Turks & Caicos : Help me choose a hotel
 

Looking for a place where my wife and I can relax- we are 29. Looking for a place with great beach, has water activities abailable (snorkling, hobicats, etc), a nice spa, and either decent food, or close to place where can get food.
So far have considered:
1. Sands at Grace Bay
2. Ocean Club Resort
3. Coral Gardens
4. Royal West Indies Resort

info from anyone with knowledge/experience would be most appreciated.

thank you

Coral Gardens

None of the others has a spa per se. I stayed at the Sands and wasn't overly impressed. They have one tiny treatment room, no spa.

Coral Gardens has great packages on luxury link.

Coral Gardens has more amenities than the others. Plus, it's on a very quiet stretch of beach.

Second would be Royal West Indies, which gets really good reviews. It is probably one level lower than Coral Gardens in terms of luxury.

Here's a second vote for Coral Gardens. If you're interested in snorkeling, you can't get any closer to Provo's prime snorkeling reef. Outstanding hotel on a world class beach.

what will the weather be like there in early February. Would it be better for me to head futher south?

the weather will likely be in the mid 60's to mid 70's.

you might want to go further south to somewhere like jamaica, although other posters have enjoyed their feb. trip to provo.

Early February in Provo can be somewhat cooler than the southern parts of the Caribbean (the water will be a little cooler too) but we're not talking cold by any means. I'd guess the daytime highs will be in the low 80s. Aruba or the Cayman Islands, as previously mentioned, will be warmer.

To give you an idea of the respective temperatures in the Caribbean, I see that, according to the Weather Channel, Provo's high temperatures will be about 80 degrees the next 10 days, Aruba's will be about 85, the Caymans about 83, and Montego Bay about 84. So there's not a lot of difference between cool Provo and warm Aruba.

I've been in Provo all of December, and it's been low 80's everyday. Absolutely perfect! There are tons of people in the water right now, so it can't be too chilly!
I will report at the end of Jan to give you those actual averages!

blamona, how lucky are you!? Where are you staying for a month? Are you enjoying Provo? Can't wait to get back in March. Enjoy yourself and let us know whats happening down there.

We have narrowed down our Spring Break options to the following: Either sailing down in the BVI's which we have done in the past, Costa Rica since my husband has business down there now, or Turks and Caicos.

Here's my question. For the past twenty years, we have frequented Cayman Island. I feel they have destroyed this island with all the development not to mention the traffic jams early morning and evening from Georgetown. We loved Cayman because my husband would dive in the morning, and in the afternoon the family would pack up the car and go to a number of great snorkeling spots. (Which have gotten more crowded over the years).

I visited Provo, two March's ago and thought it was a bit confusing. There's Grand Turk ( I believe it's called) where the cruise ships come in, other nearby islands and Provo. I'm assuming Provo is trying to maintain the residence/condo feel where by Grand Turk is more commercialized?


I found snorkeling spots to be limited without hiring someone with a boat who charged us a fortune. I also found one side of Provo is more like "back waters" which is unuseable.

Did I miss something when I was down there? I was hoping Provo was going to be what Cayman was back 20-30 years ago....Less tourism and more natural beauty. Are there many good snorkeling spots to go to with a car?

And does anyone know about the nearby islands? When I was down there, I met a delightful couple who own condos at the Ocean Club and were in the process of buying a condo on a nearby island.

All in all, I felt it was very difficult to get a feel for what Provo is. It seemed to me that it is a place where you arrive, unpack, hang out at our resort, and snorkel at a few reefs out off the beach. Don't get me wrong, I like that too, but we really like exploring and getting off the beaten path at times too.

I'd love to hear from those of you who are more familiar with the Turks and Caicos than I am since we are always looking for an easy place to enjoy the sun and going through (well now I can't remember which city in S.C) but it was a very easy trip.

Thanks!

ydoc,

The majority of the development in Turks and Caicos is in Providenciales (known as "Provo"). Provo is home to Grace Bay Beach, which is a superb dream.

There are both condo/hotels and pure resorts along Grace Bay, and there are also many construction projects going on as developers see the short, non-stop flights from the U.S. and the relatively undeveloped nature of the island as a potential boon.

However, there is development going on in other parts of the Turks and Caicos island chain. For instance, the Ritz Carlton is builing a development in West Caicos. And I think a shuttle bus driver said something about a luxury development in North Caicos as well.

Provo is really a place for avid beachgoers and snorkelers. If you are looking for a little bit of culture along with beach time, you will be disappointed. There are many good restaurants in Provo, the majority being expensive but also featuring several good moderately priced places.

We Travelled to North Caicos in March of 2004. It was completely off the beaten path and a true island. We had 7 km of beach where we only encountered 2 people along the way. It was a great trip and I have to say when we left for home and connected at the airport in Provo we were in a bit of culture shock. We were amazed at the commercialism of even the airport. North Caicos is a place to get away from the outside world. We rented a car and snorkeled solo, explored an old Plantation and just had fun experiencing the local flavor. At the time there were big plans for development, so I'm sure it is beginning to change. It was a welcome get away chaos, but not at the time it was not a place of luxury. I loved it, but not for everyone. I'd love to know how the island has developed.

Travelatte

travlatte

How large is North Caico and how many great snorkeling sites were there to drive to? Any restaurants?

My problem with Provo was it seemed unless you only wanted to snorkel on the beach your condo was on, you didn't have anywhere else to go.

Ydoc,
When we were we visiting North Caicos, not many resturants. There was a restruant at the condo place we rented, and we also did carryout at a seafood rest. one night.(We have kids and they fell asleep early.) We snorkeled at the 3 Mary Cays. I'm not sure exactly what other places to snorkel there, I'll check with my husband. I know they did diving and snorkeling trips from the place where we stayed. Others who stayed at the same condo place traveled to some of the other Cays for short trips and Diving. Not alot of activities on North Caicos, but very friendly people and beautiful beaches without people. We stayed at Karen's place, VRBO#40871. I'm sure there has been more developement. They had sold off most of the beach property when we were there. You might want to look into VRBO.com for ideas. We have used it for Italy as well. We are not big resort people, but rather enjoy places on our own more. I hope this helps. We are still not sure where to explore this spring either.

Travelatte

ajax: I am lucky!!! I'm staying in a house in Leeward.
Yesterday was overcast and cool, day before not a cloud in the sky.
Today, not a cloud in the sky, bright sun, calm waters, pure bliss.

If you would like to see the hotel and condo locations in provo download google earth for some great sat pictures. I stayed at RWI in DEC. and was very happy there.
We met some people staying at the Turks and Cacios Club and they said the place was great!!

We stayed at Royal West Indies March '04 and liked it. We said if we went back, we'd stay at Coral Gardens just because of the fantastic snorkeling right on the doorstep. There was a good restaurant at Coral Gardens, too. Royal West Indies restaurant was adequate.

Royal West Indies Resort was one of our favorite places that we've stayed in the islands. We rented a car and went somewhere new almost every day.
It's a great property.

We're torn between RWI and Coral Gardens. We've selected RWI, even though the snorkeling at CG is a huge lure, based on someone's recommendation and it looked nice on the web. But, above, someside said that CG is actually a step up from RWI on the luxury scale, which is a pro in favor of CG. On other hand, isn't CG right near the despised Beaches Resort, which is a con. Any comments on how the 2 compare?

wayno,

When are you going? That makes a big difference to your vacation experience. We went last August and even though school was out the beach outside Coral Gardens wasn't busy at all.

Coral Gardens is near Beaches (10? minute walk along the beach) but since most people staying there have small children they don't spend a lot of time snorkeling.

If you want to snorkel a lot then CG is the only place to stay.

I snorkeled, had breakfast - snorkeled, had lunch - snorkeled had dinner. If I go again, I'll pack a waterproof torch so I can snorkel after dinner :-D