We're trying to decide whether to rent a house on T&C or get a hotel room. We're traveling with a 3 year old and 8 month old. Really want to have fun with them and relax. Also - please explain about bugs- I've seen some discussion about them. If you recommend a hotel - which do you recommend - nothing to crowded or big? Traveling in December. Thanks for your input!

I prefer a hotel over a villa because you have laundry services and restaurants available. There are plenty of nice small places including Turks and Caicos Club; the Sands; Le Vele that have kitchens but all the services of a hotel.

I think it really depends on your style of travel. Do you prefer having resort amenities, or do you prefer to have the place all to yourselves and more of a "homey" feel? We don't have any kids, but we're more the villa type of travelers. I'm sitting here at the Aquamarine Beach Houses in Grace Bay right now enjoying the peacefulness of the night, the breeze, and the sounds of the waves.

I think there are more bugs after it has rained. Last year we came in after a week where it rained and it was mosquitoes galore. We couldn't even step out to the patio without getting bitten. We just got here today and tonight we took a walk on the beach, and I've been sitting here outside for the last 30 minutes and no mosquito bites yet!

Good luck with your search.

You can have the best of both worlds staying at many of the condo resorts in T&C. We stayed at The Sands the end of June and loved it there. There were four of us (Mom, Dad, 17-year old daughter and her 16-year old friend) in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo. The girls had their room and bathroom, we had ours and then there was a kitchen with full sized appliances, a dining area, a living area and a huge screened in porch. The resort has two pools, Hemingways Restaurant which was great for breakfast and dinner and a great section of beach with plenty of palapas, a towel hut, and beach drink and lunch service. As for bugs, in three trips we've never encountered any, not even a single mosquito. Maybe it was luck or the time of year we've traveled (always the end of June)? Have fun with your research.

On T&C I would probably stay at a hotel because all the hotels have kitchens and washer/dryer. In addition you can have access to other hotel amenities like the hotel pool/restaurant. With a toddler I would recommend the Sands because they have a kiddie pool.

Sands is an excellent choice with kids. They will meet other kids and build sand castles, etc. Even with kids, it's not crowded or big. I think T&C is one of the most kid friendly beaches anywhere. Hemmingways, the restaurant there, is great for kids. All the one bedroom units have full kitchen, dining area, plus washers and dryers.