What's a golfing family to do? Some of you want to play a loop every day, while the others just want to have fun in the sun. These resorts have country club amenities for all and supervised activities for the little ones.
No expense was spared in creating this tony beachfront estate where 112 luxurious rooms and suites are outfitted with marble bathrooms and electronically operated drapes, and even restroom stalls feature original art. For golfers, the resort offers 45 holes on a trio of courses, including the Tom Fazio-designed 7,343-yard, par-72 Green Monkey. All three – including the 18-hole Country Club and Old Nine courses – feature high-tech GPS-equipped carts that show your position on the course and allow you to order refreshments from behind the wheel. A 55,000-square-foot hilltop clubhouse has a restaurant, palatial locker rooms and a jewelry boutique.
Greens Fees: From $85 year-round for the Old Nine to $385 year-round at the Green Monkey. Compulsory carts and caddies are an additional charge.
For Kids: Children from 3 to 12 years old are entertained at the complimentary Treehouse Club, where activities include limbo dancing, sand sculpting, golf camps, nature walks, stilt walking and swimming with turtles.
Other Diversions: The spa proffers Caribbean-, Far Eastern- and European-inspired services (including special pre- and post-golf treatments) in private suites. Tennis on nine courts, water skiing, kayaking, diving and deep-sea fishing are worthy pursuits, but there's a lot to be said for simply lounging beneath a mahogany tree or on the white-sand crescent.
From $1,000 in low season ($1,400 high); 866-444-4080; sandylane.com
Casa de Campo
This sprawling 7,000-acre playground has 260 rooms and suites plus an enclave of million-dollar hillside and beachfront villas. For golfers, the most famous of a trio of courses by architect Pete Dye is Teeth of the Dog, with seven holes fronting the Caribbean. The course is widely considered to be among the best in the world, but during low season a round is only $95. The two other courses are both serious challenges: Dye Fore features two of the best par-3 holes in the world, and the hilly Links course intimidates with several sand traps and holes close to the water.
Greens Fees: From $85 in low season ($170 high), including a shared cart. One caddy per group is mandatory on Teeth of the Dog.
For Kids: Children under 12 can participate in merengue and origami lessons, art classes and SNAG (Starting New At Golf) lessons. The club operates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the $55 daily fee includes lunch. Several nights a week, activities run until 11 p.m., and there's also a teen clubhouse with pool tables, air hockey and movies. An evening teens' program runs from 7 p.m. to midnight and costs $55, including dinner.
Other Diversions: The usual raft of water sports is complemented by trail riding, tennis on 13 courts, skeet shooting, sport fishing, a spa, and polo and horseback-riding lessons. Bicycles are handy for navigating the vast property, and a running trail winds through the gardens.
From $178 in low season ($285 high); 800-877-3643; casadecampo.com.do
The Montego Bay area boasts five championship courses, from Rose Hall estate in the east to Tryall Club in the west. Guests of the Rose Hall estate resorts – Half Moon, Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall and Rose Hall Resort – play at members' prices at all three links.
Half Moon
This 50-year-old, 440-acre beachfront resort has hosted a galaxy of luminaries, including John F. and Jackie Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth ll. Plush accommodations range from luxurious rooms to 10-bedroom villas with chef and butler services. For golfers, the recently renovated par-72 layout, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., is one of the finest walking courses in the region, with 7,119 undulating yards of championship-caliber fairways that challenge experienced and novice players alike. The resort also boasts a golf academy offering computerized swing analysis and family clinics for $320 per family for two hours.
Greens Fees: $85 in low season ($105 high). Deal alert: The Sizzling Summer Golf special (through Sept. 30) offers free nights, depending on the length of booking and complimentary rounds of golf; book on the website.
For Kids: The Children's Village has a miniature theme park honoring much-loved local folk hero Anancy the Spider Man. Organized activities appropriate for children 3 through 12 include nature walks, visits to the dolphin lagoon and putting lessons. There is a fee of $35 a day.
Other Diversions: With its more than 50 swimming pools, 13 tennis courts, an equestrian center, a dolphin encounter, myriad water sports, six restaurants, a 68,000-square-foot spa and high-end boutiques, guests at this "Olympic Village" are never bored.
From $250 in low season ($400 high); 888-830-5974; halfmoon.com
The Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort, Rose Hall
Set amid impeccably groomed gardens, this grand resort offers 427 newly renovated rooms and five restaurants spread over a vast beachfront acreage. For golfers: crafted by architects Robert von Hagge and Rick Baril, Ritz-Carlton's par-71 White Witch course has elevations and convolutions rewarded by stunning panoramas from 16 ocean-view holes. Start play after 10 a.m. and you can bring one child 16 or younger per adult along for the ride, free of charge. The clubhouse terrace is a scenic spot for lunch or evening cocktails.
Greens Fees: $125 in low season ($175 high), including cart and "caddie concierge."
For Kids: Staff members at the poolside Ritz Kids clubhouse lead little ones in educational play that includes local games, dancing and patois lessons. Kids can also take golf lessons on the putting green of the famed course, and the $50 daily program fee includes snacks.
Other Diversions: Guests can repair to the 8,000-square-foot spa for a Tropical Bamboo body treatment, or enjoy a massage beachside or on the balcony of their suite. The resort also offers non-motorized water sports, three lighted tennis courts, walking and jogging trails, a beachside pool and a hot tub.
From $169 in low season ($389 high); 876-953-2800; ritzcarlton.com
Rose Hall Resort & Spa
Hilton's 470-room beachfront hotel offers both room-only and all-inclusive rates, plus three restaurants and a new spa. For golfers, the 18-hole, par-71 Cinnamon Hill course offers mountain and sea views from an elevation of 350 feet. The wind-whipped back nine, bordered by dense foliage and flame-of-the-forest trees, will surely test your skills.
Greens Fees: $119 in low season ($189 high), including carts.
For Kids: With its 280-foot water slide and a jungle garden with wood-and-rope suspension bridge and "rock" formations, Sugar Mill Falls water park is the centerpiece of the resort and a mecca for youngsters. If you can tear them away from the water, kids and teens can also participate in supervised activity programs.
Other Diversions: While away the afternoon on the lazy river or cool off under one of its many cascades. The less aquatically inclined can enjoy six tennis courts or services at the new Soothe spa, which also offers treatments in a cliff-top pavilion or amid the ruins of an 18th-century aqueduct.
From $197 in low season ($210 high); 866-799-3661; rosehallresort.com
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