Hey folks, just got back yesterday from my 7 day, 6 night trip to Ocean Club West in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, and it was awesome!
I flew down on a direct flight on American from New York, a flight of just over 3 hours with no hitches. I checked aa.com on a regular basis and ended up with a round trip fare of $274 per person round trip- $360 including all the taxes and fees. Immigration took about half an hour as 3 flights arrived at the same time and I was off the plane last because I had a 2 year old and 4 year old in tow.
Thanks to great advice from my fodors friends, I used Grace Bay Car Rentals and got a rate on a small 4 door Nissan for $230 for the week. Driving lefty was easier than I thought, I just had to say left, left, left in my head. Grace bay Car rentals was great- the guy was waiting for my flight and dealing with paperwork only took about 5 minutes. Since cabs are WAY expensive ($50 for 2 to go round trip to the supermarket), the rental car was a great idea.
I arrived at the resort Ocean Club West at Noon, 4 hour before check in and they had my 2 bedroom/2.5 bath beachfront suite ready with no wait. The suite was better than 1600sf, tastefully appointed with large wrap screened porch with sensation sand and sea views. It had a complete kitchen and washer/dryer. The rate after negotiating a 10% discount was $630/night. I saved a great deal of money by driving to the IGA every other day stocking up on food and beer. The IGA was huge and stocked with familiar products at reasonable prices compared to NYC (though it may be 20-30% more expensive than normal mainland prices, especially beef and beer).
Back to the resort, I loved it. It wasn't as fancy as The Somerset, The Palms, or Grace Bay Club, but it is landscaped beautifully, it was low density, which made for a wide open beach, and plenty of grounds to roam. The pool was fantastic and large- really 4 pools connected by passageways under bridges with an island in the middle. The island in the middle had 2 large gas grills should you want to have a barbeque. The beach, as mentioned was awesome wide, powdery white sand, crystal clear water, and not crowded.
The resorts atmosphere was casual with a mix of families, retirees, and couples. I enjoyed the laid back atmosphere and never felt like I had to get dressed up for the bar or dinner. The food was decent, but I was knocked out by the better option, Hemingway's at The Sands- that was phenomenal!
I was really impressed that nearly everyone at the resort was a repeat customer- I met so many people who had gone there between 6 and 14 times- quite an endorsement!
My only regret, I should have booked 2 weeks, instead of 1!
Thanks to all my fellow fodorites for the great advice in helping me plan this awesome vacation!

Thanks for taking the time to post a trip report. It's always nice to read when someone has a great time on an island for the first time!

afinecompany - I too fly out of JFK to Turks and planning our next trip for July '08. What did you do to get such cheap fares???? Did you redeem frequent flyer miles? Fly certain days of the week? What's your secret!!!??? I keep checking aa.com for flights and keep coming up with a rountrip fare of $1,267 for two in economy!

I am planning a trip to T&C for myself, my husband and our 3 year old daughter. We don't want to rent a car- so we would like to be at a resort with a good on-site restaurant as well as within walking distance (or inexpensive shuttle) to other restaurants/stores. We are debating between OCW, Sands, and RWI (although doesn't provide shuttle and seems far from restaurants/stores). They are all around same price for the dates we are considering- In your opinion, what will give us the most bang for our buck?
Thanks!

sarajkl: For you I would choose the Sands-of your choices, it's the most centrally located, you have tons of choices on either side.
as for walking-OCW and RWI are closer to grown-up restaurants, Sands has closer walking distance to multiple kid friendly restaurants. The only shuttle by resorts is one between OC original, and OCW. No resort offers shuttles between other places. Sands, for a charge, offers a shuttle to IGA Supermarket, and has the best kiddie pools of your choices.

Blamona- thoughts on Beaches resort? It is only $1300 more for 7 nights all inclusive, in a standard room for Oct. I have heard horror stories about "screaming children" and crowded beach- any thoughts? How much should I anticipate spending at the Sands for 2 meals a day? (We will do lunch or breakfast in our unit each day to save $ most likely)

afinecompany, thanks for the review of OCW. I am planning on staying between there and Coral Gardens with my gf this June for 8 nites. Looks like OCW it's gonna be! Gonna lock in a studio suite and flight in/out of Las Vegas for $2636 and from all the other comments I have read, I'm gonna rent a car from Grace Bay Rentals and stock up on food at IGA. 2 questions that I have are, is OCW close enough to the restaurants/stores to bike to, if so can we rent bikes instead of cars anywhere? (We love to ride our bicycles) and any suggestions for other places/activites to do or visit there?