#and my phone loves to tell me about how to not reuse passwords etc etc sir i have adhd and limited brain space im trying my bestttt

[xx-k1tsun3-k1d-xx]

“sooo you have to make an account/download a app for absolutely everything but don’t you dare ever reuse any of those passwords you dumb fuck or you’ve just put your own private information at risk good luck!!”

[havekiddoswilltravel]

How to Pull off an 11th Hour Trip to Cape Cod with Kids

Red Jacket Beach Resort and Spa Trip Report

I will break up this trip into sections, the first being a review of the resort. It will be followed by posts about things that we did in Cape Cod and recommendations for family fun in the greater Cape area.

I booked a last minute (11th hour) get away to the Red Jacket Beach Resort & Spa for my four young children and me. Hubby stayed home as he had to work and I booked this trip intentionally at the last minute. My goal was to research material for my travel blog Have Kiddos Will Travel in regards to the challenges of planning a last minute trip to Cape Cod. By 11th hour, I mean that I booked the room at 6:00 pm on Saturday and was on the road by 6:53 pm. I had each child grab their own clothes and we packed in a matter of 40 minutes. This is not a sponsored post and all opinions are my own based on my family's experience. 

We got the last available room and understood it would be facing a parking lot. The drive from CT to Cape Cod late on a Saturday was smooth and we arrived within three hours with no bathroom breaks. When we pulled into the resort, there was not one parking spot in view (a BMW was taking up 2 spots and that left a sour taste in my mouth). I was traveling alone with four kids, had to park in the back lot and walk with all our luggage and a sleeping four year old in my arms. This was not a good first impression. One of the negatives of arriving late to beach hotels, is the lack of service. The front desk worker checked me in, but did not review any of the amenities nor location of anything within the resort. As I am a travel blogger, I did not appreciate having to dig through paperwork at 10:30 pm to find the WiFi password. More on the WiFi later, as the service was slow.

Kid 4 playing on the sand at the beach at the Red Jacket Beach Resort and Spa

I must admit that I was completely unimpressed with the room. To call it a "resort" is a stretch, it had a more of a motel feel and is in desperate need of an upgrade. Having previously stayed (3 different occasions) at the Ocean Edge Resort in Brewster and rented several beach front homes on the Cape, I was disappointed in the room. I definitely didn’t get my monies worth, but our trip was salvaged by all the wonderful experiences that we had exploring Cape Cod. I was hopeful that the beachfront location would make up for the "motel" feel of the room, but that wasn’t the case. As I read the resort information and schedule, I was discouraged to find out that there is no kids club on Sunday. We were there for 2 nights for the sole purpose of reviewing the family friendly activities and thus missed out during a full day of our stay. The room also does not have a safe which was an issue, as I was traveling with expensive camera equipment and ended up not using my camera much around the resort.

The purpose of this trip was to write a blog post about a last minute trip to Cape Cod. The Red Jacket Beach Resort and Spa allowed me to accomplish this, but I will more than likely not return. I had the option to stay an extra night and decided to check out and move to the Marriott Courtyard for the remainder of our stay on the Cape. I work from home and am a travel-blogger, which made the fact that the internet service was slow an inconvenience. I had to run payroll one morning and it took 20 minutes for me to accomplish something that takes five minutes at home. The WiFi basically never worked on my phone and I was doing a live trip report for the blog. My only option was to disconnect from the WiFi to upload pictures and videos, which used up my data. Also, due to the spotty WiFi, my cell phone kept draining the battery. I travel with a battery case and a backup travel charger, used both daily and my phone still died. Ugh. So much for working and writing while traveling.

Early morning (7:30 am) picture of the outdoor pool. Thankful that I took this picture, as it’s the only time that it was empty.

Same pool at 9:30 am. Note all the used and folded towels on empty lounge chairs. This was what the pool looked like for the remainder of our trip, just with a lot more children.

Early morning walk at the resort beach was enjoyable. This is where the river meets the sound. This was the best view of the resort and unfortunately considering that we were on the Cape, it wasn’t enough to justify the room rate.

There was not much going on at the resort in terms of kids activities on Sunday. We were grateful that the Cape offers unlimited outdoor adventures and thus took off to explore Wellfleet, Orleans and Provincetown.

The “Fishing Derby” saved the day. We were able to get four slots between 4:30 and 5:00 pm on the day we checked out. We left the resort for the day and returned to fish. It was worthwhile, as the kids really enjoyed the half hour of fishing. Please note, there are limited spots and we got the last four for that day. We saw lots of disappointed families. This was the case at every kid activity that Monday. 

Positives:

-My kids loved the kids club. It was perfect for my 9 and 6 year old, but my 12 year old had no interest. Please note: kids must be 5 to take part in the Kids Club and thus my 4 year old couldn’t participate. I am traveling to the Nonantum Resort in Maine next weekend and I look forward to seeing how that kids club compares.

-My kids enjoyed the outdoor pool. The water was warm and clean. Seating was an issue, as every chair was covered in used towels and I couldn't tell if they were in fact being used or if folks had moved on leaving their used towels behind. There was a shortage of clean towels near the pool and I had to keep sending my 2 big kiddos to the beach or indoor pool to get us towels.

-The beach sand was perfect for digging and playing. This was a saving grace for me, as the kids didn’t enjoy the water.

-My daughter lost her silver earring in the pool and it was returned to us by the front desk. It was a birthday gift and thus we were very happy to have it back.

-While the room was dated and small, our room was cleaned in a timely manner. I can deal with dated, if it's clean.

-They offered a lot of kid’s activities. Sign up early in the week because they fill up quickly. My kids were very disappointed about this.

-Fishing derby. My kids got to participate in the fishing derby and really enjoyed it. The kids club employees remembered their names and made them feel special. The kids club was something that my six year old loved. My 9 year old son complained of some behavioral issues with a few boys, but felt that the counselors adequately handled the situation. The kids club employees were the best Red Jacket Resort employees that we came in contact with.

Needs improvement:

-Lack of information given to guests upon arrival.

-No outlet near the only table in the room. I had to work during my stay and ended up having to work while sitting on the bed.

-Bring your own laundry bag if you are staying longer than one night. The one that's left in the room is tiny. It's not big enough for a 2 night stay, much less for a family staying for 7 nights.

-The toilet and tub portion of the bathroom is tiny. It’s so tight that it was almost impossible for me to assist my little ones in the bathroom. The entire bathroom is dated and the water pressure makes getting off sunblock and sand very difficult.

-I understand that this is a family resort and as I travel all the time with 4 kids, clearly I’m not bothered by children. I don't understand why guests don't supervise or parent their children. The indoor pool was unsafe, with kids pushing and shoving into each other in the water. Also, kids pushing, splashing and almost landing on my 4 year old. The fact that parents allow young children to run around unsupervised and act in ways that put others in danger is unacceptable to me. We went to the indoor pool once during our stay and lasted about 10 minutes before I made my kids leave. As we were walking out a bunch of kids were playing ping pong and pushed my young daughter. Where were the parents?

-The bathroom and pool towels are miniature. They were perfect for my 6 and 4 year old, but everyone else complained about how tiny they were. These are the same towels that are used for the pool and beach. We basically needed 3 towels per person, every time we went to the pool. Only went to the beach once (more on why to follow).

- I picked this "resort" because of the beachfront location and the fact that I wouldn’t have to park and drag beach chairs, umbrellas etc. to the beach while traveling alone with 4 kids. On the first day, my kids wanted to go to the pool first and by the time we went to the beach, they only had sitting chairs available and no loungers. This was strike one. Once I sat on the beach for a while, I observed the fact that folks got up and left, leaving behind used towels on the loungers. Rather than employees following them and cleaning up to reuse the lounge chairs for other guests, they sat there empty for hours on end while other guests got turned away. This is bad customer service and a training opportunity for management. We ended up leaving the resort and visiting other area beaches because my children refused to go in the water. The beach is a combination of river and sound and thus looks very cloudy. We swim at a lake at home and were looking forward to a beach experience. My kids wanted to leave after 20 minutes and I was disappointed. I could have stayed at any other resort if they were only going to use the pool and not the beach.

-Rowdy Guests. Folks travel here for a week vacation with extended family and friends and act like they’re staying in a private home. As a result, some of the pool front rooms are a mess and the mess is extended out to the porch/deck, thus providing an unsightly view for others. That's not my piece of cake. There was a woman drinking a beer out of a can at 8:00 am on Sunday morning and was still drunk from the night before. Once again, not to appear bougie, but this is not our cup of tea.

-There is no way that you could swim in the pool and actually relax. I was forced to jump in due to how hot it was one afternoon and was constantly pushed and splashed by kids. I have never seen such out of control children. Once again, I had no clue where the parents were.

-My eldest daughter is a “fish” and will pretty much swim in anything. She disliked the hotel indoor pool and beach. She thought the water was full of seaweed and was freezing. 

-The resort gives you access to any of the other Red Jacket resorts in the area, but good luck finding parking at any of them during the in season. 

We love Cape Cod and will be back, but will return to Ocean Edge or try one of the newer resorts in South Yarmouth. 

Unfortunately, the Red Jacket Beach Resort and Spa was not a right fit for our family, but we had a blast during our spur of the moment 11th hour trip to Cape Cod. 

Stay tuned for our adventures exploring Cape Cod.

Seal waiting for a treat from fisherman at the Chatham Fishing Pier.

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