We just returned from 8 nights at Ocean Club West - a 50-ish couple who sent the kid off to college in Sept. This was our first vacation without a child in 20 years!

For perspective, we had previously vacationed on St. Croix, Jamaica, Aruba, and St. Thomas/St. John (plus Florida a few times).

THE BEACH: Main reason we picked Provo, and it lived up to expectations. If the length of a beach is important to you, this one's amazing - about 12 miles. We like to take LONG walks and you sure can do it here. The sand is a very light beige, and extremely fine powder - not granular. The "depth" of the beach - distance from waterline to top end of the sand - is very good though not spectacular.

THE WATER: If you've seen photos of crystal clear, calm water on Grace Bay, well - we'd like to be there on the day those pictures are taken. On our second day the waves were exceptionally big because Tropical Storm Odette was passing just to the east. The waves died down during the week and after a few days we had just small waves and very clear water, although not as clear as we've seen in the V.I. The color of the water is special - beautiful shades of turquoise and blue.

THE HOTEL: Ocean Club West was wonderful. It's a condo complex that is also run like a first-class hotel. It's only a couple of years old and everything looked new. The landscaping is exceptional. Excellent free-form pool. Terrific service/employees. Plenty of beach chairs and umbrellas. We stayed in the lowest room category (studio suite) and had a king bed, kitchenette, washer/dryer, and large screened balcony. If you're looking at a studio suite I would pick OCW over the original Ocean Club because the older complex lacks the screened balconies. The outdoor restaurant serves all three meals and the food was good, 'though not exceptional. There is a free shuttle to the other Ocean Club, which has a reputation for better food.

RESTAURANTS: Can't help the gourmands here, because this is the area where we try to scrimp. We stocked up at the IGA Supermarket and cooked most of our meals. There are three restaurants across the street from OCW.
Barefoot Cafe is casual, Calico Jack's had a good local band Friday night, Caicos Cafe is pricier. Our one ripoff of the trip: we went to a little place called Mackey's to sample local food and the prices (on a blackboard) mysteriously changed between the time we ordered and the time we were given our check. I think we received a special "tourist" price (food was good, though). Also, had the best conch fritters ever at Bugaloo's conch shack on Blue Hills Road.

SNORKELING: Snorkeled from shore at Smith's Reef and Coral Gardens, and at the barrier reef on trips with Sail Provo and J&B Tours. Overall excellent snorkeling, although we had big waves on certain days. Fish life no better than V.I., but the coral was the best I've ever seen.

I'll post more info. later on this thread. Feel free to ask questions!

Hi.just read your trip report and wanted to ask a few quick questions.I am looking for a spring break trip to deter my daughter from wanting to go to Atlantis at this time of the year.We want a great beach ,pool,and wonderful snorkeling.I want her to appreciate this type of atmosphere without always having a "kids program".We want nice accomodations as well. I have never been to Provo , so Im not sure what to expect. I know I dont want the "Beaches" atmosphere and Grace Bay Club doesnt allow kids under 12(she is 6).Thanks for the input.

Hi cdt- I'm glad you enjoyed your first trip to Provo and OCW. The water has been rough the last few weeks, I just returned on Dec 5, the day before the storm was due to arrive, and the water was pretty rough then. I can tell you this is unusual, the water is usually calm and crystal clear.
I do have to disagree with one thing you mentioned, the original OC does indeed have studios with screened porches, 3 to be exact, and they face the beautiful garden and ocean, not the island view. I know because I own one of them. The food at the Cabana Bar and Gecko Grille is great,and I have been to most of the restaurants on the Island. It's hard to go wrong when dining on Provo, it's a wonderful Island!
Come again when the water is calmer(almost any time)

To Blair9535: Beaches had the busiest beachfront of any resort and lots of very young kids (logical with schools in session).
The Allegro allows kids but doesn't emphasize it. There's a rumor it may be sold.
All the places on Grace Bay have a great beach. Ocean Club West has a terrific pool but very few kids while we were there - maybe more during school breaks. Snorkeling from shore is limited on this island - mainly the two sites I mentioned (not as much as St. John or St. Thomas).

Provogirl: It's too bad we hit the big waves, but it was better later in the week. I guess it's just the least expensive category ("island view studio suite&quot that lacks screened balcony at OC.

One other place we snorkeled from shore was Malcolm's Beach, by the "tiki huts." You need to rent a 4WD to get there. About 98% of the dirt road is fine, but there's one short stretch that's truly awful. It was worth the trouble, however - a beautiful beach with calm water and very few people. Bring plenty of liquids!

Hi cdt,
The studios that face the garden and beach at OC are the same price as the Island view ones, you just have to know what to ask for when you make your reservations.

Blair 9535-There are always some small children at OC, and they always seem to find each other to play. There are 2 pools, plus that beautiful beach to run around on. At spring break time, there should be plenty of activity for your 6 year old.

My family made our 1st trip to T & C last June spending our week at OCW. We had a 2 bdrm. ocean front suite. The accommodations were SUPERB and the beach and water are EXCELLENT.
We walked to Coral Gardens and snorkeled at the reef there - VERY GOOD and perfect for novices. It is a LONG walk but doable IF you are in shape and bring plenty of water.
You will LOVE OCW - it will meet all your requirements!

Trip report, part two:

THE ISLAND: As expected, the beach and the water were the best parts. Provo is mostly flat, somewhat more vegetation than Aruba, but by no means "lush" (except for the landscaping at Ocean Club West). There are some small hills as you go out Blue Hills Rd. and on to Malcolm Beach - max. elevation 250 feet. We thought the prettiest drive on the island was the Blue Hills area, following the coastline, with palm trees, conch shacks, etc. Drove one day to Sapodilla Bay on the south side, seeking calmer water, which we found, but it's too shallow for good swimming and there's not much snorkeling there.

THE PEOPLE: Very very nice, unfailingly polite, perhaps a bit reserved. I understand the island only had 800 residents 30 years ago, and it appears many "locals" have come from other islands - Bahamas, Haiti, Dominican, Jamaica, etc. "How are you?" is a greeting that is widely used and appreciated. There are no aggressive beach vendors; tipping is appreciated but not solicited. This is the ONLY island where I have been on boat excursions where tips were never mentioned and in some cases there was not even a "tip jar."

EXCURSIONS: Our favorite part of any vacation, and we weren't able to do as many as we had hoped, because it was a very slow week and there weren't enough tourists to run a lot of the trips. Sail Provo didn't do its full-day trip but we went with them for a three-hour sail/snorkel/Iguana trip, plus, on another day, a sunset sail/glow worm cruise (definitely worth doing!). Also did the 3-hour "Native Cruise" with J&B Tours - dove for conch, snorkeled, had fresh conch salad. All three trips were excellent; both companies very professional.

I had researched excursions before we went and discovered there are fewer than it appears on the Internet because most of the firms cross-book. For instance, three different places listed sailing trips, but it was all Sail Provo. A bit confusing at first.

CAR RENTAL: We rented for 5 days but the only thing we couldn't have done without a taxi is go to Malcolm's Beach.
Definitely worth it, and you need a 4WD. Probably two or three days' rental would have been enough. The roads are awful - worst potholes I've ever seen. Driving is on the left; half the cars have steering wheels on the left, half on the right. We rented from Scooter Bob's and they were a pleasure to deal with.

CONSTRUCTION: It's everywhere. Most of the unoccupied frontage on Grace Bay (esp. the eastern half) either has a building under way, or a sign saying that one is coming. It looks like all the new buildings are luxury condos, not hotels, which should keep the beach fairly uncrowded. We had heard about construction noise at OCW and were concerned, but the new building is on the west side and we had a unit to the east. HOWEVER - there are "coming soon" signs for new structures both east and south of OCW, so it may be hard to guarantee a quiet spot.

OTHER RESORTS: Since we walked the beach constantly, we formed some impressions of other hotels. Club Med has an amazing amount of beach frontage and is unlikely to be adjacent to new construction any time soon. Some day they'll probably sell the property for kazillions. There was a raw sewage smell emanating from the Grace Bay Club most days. The Allegro looks a bit tired but people we met who were staying there said they were having a great time. Rumor is that it's about to be sold. Beaches had by far the most kids and the most crowded beach area, but a short walk E or W avoids the crowd, and it's near Coral Gardens. Comfort Suites looked nice and is just a short walk to the beach. They only have 4 umbrellas, but they were never all in use when we were there. Of course, it was a slow week. Sibonne looked older, small, kind of quaint, with about the closest thing to a beach bar on the island.

All in all, can't imagine a better BEACH vacation, with a bit of snorkeling and boating thrown in.