Where to stay - Provo
Dec 31st, 2007, 08:48 PM
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Where to stay - Provo
So after posting and doing more research about our family trip coming up in March, my hubby and i have decided to go to the Turks and Caicos with our almost 2 year old daughter. It looks like no matter which way we cut it, we're not going to be able to get a direct flight from Detroit, so we'll have to make 1 stop and keep our fingers crossed that our little one doesn't hate flying! With that said, here are the places that we're looking into on the island...The Sands, Turks & Caicos Club and Villa Renaissance -- we want to be on Grace Bay. We fell in love with the Somerset, but we really want an ocean view and the rooms with a view there are a bit out of our price range. Out of our options that we mentioned, any idea which one is the closest in comparison to the Somerset (more of a 4 star)? Any recommendations in general are much appreciated! Oh, and I'll mention it again from my previous post...we're looking for a condo-like room with a full kitchen and our budget is $6-7K for 7 nights, included air.
thanks!
- huntington
thanks!
- huntington
Jan 1st, 2008, 04:15 AM
#2
All 3 of your choices fight your criteria. All 3 offer units offer full kitchens, living and dinning areas, and ocean views. Sands and Villa Renaissance are in walking distance to The Somerset. With a 2 year old, I recommend the Sands for the following reasons:
Kid friendly with water toys for kids, and other toddlers on the beach. Hemmingways, the onsite restaurant, has a gorgeous setting, and convenient with a toddler for drinks on demand. (ex. run out of milk, don't want to go to supermarket just for that.) Sands is walking distance to numerous resorts/restaurants, such as Bay Bistro (excellent restaurant-incredible setting) The Sommerset, The Palms, Alexandra on 1 side, Point Grace on the other.
I love Turks and Caicos Club-it feels like a home away from home, only on a grogeous stretch of beach. They have full kitchens and living dinning areas. You'll find the occassional kids, but for the most part is a very quiet property. It's not walking distance like other properties to other restaurants, etc. With a toddler, I feel you would either have to stay put, or rent a car to get around the whole time.
Villa Renaissance is also gorgeous. Almost all the units except for 4 are all oceanfront. The are luxurious, and have full kitchens, living dinning areas. There is no restaurant on site, so you'd have to walk across the street to some restaurants. VR, while luxurious, is more self-catering. It's also fairly quiet, so again, with a toddler, feel like Sands fits more.
Another option, for the service you crave, yet extremely family friendly, with an excellent kids club, check out The Palms. It's right next to Somerset, so again walking distance to numerous restaurants/resorts.
From Detroit, you'd be hard pressed to find a direct flight to anywhere in the Caribbean. There are "tricks" to help your toddler fly better:
Make sure they have something to drink, especially for landings and take-offs. By drinking during that time, it will force them to swallow-help equalize their ears.
Have some favorite candies to bribe them if you have too. Ex., I told my daughter if she'd behave, I'd give her some smarties.
If you have a portable little dvd player, bring her favorite dvd to show on the plane.
Make it "exciting" point things out the window, cloud shapes, etc.
Pretty good chance they will sleep most of the flight (The first one anyway).
Kid friendly with water toys for kids, and other toddlers on the beach. Hemmingways, the onsite restaurant, has a gorgeous setting, and convenient with a toddler for drinks on demand. (ex. run out of milk, don't want to go to supermarket just for that.) Sands is walking distance to numerous resorts/restaurants, such as Bay Bistro (excellent restaurant-incredible setting) The Sommerset, The Palms, Alexandra on 1 side, Point Grace on the other.
I love Turks and Caicos Club-it feels like a home away from home, only on a grogeous stretch of beach. They have full kitchens and living dinning areas. You'll find the occassional kids, but for the most part is a very quiet property. It's not walking distance like other properties to other restaurants, etc. With a toddler, I feel you would either have to stay put, or rent a car to get around the whole time.
Villa Renaissance is also gorgeous. Almost all the units except for 4 are all oceanfront. The are luxurious, and have full kitchens, living dinning areas. There is no restaurant on site, so you'd have to walk across the street to some restaurants. VR, while luxurious, is more self-catering. It's also fairly quiet, so again, with a toddler, feel like Sands fits more.
Another option, for the service you crave, yet extremely family friendly, with an excellent kids club, check out The Palms. It's right next to Somerset, so again walking distance to numerous restaurants/resorts.
From Detroit, you'd be hard pressed to find a direct flight to anywhere in the Caribbean. There are "tricks" to help your toddler fly better:
Make sure they have something to drink, especially for landings and take-offs. By drinking during that time, it will force them to swallow-help equalize their ears.
Have some favorite candies to bribe them if you have too. Ex., I told my daughter if she'd behave, I'd give her some smarties.
If you have a portable little dvd player, bring her favorite dvd to show on the plane.
Make it "exciting" point things out the window, cloud shapes, etc.
Pretty good chance they will sleep most of the flight (The first one anyway).
Jan 1st, 2008, 06:42 AM
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Hi Huntington-
Look into The Tuscany on Grace Bay. There are private condos for rent on VRBO.
We are from Detroit and we will be visiting TCI in February. We also did a lot of research and are choosing The Somerset. I agree it's very expensive, but the English Cottages are a little less than the Stirling House.
If you haven't booked your flight yet, we booked through American Airlines. We only paid around $330 a ticket, compared to Spirit which was closer to $1000. The flight goes of the way through Dallas, but with the $$ saved, we are staying at The Somerset. Enjoy your trip and I'll post a trip report when we get back.
Look into The Tuscany on Grace Bay. There are private condos for rent on VRBO.
We are from Detroit and we will be visiting TCI in February. We also did a lot of research and are choosing The Somerset. I agree it's very expensive, but the English Cottages are a little less than the Stirling House.
If you haven't booked your flight yet, we booked through American Airlines. We only paid around $330 a ticket, compared to Spirit which was closer to $1000. The flight goes of the way through Dallas, but with the $$ saved, we are staying at The Somerset. Enjoy your trip and I'll post a trip report when we get back.
Jan 1st, 2008, 07:29 AM
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blamona -
Thanks for the tips on plane travel with a little one! I think our portable DVD player will finally get put to good use
Regarding where to stay -- being around kids is nice, but we also don't want it to be tons of kids (otherwise I think we'd stay somewhere like Beaches). We're looking for a little peace and quiet but a couple of families around so our little one has someone to play with would be perfect. Are the rooms at the Sands very nice? We're used to staying at 4*'s, so that's pretty much what we're looking for...
jallard -
You found a great deal on your flight! The flights I've seen that are the most reasonable so far (from Detroit) are through US Airways. Plus, the layovers aren't too long which is a selling point with a toddler. Isn't the Tuscany larger condos (3 rooms)? We were looking at the English Cottages at the Somerset but we were really hoping for a view of Grace Bay...
Thanks for the tips on plane travel with a little one! I think our portable DVD player will finally get put to good use
Regarding where to stay -- being around kids is nice, but we also don't want it to be tons of kids (otherwise I think we'd stay somewhere like Beaches). We're looking for a little peace and quiet but a couple of families around so our little one has someone to play with would be perfect. Are the rooms at the Sands very nice? We're used to staying at 4*'s, so that's pretty much what we're looking for...jallard -
You found a great deal on your flight! The flights I've seen that are the most reasonable so far (from Detroit) are through US Airways. Plus, the layovers aren't too long which is a selling point with a toddler. Isn't the Tuscany larger condos (3 rooms)? We were looking at the English Cottages at the Somerset but we were really hoping for a view of Grace Bay...
Jan 1st, 2008, 08:03 AM
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The Sands recently completed (I think they are all done now) some room updates. I have only seen pictures of the renovated rooms, but IMO (obviously very subjective), Sands is a nice resort and has the widest range of amenities/services among the mid-priced resorts on GBB, but it is probably more of a 3 1/2 star resort than what I would consider a four star resort by US standards.
Regarding the Tuscany, I thought it was all 3 BR units and posted this in another thread. There was some discussion about this, as well as some general discussion of the resorts that you are considering, so here is the link to that thread:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=5
Regarding the Tuscany, I thought it was all 3 BR units and posted this in another thread. There was some discussion about this, as well as some general discussion of the resorts that you are considering, so here is the link to that thread:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=5
Jan 1st, 2008, 08:24 AM
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Yes, The Tuscany is 3 bedrooms. However, we were going rent from the listing on VRBO and she was going to lock off two bedrooms and charge $225 a night less. The condo unit looks beautiful, we just decided we wanted a more resort experience.
I found the flight using Kayak and the lay over is about two hours in Dallas.
I found the flight using Kayak and the lay over is about two hours in Dallas.
Jan 1st, 2008, 01:08 PM
#9
The Tuscany is gorgeous-luxurious, all oceanfront. The only negative (with a toddler) is it's at the end of Grace Bay with no restaurant on site. You'll need a car for everything. While some great restaurants are walking distance from Tuscany, I don't consider them walking distance with a toddler. (nor kid friendly restaurants anyway-walking to Coco Bistro, Anocoana, and Coyaba are not the toddler friendliest restaurants.)
I will be going through the Sands on the 8th-I've stayed there numerous times, but have not seen the renovations yet. I also would consider Sands a 3-3 1/2 star property-not really 4 stars.
If you're used to 4 stars and it's what your seeking, you may want to go towards Palms or equivalent.
Villa Renaissance may be a good fit for you-it's very luxurious looking, just more self-catering.
I personally would pick the Somerset-gorgeous property. The English Cottages are gorgeous. You want to see the beach, just hang out until sunset. While it's great to wake up and see beach out the window-it's at a hefty price. Some Stirling units face the beach-would you consider one of those?
I will be going through the Sands on the 8th-I've stayed there numerous times, but have not seen the renovations yet. I also would consider Sands a 3-3 1/2 star property-not really 4 stars.
If you're used to 4 stars and it's what your seeking, you may want to go towards Palms or equivalent.
Villa Renaissance may be a good fit for you-it's very luxurious looking, just more self-catering.
I personally would pick the Somerset-gorgeous property. The English Cottages are gorgeous. You want to see the beach, just hang out until sunset. While it's great to wake up and see beach out the window-it's at a hefty price. Some Stirling units face the beach-would you consider one of those?
Jan 1st, 2008, 01:24 PM
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blamona -
You would think with the budget we have, an oceanview room at the Somerset or room at the Palms would be do-able....but we're looking at at least $500 per person to fly there right now! And we plan on getting a seat for our daughter because I know there's NO WAY she'll sit in our laps for that long...
Doing some research and the prices at the Palms are actually more than at the Somerset. The Stirling suites look amazing, but it's over $200 more a night
So I think the only way we could consider the Somerset is if we stayed in the English Cottages. Have you stayed in them? I'm curious...is it a far walk to get from there to the beachfront? Just in case we have to do lots of back & forth...
We're thinking of renting a car, so driving to restaurants won't be a very big deal -- plus most of our meals out will be dinner, as having a kitchen on-site will allow us to stock up on groceries and eat at our place.
You seem to be quite an expert on the T&C! How many times have you been there?
You would think with the budget we have, an oceanview room at the Somerset or room at the Palms would be do-able....but we're looking at at least $500 per person to fly there right now! And we plan on getting a seat for our daughter because I know there's NO WAY she'll sit in our laps for that long...
Doing some research and the prices at the Palms are actually more than at the Somerset. The Stirling suites look amazing, but it's over $200 more a night
So I think the only way we could consider the Somerset is if we stayed in the English Cottages. Have you stayed in them? I'm curious...is it a far walk to get from there to the beachfront? Just in case we have to do lots of back & forth...We're thinking of renting a car, so driving to restaurants won't be a very big deal -- plus most of our meals out will be dinner, as having a kitchen on-site will allow us to stock up on groceries and eat at our place.
You seem to be quite an expert on the T&C! How many times have you been there?
Jan 1st, 2008, 03:38 PM
#11
huntington:
I update the T&C chapter for Fodors! 8-)
Keep in mind, March will be busy-spring breaks and Easter breaks bring on the families.
If you trully want some peace and quiet, then I highly recommend Turks and Caicos Club. Call them directly-they may be able to offer one of the package deals for you, even with a toddler. (The website says max 2 people.) The worse they could tell you is no! The best they could tell you is no problem. I personally like the photo one. They use Tropical Imaging for the photo shoot-they take gorgeous pictures. With T&C Club, you get your oceanfront, on a gorgeous usually extra calm section of Grace Bay Beach (excellent for toddlers, looks like a giant swimming pool) They will add a crib or extra bed in the living room, and includes breakfast. If they give you the package, you also get either a photo shoot, or 1/2 massages in the room, plus a dinner at Simbas. Even without the deal, you're around your budget. You'll need a car, so check out Grace Bay Car rentals-excellent prices. T&C Club will probably be the quietest option in your price range.
The Sands will probably be busy, with lots of families. If you can't afford T&C Club at the time (height of peak season) I have stayed numerous times and love it there. There will be more kids, but Grace Bay is 12 miles long! If you walk up the beach towards Point Grace, no matter how busy the property, you'll have a quiet stretch to hang out.
Last week the beaches were practacally empty-this week, it looks completely different! All resorts are at 100% occupancy, and the beach is busy! It was such a gorgeous day today-water was super calm, crystal clear, and neon turquoise-I call it a "condo selling day" because everyone falls in love with the beach and tries to figure how to buy their own little peice of paradise.
I update the T&C chapter for Fodors! 8-)
Keep in mind, March will be busy-spring breaks and Easter breaks bring on the families.
If you trully want some peace and quiet, then I highly recommend Turks and Caicos Club. Call them directly-they may be able to offer one of the package deals for you, even with a toddler. (The website says max 2 people.) The worse they could tell you is no! The best they could tell you is no problem. I personally like the photo one. They use Tropical Imaging for the photo shoot-they take gorgeous pictures. With T&C Club, you get your oceanfront, on a gorgeous usually extra calm section of Grace Bay Beach (excellent for toddlers, looks like a giant swimming pool) They will add a crib or extra bed in the living room, and includes breakfast. If they give you the package, you also get either a photo shoot, or 1/2 massages in the room, plus a dinner at Simbas. Even without the deal, you're around your budget. You'll need a car, so check out Grace Bay Car rentals-excellent prices. T&C Club will probably be the quietest option in your price range.
The Sands will probably be busy, with lots of families. If you can't afford T&C Club at the time (height of peak season) I have stayed numerous times and love it there. There will be more kids, but Grace Bay is 12 miles long! If you walk up the beach towards Point Grace, no matter how busy the property, you'll have a quiet stretch to hang out.
Last week the beaches were practacally empty-this week, it looks completely different! All resorts are at 100% occupancy, and the beach is busy! It was such a gorgeous day today-water was super calm, crystal clear, and neon turquoise-I call it a "condo selling day" because everyone falls in love with the beach and tries to figure how to buy their own little peice of paradise.
Jan 1st, 2008, 04:17 PM
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blamona -
How fun! So you HAVE to be an expert! I want that job...
Thanks for all of the insight. Gosh, now I have to think about spring break. We're planning on going the first week of March...hopefully not peak spring break time...
How fun! So you HAVE to be an expert! I want that job...
Thanks for all of the insight. Gosh, now I have to think about spring break. We're planning on going the first week of March...hopefully not peak spring break time...
Jan 2nd, 2008, 03:45 AM
#14
I personally have not been in March-sorry!
I'm hear now, and it's been hot. The water is "cooling off"-but once your in you get used to it quickly. It's warmer than Virginia Beach or Outer Banks in June, if that puts it in prespective for you. I've seen pictures in March, it can be wavy/windy. But there are beaches on the other side that will be warmer and super calm-the best beaches you'll ever see for small children. (knee length for hundreds of yards-kids actually get giddy-grownups relax a little since it doesn't get deep) such as Sapadilla Bay and Yaylor Bay. The beachfront at Turks and Caicos Club tends to be calmer even when the rest of Grace Bay has bigger waves.
I can only assume the weather must be decent-most of the resorts are busy in March.
I'm hear now, and it's been hot. The water is "cooling off"-but once your in you get used to it quickly. It's warmer than Virginia Beach or Outer Banks in June, if that puts it in prespective for you. I've seen pictures in March, it can be wavy/windy. But there are beaches on the other side that will be warmer and super calm-the best beaches you'll ever see for small children. (knee length for hundreds of yards-kids actually get giddy-grownups relax a little since it doesn't get deep) such as Sapadilla Bay and Yaylor Bay. The beachfront at Turks and Caicos Club tends to be calmer even when the rest of Grace Bay has bigger waves.
I can only assume the weather must be decent-most of the resorts are busy in March.
Jan 4th, 2008, 11:19 AM
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After many days of going back and forth on this, here's what we've decided to do...
We're going to wait until April -- better weather and better rates. And because there are better rates, we're going to be able to stay at the Somerset. Couldn't help it, we fell in love with all of the photos we've seen and reviews we've read. Everything else we've looked at started getting compared (in our minds) to the Somerset...so we're doing it! Now we just need to decide on a garden view or do we splurge for an ocean view?? The one advantage (other than the view!) of the ocean view is that everything is on one level -- so no stairs to tempt our child. We'll see...gonna talk about it more with the hubby tonight and hopefully have something booked soon!
thanks everyone!
We're going to wait until April -- better weather and better rates. And because there are better rates, we're going to be able to stay at the Somerset. Couldn't help it, we fell in love with all of the photos we've seen and reviews we've read. Everything else we've looked at started getting compared (in our minds) to the Somerset...so we're doing it! Now we just need to decide on a garden view or do we splurge for an ocean view?? The one advantage (other than the view!) of the ocean view is that everything is on one level -- so no stairs to tempt our child. We'll see...gonna talk about it more with the hubby tonight and hopefully have something booked soon!
thanks everyone!
