Where we were: Beaches Turks & Caicos Caribbean

Were you one of the dozen people leaving messages and texting wondering where we were last week? Sorry about that, I must have forgotten to mention that we were IN THE CARIBBEAN. That’s right, while all our friends and family back home were braving high winds, record-breaking rainfall, and low temps, we were sitting in sundresses in the sand, swimming with fishes, partaking in exotic beverages and enjoying world class cuisine.

Oh, did I also forget to mention that our resort in the Caribbean wasn’t a quaint hotel or bungalow – we were enjoying the all-inclusive luxury that only a Sandals Resort can offer? Now, I’ve been wined and dined throughout the years with lavish parties at Sundance and BlogHer, but I have truly never experienced luxury quite like what we saw at the family-friendly Beaches Turks & Caicos. To say that we were excited about this vacation is a huge understatement. We’ve been looking forward to October ever since last April when I got one of the best blogging emails I have ever gotten inviting me and my family to the Social Media on the Sand conference at Beaches Turks & Caicos. Well before the itinerary was released and plane tickets were purchased I was dreaming of white sand and crystal clear water and couldn’t wait for fall to arrive. Can you blame me? This is what was waiting for us after our international flights.

We arrived at Beaches Turks & Caicos and immediately I felt at ease. The rum punch was flowing {mine and the kids non-alcoholic for obvious reasons} and everywhere we went we were greeted with “welcome home!” by the friendly staff that was checking us in and showing us around. And, once we got settled in our room, I was in my element. 

To call our family suite in the Beaches Key West Village a “room” is wildly misleading. It was more like a condo with a private entrance and deck, two separate bedrooms, a family room and dining room with another pullout bed and trundle, a full kitchen, washer and dryer, two full baths, and even a staircase to an upper floor with a small butler kitchen and a patio. I’m fairly certain that it was bigger than our last house, and far more posh.That first day we all showered and washed off our yuckiness brought on by 3 flights {one of them overnight} to get down to the Caribbean and headed out to register for the conference together. Then I ditched the fam and met up with some great blogging buddies at the floral-themed social hour. We talked for a bit, snacked, and heard about some of the amazing things in store for us over the next few days.

After that we picked up our awesome Iristocracy sunglasses we had ordered before our arrival as we listened to the amazing Maria Bailey address the group of bloggers she had assembled for our event. Then it was time to collect our families and head out to experience the Pirates Island waterpark with a pirate-themed dinner party that was crashed by our favorite Sesame Street characters. When the party was over, we headed back to our Beaches home to relax. I had an early morning the next day, so I prepped and set out what I needed for the full day of the conference in terms of tech and gear, and then we crashed in our luxurious beds and slept like babies as we made up for lost sleep on the plane the night before.

The full day of conference turned out to be amazing. I got to hear from Maria Bailey again as well as a team of social media savvy brands and professionals that all had a unique story to share. Amy Baxter spoke of her mistakes made in marketing, Steve Paljieg and Denise Archambault spoke about the historic perspective on the innovation process, Brianna Purvis shared tips and best practices for utilizing social media, Rebecca Levey, Colleen Padilla, Kenzie Padilla, Isabel Podolsky, and Sophia Podolsky talked about the pros and cons of getting your kids online, Lori Lorenz shared her recipe for work-life balance, Carol Cain and Jo-Lynne Shane did a co-talk about the rebranding process, Sue Rodman outlined ideas for great travel writing, Natalie Diaz, Beau Coffron, and Rich McFadden talked niche blogging, and finally, Joey Fortman shared her favorite video and vlogging tips.

We also heard from the awesomely fun Adam “Danger” Stewart who told us about the history of the Sandals Corporation as well as where they are headed in the future. By the end of his talk all of us were ready to book another vacation at one of the Sandals, Beaches, or Grand Pineapple resorts he was showing us and we were already in paradise. I would be scared to watch him talk again now that the rain and cold has descended on Seattle because I would be tempted to book an extended all-winter getaway at this point.

Our Sesame Street pals also made a quick appearance so we could snap a few pictures. That evening, we collected our families to enjoy the beach party with our Sesame Street characters to celebrate the gang being at Beaches Resorts for 10 years. We enjoyed a buffet dinner and then headed over to the games because the kids were insistent that they needed to win something. A crazy amount of tries at Beaches version of skee ball later and we walked away with a shark and a mermaid that the kids were thrilled with. Then we enjoyed the fireworks on the beach and got our feet in the ocean to cool off.

The next day I woke up early {which was crazy considering I was still on West Coast time} and headed out to Zumba because I couldn’t bear to miss out on working out with Maria Bailey, even if I was huge and pregnant. Afterwards we were treated with fresh coconut water to rehydrate and, like a good wife and mother, I brought mine back to my daughter and husband who love fresh coconuts and I knew they had always wanted to drink right out of a cut coconut. After a well-earned shower, I headed out to the Sandals Foundation Pack for a Purpose breakfast where we all shared our school supplies we had packed for the children of Turks & Caicos. The huge pile of backpacks full of school supplies gifted were so impressive that we had to snap some pictures before we went inside to eat and listen to what the Sandals Foundation goal is. From there we went to our interactive conference sessions where I learned how to create a spa-like experience at home from the staff of Beaches Red Lane Spa with Colleen Padilla and Joey Fortman. We made skin scrubs and learned about Red Lane products as well as the new teenage-centered line called Ginger Lily. After that, I headed back to get the family so we could take advantage of some of the awesome amenities at Beaches Turks & Caicos. We enjoyed two pools, shopped a bit, went in the ocean together, dug in the sand, explored the resort, and dined at two restaurants. After we floated the lazy river a few times, we headed back to get ready for the night. Then we all went to the dessert party together before I ditched them to go to the HP printing party. All in all, it was a perfect day in paradise with the people I love most. Here's my favorite shot of the Social Media Moms dessert party showing the girls who became fast friends and their blogging moms, recreating the younger girl's party picture. We woke up well rested and wanted to explore the islands a bit more, so we booked an separate excursion through Caicos Dream Tours that was recommended by Beaches staff. The whole day was seriously amazing with snorkeling, exploring new islands, and learning all about Conch shells. Although I could go on and on about all the amazing things we did on the day tour, I’m going to refer you to the OC Mom Blog to read Shelby’s post about the Caicos Deam Tours review as she did an amazing job capturing the essence of the trip and sharing tips and tricks to make the most of it. Seriously, go read it.  Also, enjoy this picture of my daughter who found her first conch shell and was clearly very pleased with herself. The next day we had a good chunk of time before we headed off, so our biggest concern was how we could enjoy the most all-inclusive restaurants on our last day {hey, I'm pregnant – I get to indulge in some world class dining when on vacation}. With 19 different restaurants as part of their Discovery Dining experience, this is a bigger decision than you might think. We ended up eating a pizza lunch poolside and making reservations at Kimonos, a Japanese-style dining experience where they cook your food at the table with you while entertaining the group.They called my daughter up and she got to pretend to cook for a bit, which she loved. I, of course, snapped pictures. By the time we were leaving Beaches that night we were so incredibly sad to say goodbye. We had made the most of our stay and kept busy the entire time, but I truly feel like we could have taken another two weeks and not seen it all. It really is that expansive and would take weeks to fully explore. Of course, some things are so much fun that you would want to do them over and over again, but at least you could get
a taste of everything else a Beaches resort can offer.

Want to find out more about this amazing resort we enjoyed so much? Check out the Beaches Turks & Caicos site to see a full list of their restaurants, amenities, activities and more. Want to hear more about our trip? Check out our Beaches Babymoon post.

Disclosure: I received a discounted rate at Beaches Turks & Caicos as part of the conference, however all opinions are 100% my own.