Inside & Out: Finding Fabulous with the Kids
My family and I stayed in an ocean-view room with a king bed and a pull-out sofa, which — once we figured out the furniture arrangement — fit the four of us just fine (Max in the pullout, and Conrad, 2, in a travel cot). It wasn’t an excessive amount of space, but the bathroom was very large, as was the balcony, which is where my husband and I made our way each night after the kids went to sleep. We brought a small white noise machine to ensure they stayed asleep, and had nightly romantic rendezvous under the growing moon: drinking wine and talking about our lives, our kids, and how beautiful palm trees look at night when lit from below. Then we snuck back in and went to sleep. (Note to future guests: the air conditioner is connected to the sliding glass door, and without a potentially child-waking push, the door won’t close properly and the A/C won’t turn back on. And then you will wonder why you get hot at night.)
Monkey on the golf course
The resort makes an effort to separate families on one side of the Great House, and couples on the other. And with the natural timing of family (6:30pm) vs. couple (8pm) dinners, and kid-friendly touches everywhere (sippy cups, kid cutlery, at-table projects, and of course, kids’ menus, we found eating low-stress, too. We almost didn’t make it to the Coral Grill, thinking our kids would be too much, but we ended up going early and eating on the balcony, and loved our Wagyu flank steak and lamb chops. We also had two delicious dinners at Mango, which was casual enough to accommodate a bit of dancing under the stars. (It’s also the place to go without kids, if you’re thinking of booking a sitter for one dinner. The roof opens entirely, making for an incredibly romantic al fresco experience.) But it was the lobby restaurant that was easiest for us, and you can eat inside or out, and for any meal (or fraction thereof), with little sacrifice on ambiance or menu.
While at the resort, we took a golf-cart ride one early evening with a staff member, and headed up Nevis Peak, where we saw monkeys by the hundreds. It actually isn’t too hard to find them — you just need to know the spots where they like to hang. (It was easy access to nature, and fit in well with the, shall we say, easy nature of our trip.) On the same trip, we also passed the privately-owned Four Seasons villas (available to rent) and a ruin of a sugar mill. We spoke with guests who stayed longer and loved their visits to the Golden Rock for lunch and garden exploration. We spent one day in a beach hut, which made my husband happy (he watched Barcelona and AC Milan), me happy (I appreciated four lounging choices — inside, shade, umbrella or sun) and our kids happy (they waved the service-indicating red and green flags).
Max, Conrad & Fabian Lim
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