Wahoo! Vacation is reserved, and we're counting the weeks until August.

After a lot research, and a lot of help from Turks and Caicos Reservations (I can't say enough nice things about them), we decided on a two bedroom condo at LeVele. We'll also be ocean front.

When we first started planning our return vacation, it was only going to be my wife, 7 year old daughter, and me. Plans changed after showing my mother in law pictures of our January vacation, so you can probably guess what happened next. We quickly became a vacationing family of four. lol

This should work out nice, because it allows my wife and me to have a night or two out, just us. We don't see too many of those.

LeVele was one of the resorts we visited during our walk down Grace Bay in January. For some reason, it seemed more like a private residence than a hotel. My wife and I both said it was the kind of place we'd like to get away to, if we went away as a couple, but we also like that our daughter can almost have the beach and pool to her own. It's as close as we can find to a private villa, that's still a resort.

We looked at other resorts, but Turks and Caicos Reservations was able to get us a really great deal at LeVele. Man, are they ever great at what they do! They get my highest recommendation, and thanks to everyone who recommended them to us.

One question, how far is the snorkeling location from Beaches Resort? We walked from Villa del Mar to Beaches, but I don't think we saw the snorkeling area. The map shows it very close, so maybe we didn't know it was there. Also, I've read that it's a good place for children to learn snorkeling. Opinions?

Hi Tarpontony75, if you don't mind me asking, what kind of deal were you able get? We're also considering LeVele and a few other resorts?

Much thanks!

Depends on where you're considering where the best deal is.

VRBO.com has some direct by owners units usually at best price (and sometimes negociable)

Directly with the resort sometimes is best as they can offer sometimes a small discount instead of paying commissions.

Sometimes "like" a page on Facebook and they offer specials not able to get anywhere. For example, "Like" Seven Stars page and they are offering 25% off plus resort credit.

Some booking agents can offer specials.

Big booking agents such as Expedia sometimes can bundle with airfare, and that saves.

It's always wise to check multiple places and compare.

blamona is right, we must have looked at a zillion hotel and tourist sites when we made our earlier January vacation reservations. There are so many choices in Turks, and so many different ways they price things, we felt like our heads would explode. In the end, most pricing came pretty close among the big companies like Expedia.

We also thought about renting from VRBO, but my wife didn't like the idea of taking a chance with an owner and condo we know nothing about. Going to another country, VRBO made us a little nervous, and we already had a good experience there with T&C Reservations.

Carlos7, if you look at the Turks and Caicos Reservations website, they have a page for secret deals (that's how they're described). You have to call them for quotes, but they have several hotels offering special rates that aren't quoted elsewhere. The rate they gave us for Le Vele was 5-10% lower than any place else we found. www.turksandcaicosreservations.tc

Thanks tarpontony75. I'll give them a call and see what kind of rates they can get me.