After looking at St John for quite a while, I think we have decided T&C will fit our budget a little better. That being said, I think we have our resort narrowed down to the 3 mentioned in the subject. We're looking for a nice beach, good snorkeling, and some good R&R. Any suggestions?

* Side note - How much should we be looking at spending if we eat out for lunch and dinner for 8 nights? Are there any reasonably priced restaurants around these resorts?

Having just returned from a week at The Sands, i can tell you we were very happy there. I didn't get a chance to see RWI, but we did go to Coral Gardens twice: once to snorkel and once for dinner at Coyaba. Don't mean to sound snobby, but i thought Coral Gardens seemed very outdated. The staff we encountered there were also a bit rude, but maybe if you're a guest things are better. Coral Gardens is at the very west end of Grace Bay and personally, i preferred a more central location like the Sands. There are absolutely no crowds to speak of on Grace Bay in the summer, so being in the middle of this stretch of beach certainly didn't pose any crowd problems. However, the only snorkeling i know of directly in front of a resort is Coral Gardens. I didn't necessarily care for their beach area since I like the crystal clear, turquoise water that you can wade and swim in endlessly, and at Coral Gardens, the water is darker due to the reef and not nearly as beautiful as it is around The Sands.

As for dining prices...Dinners can get pretty expensive on T&C depending on what you're looking for. We had a party of 5 and usually spent anywhere from $200 - $300 every night for dinner. Dinner was our splurge every night. We ate breakfast and lunch at the condo. We also chose nicer restaurants that weren't exactly known for discount menus. However, you can certainly find reasonable meals on the island if ambiance isn't necessary. Most the resort restaurants and ones on the water tend to be pricier. Tiki Hut is a good value on Turtle Bay, as is Sharkbite. Bambooz (in the strip mall at Salt Mills) is also reasonable. Grab a WhereWhenHow magazine when you arrive at the airport and every restaurant will be listed according to price, location, etc.

Overall, T&C is a very sleepy little island and you can't NOT relax! There's really not much else to do, and that's a wonderful thing! Have a great time...

We are looking at Coral Gardens for a possible future trip. They offer an AI option, which caught our attention, as we only go to AI resorts if at all possible. If you go that route, it would dropped your food/drink budget and be more afforadable.

Here's a link to more info on the AI features at Coral Gardens:

http://www.funjet.com/cgi-bin/hotelc...mp;version=old

We liked the look of the Sands and Ocean Club, but not at the extra expense. We are not the type who has to eat out at a different restaurant evey night and check out the local fare. We enjoy AI.

All 3 resorts are beautiful. Sands is probably the most centrally located. All 3 have full kitchens in their 1 bedroom rooms, the studios have kitchenettes. So you can save money by going to grocery store and eating breakfast and/or lunch in the rooms. There are some affordable restaurants, especially Tiki hut, shark bites, Banana Boat, all in Turtle Cove. Tiki Hut has a menu with prices on their website, and is one of my favorites, great place to hang out. you would need a car or you could use the Gecko Bus shuttle for all your restaurant options. Hemmingways at the Sands is also one of my favorites, they also post the menu with prices on their website. Good lunches at Hemmingways, and they even have waitresses on the beach!!! Good snorkeling is in front of Coral Gardens, which takes about 20 minutes to walk from if you stay at the Sands, about 45 minutes if you stay at Royal West Indies. All 3 resorts are nice, and you can't go wrong with any of them. Coral Gardens is now offering every other night free!!! With that offer, the prices for all 3 resorts are fairly equal. Realistically, you can rent a car for a week in the $250-$300 range. Dinners at an upscale restaurant are around $100-$200 for 2. (you can do it everynight around $100 range, splurge for a night or 2) and Tiki hut on Wednesdays has chicken and ribs for $12.95. Go to tcienews.com, click on restaurants to see specials on some of the restaurants, it changes every Wednesday. Lunches at Hemmingways or Saltmills Cafe (across the street the probably run about $30 for 2. Gilley's in Leeward Marina has breakfast every morning for under $10 a person. The lobby at the Sands has a book of menus of all the restaurants.

KVR: Coral Gardens is not considered a true AI. Only Beaches and Club Med. What they offer is a package. The food is from their beach cafe, so it's casual fair. You may also want to double check what drinks are included, and if there is a surcharge for alcohol. Their cheapest per night is $1050, not including airfair!!! you can do much better than that individually, plus there are some excellent restaurants in T&C.

We're torn between CG and The Sands at this point. I believe I read that RWI was nice but right by Club Med. That being said, CG sounds nice due in a large part to the snorkeling directly in front of the resort. Also, the free breakfast doesn't hurt. The negatives would be the pool size. As for The Sands, it sounds like it is nicer overall. I like the fact that it has the screened in porches. Plus, the beach and waters sound slightly better than CG's. Question - do all 3 of these resorts offer free snorkeling gear? Also, do you all recommend renting a vehicle for the week or is there really that much to explore on the island. I believe I read you could rent a shuttle pass for $33/pp. Would this be a better option?

I found this info on Fun Jet. Looks like AI to me with additional inclusions.


An oasis of elegance and tranquility. Coral Gardens is the luxury beachfront all-suite resort overlooking the stunning turquoise waters of the Caribbean.
Special Inclusions


Round trip airport/hotel transfers
All meals and beverages
24 hour room service
5 course Gourmet Tide Affair (complete wih paired wines or non-alcoholic beverage with each course and served on the beach)
Cocktail party on the beach
Beach theme dinners
One evening of stay, dining at Coyaba (your choice of beverage and a bottle of wine)
Daily car rental
Complimentary snorkeling gear
Reef snorkeling at Alexandra Sea Park
Daily 1/2 hour spa treatment
Internet access
Day time fax access
A sunset cruise for two
Taxes and gratuities
Summer Special


Enjoy sunset in your suite
Stays of 7 nights or longer between May 1, 2005 - November 11, 2005
Receive a bottle of champagne and hors d'oeuvres one evening during your stay in your suite.

Thanks for the info on Club Med. Wasn't aware of it. I'll look into that also.

Was there a price for that FunJet Coral Gardens special?

If you go to Coralgardens.com you get the same info. The all inclusive includes food at the Beach Cafe only, only 1 meal at the nice restaurant, Coyoba's. (The beach cafe is good, but it is casual fair.) The prices are on the website. Keep in mind this is not a typical all inclusive, you don't have food all day all you can eat, it's basically going to include your 3 meals. (You might want to double check this.)
I'm not trying to discourage, it is a beautiful resort, and the beach cafe is good, but there are great restaurants, and for the price, the all incluse won't save you money if you are on a budget.
jamicah: for your first trip, I would recommend the Sands, or Coral Gardens if you can get the every other night free. BUT, get your airfair seprately, as they quote fairly high airfair. Usairways is running some good specials to PLS.

It was listed as $612 for 2 people. Thats $3,060 for a 5 night stay. Then you have to add in airfare. From TX, it's s about $1,800 for 2 on AA. The air is a little to high for me. Non AI came to about $2,500. We would eat every breakfast and dinnner on the resort as well as drink lots of alcohol. There is only a $500 difference between non AI and AI. We would definatly eat/drink more than $500 in 5 days as we have done it before.

I doesn't matter that the AI is at their casual restaurant. We are not gormet food types anyway. We more into AI for the alcohol consumption. At $5- $6 a drink, it can add up quickely.

I have a TA who is checking for me for Nov. 2006. I would have to find cheaper air before we could do it. Unfortuntaly, I only have selected choices: AA, Delta, and Continental.

We are also looking into Club Med. Not sure it's the type of atmosphere we are looking for, but in came much cheaper at $2,114 for a 6 night stay for AI.

Good luck on your search. There are cheaper destinations out there than the ones you have picked. Have you looked at Grand Cayman? We stayed at the Holiday Inn, now known as, the Courtyard by Marriott and it was wonderful and not as expensive. Fortunatley, the HI offered an AI plan that the Courtyard doesn't. We paid $800 for the AI option on a 6 night stay and charged $1,436 in food and drink, which they took off our bill at check-out. Playa del Carmen and Cancun has nice beaches and great AI resorts that are way less.

KVR: I looked at Funjet, and in november Coral Gardens, (non peak) all inclusive was $4,600 (included all taxes, etc) non inclusive was $1,600 for 5 nights. If you can get it for $612 a couple (not per person) do not let that deal go!!!!!! And please share how you got it, cause I'll go for it too!!!!I've been going to Provo for years, and Coral Gardens is closer to the $4,600, so please share the info!
And if you don't mind Usairways, it stops once in Charlotte, but from Dallas to T&C (PLS airport code) it's $495 per person including the taxes. ($404 without)

I just looked on Funjet too, just for kicks. I got $6,586.00 Nov. 1-8, 2 adults with their AI package and $1278 just hotel with tax... that's a lot of money for a week. Wow, without air too!

I found that price on the Coral Gardens web-site. Sorry, I did miss read that the $612 was per person. It showed (2) so I miss understood. Makes a difference.

We don't have air service on US Air where I am located. So not an option. We're also looking at Aruba. 6 nights AI at the Holiday Inn is $3,098 on Fun Jet out of DFW. Probably cost me another $400 to get to DFW though. I don't like living in the middle of nowhere, the airfare is a killer.

KVR: thanks for the update.
Jamicah, sorry we got sidetracked. If I were you I would pick Sands for following reason: centrally located, plus more affordable than Coral Gardens. Plus, easier walk to snorkel in front of Coral Gardens.
All 3 are beautiful resorts, and you can't go wrong, just basing on your criteria.
The Sands on their website has posted their menu with prices. You can also walk across the street to Saltmills plaza for a couple of restaurants. Bay Bistro is a little more expensive , but next door to Sands in Le Sibonne.
If youo take Gecko Shuttle or rent a car, Turtle Cove Marina has serveral choices, Sharkbites, Banana Boat, and my favorite, Tiki Hut. Tiki Hut also has a website with menu and prices.
Further up from Saltmills is Ports of Call that has some reasonably priced restaurants, and next to that is Caicos Cafe, a little more expensive. I wouldn't walk there though, as the road is dark and pretty bad condition, I wouldn't want you to get hit!!!!
At the Sands lobby, they have a book with most of the restaurants and all the menus. I hope this helps.

jamicah:
try tikihuttci.com
thesandstci.com at the home page, click on the resort, then click on Hemmingways, then on current menu

I have to agree with Blamona. I'd pick The Sands over CG any day. We were torn between both resorts before we went to T&C last month. Sooooo glad we chose The Sands. To answer your snorkel question, yes, the Sands has free snorkeling equipment for guest use, although depending on the number of people requesting, you might not get as many goggles as you need. Same with CG if you stay there. I'd also check on deals at The Sands. When I called and booked our vacation i directly asked if they had any specials. We ended up getting 7 nights for the price of 5. The beach is so much prettier at The Sands; even though the coral reef is nice at CG, it can get busy and a bit murky, and you don't have that beautiful, clear water that you get at The Sands. Just my humble opinion, but i'm sure you'll be happy wherever you end up!

It's hard to go wrong with any of the 3 you're interest in, but Coral Gardens is definitely a bit more upscale than the Sands and RWI, which is reflected in CG's higher rack rates. Although CG's layout isn't exactly parallel to the beach, most rooms will have terrific ocean views whereas the larger resorts like Sands, RWI, OC and OCW have layouts that run perpendicular to the beach so that maybe only the 2 buildings closest to the beach have rooms offering terrific ocean views.

One way to get better rates at CG is to bid on luxurylink.com. For instance, there's currently an offer for 7 nights in a 1BR ocean-front suite, airport transfers, daily breakfast, one dinner at Coyaba, and other amenities for two.

http://www.luxurylink.com/Home.phtml...ck=LLHomePgBSA

Included is tax and service charges which is typically 10% EACH for T&C resorts. And one can find many other offers for CG on Luxurylink.

If CG is still too steep for you, then consider using Costco.com to book a stay at either the Sands (5 nights starting from $525 per person) or Ocean Club or Ocean Club West (5 nights starting from $405 per person).

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...ath=1133*2936*

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...ath=1133*2936*

Based on all the feedback here, I think we've decided on an 8 night stay at The Sands. We're looking at vacationing Oct 1-9. In light of all the Hurricane forecasts, what would be the best way to go about getting traveler's insurance. As I've never had to get this previously, please let me know what this will cover (flight, hotel, etc). Thanks!