erin

I am looking for a relaxing, hot and beautiful vacation for march break with my boyfriend. We are 30 and looking for beautiful beaches, good food and a decent hotel. We are coming from canada and want a non all-inclusive package (not over $2500 CDN) We have come up with Ocean club turks and caicos, or the accra resort barbados or bougainvillea resort barbados. Any comments would be great!

Carm

Turks and Caicos!!!! The beaches in Barbados shouldn't even be compared!! I just returned from Turks this past Saturday, so many many shades of blue words can not even describe! Any questions? I would be glad to help!

erin

thanks for the input. do you know anything about the ocean club resort in turks? Is it really expensive (we are coming from Canada) and is it great? In terms of restaurants, do you just eat at your hotel or there is a little town in provo?

Carm

I did alot of research on the Ocean Club Resorts and chose not to stay there just b/c it was too close to Club Med which tends to get quite loud at night, and the Club Med beach front was pretty packed with people during off season. There are two resorts, Ocean Club and Ocean Club West the sister resort which is newer and looked nicer. The restaurant there is called the Gecko Grill and we did not eat there but you can read reviews for it on this website. Not great reviews! For rates and a virtual tour of Ocean Club resorts, log onto www.oceanclubresorts.com...from what I heard the place is nice, some rooms need updating but overall very nice. Check out the Sands as well..www.thesandsresort.com...it had a much nicer Beach front then Ocean Club..but I just returned from there so I am a bit in la la land..

ocean

I've never been to the Turks, but we just got back from Barbados this past week... stayed at the Accra Beach Resort. We had a GREAT time, weather was incredible, water was brilliant and the people were very nice. Resort is very close to many of the main restaurants, and has one of the nicest beaches on the island. (We drove around the island, and the other beaches didn't compare). Feel free to ask any more questions. Have a great trip!

erin

thank you so much. did you go to the bougainvillea resort? i was wondering what the beach is like there. however, the accra does look nice. is the food good there? i hear there are a lot of locals at the beach. is the room really small and can you walk to the st. lawrence gap? if not, do you take a cab and how much is it?

michelle

I've been to both, and it depends on what you are looking for. I loved both!<BR><BR>Barbados has a lot more to do - lots to see, you'll want to rent a car to drive around the island, lots of nightlife. We stayed at Sandy Beach Island resort which is not luxurious, but we had a huge beachfront townhouse on the best and widest beach on the island. Also walking distance to St. Lawrence Gap, which has all the great restaurants, bars, reggae, english pubs you name it. Loads of fun.<BR><BR>Turks and Caicos was the most romantic trip I've ever taken - even more than my Hawaiian honeymoon. We practically had the place to ourselves. It's just absolutely beautiful, but there is almost nothing to do except relax! Which was fine with me, but if you want nightlife, it's not the place to go. I don't remember liking the Ocean Club -we stayed at the Sands and it was fabulous and reasonably priced - I absolutely recommend it. You won't need a rental car. Lots of fantastic restaurants close by or an easy cab ride.

erin

thank you! what beach did you say was the best in barbados? when were you in turks, b/c the newer hotel that is supposed to be better is the ocean club west. it is nicer than ocean club. if i go to barbados, I am considering the accra beach resort. i think it is cheaper than the bougainvillea. did you by chance visit the accra?

Ken

I don't know how you can classify any of the condo resorts on Grace Bay as nicer than the other for you can't go wrong with any of the condos on Grace Bay.They are all beautiful resorts!Some of the resorts have hobies &amp; bikes included but you will be very happy with any choice of condos.

Kathy

Hi Erin, I just returned from OC Turks &amp; Caicos last week. I loved the resort. I did not hear any noise from Club Med and we were in and oceanfront room. The main buildings are at the other side of the property. The only thing I saw was people getting on &amp; off their boats to go scuba diving. OC is lovely and the people are very friendly. Grace Bay is the prettiest beach I have ever seen and I have been to quite a few islands. They have a package where you can get 3 days of meals, a rental car for 2 days and airport pickup and drop off. Well worth it. There are also kitchens in every room for when you want to eat in. The restaurants are wonderful on Provo, but not cheap. Have a great time.

erin

did you see the ocean club west? that is the resort we were considering. is there anything to do there, or is it just very relaxing?

Kathy

Hi Erin, Yes, I saw OCW, we had lunch there one day. It is very similar to OC, just newer. At OC there was boat &amp; snorkel equipment for rent right on the beach. I think the same was true for OCW but check with them to make sure. There are also companies that will come pick you up right from the beach to go snorkeling. Other than that, there's just sun, white sand and beautiful water. What more could you ask for?