Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Turks & Caicos - "Beaches"

I'm chiming in late too but wanted to respond with my experience. I went in August 2009 and the kids had a great time BUT the adults didn't. We were ready to leave within a couple of days and here's why:

1) The food - there were a couple of good meals but more often than not the food was awful. There was one place I kept going to because it was the only place I actually liked and then...I found a roach on the buffet. That did it for me. I was stuck eating bad food from other places for the rest of the trip. Yes, I told the staff, they saw it, took it away, and apologized.

2)Staff - My husband was trying to find the fitness center our first night there and all he came across were drunk staff members. They were completely unhelpful and stunk like alcohol. That wasn't as bad as the staff members reeking of alcohol and trying to talk to my kids the following morning. They were trying to be friendly but were obviously under the influence and smelled as such. THEN there was the waiter that served my children their meals off of a tray that had a crushed beer can on it. The can was still leaking beer. THEN he scratched his rear end behind a curtain while holding the tray with our food on it and served it to us w/the same hand!! We left that bland looking stuff right there and left.

Then ther was the leftover pizza I asked to have boxed. Staff brings over a USED box. I open it and immediately sense that something is moving. Sure enough there's what I believed to be an ant or gnat crawling through the dried cheese, sauce, and grease stains. I was told the box wasn't dirty, it was just used to box a pizza for someone else and they changed their mind. Yes, that makes it all better now doesn't it?

Then there was the staff member who was asked to make a banana shake for my husband. He told her, she said ok, there was NO ONE else at the counter at the time. People arrive as she's making it and we move aside as they're being helped. Now they're making a few shakes..and we wait...and wait..and ask about the shake..and one staff member tells the one that took our order. She looks over and says "banana shake? ok" and starts making another one! We ask what happened to the one she was making and she doesn't know. So we wait again...and she gives that shake to someone else. This was the day after a waitress in the same place forgot half of our order. She brought half of our kids food out with my husband's order and never even put in the rest of the order! Then she admits she remembered us ordering it all but couldn't figure out why she didn't place the entire order in to be made! So we wait anotehr half hour for mac and cheese and chicken nuggets. It wasn't gourmet food and it wasn't busy either.

Then there were all the staff members who need their brains examined. I broke a tooth on a slice of pizza and called my dentist. He suggested something from a pharmacy so I asked the restaurant staff for the first aid area. I was told they didn't have one. I asked if there was a pharmacy near the resort and was also told NO. So, I went to the front desk and asked. I was told the resort has a nurse and there's a pharmacy nearby. I went to the nurse and she tells me the doctor can bring in what I need on his way in in a few hours. I tell her EXACTLY what I need and give her the paper I used to write EXACTLY what the dentist told me to get. I come in a few hours later and SHE GOT ME DENTURE PASTE! Then she said I had to pay for it. I refused and sent a msg to my wonderful travel agent about the rampant stupidity and lack of service at the resort. The manager (? dont' recall his title) immediately contacts me and arranges for my husband to get the item I need from the pharmacy at no cost. (BTW - I am NOT saying the break was their fault - that tooth was undergoing a second root canal prior to my departure and was weak. The break was NOT the pizza...which was EXCELLENT by the way)

3) The prices on anything you may need. Sure, we all know very well just how exorbitantly priced resort items are but it's still worth mentioning. I needed a cell phone to communicate with my family and rented one from the resort. It was about $15 per day plus a calling card...which was also overpriced. I brought a pair of flip flops that started to bother me so I purchased the only pair in my size in their stores...for $73. The pictures we have are beautiful but weren't worth $300+ for 40 or so pictures and a CD. Yes, no one forced us to buy it, I know.

I called my agent, told her what happened every day of our trip. There are more instances of staff that didn't care about having a job (even the photo place had quite a few people walk out angry while we were there) We even tried getting a flight out but apparently our airline (US AIR) only flew there nonstop 2 days a week. All other flights were connecting and we really didn't want to deal with it so we stayed. We ended up getting a one night refund, a discount on photos, and a few other things thrown in. Nothing worth the bad memories.

As for the GOOD - I scheduled a dinner on the beach as a surprise for my husband and that was beautiful! The server was FANTASTIC and the food was great. That server (wish I could recall his name now) was FABULOUS and it was because of his service that we decided it wasn't worth the hassle of leaving right away.

There was another server at a restaurant I won't name that also made our trip bearable. He told me that he knew of the issues I dealt with (we all talked for a while when the place was empty) and told me that I should mention them on the survey Beaches sends you after your trip. (SURPRISE - I never received one!) He said that they have been hiring "unfavorable" people lately that don't care about their jobs and that he was sad to see the way the service quality has dropped. He said he's been hearing more and more complaints and has advised his supervisors and anyone who will listen but it hasn't changed much. He told me they may be working on it but it hasn't shown in the service yet.

Then there's the photographer. Fredericka. She was awesome and gave us pictures that make us see the few beautiful parts of our trip in very beautiful detail. She was great and a true asset to the resort.

There were also the guys on the boat to the reef. They were great and helped make my kids first reef snorkeling experience a good one. My 5 yr old still loves talking about that part of the trip.

The children had a great time, other than during meals, for which I am also grateful. The slides were fun, the pools were clean, and the Xbox area was awesome for them. They loved the kids camp and asked to attend a couple of times. The snorkeling was also a great experience for them.

Well, I hope you have a wonderful trip wherever you decide to go.