Tina had been looking for an ideal vacation package and destination for her and her family and had been trying various avenues when she found Deep Blue Adventures. Tina and her husband were quite well traveled, but it had been a few years and this was their first ever vacation with their two young sons, both of them under the age of 3 years old.
Tina was ready for somewhere new and family-friendly. She was looking for upscale, with good diving and a reliable dive operator onsite at the resort, but reasonable value. Her number one priority of course was that her boys would be well cared for while her and her husband were diving or enjoying other resort activities.
I assembled many options for the couple to consider, and as the boys were younger than the typical minimum age for most “kids clubs” or children’s entertainment programs, all of the options were where I knew we could arrange quality babysitting services.
Tina eventually chose Barefoot Cay Resort on Roatan, one of the Bay Islands of Honduras. This beautiful oceanfront resort with its beachfront villas gave the family plenty of space throughout their stay, afforded the couple some privacy at night, and provided a fun “front yard” for the boys to play during the day yet still be only steps away from diapers, snacks & a place to nap. The fantastic cuisine that comes as part of the all-inclusive package, with the option of having dinner delivered to their villa, together with the “valet” dive service Barefoot Divers provided meant mom and dad could be pampered and have a truly relaxing vacation with their children.
While I knew Barefoot Cay Resort offered and delivered all of the above, I have to say that their reservations manager blew me away with her service. Mel understood the importance of a great and trustworthy nanny, as well as my request to have the same one for most, if not all of the week. Mel not only arranged for the caretaker of her own children for the entire stay, she went one step further. Part of finalizing Tina’s arrangements, was having her and her husband approve Mirta as an ideal match to care for her sons, Mel then set up a couple of Skype meetings between Mirta and the family leading up to the trip so they could all get to know each other before they ever arrived and Mirta would be somewhat familiar to the children and the parents.
Tina and her family had the wonderful vacation they had hoped for – the perfect mix of sea, sun, and sand. Lazy days and days filled with fun and excitement altogether and plenty of “mom and dad” time too.
While we can recommend many wonderful resorts that offer safe, reliable and friendly childcare services onsite, I have to say that Mel’s empathy and her dedication to reassure these parents taking a first-time family trip abroad is truly an exception. I would love to see more resorts consider following her example and make it part of their standard babysitting services, or at least an option, if arranged for any length of time in advance.
