We recently returned from our dream vacation to Turks & Caicos where we stayed at the beautiful Beaches Resort.  We visited the Caribbean as a family, but the main purpose of my trip was to attend the Social Media on the Sand conference! We simply extended our trip to include a vacation as well. I have wanted to visit the Beaches Resort in Turks & Caicos for as long as I can remember.

I was really excited to visit Turks & Caicos in the Caribbean for the sun, sand, beaches and Beaches resort. I have been reading reviews for years about how amazing the Beaches resort is and literally almost couldn't contain my excitement. Beaches Resort meet my expectations completely. The resort is quite beautiful.

As soon as you are delivered to your village within the 758-room resort at Beaches -- there are different villages to select to stay in -- Caribbean, French, Key West or Italian -- and each are designed to reflect their own region -- you are met with smiling faces and very accommodating hosts in a luxurious setting in the Grace Bay.

For example, my youngest daughter was quite sick on the flights from Chicago to Turks & Caicos and was green by the time we arrived in our village. Our check-in hostess noticed right off that my daughter was sick and gave her a hug and asked if there was anything that she might need. I have never seen that much perception from any member of a staff . . . and we travel A LOT! They brought her a cold towel for her neck and wrists and another staff member brought her a refreshing drink perfect for vomiting children and had more delivered to our villa!

Later that evening, we were wandering about and I guess we looked quite lost because another member of the staff asked us if we needed some help. We did, my daughter was still quite ill and we wanted to visit the nurse's station. This staff member personally walked us to the nurse's station . . .  and it was quite far from our villa.

The nurse was amazing, pleasant and gave us some medicine for my little one. We were, once again, hopelessly lost as we attempted to return to our village after the visit to the nurse. Another staff member noticed right off that we were lost AND walked us all the way back to our villa -- voluntarily! He was singing with the children and chatting with us and giving us some hints about how to navigate though the Beaches villages.

This is the sort of attention to detail that is missing at other resorts. I don't think I can ever remember receiving a quick smile at some resorts we have stayed at in various parts of the world. Let alone a personal escort back to our room!

Resort Villages - Key West Village

We stayed in the Key West Village, which opened in May 2013. This village offers a vibe from the Southern part of the United States. Some of the villas even offers oceanfront accommodations, which we did not have, but we did have a pool right outside our front door. Our villa also had multiple balconies. Key West Village has 168 large accommodations, featuring studios, one- and two-bedroom suites and three- to four-bedroom villas, some with private pools with an oceanfront view.

We stayed in a stunning Key West Two Story Two Bedroom Concierge Suite. This 1,336-square-foot suite had two stories and two bedrooms, both with king beds and full attached bathrooms. We had a fully equipped kitchen, which was restocked each day. There was also a living area, dining area, a breakfast nook and a washer and dryer. The suites receive concierge service, maid service twice daily and have views of the lush gardens and pool area. I loved the twice daily maid service as we never (EVER) had to ask for dry towels!!

Pool, Water and Beach Fun

There are 10 swimming pools, three swim-up bars, and four whirlpool hot tubs. We had the opportunity to enjoy three Caribbean Village pools: Cascade's, Iguana's and Camp Sesame {although this is for the younger crowd and my kids were too old for this area}. Pirate's Island Waterpark, Riviera Pool, the French Village Pool, the three Key West Village Pools, and the Italian Village Pool, which is where we spent a lot of time.

Water Park

The 45,000-square-foot water park features eight slides, two kiddie pools, a wave surf simulator, a 650-foot lazy river and so much more. My kids never wanted to leave this area. There is even a swim-up ice cream bar for the kiddos!

Beaches

If you ever tire of the various pools, head down to the white sandy beach and partake in beach activities. Of which there are plenty. On the beach, your family can canoe, kayak, snorkel, wind surf, dive and sail at no extra charge. These activities are part of the all-inclusive rates.

Diving

If you are interested in learning to dive or are already an avid diver, you can enjoy guided dives at the nearby coral reefs where one can see the colorful marine life and exotic underwater treasures Turks & Caicos has to offer. If interested, Beaches offers PADI Discover Scuba, (additional fee) training and certification. Children can learn to dive in the Bubblemaker (for kids 8 and up) and Seal Team (for kids 8 and 9) programs, also at additional costs. We were very interested in these diving programs for our children, but once my daughter got sick, our plans were completely changed during our vacation.

Resort Activities

If you ever tire of the pools or the beach, you can wander about the resort village and locate land activities. These activities include croquet, lawn chess, beach volleyball, tennis, table tennis, billiards and board games. There are also tween and teen hang out areas that include supervised water sports, pool games, tennis clinics, dancing, and talent shows; as well as laser hockey, Foosball, electronic basketball, two large flat-screen TV's and the huge air-conditioned Xbox Play Lounge which features 45 Xbox game stations to choose from.

Dining

There are 19 resort restaurants with an array of international cuisine styles. I can be completely honest and say that we were only able to sample half of them. There are just too many good choices. My son and husband did not pack pants for the evening dress code in some of the restaurants, so we were not able to eat in some of the restaurants due to this issue. Be sure to pack some pants if you want to eat in all of the restaurants.

Culinary choices include everything from barefoot eating right on the beach, to gourmet themed selection,  adult only romantic dining. The weekly Soon Come Back BBQ Beach Party on Friday nights is a must; where live music, BBQ's and bonfires are featured. Fireworks included! Here are the restaurants we ate at: Arizona's, Barefoot by the Sea, Bayside, Dino's Pizzeria, Bobby Dee's, Cafe De Paris, Le Petit Chateau, Mario's, Reflections and Schooners.

Sesame Street

Beaches has partnered with Sesame Street and you can see your favorite characters wandering about the resort at various times during the day and evening. The most favorite characters, including Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch, make appearances all over the resort. There are even options to have breakfast with the Sesame Street characters, watch a character parade, photo ops or even have your favorite character come and tuck in your children for bed with a night time story.

Your children have the opportunity to go bird-watching with Big Bird, enjoy story time with Elmo, bake cookies with Cookie Monster, find magical treasures with Abby Cadabby, make music with Bert & Ernie, dance with Zoe, explore with Grover, or become magicians with the Count. At different times of the year, there are other options available as well, be sure to check their website to see what might be available during your vacation.

The gorgeous villages, pools and restaurants at Beaches will keep your family busy and happy from dawn to dusk. My family quickly set into a routine while staying at Beaches Resorts in Turks & Caicos. We would get up in the morning, head to breakfast, then directly to a pool. The children would have some fun and I would sit in a lounge chair and read to my heart's content. My husband would wander about from swim up bar to bar getting a fruity drink and really just relaxing . . . something he never does at home because the man is always working.

I have to quickly add this as well, my husband is not one to relax. Every vacation we have ever been on, he brings his laptop and usually ends up ditching us (his family) and stays in the room and works on his laptop or spends the day on the phone on conference calls. ON HIS VACATION. Since I was really on a working vacation as I was attending the Social Media on the Sand conference, he really didn't have the opportunity to sneak away and work as he was taking care of our three small children.

That being said, I really don't think I even saw him take his laptop out. I didn't even want to ask him why because I might remind him and I was so happy he was finally enjoying himself on a vacation. My husband works bloody hard and deserves a vacation. I was so happy that he was finally able to relax and have a fabulous time at Beaches Resort in Turks & Caicos! Thanks so much to Beaches resort for getting my husband to enjoy himself!

After a morning of swimming, the kiddos would be famished and we would head to one of the 19 restaurants that were suitable for lunch. It was preferable if the children didn't have to change out of their swimming suits as they would quickly want to head to the beach (or pool) as soon as they gobbled up some delicious food by the beach. We would be back and forth from the beach to the pool or the water park all afternoon. Late afternoon we would head back to our villa for showers and a bit of relaxation and try to decide where to eat for dinner. After dinner, it would be coffee and desserts and another trip to the beach.

After of a week of this, my children completely forgot that we were on vacation and assumed that we were taking up permanent residence within the Beaches Resort in Turks & Caicos. Our last evening when I began to pack, my youngest daughter started to cry. I thought perhaps she was getting sick again and asked her what was wrong. She stated to me that she did not want to go home . . . that since she was sick for the first three days of vacation, she was cheated out of three days and we needed to stay for three more days.

I guess if you are going to be sick on vacation, Beaches Resort in Turks & Caicos is the most perfect resort in the Caribbean to be staying.

Disclosure: I was invited to the Social Media on the Sand conference. I was not compensated in any manner for this trip. I paid for the conference ticket and all fees associated with the hotel and all my own family's airfare. All my opinions are my own. Images courtesy of Beaches Resort and myself and used with permission.