Hello Happy Travelers...just returned from The Sands in Provo and had a great trip. Let me share the highlights:<BR>THE SANDS: Beautiful Resort, rooms are well equipped. Beach in front of resort are wonderful. The service was great...be sure to meet Katarina at the Excursion Tiki Hut...she is a wealth of knowledge. Very few children...mostly couples in the 30 - 50 year old range. Resort was at least 50% empty.<BR>THE HIGHLIGHT: Day trip to Middle Caicos...power boat trip...explored the caves...visited the most awesome beach I've ever seen...snorkeled at a ship wreck...went shelling (found 2 conch shells to bring home)...went to Iguana Island. Through J&B Tours <BR>FOOD: Hemmingways (on site at The Sands) was very good on each occassion)...especially enjoyed Shrimp with Pasta dish and crab cakes. Grace's Cottage was a beautiful setting and the service was exceptional...food on the ecclectic side but very good...good wine selection. Annacoana's was the most romantic setting, service was good but the food was on the blah side...presentation was the pits. If I went back I would only go for drinks and appetizers at bar. Live music was also nice. Barefoot Cafe...very casual but good food and service and prices reasonable. <BR>OVERALL: The beaches were outstanding...the color of the water was like nothing I've ever seen...the residents were overall very friendly (except the hostess at Anacoana-she's got to go, and the airport employees). <BR>IF YOU GO TO THE SANDS: We rented a 1BR ocean view. I knew we wouldn't be beach front but was expecting somewhat of a view. The first room we were taken to was not what I had anticipated. If you were on the lanai and looked WAY to the left we had a glimpse of the blue water. I was very polite and asked if there was anything with a nicer view. We were switched into another building that was set back quite far from the beach but had a great view. If you go during season when the place is crowded and you want to see the water, it's best to reserve OCEAN FRONT. <BR>I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Beth,<BR><BR>Thanks for the great report. My fiance and I are going to The Sands next month for our honeymoon. I have a couple of questions for you. First, we have booked an Ocean Front Studio. Did you see any of the Studios? Was your one bedroom huge? My other question is, how long of a walk is it to the good snorkling? Thanks.

The Sands is about a 15-20 minute walk to good snorkeling. Facing the ocean, go left, past Sibonne,past Beaches resort,when you get to the White House/Coral Gardens (about a 5 minute walk past Beaches resort) - you are there.

Hello Kelly,<BR>Just as the other poster said re: snorkeling. I think it was at least a 20 minute walk but very pleasant. It's in front of a place called Coral Gardens. Be sure to bring water and sunscreen with you as there's no shade. We did not see the studios but met a few people who rented them and they were very happy with them. My one suggestion is not to be on the 1st floor..we spoke to 2 different people who had bug problems and they were both on the first floor. We were on the 2nd floor and saw no bugs at all. Have a great time...let me know if you have other questions.

Beth;<BR><BR>Just another quick question please. We generally prefer to be on the ground floor so that we can get to and from the beach FAST!!!. If you are on the second floor, how difficult is it to get to your room from the beach.(assuming you're beachfront?) As far as that goes, do you know if you are on the ground floor, can you walk out of your porch to get to the beach? Thank you a ton!!

The two people we knew that had studios oceanfront were both poolside and then their "extended view" was the water/beach. You could walk out the patio door, out the pool deck, grab your towels and out to the beach. However, I don't see how you could secure your place....don't know if that's a priority to you.

Thanks Beth.....but when staying on a second floor do you have to walk around the building and back to the middle to get up to the unit? Or can you cut through the center of the building on the ground level to get to the stairs and get up? Dont mean to be a pest...<BR>Thanks again!!

Ok....as I remember on the pool/oceanfront buildings, if you exit from the second floor you exit on the backside of the building (opposite the pool side). There is direct access from there to the beach as well, though. If you'd like I'll mail you the little map (I hope I still have it) of the layout of the buildings. Email me direct with your address and I'll send it to you direct. Maybe that will help you to see what I am talking about. It will all be fine...don't fret about the little things...as long as you are Ocean Front you will be in an excellent location with a beautiful view. The number of steps to and from the beach are blurred by a simple Pina Colada! Enjoy!!!