Only a few hotels still have availability for Xmas
 

Unfortunately I always seem to be late booking a trip for our Xmas vacation. I always swear to do better the next year but the time just seems to fly by. I am interested in going to Turk & Caicos over the Xmas holiday and it looks like my first few choices are all booked. The following show availability on Expedia.

Tradewinds Condotel
Alexandra resort
Ocean Club
Royal West Indes
Northwest Point
Coral Gardens

We need three rooms and are traveling with 3 kids ages 5, 13 and 14 and two seniors. We really would like something upscale.

We are interested in Turk & Caicos due to direct flights from NY( and of course their famous beaches)

Thanks to all for any help......

Ocean Club, RWI, and the Alexandra are all moderately priced condo resorts directly on Grace Bay. One of those would be my choice. I stayed at RWI earlier this year and have booked my next trip at the Alexandra. I suppose over the Xmas holidays, all will have more families, but Ocean Club (and the Sands) generally are preferred by people with kids since they are very family friendly. RWI doesn't have elevators, so that might be a factor with seniors. At least some of the buildings at the Alexandra have elevators. I'm not sure about OC. OC has screened balconies, but the other two resorts have open balconies. OC is the oldest property of the three.

I've read some mixed things about Coral Gardens - management problems?, lots of nearby construction, and everyone goes to the CG beach area for snorkeling, so it is more crowded on that part of the beach.

Northwest Point is very secluded (not on Grace Bay Beach), and I'm not even sure if it is open now. It closed for awhile and apparently is under new management. GBB is where I would want to be on Provo, so NW Point would not be appealing to me, but some people like more secluded places.

Tradewinds Condotel is not beachfront but isn't far from a good part of GBB. I think it is more of a budget place. Obviously, there is a tradeoff in terms of cost v convenience (there won't be chairs/umbrellas to use on the beach if you stay at Tradewinds).

If there is somewhere you prefer, you might want to try calling the resort directly to see if they have availability. They may not make all their rooms available through Expedia et al when availability gets limited. There also are some units that are rented directly by owners, so you might want to check vrbo.com, although it is probably unlikely that vrbos will be availabe that week.

Just a quick word of warning about air and water temps at that time of the year. It's not the Caribbean, remember. And you have many, many opportunities for nonstop flights from NYC that go further south. And you should also check other booking engines and also try booking directly with the hotel of your choice. Expedia doesn't always have access to all the available rooms, though sometimes it has rooms that you can't get elsewhere.

Doug is right about the sea temps - it might be too cool for your liking. For warmer waters you need to go further south.

Also Xmas in southern Caribbean is SUN FUN and RUM !!

<Just a quick word of warning about air and water temps at that time of the year.>

So just how cold are we talking about? I plan to be there for Xmas as well, and have spent the last two Xmas holidays in Tortola. Should I expect the air and water temps to be dramaticly cooler in Provo, or just slightly cooler.

You might try renting a private villa if you need that many rooms. We are going in early December and have rented from Henry Moog. He and his family seem like a very nice bunch and we have not heard anything bad about the villas. Check them out at: oceanpointvillas.com