We arrived at FDR Pebbles on April 25th and stayed for 7 days. We were nervous about the nanny's but optimistic. They are awesome. We had two Latoya and Judy Ann Williams, both were wonderful and I would highly recommend them. We had JudyAnn longer and she got very close to the kids (2 1/2 and 6 months). My kids took right to both nanny's and loved them. My 2 year old did crafts, made tye dye tees for the family and had the best time. They were very protective of the kids and I couldn't say more. Judy Ann watched the kids 2 nights while we went to the adult restaurants (which were better than expected). They charge 4 dollars per hour, we gave her more. The people of Jamaica are awesome and they don't have many opportunities to make money, give them tips! The food overall was better than expected. Not many choices, but what was there was generally pretty good. The beach and pool were great. The room we found to be very comfortable. We liked that it had carpet instead of tile floors, as we find the tile is slippery with the kids. Misquitoes are really bad. Off didn't work for me and I'm still itchy! THough my husband and kids were hardly bit, go figure. There are 2 complimentary trips, which we skipped, but heard they were good. The snorkeling was good. All in all, there isn't much that I would change and we will go back again. The nanny's are awesome and made the trip. Thank you Judy Ann Williams and Latoya!!!

Beautiful clean beach, wonderful staff, clean rooms, missed it by the time we got to the airport. The shopping tour was very touristy, enjoyed shopping from locals in the little huts on the beach between Pebbles and Star Fish so much more. (Tell Mark we said hi, bought his home made jewellery, paintings......and if you see Nats drumming with Cosmo? hi to them too.) We absolutely loved the Bioluminescent lake tour, wished we could have swam longer, with the inky black sky and seeing all the constellations, Orion's Belt etc. while glowing in the water....! The mud feels awful, ignore it and swim anyway, sooooo worth it.

I travelled with my three teen daughters, we all can't wait to go back. The staff at the Pebbles wanted to entertain us; but the location is so wonderful, what more do you need? Well, dolphins of course, loved our swim. Dunns River Falls, climbing the waterfall was interesting and memorable. Honestly, spent hours each day swimming in the ocean, lying on the beach, well, and we took hundreds of pictures. I wish I was exaggerating.

I was a little leary about safety at Pebbles initially; but was unfounded. My only uncomfortable moments were more at the shopping area around Dunns River. If you purchase a cd /dvd of your climb, you get led through the market and my kids and I were kind of surrounded for a few minutes. We left there immediately.

Still wish we had gone to Bob Marley's home with a driver as well as gone on the one Plantation tour. That tour was a little high as it came with a lunch, with four of us, couldn't do it.

We would go back in a heart beat. And not just because Canada's winter is just tooooooooo long. lol
Holly, and gals...

Jamaica: FDR Pebbles, "No Problem Mon" at FDR
Date: April 28, 2008
Reviewer: TripAdvisor Member, Setauket, New York

My family of five just returned from an 8 night stay at FDR Pebbles. It was our 2nd trip to FDR & we are already talking about going back next year. There is really no reason to go anywhere else in the Caribbean at this time. We have 3 children (14, 11, & 6) & with the vacation nanny being available to us it is really like two vacations in one. My husband & I get to relax on the beach while the children swim, hunt for seashells, play in the game room, do arts & crafts, etc. etc. You can use your nanny as much or as little as you like. We prefered to use ours a lot. Our nanny came to our room at 9 am. She helped us especially with our 6 year old, with sunscreen, taking him to the pool, beach, meals, drinks, and anything he basically wanted to do. She also helped keep an extra eye out for my other two children. Our nanny stayed late every night as well. My husband & I had a nice quiet dinner just about every night we were there. The nanny also kept our room clean, folding clothes, making beds, getting fresh towels, & stocking our fridge (beer, wine, fruit, cheese, cereal, milk, crackers, water, soda.) The bottom line with FDR is that the service is wonderful. The people (staff) are genuine, and they really want you to be happy. They really mean it when they say "no problem mon", "everyting gonna be irie" (alright). Just do not go expecting a 5 star hotel. It is very basic as far as the accomodations go. (although i had a view from my room that was the best so far.) Oceanfront block 10. It was magnificant. Falling asleep to the sound of the waves is remarkable. The other thing is the food is just ok. But trust me you will still gain a few pounds. The cocktails are very, very good. Ask Miss Natalie at the pool bar for an Island Breeze or a Pebbles Cooler. Anyway, all in all it was a wonderful vacation for my entire family. Whatever you do try to get Judyann Williams for your nanny. Just tell her your needs & she will do her best. She has been our nanny for 2 years & she is very special to us. Also, ask for Tony at Grand Luxe Vacation [--] he is very familiar with FDR pebbles and has made our arrangements for us 2 years now & everything has been just perfect. Give it a try! You won't be disappointed.

This is wonderful for families/kids. You are provided a personal nanny upon arrival and the kids are kept busy as much or as little as you want. Nightly entertainment is cheesey at best, but worth going to a couple of times. Seems to be the same theme of entertainment, with just a different cast of characters (bamboo dancers, fire eaters, etc.). Go to an orientation meeting to learn what is going on when. Best tour we took was a tube ride down a river. Great fun in warm, clean, shallow water. Only huge disappointment was the scuba/dive center. Workers were rude and had extremely bad dive habits for being a PADI center. Went once and didn't go again. Besides bad dive guides, there is really nothing to see that you can't see snorkeling. Jamaica is pretty much fished out and the corral reefs are all dead. Not a big surprise after seeing the way the PADI instructors conducted themselves. Staff in general, however, is extremely friendly and nice. Hotel is average in the US/Canada, but probably a little above average for Jamaica.