wine is all okay, but not great. When we tried to order wine off the "mangers list" requiring to pay extra, they were out of almost every one of them - so you couldn't upgrade the wine, even if you wanted to.

The pools are great and the beach is nice. The kids activities are fair as is the kids camp. The kids were sick of it after three days. I saw a lot of kids crying in corners and not getting much attention. One of the pool attendants was also cross with me because I accidentally brushed him with an inner tube. He told me to stop bumping into him with the wet tube because it was cold. He wasn't joking. It was bizarre. To finish the disappointment, they closed the Italian Village pool on our last day from morning until 1PM for cleaning. That was really irritating.

For the money, you can do a lot better. This was my first and last all-inclusive.

The perfect destination for a family! This all inclusive had great food and drinks. My children were happy the entire trip because there was so much to do. My only advice is to bring bug spray. The Mosquitos were pretty bad at night.

There has been much about the hotel, rooms, restaurants written so I thought I would cover the main event at Beaches (well the main event in my opinion!) and that is the diving. Myself and my two daughters, 11 and 14, did our PADI at Beaches and it was brilliant. My only regret. I didn't do it years ago. A few tips ....

Book early so you don't miss out
If you are an adult do the exams online before you go. If you are going with children don't ... do the exam with them. They aren't allowed to do it online, so wait and do it with them.
If you do the exams together then revise every night.. 1 hour a night and you will pass.
Do the longer trips. What you will see is amazing
Leave the sand dollars alone .... they are alive!
There are sharks .... if you are lucky. People come from all over the world to see them. They will not attack you!
Finally. Do as many dives as you can