The noise is still ringing in my ears. I was at Coral Gardens 2/13-2/16 and the construction is bad. I booked the coral gardens on expedia with a confirmation from coral gardens directly to find that I was at the reef residences which is behind the non stop construction of the windsong(next door to the CG), the other side of the CG is construction of the toscana is just starting so who knows how long they will be building. They worked from 6 or 7am till 10pm or later. Can't remember if there is construction near the RWI. When snorkeling you could hear the beeping and sawing at the far end of the reef. Provo has probably 30 or 40 construction sites over the whole of grace Bay all at various stages. We kayaked about 2 hours off the eastern tip of provo and still could hear construction in leeward complex. The barrier reef about 1/2 mile of little water cay was great snorkleing but is the only place I couldn't hear construction. They are destroying a whole lot of natural beauty so I will probably not return to Provo though some of the raw beauty is great. Little water Cay was lovely, but will probably be condos if I return in a couple of years. The service is very spotty with some nice but many vacant faced people who wished you would just leave. I should have known when the CG rep got in a yelling match with our angry taxi driver at the airport on our arrival which continued with me once the taxi driver started driving. BAD BAD BAD. Provo is the worst place I have been though it has some awesome beauty. Maybe if I was on a dive boat everyday it would have been better. There are lots of condos, houses and hotels, but few activities you can do without paying someone. Many of the beaches on the map have garbage on them. Smith Reef the other snorkling reef is unmarked and near a boating channel where some confused tourist got killed snorkling. The chalk sound nature park is gorgeous, but there doesn't appear to be a way to see it other than standing on a road some distance away. We visited Big Blue the Eco adventure outfitter to be insulted with each question. Things like do whales go by...the answer yes but you don't see them or what do you see if snorkeling on the barrier reef...answer fish!. We went and the same guy was better, but still memories of the day before's word games. We are well traveled but don't like overly touristy place, but the funny part is a lot of tourist stuff is missing except the opportunity to buy a 2 million dollar condo and have blank faced person serve me mediocre food. Couldn't even find a decent postcard, though I could get a bottle of 1998 gaja at the IGA for $365. The IGA is better stocked then my local home store...weird! We had an good not great meal at Magnolia bad service. Ate other meals at CG...including valentines on the beach. I think they had finished construction before 8pm that day...venue was great, but food was only fair to good, not great. Heard that coco bistro is good didn't go.

i too find that a return trip to provo is becoming less and less likely for me. it was over built when i went last and apparently is getting worse and more expensive at the same time. i am sorry you had a bad experience at cg adn on provo in general, particularly as i was one of the posters on the only other thread you've written on and i said that i would stay there because the snorkeling is so accessible. which brings me to my point - why have you reposted your critique word for word? and i wonder, as you had such a bad room, if you have attempted to contact the manager and request some partial refund? what did they offer you? did you request a different room? i am curious to know how they handled the situation.

I posted it word for word, because I would like to get the word out and my other post was specific to Coral Gardens. There is construction the entire length of Grace Bay and many parts of the island. I didn't switch hotels, I was only there 3 days and didn't know where else to go. Most hotels along the strip had some kind of construction going on near them, so I didn't want to spend the day looking for a new hotel. i was snorkeling 200 yards off the beach underwater and I could hear the construction. The construction is half the story. The service is appalling, I met some very upbeat people, but the share that I met are as bad as anywhere I have ever been. There were other people I met that agreed and had worst stories. The rates they charge for these places are way over the top for what you are getting. Mine was 50% off and that only softened the pain of being there. What a waste. Most unhappy island outing yet.

Oh, your hurting me. I'am planning a trip to Provo for my 25th. After reading for years how wonderful it is you are raining on my parade. Sorry to here of your bad experience.

Can you give me some insight on which end of Grace Bay is the most quiet? That is something you will not get from calling your hotel.

You should have been advised prior to booking of this problem. How can a person relax with all that noise. I'am especially sensitive because I'am working with construction weekly. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

I am no expert on provo having only been there 3 days, but much of what they are doing there is against my nature of undeveloped/undiscoverd. My hotel was sold as at Coral Gardens, but really was
Reef Resorts new condo well off the beach was behind the windsong 6 story condo complex which was in the middle of being erected doing the steel work, concrete and bulldozing(with safety beeper when backing up). Some of the resorts east of there like Royal West Indies might not be in the middle of steel work, but there are so many projects it is hard to remember which were isolated. The Leeward complex of a couple hundred houses, condo and massive 10 story hotel all the way east is in full construction mode and is visiable from 3 miles in any direction, including from my 2 mile kayak to an isolated Cay, listening to tugs with construction equipment going by.
Sorry for the sad tale but I had heard about the undiscovered provo and that probably left 5 plus years ago. They did have banana boat ride and parachutes going by ever once in a while if that is of your liking, it isn't of mine. The Aman resort off the west coast seems isolated but I didn't go there and it is VERY expensive. Hope it works better for you and others than me and wife.

I would like to note that the snorkeling was great and I have been to the great barrier reef, borneo, south africa, lots of the Mediterranean and some other places in the Caribbean. We saw at least 3 turtles and beautiful coral right off Coral Gardens Hotel, with lots of other colorful fish and the water was very clear. At smiths reef I saw an eagle ray along with some great coral. The colorful coral at the barrier reef 1/2 mile out from little water cay on our trip with big blue was awesome. We saw lots of small reef fish, my wife saw some squid and we were on a small boat with only two other couples. So there is some truly wonderful stuff, but seeing the massive build makes me sad and angry to see the natural beauty disappearing.

I'm sorry you had a terrible time. Coral Gardens is having a terrible time, between bad partners and lots of construction, so at this point I would not recommend it.

However, there are not 30 or 40 construction sights. There are 8 on Grace Bay (and Grace Bay is 12 miles long.)with 2 of them opening in April. None are 10 stories high, Seven Stars, being the tallest, is 7, with the rest being 5 stories high. There are 2 resorts under construction at Leeward. There are plenty of sections with no construction (can't see it can't hear it) but I understand in 3 days, you're not going to spend your time searching.

I understand, you exagerated for effect. There does seem to be construction everywhere-it's actually happening on all the good islands in Caribbean-including Anguilla and Out Islands in Bahamas. When you get popular, everyone wants a piece of you.

Rone: There are plenty of places to stay without being affected. You'll have a terrific time at Parrot Cay. Somerset has no affect, nor Sands, nor Point Grace, nor Tuscany, nor Ocean Club East, nor Le Vele, nor Renaissance.......not even RWI. Other options too, such as a private villa. When you get closer to your trip, ask on a post, there are people happy to help.

Venturen: I understand TCI not being for everyone-but it must be enough for 8 condos to be built-you have to admit, one of the most gorgeous beaches in the world.

rone, congratulations on 25 years! the west end of grace bay beach is the more quiet end - for the time being at least. my comment about not returning is mainly because it has gotten more expensive and i have a yen to see other places. i love the island dearly and would be happy to be there again, after 3 2-week long trips. i found the belongers to be very pleasant, but somewhat overwhelmed (saddened?)by what is happening to their island. we stay in villas so had a lot of opportunity to chat with locals. the resorts are charging 3-5* prices, while the service people are only just starting to work at hotel/restaurant jobs . when i went for the first time 5 years ago the main highway was not yet paved. it is now. also, as with most islands it is customary to make pleasant small talk with everyone before you ask them to help you - at the grocery, phone office, restaurant, etc. - i enjoy this.
you might look at www.turksandcaicosclub.com it's in a very quiet spot and is very nice. or if you would consider renting a villa check out coriander at www.northshorevillas.com - very private, right next to smith reef which has the best snorkeling on island. also on the west end of the island not on grace bay, but on it's own beach, is www.northwestpointresort.com which would keep you away from the hub bub and construction altogether(by about 20min drive). i have not stayed, but have been to look around, take a swim and have a drink at their bar. it seemed nice and the grounds are lovely. you would need a car to stay at any of these 3.
unfortunately "they" have been paving paradise and putting up parking lots everywhere for decades now. guess we are lucky to find any good spots left.

Thanks for the replys, You people are a great help and much appreciated. Keep up the informative posts. God Bless Rone.