Jamaica: Runaway Bay, Franklyn D. Resort and Spa – Family Vacation Idea - All the Fun Is Included. 
Stay with on Jamaica’s beautiful north coast and enjoy three holidays in one - one for adult guests, one for kids, and one for all the family. Located directly on the Caribbean Sea Franklyn D. Resort was Jamaica's first all-suite, all-inclusive resort for families.
They created a family vacation paradise and have been practicing how to make families happy for more than a decade. With each year they make improvements and stand ready to meet the needs of each family member. This is a place for people who like people.
Resort: FDR is built in a low-rise Tuscan-style architectural style, surrounded by gardens bordered by a white sand beach and the Caribbean Sea to the North. The resort has 76 one, two-and three-bedroom suites edging the Caribbean Sea. Some have a view of the ocean from the balcony or patio while others have a tranquil tropical landscape that adds to vacation ambience. All have satellite TV, telephone and full kitchen. To relieve sleeping stress additional rollaway beds or full-sized cribs are available at no additional cost. There are several family friendly restaurants within the complex. At FDR, all-inclusive means all meals, open bar, wine with lunch and dinner.
Need to know: There are four restaurants where one can enjoy Jamaican, Italian or Continental Cuisine.
Activities: All inclusive also means daily entertainment, sports facilities with scheduled adult as well as family activities, and a Mini Club for the youngest of guests. Choices for families include: a family disco, cyber café, a work out gym, kayaking, sunfish sailboats, windsurfing and bicycles. Activity choices for children of school age include art and craft lessons, crazy dress up parties, shell collecting, Nintendo, and activities that share the culture and heritage of Jamaica. They may even learn to speak a little patois. The FDR Pebbles offers families a soft adventure holiday.
Discovery: FDR recently added a 100’ waterslide called Big Blue and activities pool, 1000-square-feet of conference facilities and a new spa area, and Jacuzzi with a 500’ deck adjacent to the Caribbean Sea.
A "Vacation Nanny" will be assigned to families with small children. There is a wide range of activities for families to enjoy. Their Caribbean soft adventure choices include hiking, cycling trips on all-terrain bicycles, fishing, educational field trips to the Martha Brae River, camping and map reading.
Teens have field trip options, pinball, water sports, a cyber café, reggae dance lessons, organized “rap” sessions and limitless basketball. There are two small beaches for guests. One edges shallow water and is protected while the other rims deeper water with access to marvelous coral rock formations and plenty of tropical fish.
Discovery: Dive certification for all ages is an option during a stay at FDR. The result is access to the undersea world that exists on the north coast. Located on the edge of the Cayman Trench, the reef walls begin at 60 ft. and are rich with hard and soft corals. The walls attract tropical fish by the thousands. Awesome, and a good reason to get certified.
Adults may participate in water sports, shopping trips to Ocho Rios or family trips to Dunns River Falls. FDR recently added a Computer Cyber Café where guests are given computer lessons may receive E-mail or surf the Internet. As with FDR Pebbles, accommodations, meals, wine with lunch and dinner, activities and airport transfers are included.
Need to know: The Seagrape Spa features three Seaside Spa Treatment Rooms that specialize in distinctive ancient Asian & European techniques which are combined with natural Jamaican spices.
Value added: A unique idea for families with young children, the "Vacation Nanny" program allows each family to have their own personal child attendant for the length of their stay. The nanny is provided to each family free of charge. For older children there are daily organized activities and teen coordinators are on duty to meet the needs of young freedom seeking guests. To make things go smoother after hours babysitting is still available.
Discovery: There are children’s stools in the bathrooms and baby gates at stairways. Need to know: WiFi is property wide.
Bonus points: Ask about the Kids Room Upgrade. The resort management recognizes that larger families are burdened with larger airfares, taxes and expenses in general and so, from time to time they offer a Kids Room Upgrade which provides spacious connecting junior suites that will easily accommodate up to two adults and four children younger than 16 years of age, at a bargain.
Need to know: There is no charge for children less than six years of age. At FDR Pebbles on the ‘Kids Plus Package‘, T-shirt, coffee and a bottle of rum to take home in addition to the regular all-inclusive features.
Location on the planet: Franklyn D. Resort & Spa Runaway Bay St. Ann Jamaica W. I. 1(876) 973-4591-8, Toll-free 1-800-654-FDR (1337), 1-888-FDR-kids (337-5437) or
www.fdrfamily.com
Content researched and written by FTF; images provided by FDR. Copyright 2009.
