Sally

I am going to T&C in February 2003 and have been researching places to stay. I am torn between The Ocean Club, The Ocean Club West, The Sands, Royal West Indies Resort and Coral Gardens. Can anyone who has been there offer advise on these places. I am looking for a romantic getaway - no kids. We also like to try different places for dinner and/or drinks and like to walk along the beach to get there so I was worried about the locale of some of these places (Coral Gardens at one end and Ocean Club at the other) or does this even matter. Thanks

eileen

I personally like the location of The Sands the best because it is kind of "in the middle" of Grace Bay Beach and you can walk in either direction and get to a lot of other places in 20 minutes or less. Walk down the beach to the left and you get to Sibonne, Beaches and Coral Gardens. Go to the right and you can get to Point Grace, the Allegro, Grace Bay Club, Ocean Club West. However, because these are all condo resorts, I think you will find them all family-oriented and there will be plenty of children. We stayed at Point Grace in April 2001 and were disappointed to find that there were a number of children there, even though the resort is not geared to them at all. We left ours at home, so we wanted an "adults only" vacation. I think Grace Bay Club is the only resort that doesn't allow children. From the Sands, you can walk to lots of great restaurants - Anacoana at Grace Bay Club, Grace's Cottage at Pt. Grace, Coyaba at Coral Gardens, Caicos Cafe. Also, if you walk through the Allegro there is a shopping center across the street with several casual restaurants. We loved the restaurant at The Sands, Hemingway's which sits right on the beach. Also liked the restaurant at Sibonne, right next door. Hope this helps!

Sally

Thanks, Eileen. That is very helpful. Do you happen to know if February is a good time to go? I have read some comments that the water is cold then.<BR>thanks

Anne

We just returned from turks and loved the beaches.We stayed at ocean club west/. It was ver clean,grounds were well manicured and studio suite we had was really pretty. We were on our honeymoon. We did go down by coral gardens, it looked as there were many families there with children, but good snorkeling with coral reefs..We almost stayed at sands at grace bay (well stay there next time)but ocean club west had a great honeymoon package.. we were all set to go to sands until we saw the honeymoon pkg. We did drive down to sands and it was beautiful! iknow the brochure is fairl;y comparable to the picturesque view at sands..rent a car! not that much to do there.. the beaches are berathtaking though.. we might have been at 10 percent occupancy..at the resort.. the whole island of provo wasnt busy at all..lots of natives there..many poor but very happy people.It s amazing how u take for granted ur own country then go see others.. ocean club is a ways down frm ocean club west . I would stay at ocean club west over ocean club..I did some research and ours (ocw)was newer.The food is a bit pricey..service at seaside cafe.. is SLOW..like most places on island..but great food. try tiki hut and gecko grille for dining..awesome food.gecko more expensive but great food and ambiance..Try the conch farm..its pretty cool..tell portia anne and scott sent u from massachusetts. The tour was interesteing..rent a car..u dont see much without it.. It was 95 when we were there everyday..too hot to walk everywhere..and wear BUG SPRAY! i got bit 15 times by mosquiotos after 7p..If u are going in feb.. i hear its alot more crowded but when we went there was next to no one ther! it was actually cool cause it felt like our own private island. ocean club west has a web site...if u go to yahoo type in ocean clubwest turks and caicos..it should pop up.. otherwise have a ball where ever u stay..the beaches were breathtaking talcum powder sand too..enjoy!

Steph

Sally, visited The Sands in the middle of February a year ago. The pool (which is so cool!) was quite cold, so much so that we didn't really enjoy it. It was uncomfortable to get into it. I believe the ocean was enough warmer though that it was enjoyable.