|
 ... is popular! During a visit in late August, the place was full.
Arrival
The two-hour drive from Montego Bay airport will improve once a road upgrade is complete. Flying to Ocho Rios is possible, on Air Jamaica Express; check Beaches' promotions, as this flight is sometimes free with elite rooms.
Grounds & Pools
The resort is built steeply up from the beach: an elevator serves the beach and rooms; no need to take stairs unless you want the exercise.
 |
| click on pictures for larger images. |
Boscobel's main pool is large, with plenty of float mats. Claim a lounge chair early, especially if you want shade. The pool is open late, and the entertainment stage is poolside, so you can watch night-time shows, quizzes, etc. from the pool. The resort also has a wading pool for wee kids, and a kiddie pool with two waterslides (see pix), and - new in 2007, the Pirates Island Water Park with nine waterslides and more.
Also at Boscobel: tennis courts; outdoor pool tables; fitness center with excellent classes; spa with steam room.
Beach
 On the plus side, the beach is pretty and has shady palapas (--claim one early.) Don't expect a grand sweep of ocean (-Beaches Negril has that.) Still, for young kids the beach is fine. Strong swimmers will be frustrated that swimming is confined to a small cordoned area. During our visit, right outside the cordoned swim area, vendors floated all day in small boats; odd, but thankfully they were low-key and if you wanted to buy a conch shell, you were in luck.*
Beaches Boscobel: Watersports
Beaches Boscobel has some fun beach toys: banana boat rides, water tricycles, sailboats, water trampoline. Note that these are only available until 4 p.m.; also, if the resort is full, you'll have to wait your turn.
 For those who love underwater-life: Beaches Boscobel offers not only free snorkeling trips but free scuba. Sign up early at the watersports desk. Kids 12 and up can try scuba, and conveniently, the short course of instruction plus initial dive take place the same day. Afterwards, you can dive daily (if you sign up in time.) On our visit, neither the snorkeling nor the scuba sites were terrific, but weather kept us from reportedly better areas; and anyway the first-time-snorkeling kids were thrilled. Younger kids can try the glass-bottom boat. If you step off-property, you can rent jet-skis in the adjacent bay.
In short: there's much to do, but GTE (Get There Early) to sign up for watersports, and read activity schedules closely. For ex., windsurfing might happen only at 9 am.
Beaches Boscobel: Land Activities
Beaches Boscobel has typical activities such as billiards, ping-pong, volleyball, shuffleboard. Check the daily schedule for organized activities such as treasure hunts, horseshoe throwing, basketball, bocce ball, fitness classes, etc. Some kids love the art and craft activities; others bond to the video games in the GameWaves centre.
All-inclusive golf is a deal for golfers, but note that you have to pay for a caddy (about $17, and caddies expect to be tipped as well), and that the golf course is at another Sandal's resort, a 20-minute drive away. Shuttles depart several times a day.
Junior golf is a bonus too, wiht golf clinics for kids, and golf clubs provided if needed.
Kids Zone
 Beaches Boscobel shines with its kids' programs, for babies on up. Tiny Town is for wee ones up to age 3, in two age groups: under two years, with staff ratio of 3:1; and 2 and 3-year-olds, who do some activities outside the Kids Kamp area. After 5 pm, nannies are available.*
Activites for the 4 to 7 years group include arts and crafts, tennis, pool games, nature walks, and lots more. Ages 8 to 12 added snorkeling, bike tours, bonfires, etc. A bonus with these programs is that kids make friends to pal around with later at pool and beach.
For teens, the situation was muddier. The remotely-located teen center drew kids like a magnet-- not. Apparently a teen coordinator organizes activities, and some activities were posted in the buffet restaurant; but in three days of trying I never figured out how this all worked. Teens don't want to follow a strict schedule, I was told; it's more of a flow thing, doing what the group wants. So how do you find the group, then? Mysteries. The several teens I talked to, plus my own, didn't partake of any "teen activity"; but they liked the disco in the early hours.*
Sesame Street
Every day, kids can see favorite Sesame Street pals, and enjoy special activities such as story-time with Elmo, baking with Cookie Monster, etc. Great for preschoolers!
Rooms
 Beaches has rooms and suites; note that luxury family "suites" have a half-wall, not a full partition. Our terrace "suite" was one large room, with king-sized bed and sofa bed: attractive and roomy, with large patio area outside. All units have fridges. Many units connect if you want two rooms.
Beaches Boscobel: Restaurants
The Bayside Restaurant is poolside, a roomy open-air place that serves three meals plus night snack; food is buffet fare perked up by occasional local dishes and lots of cheese and fruit. Kids have their own section and kiddie seats. Best choice we sampled was The Italian restaurant, the Venetian. Other guests had good words for Arizona, that serves tex-mex, perched above the beach. The BBQ by the kiddies' pool serves good barbeque, quick.
Out'n'About
Many guests take outings off-property, booked at the tour desk. Jeep Safari, Heritage Beach Ride, river rafting, river tubing, Blue Mountain Bicycle tour, Brimmer Hall Plantation. Shopping outings are offered too, though some guests simply take a cab to Ocho Rios.
Those who want to know more about Jamaica can also try Meet the People, a free program of the Jamaica Tourist Board. Register online several weeks before your trip, and JTB will match you with a family with kids a similar age to yours. You'll be picked up at your resort, taken for a visit or hosted for a meal... We thoroughly enjoyed our Meet the People experience!
Beaches Single Parents Initiative
Beaches has declared May, Sept. and October "Single Parents months": solo parents won't be charged the dreaded "single supplement" that raises the price of a room to what a couple would pay. Special events and mixers create a friendly ambiance. Check also for special Single Parents Weeks organized by Single Parent Tours. (Read more.)
 Beaches Boscobel - Bottom Line
Beaches knows the family-getaway business very well indeed, is expert at handling large numbers of guests, and has legions of returning customers. Most staff were personable (-this is Jamaica) and helpful, though some watersports staff seemed wearied.
Three points stood out from our visit:
- kids and parents loved the kids programs, and evening sessions gave parents the chance to try the grown-up restaurants (or maybe even the Moonlight Massage)
- 8 to 10 yr-olds had a terrific time, making friends in the kids' programs, and then running all over with new pals
- Single Parents week worked very well
Note: like several Caribbean companies, Beaches offers a Hurricane Guarantee.
--continue to photo tour
|
