jfaulk

We are a family of 5 planning a trip to T and C in April 2011. Children are 8,12 and 17(senior). We love to snorkel , sun and swim but want to make sure the kids have fun. We prefer small, nice-luxury hotels- no Beaches or crowded places. That being said I don't want to be isolated either. Regent Palms comes highly recommended and seems to fit our budget, also looked at Grace Bay Club by it's a bit pricey....any ideas? I would rather be in a resort than renting a condo....thanks in advance.

Caribzack

Check out The Somerset www.thesomerset.com Beautiful resort, 2 restaurants on site and many to walk to. Beautiful condos (BTW Grace Bay Club & Regent Palms are also condos, most of Turks is condo rental, very few hotels) Great pools , Hobie cats , etc to use .

TPAYT

Right next door to The Grace Bay Club is www.oceanclubresorts.com Ocena Club West.

It's a bit older but perfectly positioned. What we love about it is :

Low rise (3 story) buildings
River pool with lots of private seating
Right on the beach
An all day and night restaurant right on the beach and not too gourmet
So many chairs with umbrellas that you do not need to get there at 7am to grab one.
Walking distance to the major grocery store (for wine and snacks as I don't cook on vacation)but also any food item you might need.
Walking distance to very many restaurants for dinner(Yeah!)

As far as snorkeling---it's all gorgeous sand here. You'll have to go to another spot for that, but there is parasailing, bananaboating, hobie cat sailing, etc. right in front of the resort.

Most of the places are condo-resorts which give you the option of having wine, snacks, etc.

Now, on the high end, on one side of Ocean Club West is Grace Bay Club (wonderful to pop over for a drink or dinner) and on the other side is Seven Stars(really high end).
Ther are so many really high end resorts on Grace Bay. We can afford them, but have spent the last 3 years in March at Ocean Club West and will return next March again.

Hope this has helped.

blamona

First off, 90% of the resorts in Provo are condos, individually owned, then placed in a rental pool treated like a resort. All the above named are like that. If Regent Palms is your budget, I think Regent Palms would be perfect for you. It fits your criteria, small but luxury, and for luxury it's probably the family friendliest.

I have stayed at all 4 mentioned above. Let me start off by saying there is no bad place to stay in Provo, but they do have different luxury/personalities.

Ocean Clubs won't fit your criteria, you seem to be looking for luxury and OC is not high end. For me, staying at Palms is like a Four Seasons or Ritz, vs OC being more like a Holiday Inn Express--nothing wrong with it, just doesn't appear to be the level you're looking for. Grace Bay Club is farther to snorkel, and quite frankly for the money, you get what you want out of the Palms, and I prefer the service at Palms over Grace Bay Club. No secret here, I love the Somerset, one of my favorites in the world, but for you I still give the edge to Palms.

I would choose the Palms because: It seems to be your first instinct, your first "attraction." For high end luxury, it is the most family friendly. It's still close enough to walk to down to snorkel (Somerset is too, Grace Bay Club and Ocean Clubs are not) During the day you can still walk to small shopping strips, and to other restaurants, but I still recommend renting a car to really explore--there are many other beaches with different personalities, and Chalk Sound is an amazing sight; plus to get to some other awesome restaurants. All the great restaurants on Provo are scattered anyway, so you'd have to travel sooner or later regardless of where you stayed. Palms has service ON the beach, and tables and stools built into the pool, kids love that! They have a kids club for the 8 and 12 yr old. I feel Palms for you would be a good fit.

jfaulk

thank you all for your responses. It does seem like all of the resorts are fabulous in their own way and you almost can't go wrong anywhere. I think I'm still leaning towards Regent Palms but will certainly check the other places out. I have planned many fabulous family vacations with feedback and recommendations from the forum and wouldn't dream of going anywhere without asking the "pros" first. Thanks again.