Having just been at the resort over Thanksgiving and seeing the construction going on at the Italian Riviera, I decided while down there to head back in March to stay in the Italian Village. Boy, was it a good decision.
We stayed in the Medici Imperial Family Suite rooms.....which unlike my previous stay in a Presidential 2 bedroom, had all of the amenities you would expect for an expensive suite at a new hotel - fantastic bed, fantastic bathroom, and plenty of space for me and my family. Our view was also wonderful, since we were on the 4th floor, about even with the pool bar...we had a wonderful view of both the pool and beach area, which made relaxing on the balcony wonderful.
Room comments - with this room format, you can sleep 8-9 people totally comfortably, with the only issues being it would be slightly crowded at shower time (only 2 baths/showers). With a king master bed, 2 or 3 kids in the kids room, and easily 4 people in the living room....and still have space to walk around (just not much privacy). Furnature was all very nice, especially liked the butler pantry that allowed us to stock things like cereal and snacks for the kids.
Service comments - Butler service was even better than our previous visit. Our primary butler Lisa did an amazing job at making my daughter feel like a princess on the trip. Service in restaurants was generally good, but we did hit one or 2 servers, especially at breakfast, who weren't at the top of their game. All in all, waiter service was excellent.
Italian Village updates - Marios was where we went to breakfast most days. Although the menu was similar to the buffets at other restaurants on property, it felt like more since everything is so spread out. They did a really nice job of setting this restaurant up. We also went to Barefoot for ala carte breakfast a couple of days, and there is nothing better than having the morning coffee with your feet in the sand...this was our favorite. We also hit Marios for lunch and dinner.....we enjoyed our dinner there although the restaurants size makes it feel a little less "friendly" than the other restaurants on property. We also hit Barefoot for lunch and dinner which, again, was a treat for us.....definitely our favorite restaurant of the trip...for all 3 meals. Excellent chicken caesar salad at lunch with a poached egg on top....grilled chicken was pefect - better than I would find at most restaurants in Philly. Other items were hit and miss.
The pub at the Italian village was also interesting...we went one night for dinner but do to our children's behavour, didn't really enjoy it....I don't see this becoming kids favorite restaurant, and felt more adult focused. The new grill is still being built so wasn't open during our stay.
Other food: Had take-in dinner from the French restaurant one night when the kids passed out - was really surprised how good it was - Duck and lamb chops were excellent...so was escargot.....pate wasn't anything special.
Mac and cheese from Bobby Dees is really good - even non-dieting adults would love it
Italian Buffet at French village - one of our favorite restaurants - great pasta station and salad bar
Beach party - having been to every beaches property multiple times, the beach party at Turks continues to be the best. Food was amazing, entertainment great.....I totally recommend to each of my customers to make sure they at least stay a friday night to take in the party....a really good time.
Sesame Activities - Love that the show is now at 5:30 pm instead of 7:00....kids are much more awake and seemed to enjoy the show more. Parade route is now changed, and ends at the Sesame stage which I also liked better than in the past when it ended in the seafood restaurant.....another highlight of the trip and wish they had it twice a week instead of once. Other sesame activities were similar to what we experienced in the past, but Abby Cadaby is better integrated, which is good since she's my duaghter's favorite. Character breakfast or kitty kat is a must if you have young kids, although the food is worse than anywhere else on property.
Beach was amazing as always....but the windy weather limited some of our activities.
Biggest negatives of the trip:
- Lounge chair fights at the Italian Riviera Pool - since the waterpark isn't open yet and people in the main pool want to check out the new pool, all chairs were reserved by 8 each day....I assume (and Beaches assumes since I spoke to the Italian Village manager) that this problem will go away when the waterpark opens on March 15th (they have their fingers crossed)
- Housekeeping - although the room was always cleaned, we had a couple of occaisions where they would ring the door during my children's nap....really annoying especially since the kids room is where the front door is....also, their carts make a significant amount of noise, which could wake up a light sleeper (again due to kids location....parents bed in the back you can't hear anything).
If I can answer any questions about my trip, the resort, other Beaches resorts, or you want pics of something - feel free to PM me for more information.