My husband and I are traveling with our best friends to Provo May 5th-14. We have never been to T&C before. But it seems to have all we are looking for (beautiful beach, snorkeling, excursions to cays, etc.) Anyway, we have a reservation at the Sands at Grace Bay (we can cancel up to 3 weeks prior, so if anyone has a better suggestion...) We chose the Sands because after alot of research it seems to have alot of things that are pleasing to the group. Also, the reviews on other websites have been quite favorable. We like to have restaurants, beach service, hobie cats and tennis. But I have not seen anything regarding the Sands on this site. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I am too traveling to T&C in May and staying at The Sands. From what I've read, seems like there is more positive than negative. You'll know before me since you're going early May and I'm going late May. So please post a report when you return!

We stayed at the Sands about a year ago -- we had a spacious, clean, well-equipped one bedroom unit -- staff was pleasant -- the place is very comfortable but not luxurious -- Hemingways fine for breakfast or light lunch, but go elsewhere for dinner (many good restaurants in Provo) -- beach was very nice, as is usually the case in Provo -- pool was fine but nothing special -- moderate pricing for the room -- if you want to go more upscale (which obviously will be pricier), try Grace Bay Club, Point Grace or Turks and Caicos Club. I think Sands has Hobie cats -- I don't remember whether they had tennis courts. For dinners, try Magnolia, Baci, and (for very special occasion) Anacoana at Grace Bay Club -- and there are many other good places to eat.

We were at the sands last year. Decent hotel, nice pool. We primarily picked the Sands because of the kiddie pool for our toddler. Our one annoyance was that the room usually was not cleaned until 3-4pm. Also we were not happy with our oceanfront view (not truly oceanfront) but we were too tired to complain. The location is good as is their casual outdoor restaurant. I think they had hobie cats. No tennis court.

VegasM - I certainly will post I report when we return.

alanb - thank you for the info =)

mnag - we chose 2bdrm oceanview, I hope it really is...they actually show a tennis court on their site plan online and the woman I made the reservation with said they have a lighted tennis court, what gives? maybe it was built after you were there?

Sorry my mistake, I had to jog my memory a bit. They do have tennis courts by the lobby area right at the enterance of the resort. We never used them and were not in that area except when we checked in and I forgot. Sorry for the confusion.

We went last May and had a similar complaint re the cleaning staff not cleaning the room until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. I hope that they have started cracking down on this.

There is a tennis court on site, but I don't recall anyone using it while we were there.

There are two pools, but it seemed like those were used mostly by children. I recall the majority of guests sans children swimming in the ocean. The water is so calm and the sand so soft that it is better than swimming in a pool.

Re restaurants. I would try to eat once or twice at Hemingways at the Sands. They have good hamburgers and salads, and one night when we were tired we just had take-out from Hemingways.

Our favorite restaurant during the week was the closest one to the Sands: Grace Bay Bistro at the Sibonne Hotel. They have an excellent brunch, and also really good salads, seafoods, and other items. You can easily walk there for lunch or dinner.

We also enjoyed the restaurant at Point Grace, which is also very close to the Sands. I can't recall it right now though.

I don't think it's necessary to rent a car; you can buy two shuttle passes for unlimited rides on the Gecko shuttle for about $65. You can buy those passes from the front desk at Sands. There is a map of all of the stops, which include the vast majority of the notable restaurants and/or sites on Provo.

There are Hobie Cats at the Sands which can be reserved.

My wife and I are also going to the Sands from 5/5 to 5/9. I have done some looking around and read nothing but good things about the Sands.

We have stayed at the Sands twice in an ocean front room. We loved it and had a wonderful time. The staff wa very friendly and we ran into no problems. Our rooms were cleaned in the morning. All that being said,we haven't been there for two years so that may have changed because of the amazing growth of T@C. The Sands was a beautiful place though and it was in a nice location.

Hello beachbumjem1,

We had dinner at Hemingways twice during our trip.
We loved it. Got to look around and it looks like a very nice vacation spot. We stayed at the Sibonne and it's a short 5 minute walk. We waited for a Gecko one day and the front desk people were really nice.Even called the Gecko for us. I did notice some people changing there rooms after arriving.

I also like the screened-in porches and the pools.

Hemingways is a popular spot make sure you make dinner reservations in the morning if you plan to dine there. They even have take out.

Check out Quinton Dean on Tuesday and Thursday.
He is a musician . Great music.

Have a great vacation. Wait until you see that water!