Beaches Resort Turks and Caicos – The Number One Reason I’ll be Heading Back (So Unexpected)

(I paid a modest fee to attend the Social Media on the Sand Conference, which included a room at Beaches Resort Turks and Caicos, along with extraordinary events, parties, and perks. There was no requirement to blog about Beaches, the conference or the events. All opinions are my own.

I travel quite a bit. My passport has been around the world. But there was one place where I longed to go, one that eluded me for years…the island of Turks and Caicos.

This past fall I had the amazing opportunity to not only fly to this island of pristine beaches, but to bring my family along with me and enjoy the hospitality of Beaches Resort Turks and Caicos. Beaches Resort was the location of the very first Social Media on the Sand Conference and I was going!

If you are like me, you’ve no doubt seen the commercials for Beaches Resort Turks and Caicos. You know, the commercials where we can’t help but adore the color of the water, scrumptious food, and Sesame Street characters playing with the kids.

Now that I’ve been, I can’t tell you how many times I’m asked…..”really,  is Beaches Turks and Caicos as amazing as it looks on television?”.

The answer is unequivocally YES, and for many different reasons.

And while I’ll be writing more about my experience at Beaches and elaborate on the dining (with special tips for families), activities (scuba diving is included in your package), and beautiful sunsets, I want to tell you the NUMBER ONE reason I’ll be heading back to Beaches!

Now, what I say might shock you.

Shock? Well, yes and no.

It’s not the romantic strolls along the beach, candle-lit dinners by the ocean, and stolen moments with my spouse that made the #1 reason. Though they are amazing memories.

It’s not the snorkeling in crystal-blue waters, building sand castles with my daughter, and first-class cuisine that made the #1 spot. Though OH MY GOODNESS…I could write about them for days.

My number one reason – Medical Care!

Are you a bit disappointed? I hope not.

Let me tell you our story:

You see, after several days in paradise my daughter wasn’t acting like herself. In fact, she was grumpy and had no desire to head to the beach. Now, we’ve all had those days, so I wasn’t overly concerned until she didn’t want to eat. ANYTHING.

Yes, she wouldn’t eat anything. We went to the most amazing restaurant for a late breakfast on Sunday (Neptunes.) I was a bit distracted, I’ll admit.

Though the restaurant was mostly empty due to the lateness of the morning, we were sitting just steps away from the CHAIRMAN, Butch Stewart (Founder of Sandals/Beaches) and the Premier of Turks and Caicos! Yes, the head of their government. They were enjoying lively conversation and breakfast and I was trying to as well. But well, my daughter wouldn’t eat. We tried her favorite fruits, scrambled eggs, even pastries.

It was then that I thought she might be getting sick. Unusual behavior + no appetite.

Now, this Mommy usually packs everything. Remember “Let’s Make a Deal?” Well, I usually have everything with me when we travel just in case. But this one time, when we were leaving the country of all things, I forgot a thermometer.

And this is where my love of Beaches Medical Staff begins…but it doesn’t end there.

Beaches Resorts Turks and Caicos has their own medical staff area centrally located just outside the lobby of the Caribbean Village.

We immediately flagged down one of the staff for a golf cart ride from our Key West Village to the Caribbean Village. We knew exactly where we were going (ahem, someone’s husband got a little too ambitious in the water and got his knees skinned up pretty bad thanks to a big wave). During that visit, the nurse cleaned the simple wounds and gave us ointment and bandages to use.

This time was a bit different. Thankfully, there is a Registered Nurse on site with daily office hours. If I’m not mistaken, they were until 10pm.

The nurse quickly took my daughter’s temperature and a fever of 101.8 was confirmed. Ugh…it explained everything. While she had a fever, there were no other symptoms.

We were given bottles of both Children’s Acetaminophen and Children’s Ibuprofen to take with us. Not only was it enough medicine for the day, but enough to get us through our travel home the next day. The bottles were the ideal sizes to take through security as well.

We visited the nurse again later that day to check the status of her fever.

Here’s the surprising thing…

• We were never charged for the visits to the nurse (it’s included in your stay)
• We were never charged for the medicines (it’s included in your stay)

What if things had been more serious? I learned that a qualified physician is on call 24 hours a day for emergencies. And while those services would not be included in our stay, the fact that we had quick access to a doctor made me feel good. And having spoken to CEO Adam Stewart about the qualifications that he demands of his staff, I have no doubt the physicians on call are ones he would rely on to treat his own children (who were visiting Beaches while we were there.)

We were lucky. It was a simple fever. Very treatable. But it also got me thinking about our more serious conditions…both myself and my daughter have asthma. I rest knowing that there are trained medical professionals at Beaches ready to help in a emergency.

SIDE STORY:

That morning, the one where my daughter came down with the fever, we had originally planned to transfer to another resort on the island. I admit it was to save money on our last night in Turks and Caicos. While Beaches Turks and Caicos is unforgettable, it’s not inexpensive. At the last minute (the night before,) my husband and I talked about how we really didn’t want to leave Beaches, even for just one night.

So we didn’t.

Had we gone ahead with our original plans, I’m not sure what we would have done after realizing our daughter was ill. I’m quite certain the place we had planned to move to did not have medical care on site. We were in a foreign country with a sick child.

It was a blessing that we never left Beaches Resort and it’s the number one reason that I would go back to any Beaches Resort (or Sandals Resort.)

Have you or your family ever gotten sick while traveling? Have you been to Beaches Resort Turks and Caicos?