Kids Included in "All Inclusive"

When you think about it, the island of Jamaica has a lot in common with your average kid: carefree and fun-loving, outgoing and unpretentious, a unique blend of high energy and naptime.

So it’s no wonder that Jamaica is a hit with children of all ages, who with a flick of the imagination can turn just about any of the island’s exotic beach and jungle settings into impromptu playgrounds. Of course, they do have some help from Jamaica’s hotels and tour operators, providing excursions, amenities, special menu items and even a few “real” playgrounds, no make-believe necessary.

Swings and Slides
And what better fodder for a playground than a fort, a lazy river and a 240-ft. waterslide? According to Carol Lynton-Reid, director of sales for Sunset Resorts, the Pirate’s Paradise Water Park at the Sunset Beach Resort & Spa in Montego Bay has proven to be fun for the whole family.

“The reception we’ve received from families traveling with their children has been just great,” she says. “Of course, they realize that happy children make happy families and parents, so the water park gives everybody the chance to have a fabulous vacation.”

Pirate’s Paradise combines adventurous features like two 40-ft. tall waterslides and a 40-ft. high Pirate’s Plank Bridge with calmer pursuits like Blackbeard’s Lazy River, which winds around the park “taking children or adults having fun in a tube and carrying them along,” Lynton-Reid describes. The three jacuzzi tubs stationed at the top of the Caribbean Pirate’s Paradise Fort are also awaiting travelers looking for a more laid-back water experience.


But where high-energy kids are concerned, the Pirate Ship delivers with a special section for kids ages 2 to 12 that includes “their own little kiddie pool and their own froggy slide,” Lynton-Reid explains. And dryer kids activities are just steps away in the adjacent Club Mongoose kids’ club, including a disco, special events stage and facilities for supervised activities like t-shirt tie dying. “Trained staff lovingly take care of them, catering to their every need from arts and crafts activities and little shows, to taking them to the beach or the water park,” Lynton-Reid says. Then there’s the Pirate’s Cove Teen Center with arcade games, pool tables and reggae music. Overall, the facility fills more than an acre with family-friendly amenities.

“And it’s just as popular with adults,” Lynton-Reid says. “I see the adults—the 21- and 25-year-olds as well as the older folk—everybody having a good time. The children are coming down the slide as well as the adults. It truly is a family experience.”

Kids can go straight from swimming through the ocean to flying through the air (with the greatest of ease) at SuperClubs’ Starfish Trelawny all inclusive family resort between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. In addition to typical amenities like a kids’ club and watersports, the all-inclusive package at Starfish includes trapeze and trampoline courses as part of its circus workshop. Kids will learn swinging and bouncing tips from the pros, and can take skills like juggling with them to impress their friends at home.

The surprises don’t stop at the circus; Starfish is also home to a SuperIce skating rink—good luck finding another ice skating opportunity in the Caribbean. Parents can also watch their kids safely pummel each other in padded sumo wrestler suits, or send everyone over to Bubbles Disco. Open nightly as an adults-only reggae club, Bubbles also hosts events for children and teens in the early evening, so the whole family can enjoy the space.

Kids will find a more traditional jungle gym and playground at the Kid’s Club, open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for arts and crafts, trampoline lessons and kiddie pool wading for kids as young as 6 months and as old as 12. Onsite babysitting is also available while parents enjoy a 4-course gourmet dinner at Casablanca (no kids under 10 allowed) or indulge in a massage, facial or manicure at the spa.

Kidding Around
After an afternoon of Jamaica-style excitement, kids will need some down time for rest and refueling. No problem at the Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort Jamaica, says General Manager Michael Hoe-Knudsen. “Our dedicated kids’ snack bar, Just Kidding, is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. We serve anything from nachos to hot dogs to popcorn to soft ice cream, with different juices.” In addition to kid-friendly treats, the snack bar was specially designed for the vertically challenged: “It has a sunken counter so even 3 and 4 year olds can see the waiter and place their order there. And the funny thing,” Hoe-Knudsen continues, “is the parents like it almost more than the kids do.”

Other dining venues, like the hotel’s buffet restaurants, have also been outfitted with sunken counters so that girls and boys can make their own food choices. Chefs at the resort prepare special food for kids, Hoe-Knudsen explains, including “ABC” fries for breakfast, pastas and pizza for lunch, and macaroni and cheese for dinner.

But the kids’ concessions don’t end at the dinner table. “We don’t just welcome kids and families; we celebrate them,” says Hoe-Knudsen. “From the start, when you arrive with your family, there’s a separate area for kids during check-in.” He also points out the sloped, zero-entry platform into the pool, “so when you walk in there’s no risk for the young toddlers,” as well as the KidSpree Vacation Club with organized activities for kids between 6 months and 12 years old. Here, kids can play in the outdoor garden, express their creative side with arts and crafts, or take a well-deserved nap in the playroom. Plus, “It’s located right in front of the snack bar, and the organized activities vary from day to day,” he explains. “There’s a kids’ disco at night. There’s a talent show. And there’s a fashion show for the older kids. It almost looks like a runway in New York with all the parents taking pictures.”

Even the sea itself seems engineered for children. “Mother Nature did us a favor in that all of the beach and ocean areas are quite shallow…. It’s great from a safety standpoint,” he explains. Of course, lifeguards are standing by just in case.

But one of the best reasons to stay at the Holiday Inn SunSpree in Montego Bay, Hoe-Knudsen says, is the pricing. Up to two kids under 12 per room can stay, play and eat for free year-round—“No exceptions, no blackout dates, no strings attached,” Hoe-Knudsen emphasizes. “That’s our biggest competitive advantage.”

Catching Some ‘Rays
Possibly the hottest new family adventure in Jamaica is a re-do of a Cayman Islands vacation staple: Stingray City, Chukka Caribbean Adventures’ newly opened venture. Located on James Bond Beach, 10 miles from Ocho Rios, the attraction gives kids and adults alike the chance to snorkel and swim with the silky, slimy creatures. Never fear; the stingrays are tame enough to feed, pet, and even pose with for a unique photo-op. And because it’s appropriate and appealing for both adults and kids ages 6 and up, it’s an adventurous experience the whole family can enjoy. Not that there’s any shortage of adventure at Chukka, which also offers horseback riding in the ocean, canopy tours, mountain biking, ATV safaris, ocean kayaking, river tubing.... Just about anything a kid could dream up. Tours are available at many Jamaican hotels including the Holiday Inn SunSpree Jamaica, and can also be booked independently. Visit stingraycityjamaica.com or chukkacaribbean.com.