RESORT
I booked this all-inclusive resort because of the vacation nanny that was assigned to each family. This resort is a young child’s paradise, so if you don’t have children, I do not recommend you go. The resort is small and only has 96 rooms/suites that are set-up in groups of 8 in 2 story-type rustic cottages. All rooms have a slight view of the water but the oceanfront ones are really a few feet from the water. Blocks 7 and 10 are the best and block 12 is a little further away and secluded (next to the shaded beach that hardly anybody uses) but you are near the pond so you may need a mosquito net. There are no grounds to walk around and everything is pretty compact. The atmosphere is very relaxed and laid-back – guests aren’t even given plastic bracelets to wear all week.
The beach is not very wide but there is a good stretch of beach that is in the resort and there are plenty of areas to sit in. Nobody gets up early to set-up their spots. Beaches are public in Jamaica so anyone can walk along the water. However, as the only other resort in the area is a 10 minute walk along the beach, the only people that go by are some sellers and some local fishermen. And if you don’t want anything, you aren’t bothered. Bamboo village, an area with huts selling souvenirs, is a 5 minute walk away along the beach.
VACATION NANNY
Now for the best part: nanny Kimberly. She looked after my 2 and 5 year-olds and she was very capable, responsible and dynamic. She would take them to different activities and keep them busy most of the day; and she would make sure they wore their hats and used bug spray, etc. They played tennis, fished in the small pond, swam, made lots of sandcastles, did all sorts of arts and crafts, tie dyed a t-shirt, went shell collecting, made flower collages, went on a picnic, went to the playground, went crab hunting in the dark, had small marshmallow bonfires, went to the disco, saw or participated in some of the kid shows, fed the horses and goats, etc. The kids club has set activities all day long, so a lot of children follow those activities and even get prizes almost everyday! I noticed that the nannies are always with the children and Kimberly would take mine to the snack bar if they were thirsty or hungry. She babysat for us some evenings ($4/hour) and fed them at the beach grill in the evenings and then they would do set activities with other nannies and children in the evening. The nanny would also stock-up our fridge with fruit or whatever we needed and she was in charge of cleaning our room. We also got lunch tickets at reception for Kimberly (they are free but you need to request them each day) as she joined us for lunch a couple of times. She looked after us very well, so if you have special requests for your rooms, i.e. microwaves, bed barriers, etc, just ask for them. Although after a day we left our children with the nanny, we would always know where they were: swimming-pool, beach area near the swimming-pool as that is where there is shade and shallow water, playground or kids club. I felt comfortable doing this due to the size of the place and the fact that the nanny would always be with them and she knew how to look after small children.
FOOD
Now the not-so-good: the food. It was just OK and there wasn’t a lot of variety. We did go to the adults only restaurants a few times (men don’t have to wear long trousers, so nothing is formal). The Italian was good and we got to sit next to the ocean each time. The Jamaican was not good. One nice thing is that there was a beach BBQ one night and we all got to sit on tables set-up on the beach to eat. Also, you could go to a place next door to eat lobster, which you pay for, but we didn’t do this – and didn’t see anyone else doing this during our stay.
OTHERS
I heard that the sister resort, Franklyn D resort, had nicer rooms but the beach area is tiny.

There isn’t much for adults to do in the evening. After 9:00 p.m. the resort would start to quieten down. There is no stage and there were a couple of fire shows, and adults/parents would mainly just sit at the bar or go to the games room. There is no coffee bar.

All in all, this is a very basic resort that has the great advantage of the vacation nanny for young children. My husband and I were able to spend quality time relaxing and that is what we wanted.

Ok - here is the deal! We were searching for a vacation spot that would accommodate my high energy 7 y.o. twins, my sister and her family, along with 2 seniors - my mother and her husband. We ranged in age from 6 y.o. to 84 y.o. and FRD Pebbles met every one of our needs! Our ocean front rooms reminded me of a Maine camp - simple, but met our needs. We had 3 rooms in a row and could have thrown a quarter into the ocean from our private little balcony. I am the trip organizer and was looking for a vacation where I would not have to cook and clean. This was it! Our "nanny" was amazing - yes it is true, you really love them. We had Shereka & she was so easy going with my high energy, strong willed twins that I wanted to take her home with us. As a Mom, an over protective Mom, I didn't know if I would be comfortable leaving my children with a stranger. The grounds are small and so easy to find one another that I got over that very quickly. She took them "surfing" in th ocean, to the pool, to have their hair braided and tie dyed a ton of T-shirts. We brought our own white t-shirts & the kids tie dyed them as gifts. We have been traveling to Florida for 4 years as a group (9 - 16 members) & thought we had found heaven in Cocoa Beach. After our 8 nights at FDR I'm not sure we will ever go back to Cocoa Beach. FDR Pebbles is very kid /family friendly. There adult size buffets and kid buffets about 3 feet off the ground. The kids buffet has pizza, pasta, fruit, peanut butter and Jelly -all the kid food staples. I loved that we didn't wear shoes in the dining room, or anywhere else for that matter. We swam, played soccer on the beach, snorkeled (kids loved it), scuba dived and hit the water slide a lot! Even Grandpa Jack (turning 84 next month) hit the water slide. He loved the warm ocean, snorkeling, napping on the balcony. We took advantage of the nanny's on a few nights (they actually encouraged us to do so) and had some "adults only dinners". I can't remember that last time that happened! If you are looking for an all inclusive, kid centered, lots to eat and drink and fabulous surroundings (it's the Caribbean) the I recommend FDR Pebbles and Nanny's Shereka and Kimberly!

Signed, over protective and now rested mother of twins!

My husband and I stayed at FDR Pebbles with our 4 year old son. It couldn't have been better.

The Nanny: Our nanny, Kristal, was WONDERFUL!!! She would do anything that my son wanted to do. I think she had more energy than my son did. She was always willing to stay to babysit at night. Although, I have to admit....sometimes we had her stay just because we enjoyed her so much. My son misses her and wants to know when we can go back and see her!

The Room: Clean, fully stocked fridge and great A/C! Beds were comfortable. I would recommend rolling up towels and putting them in front of the bottom of the doors at night to help keep the mosquitos out!

Food: We always found something. Food seemed fresh.

Pool: A bit on the cool side. It's hard to complain when the temps at home are -0 or less. It's all relative....

Beach: Small but fun. There is so much to do. You can be as busy as you want to be...it's up to you The water temp was perfect. I think we spent as much time in the ocean as we did the pool.

Staff: I have one word....AWESOME!! All the people that work at the pool are so much fun. They really seem to enjoy their jobs. They were just another wonderful layer of FDR Pebbles. They work so hard to make sure the guests have fun.

We went into this vacation with no expectations and we had a blast. We met such nice people. This place is truly a family resort. If traveling with little ones this place cannot be beat. We have traveled to all sorts of tropical destinations and we will return to FDR Pebbles.

Thanks FDR Pebbles for a very memorable vacations. See ya same time next year!!

My family and I recently stayed at FDR Pebbles wonderful place. Kimberly Williams was our nanny and I can not say enough wonderful things about her. She treated out daughter like a princess. We miss Kimberly terribly and can not wait to see her again. The resort manager Mr. Depas was also wonderful to deal with. He was available to us with any questions we had. We will definitely be back, but two weeks next time. Food was good, our nanny kimberly (23 yrs. old) stocked our fridge every night and kept the mosquitoes to a minimum in our room. Bring bug spray, but the mosquitoes are not any worst than Northern Ontario. Our daughter did approx. 10 - 15 activities a day and was never bored. That allowed us to relax and enjoy our vacation soaking in the sun. PLEASE EMAIL IF YOU NEED ANY OTHER INFORMATION. ann.caporicci@sympatico.ca