Greetings. We (my wife, 18 month old and myself) just returned from a week at the Sands in Provo. We loved it. If anyone has any questions Id be happy to try and answer them.

Hello! I am going to Provo in Dec.for my first carribean adventure. Did you get any snorkeling in and how were your restaurant experiences. Did you have good weather? I am staying at Coral gardens but thought long and hard about Sands; possibly next trip!

We are going to T&C in July and are planning on staying at the Sands in a one bedroom suite. We were debating about cutting costs and staying at Comfort Suites but the Sands pool area looks nicer and the full kitchen/washer & dryer are real +'s for a family with 2 pre-teen boys. Please comment on the pool and beach area at the Sands, as well as it's location to Ports of Call...within walking distance?, and the accommodations. Did you rent a car at all? If not, how did you get around the island? to IGA? Please also comment on any favorite restaurants or activities on the island. Any info you can provide would be very helpful. Also, have read many comments about the island being dirty and run-down with a lot of construction going on. Please comment on the construction and your overall impression of the island.

bigredspring1,
We are going with another couple in May. We have a 2 year old and they have a one year old. Which building did you stay in and was it a garden or ocean?
I keep hearing the pools are really cold-is that true?
Also did they have good umbreallas for the beach?
Thanks

Whew...so many questions...I am stepping out right now and cannot answer them all (sorry). i will be back in the morning and attempt to answer them as best I can.

We stayed in a one bedroom gardenview in building 6 on the first floor. The first floor was nice with the little guy but it would seem to me that the 3rd floor would be quieter. We could hear the people above us at times and directly below us was the room where the workers hung out so we could hear them at times as well. The room itself was great. The floors are tile and tended to get sandy and slippery when wet. We had a washer and dryer that worked fantastic as well as a fully applianced kitchen. I found the mattress to be a little firm but sleepable after a day in the sun. The weather was good- one morning of rain and a couple missed sunsets due to clouds. We did not rent a car. I went to the IGA on the shuttle the Sands provides. It cost eight dollars roundtrip per person. The grocery store was well stocked and like evereyone says...pricey. We ate lunch and breakfast in the room each day and went out at night. Most meals we ate at Hemmingways. The food and service were quite good- we ate there 4 times without any incidents. My favorite was the plantain encrusted mahi mahi- sadly I discovered it on our last night. Other restaurants we attended were The Tiki Hut for the chicken and ribs (lousy service/decent food) and Sharkbite (recommended...very casual...good with little ones). The beach is truly amazing. The water is so clear and clean looking. As far as the temperature, I spend summer days at the beaches in Maine and New Hampshire where the water is like ice cubes so I thought the temperature was great...I would guess in the 70's somewhere. The pool temperature was about the same- certainly not as cold as some people made it out to be. We did make the walk from the Sands to Coral Gardens one morning. Not a bad walk at all...if youre not carrying an 18 month old the entire way...this was a little tough on the back. I saw construction along the way but certainly nothing that interfered at all with my stay at the Sands. It does look like they will be building next door to the Sands at some point but not started yet. You pass Beaches on the way to Coral Gardens. Personally I thanked my lucky stars we didnt stay there. It seems a perfect place for a family who doesnt want to have to entertain there kids themselves- not my idea of a family vacation. Coral Gardens looked nice from what I saw...maybe the building are a little older. The snorkeling there is great. The day we went the water was a little choppy but still saw turtles, rays, and a ton of fish. The Sands has nice umbrellas on there stretch of beach. I found out quick the first thing to do each morning was to go put my towels on the chairs under them. Personally, I dont like doing this but..."when in Rome" I guess. We never made it to Ports of Call. The Saltmills are within walking distance of the Sands. We did it in the daylight...I wouldnt have attempted it at night with the stroller. Without kids not a problem though. In conclusion...the Sands was a great setup for us with an infant. It was so great to see him experience new things.

Thanks so much for your reply and for answering so many of my questions. Where is Sharkbites? And, what are the saltmills? Was there a place within walking distance of the Sands to get a quick ice cream cone?...my kids love to do that in the evening while on vacation.

The Saltmills is a small shopping area with a couple restaurants. There was a place there with ice cream but I think it is only open breakfast and lunch- its like a little pastry sandwich shop. Sharkbite is in Turtle Cove. We took the shuttle from the Sands. $16 roundtrip.

$8 for the shuttle seems pretty steep...would a taxi not have been cheaper? Just wondering and trying to evaluate how we are going to get around. Do you know anything about the "gecko" or vans you flag down and they will take you where you want to go for $2 pp. There was something like this in Cayman and it worked out well.

I dont think a taxi would have been any cheaper...i would guess more...the grocery store was $8 per person so i went alone...to go to the restaurants it costs $16 roundtrip for the 2 of us plus our son...almost easier to stay at hemmingways but we wanted to see a couple different places...the gecko shuttle from what i could tell was $4 per token so the same $8 round trip...and with this you are at the mercy of its schedule

Thank you for your wonderful information. My husband and I are staying at The Sands from 4/1 to 4/8. This is our first trip ever to the Caribbean and now I am even more excited after reading your posts. My questions are only about The Sands. We are staying in an ocean view studio suite. Do you recall which building was closest to the water? Is there coffee, sugar, powdered cream, soap, shampoo and laundry soap in the units? Is there a concierge in the hotel that books boating excursions? Did you use the guest bicycles that the hotel has on hand? Did the hotel seem to be at maximum capacity or very few guests? If you went back, is there anything you would book differently or bring with you?

Again, I was so excited to see that someone had stayed at The Sands recently and gave a positive report. I have just started packing my luggage as I send this reply.

This is for Massachusetts Mom -- The Sands is very centrally located along the beach and you will be able to walk the beach to many other restaurants and to the Ports of Call shopping center. I stayed at Pt. Grace which is right next door. We walked down the beach to Bay Bistro (next door to you at Sibonne), the casual restaurant at Ocean Club West, Anacoana at Grace Bay Club, and you can walk down the beach to where the Allegro used to be, cut through and get right to Ports of Call. Your pre-teens should have no problem walking it and it's fun to walk down the beach to dinner! Any boat excursions you book they will pick you up and other than that, there is just not much to see on the island, it's all centered on the beach. So there's really no need to rent a car or worry about transport. I suggest getting a cab at the airport and asking them to stop at the IGA on the way there (you pass right by it). I also recall a small convenience store within walking distance where we picked up sodas, etc (it's been a few years and it sounds like there might even be more there now). Yes, cabs are expensive but with a family of four they might be more economical than shuttles. One comment about the island -- I am sure you have heard that it is not a tropical paradise -- even the palm trees at the resorts had to be shipped in from other islands and they are not native to T & C. It's the least attractive island we've been to and we have visited about 10 in the Caribbean. However, the beach is the most spectacular I have ever seen so it makes it worth it!

Eileen...thanks for your comments! Would you say that T&C is similar to Aruba? We were there a couple of years ago and although it was pretty lush around the resorts, I found the rest of the island to be quite "desert-ish".

Hey, does anyone know if there are any land tours available? If we are not going to rent a car, I thought we could to out on a 1/2 day tour of the island sites...conch farm, chalk sound, malcolm's beach....I read somewhere that Virgil's Taxi offers such a tour...anyone know of anything like that?

Also, what water excursions would be recommended for us? Probably a 1/2 day excursion would do....

I for one am jealous islandgurl. The anticipation of going away is so exciting. The depression of being back however is another story. To answer what I can of your questions...I think buildings 1 and 2 are the ocean front buildings. I was in building 6 which is farthest from the water- still only 200 yards or so. This is only an impression i got and i may be wrong, but I did not see much of a difference between garden and oceanview. Now, oceanfront is a different story, but i might save the money from garden to ocean view. There was coffee in the room (we arent coffee drinkers but i did notice it there along with cream in the fridge. There was shampoo in the bathroom, for some reason I dont think there was soap- I may be wrong. There is laundry soap and when you use it they will replace it if you ask them. They have a desk by the pool that books any excursions you want to do. We didnt use the bikes as we had the little guy in tow. There seemed to be a lot of people at the resort but it didnt feel crowded at all. The pools were frequently unoccupied and the beach has enough room that you dont feel cramped. I wouldnt do much differently. Perhaps request a room on an upper floor (quieter)but I dont know how that is decided. From the perspective of someone travelling with an 18 month old the Sands was great. That said, its hard to say what my impression would be had it been just me and my wife. I guess it depends on what you like. If you like to enjoy the beach and quiet evenings I think youll love it.

I think the greatest failing of the Sands is their "tour" department. They have a cabana near the pool with a young woman who is not from T&C. She was unable to answer any of the questions we asked. She did schedule a snorkel tour for us with J&B which was fine but it appeared to be our only choice. She had no suggestions. I note that other reviewers on Tripadvisor have made the same observation.

In other words, you will need to do more research on your own. Don't count on the tour "desk" for complete information.

As to ocean view, again, you should check other reviews. Ocean view is a sometime thing. The only guarantee of seeing the ocean is by renting an ocean FRONT. The location of the building is less an issue that what you pay for. We were in building # 2 and had a beautiful view of the pool and garden area and a sliver of ocean. It was called an ocean view.

This is not to criticize the Sands. It is a wonderful place to stay and we will go back. But don't have unrealistic expections of either their conceirge service or their ocean views. Both are limited.

P. S. We loved the restaurant. Hemingways has good food, food service and moderate prices. Also a fantastic open air deck right on the beach.

bigredspring1 I have some questions. My husband and I and our 4 kids ages 3,7,9,11 will be staying at the Sands from 4/25-5/1. Could you give me some restaurant ideas that are ok for kids. Also, how far was good snorkeling? My kids really want to go see the Rock Iguanas. Has anyone done this? We will not have a car.

MA Mom -- Unfortunately T & C is not quite as attractive as Aruba (although Aruba is not really that pretty either) -- at least Aruba has interesting "desert-like" plants and interesting features like rock formations, natural bridge etc. It's also my impression that Aruba is a bit more affluent than Provo. On the drive from the airport in Provo, I remember thinking "this place looks like the moon" in that the dirt is very white and chalky like lime or something like that. Then I saw the beach . . . and the reason the beach is so fantastic is because the island is not lush but arid and scrubby -- most really lush places don't have the spectacular clear turquoise water and the baby powder like sand. So it's a tradeoff. We took a 1/2 day snorkel tour where you stop in the ocean to snorkel and also stop at Iguana Island, your kids would probably really like that. I think it was J & B Tours.

gail4: We found Sharkbite to be a good spot with kids. That said, without a car this may be expensive for you. The Sands has a shuttle that is $8 pp roundtrip. Our son (18 months) was free. Im not sure at what age they start charging but if they are going to charge any or all of your kids the shuttle will get pricey and you might as well stay at Hemmingways. The snorkeling is in front of Coral Gardens about a 30 minute walk from the Sands and should be easy for everybody except perhaps the 3 year old. They have tours to the Iguana island- we didnt do it. Some are a combination snorkeling and Iguana tour that last like 3 hours. They have information at the Sands about this. Enjoy your trip and feel free to ask if you think of anything else.

Having stayed at The Sands (last year) and OCW (year prior) I very much enjoyed your trip report.
We really loved The Sands. The people were great and the beach is the best we've ever seen!
If you are in to touring lush rain forests or exotic islands this is NOT the island for you. BUT if you love the beach and the clearest water we've ever seen you will LOVE this place.
The $8 for shuttle to IGA is a bargain - no cab could match that price. In our 2 visits we have never seen the bus service another poster references, and on this island I would not be so trusting of it (as opposed to the Jittney's on New Providence in the Bahamas which are reliable and cheap).
I would suggest to anybody who likes to lounge on the beach with a cold beverage handy to bring a collapsable cooler. Also, upon arrival, and often at the airport they have magazines that advertise various sailing/snorkeling excursions - you can call them and arrange your tour directly - no need to go thru any kind of tour guide or concierage.
Once again thanks for the report and am happy to see another New Englander enjoyed this wonderful property on this heavenly beach!

Thanks for your comments TG...we certainly did enjoy it!