One piece of advice that I have held dear to me since having our son is that we are parents, but that is not the only thing that we are. We are also a married couple, individuals with our own goals, hopes, and dreams, and we are travel lovers. So when the opportunity arose to head off on a couple’s vacation, we decided that it would be something that is great for us to strengthen our bond and that it wouldn’t be something that would hurt our child.
In March, my husband and I took a short four-night trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica where we stayed at Secrets Resorts and Spa Wild Orchid for our parent’s getaway (check out all of my resort outfits), and I want to share the special moments that we had and how this trip was just the parent’s vacation that we needed.
The Importance of a Parent’s Vacation
Becoming a parent has changed my life in so many ways. It has changed my outlook on life, and the goals that I have set for myself, and it has even changed how I go about my blog business. Since having my son, I have had this yearning to show him the world. My want to travel did not diminish but it actually exponentially because now I had another member of the team to share the world with. But my husband and I know that there are certain destinations that he won’t be able to head to for a while and there are going to be times when we are going to need to travel by ourselves.
I will admit that I was very hesitant to leave our son and head on a trip outside the United States. It’s not that I did not trust him staying with his grandparents, but separating from my baby was difficult. But I will admit, that I found the reason why it was important for us to go on this trip. For us, we were able to reconnect and rediscover the reason why we are married other than the fact that we have a child together.
We reconnected in a way that we had not for quite some time, and to be able to relax together and have conversations that didn’t focus on our son and weren’t interrupted by naptime time, walks with the dog, laundry, etc. gave us the answer as to why did we get married. And for our son, it gave him the ability to realize that it’s not just mommy and daddy that love him and will take care of him. He bonded with his grandparents which is not something that many children get the opportunity to do.
The Trip to Jamaica
Let me start off by saying that my husband and I have been to quite a few places in the Caribbean and had visited a similar all-inclusive, Breathless Punta Cana, but Jamaica has always been one of the top islands that I wanted to visit. There’s something about the island vibe that makes me feel as if this was the home that I was meant to have. From Pennslyvania, the flight to Jamaica was around four hours – give or take a few minutes. So we elected to take an early flight so that when we arrived on the island, we still had the entire day to enjoy ourselves and get our bearings.
The only thing that threw me off on our trip to the island was that the airport is on the edge of the island. The landing strip was right next to the water, so as we were going to land, we were dropping closer and closer to the ocean. It was to the point where I literally thought we were going to land in the sea. But right as the wheels touched down…land.
It took only about 15 minutes to get from the airport to Montego Bay. On the way there, you get a feel of the shops and local hotels. The downtown area is where you can get authentic Jamaican food such as oxtail and goat which are two delicacies. As we got closer to our resort, we were able to see the far-off strip of houses across the bay. They are apparently owned by the owner of Secrets who bought houses for him and his family.
You also can get a glimpse of all of the cruises docking and the local vendors that come to try to sell their handmade trinkets to the tourists. They try to travel to areas around the island once leaving their resort or getting off the cruise boat.
Secrets Wild Orchid Resort & Spa
If you are heading out on a parent’s getaway or some type of couple’s vacation, I highly suggest heading to a Secrets Resort and Spa. In Montego Bay Jamaica, there are two sections of the resort connected to each other. There’s the Wild Orchid side and the St. James side.
We stayed on the Wild Orchid side and had the fortunate opportunity to stay within the preferred club which offered a lot of amenities. But I’ll get to that in a bit.
No matter which section you’re staying at, you’re able to walk from one location to the other. Especially if you’re looking for specific activities day-to-day. We never really needed to head to the St. James side but the option was there. When you arrive, you are openly greeted and taken through the check-in process. They take care of everything. From taking your luggage to your room to personally escorting you there so that you are super comfortable.
There are plenty of restaurants at the resort. Unlike some other resorts, there is really no need to make reservations. Except at the hibachi restaurant because of the seating. You can find food from Jamaican cuisine to French, Italian, and seafood specialties. For breakfast, we typically went to the buffet because they had such great options.
The beaches have such a great view and there is plenty of places to sit. Of course, you have the option to all of the pools so that you and swim around or relax off to the side on your parent’s getaway.
The Preferred Club
If you have the option to reserve a room under the preferred club, I highly recommend you do so. It truly lived up to the amazing reviews. We booked the preferred club for our parent’s getaway. Which is focused on calm and relaxation, and our room was not only super comfortable and luxurious.The rooms are the definition of unlimited luxury. It had a swim out from the jacuzzi patio! I typically don’t do the pool thing, but since we had a swim out, I took advantage.
Along with our room, we also had the privilege of having a butler. With the butler service, you get a personal cell phone that you can carry around way better than your average room service. This gives you a direct connection to your butler at any time. Our butler was phenomenal and helped us with everything. We didn’t even have to really think of where we wanted to eat each night. He would call in the morning to check in and let us know that he made us a reservation. Usually, it was someplace that we hadn’t been to before.
Along with those amenities, you also have the option to visit the nearby resort – Breathless. This is where there is a rooftop bar and restaurant. It was an experience that gave us a great ocean view. Without the preferred club, we wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of it.
Overall, if you’re heading to Secrets Resorts for your parent’s getaway, I highly suggest getting a room under the preferred club, but just being at the Secrets is a luxurious experience no matter what.
