Heading South To The Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton Resort And Spa In Jamaica!

With the divorce rate still sadly skyrocketing, many families these days fall in the realm of untraditional. Many of us are parenting our kids, at least part of the time, solo. A couple of years ago, I went to book my son and I into an all-inclusive and realized that at the majority of resorts, we were screwed. There is no ‘”kids stay free!” when you’re a solo adult. You would have to pay double occupancy regardless or wait until the low season for a special rate.

This is why I was thrilled to hear about Palladium Resort’s new single family supplement that they offer at their resorts in Mexico, Jamaica and Punta Cana. Single parent adults can pay half the room rate (which is based on double occupancy) and children stay for 50 percent off the single parent rate, with up to three children. Thank you Palladium for recognizing the changing landscape of families!

Recently, I took my son to the Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton Resort and Spa in Jamaica for our first all inclusive trip together. A portion of our stay was covered by our friends at Palladium. We spent a week swimming, eating and enjoying the incredible sunshine.

The highlights?

THE FOOD. It was fantastic. I’ve travelled to many all inclusive resorts and I’ve never had such great food. There were many different restaurants to choose from – a steak house, Indian, Asian, Italian, Mexican, seafood – and you could visit them as often as you like. Each of the restaurants offered a children’s menu which was so appreciated. I could enjoy some pad thai knowing that Will would be happy with a burger or spaghetti. It’s also a huge plus travelling with your kid because you eat earlier and there are no line-ups at the restaurants. There is also a 24-hour sports bar with a great menu and always available ice-cream. Perfect.

THE ROOMS. We stayed in junior suite and it was beautiful. And it was clean. There seemed to always be someone cleaning the room or turning down the beds at night. We were comfortable and felt very well looked after. We asked to move rooms after the first night due to the proximity to the shows, which we didn’t take in because of bedtime, and the staff were very accommodating.

THE BEACH. Before we left for Jamaica, I had read bad things about the beach at Palladium in Jamaica. But if you’re a parent of younger kids, it is perfect. There are a few different little beaches to choose from and the location is so remote that you aren’t bothered by people selling things and approaching you on the beach. There isn’t a strong current and the water was warm and inviting.

THE STAFF. What a welcome! You drive up to this stunning resort and are greeted with smiles and a cocktail. While you’re checking in, they have cool facecloths available: it was a lovely touch. The bellmen, cleaning staff, front desk staff and restaurant workers were amazing. They all made such an effort with Will and were charming.

Like any resort, there were some areas that didn’t quite meet my expectations.

THE KIDS PROGRAM. As a single-parent travelling solo with my kid, I was really looking forward to him getting involved at the kids program a couple hours a day. I had recently travelled to the Palladium in the Mayan Rivera without my son, and the kids program there looked fantastic, almost like a summer camp. I was excited, as was Will, for the same at the Lady Hamilton. Unfortunately, the program was a let down. The kids were rarely engaged with. It was safe and clean but there was little to no programming, it was essentially kids in a room, playing with lego and watching tv. As a result, I felt guilty leaving Will there and rarely used it.

Palladium offers a Play at Palladium with Raggs program at their resorts and we loved it. The breakfast with Raggs was great fun and really well done. Unfortunately the night shows with Raggs for the kids were scheduled to start at 8:30, which ended up being past 9. Too late.

THE POOLS. Let me say, the pools are as beautiful as they look in all the pictures that you see. For the most part they are very clean, and the fact that cups and straws can be found floating in the water, rests solely on the pool users. But there was really only one pool for kids and it is the main pool where the pounding music goes from 10 am—6 pm. It’s loud. And it’s right by the shallow end. I’d much rather hear the pounding surf than Robin Thicke.

In all, the pluses outweighed the minuses for sure at the Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton Resort. We truly enjoyed our week there and will return to Palladium, although likely to the Mayan resort for the kids program… I only hope the food can stack up to the Jamaican Palladium!