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Explore Turks and Caicos Islands |
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| Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort: Hotel Reviews |
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By Trip Type... |
By Traveller Type... |
| Based on 14 reviews |
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| Amazing Family Resort - Worth the money |
| Hotel Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
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PatToronto >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Dec, 2009 | Leisure | Family
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| Our children are aged 11, 9, 8 and 6. This is the best family resort we've ever been to. On each visit I continue to see more and more couples of all ages without their children (or grand-children) on the trip with them. It truly is a resort for all everyone, so don't dismiss it because you won't be there with children.
Many extended families make the trip together. There is enough to do that you could hide from that one relative and spend extra time with the ones you like. |
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| Rooms |
| We received the connecting rooms we requested for our family of six. The rooms were the best connecting rooms we've ever had. |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
| With 16 restaurants it's hard to complain. If you don't like what you get just get up and go to the next. Only two places require reservations for dinner. You can get a buffet or order of a menu at any meal at almost any time of hte day. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
| The beach on Grace Bay is incredible for sun worshippers, scuba divers, and everyone else. |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
| The water park opened earlier this year and was a great addition to the last time we were at the resort. |
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| Other Comments |
| I enjoy not wearing a wrist-band, not tipping, not being told I need to lineup at 3pm to book my meals for the week, not having to keep track of my six towels, not paying for the safe each day, not being told I can't order two entrees (add the Risotto to your Steak!!), not checking my watch to know when the restaurants open...you get the idea.
Spend the extra money. It's worth it.
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| Our trip was a total disaster to Beaches Turks |
| Hotel Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
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karen >
23 contribution(s) Canada |
| Nov, 2009
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Arrival: June 2009
We stayed at Beaches Turks and Caicos in June...we where 5 time returning guests to Beaches...this past June we had things stolen from our room...underage drinking in club liquid...no security on grounds...no room upgrades for returning guests...and lots more...addressed my complaint to the resort..they want to do nothing about it
Other Comments:
our trip was a total disaster to Beaches Turks and Caicos...the resort was not willing to address anything we brought up...
Email Karen: coolmom122@comcast.net |
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| On a whole a great vacation |
| Hotel Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
| User Rating:
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Wellington >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Sep, 2009
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Arrival: Aug 29 2009-Sep 5 2009
Travelled with my wife and 2 1/2 year old son, our first visit to Beaches/TCI. Carrier was Air Canada Vacations and began as a disaster, flight was delayed for over 2 hours and arrived at Beaches after 11 pm. It was a full flight and food at the departure lounge for my 2 year old was a challange. Luckily I packed some instant noodles and only had to get hot water. (Tim Hortons's was kind...the line up at Tim Hortons's was 30-40 minutes). Once arrived the airport transfers went smoothly. Beaches provided small vans that took 2 families at a time and there was no waiting. Once at Beaches (Stayed at the French Village) checking in was smooth and our luggage was delivered just as quick. Of course,nutrition was a priority and fortunately while all the regular restuarants were closed...Bobby D's was open 24 hours and provided a reasonably good meal. At night it seemed to be a MAZE to get there, but in reality the resort facilities were very close and central. Beaches has 3 villag!
es/sections..the older French Village, the Caribbean Village and the new Italian section. There is a Water Park for different ages, a lazy river, Spa and Gym and off course the beach...Grace Bay. Sand was perfect white and torquoise blue with little ripples.
Rooms:
The French Village though the oldest was comfortable and located at the back end of the resort. The Caribbean Village and Italian Village are closer to the beach and are adajacent respectively to the west and east side of the French Village. Our room had the usual double beds, fridge and dressers and TV. It was clean and housekeeping was excellent. We never seem to run out of towels. We were tucked in every night and fresh towels were provided again. There was no walk out balcony except a balconette. The French Section was in the form of a large C, all overlooking a large swimming pool. There is one elevator and the building has 3 floors and almost all are connected by a passage way. There were no mosquitoes here or in the Caribbean Village. (Italian Section however harbored a few critters) Only problem in the French Village was with rain..water always covered the passage ways and drainage was inadequate.
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Restaurants and Bars:
Food was no problem with 15-16 restuarants and Bobby D's open 24 hours. Each Village had a Buffet for breakfast/lunch and dinner (French-Giuseppi's, Caribbean-Reflections and Italian-Mario's} The best was Mario's for meals (there are to entrances to Mario's. The side entrance was next to Gordon's Pizzeria and no steps to go up and down and certainly easier with a baby stroller). Bye the Sea (restuarant) provided caribbean choices and was spicer. Schooner's was my other choice..a la carte. The staff here was superb and kept my 2 year old occupied with crayons and even took him for a stroll while we ate. Engelo was perfect with kids. The Cricketer's Pub is worth mentioning..lover their Fish and Chips. Arizona serves a good Jerk chicken all day (Beach Grill) The bad side...coffee was a challange everywhere. The BEST coffee...served at Cafe de Paris..laite/cappucino and deserts to die for. At closing time (10pm) most deserts were gone. The staff af the Cafe were super.The Suchi!
i Bar was interesting and good for the novice. Food on a whole was good but tend to lack depth. Presentation was good. Deserts at Beaches/Sandals still remain the best of all the Caribbean Resorts (Paradisus-Melia chain and Iberostar in comparison). The bars are everywhere and bartenders were very capable)
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Grace Beach..one word...PERFECT. No sea weeds, clear torquoise water and little ripples safe for my 2 year old. Beach chairs were abundant and shade was sufficient. The usual BEACH CHAIR HOGS are here too...so be warned. Unlike other resorts..most guests wake up late (probably due to kids) Pools and grounds are clean and well kept.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Lots of children activites..Sesamee St characters. Club Sesame was great. Air conditioned with a shallow kid pool adajacent. They provided care from birth to 24 months and up. Better still..will baby sit till 10 pm at no charge. The close between 5-6pm and reopen after 6pm. There is Chocolate Extravaganza on Monday nights (try the Chocolate Martini's), A Sesame street Parade and a Beach Party (If you like Suckling Pig...there is only one roasted..so be early).Did not go on tours.
Other Comments:
On a whole a great vacation. Good food and staff. Beautiful Beach and resort. Coffee needs to be improved.
Email: WPWthillca@aol.com
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| Old Reviews - Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
| Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
Craig and Carolyn
Canada
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| February 2007 |
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We are a married couple in our 50s travelling without kids and just returned from Beaches Turks and Caicos Jan 20 - 27 2007. We have previously been to Antigua (Jolly Harbour) Barbados (Almond Club) St Lucia (Club St Lucia) Curacao (Breezes) Aruba (La Cabana) This is our first trip to a Sandals/Beaches resort and what fanatstic resort, the best by far of those listed above.The island itself, although gorgeous, has not much to offer off the resort in the way of tours or shopping except perhaps the Conch farm, which is a must see.
Customs and immigration were handled efficiently and quickly, and this was the first island where we were photographed by the immigration officers on arrival. The shuttle ride was around 15 minutes long from the airport. Upon arrival at Beaches we were greeted warmly, given a nice cold towel to wipe our faces and a punch drink (with or without alcohol) Check in went quickly and we had our room and luggage within 15 minutes. We stayed in a standard room in the east wing (#235) and it was lovely with a king size bed and balcony with a view of the ocean. Our only complaint was the construction on the property next door started early in the morning and it was noisy on occasion.We were worried about the number of kids but you could usually find a quiet spot on the beach at the end of the property and Iquanas pool normally had less kids. The weather was perfect 31, 32 degrees everyday.
The food and drinks were excellent.We dont like buffets much so we never ate at Reflections in the evening. Our first night we ate at Le Petit Chateau (no reservation required, adults only) and had an excellent dinner and evening. This became our favourite restaurant because of the wonderful menu with many choices (esgargot, french onion soup, shrimp,salmon, beef tenderloin) and the excellent service. The manager, Ciprian from Bucharest was warm and friendly and we chatted with him numerous times. Our servers were Donard, Renaldo and Patricia and they made our dining experience extra special both times we ate there.
We also ate at the seafood restuarant Schooners (shrimp, alaska king crab) twice and it was delicious. Mercedes was excellent. We dined twice at Sapodillas (intimate, reservations required, adults only), with excellent food and service, a little more formal and perhaps not as fun as Le Petit Chateau. It is worth trying Kimonos one night, the food is good but it tends to be noisy and a lot depends on who your chef is and what kind of people you are seated with. We ate breakfast at a variety of different spots but our favourite was Guiseppes and grabbing a coffee at Cafe de Paris beforehand. Lunch was good and we ate mainly at Arizonas and they had a nice buffet. Alex one of the managers was from from Mississauga and he was very helpful. The pizza at Iquanas was also good. It was nice to be able to get premium drinks like Courvosier, Remy Martin and Glenlivet scotch. Fri nights they had a martini bar outside Turtles...look out, they and the Mojito's really sneak up on you!!! Fanny at the Turtles bar always had a smile and was very nice.
The entertainment at night was not that great. We did enjoy the ventriliquist Fri night in Turtles. The island night Wed night is a lot of fun with the fire show and Sesame Street parade and the different food choices from around the Carribbean were great. We sampled a small bit of everything and then had dinner late that night. We liked to dress up for dinner and the restaurants we mentioned above all catered to that, Collared shirt,long pants and closed shoes for the men and sundresses for the ladies.The craft market on Tuesdays right at the resort is probably the best shopping you will find on the Island. We took a cab to the Saltmills and Port of call shopping areas and there was not much there that you couldnt get at the resort craft market except for the nice art gallery called Anna's.
The beaches on Turks are fantastic, Grace Bay is one of the nicest, longest white sand beaches we have seen stretching for miles.
Beaches resort offers excellent diving and snorkelling packages. We went snorkelling on "tabletop" the variety of fish was fanatastic. One day we signed out some snorkelling gear and walked down the beach to a protected fire coral reef. That was great as well and we even saw a stingray. The hobie cat rides were great (we went out with Steven)
Beverly at the front desk and Sandra at the tour desk always had a smile and were always full of information and helped make our stay more enjoyable.The grounds were well kept and gorgeous with lots of different kinds of flowers and palm trees.
We had a wonderful time at this resort and the people we mentioned above ceratainly helped in making it more special. We would recommend it to families with children or adults travelling alone like us. If we had anything negative to say it would be the number of private parties, in this case not even weddings. When the private parties were held some evenings the hot tub and other public areas would be closed to the rest of the guests and this became a bit of an inconvenience.
We were not aware Air Canada flew down early Sat morn so we flew out of Toronto via Ottawa at 3 pm (late of course) and then flew out of Turks at 1215 (late again). Good old Air Canada. So really we took the late flt down and the early flt back, had we known there were other options we would have chosen them.
All in all a great time and we intend on trying another Sandals resort, perhaps SANDALS Whitehouse that came highly recommended to us.
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| Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
Beth
Maryland
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| September 2006 |
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Hello! I am a travel agent in Maryland and I just returned from a FANTASTIC extended weekend in Turks and Caicos. ( 4 nights/ 5 days) While I have previously traveled to 8 Sandals resorts this was my first experience with their Beaches brand. I went with a friend, no kids, and we had so much fun! I was worried that there would be too much kid activity and not enough for adults to do but quite the opposite was true. Let me back up and start from the beginning.
Once we landed we breezed through the airport fairly quickly. Immigration took awhile but claiming our luggage and customs was a breeze. Right outside the front door was a Beaches rep who immediately put us on a shuttle to the resort. The shuttle ride was maybe 15 minutes long and I was pleasantly surprised with how nice the roads are! (I'm used to Jamaica and Punta Cana!) Our shuttle was a full size van and although it was certainly aging, the air conditioner worked just fine and our driver was great.
Upon arrival at Beaches we were given their signature cold towel and a punch drink. (With or without rum) Check-in was quick and about 15 minutes after pulling up to the resort we were in our room. We had a luxury, french village room on the 2nd floor. The first thing we noticed was that we had a king bed and we had requested 2 doubles. One phone call down to the front desk and they switched us immediately. Now I will say that the room was my biggest dissapointment. Although every room has a sliding glass door there is no balcony. If you're on the first floor you have a patio but there are NO French Village rooms with balconies. This turned out not to be a big deal for US but if it's important to you make sure you DON'T book in the French Village. Also, Sandals/Beaches puts a refrigerator in your room but doesn't stock it with anything but water. I knew this ahead of time so I wasn't upset but I do think it's time they catch up with their competitors in this department. Others have been stocking their fridges with beer and soda, for free, for years. Anyway, aside from that the room was VERY large, well maintained, clean and convenient. The safe worked perfectly, the hairdryer worked well, there were plenty of hangers, 2 oversized umbrellas for our use and an iron/ironing board. We had no problems with anything in our room.
As usual with Sandals owned properties, the food and drinks were excellent. I've heard people say that this property is overpriced but for people who enjoy eating and like to have premium drinks, you can't beat it! Every meal we ate was delicious! We had lunch several times at Bobby D's since it was so convenient, and even the generic burgers and fries offered there were excellent. And there are so many options! We didn't have time to try even half of the available dining options. Some highlights were the very entertaining Kimonos dinner and everything served at the Cafe De Paris. YUM! My friend also found outstanding chicken salad at Bobby D's. They didn't have it set out but if you asked for it they had it hiding in the refrigerator. We especially liked that you can get the name brand drinks here. I'm one of those people it DOES make a difference to! And I love the fact that you don't have to tip. That's worth paying a little extra for in itself!
My only other slight complaint has to do with the service we received. Everything was efficient, prompt and courteous but very few people went out of their way for you, like they do in Jamaica or the DR- or even Mexico for that matter! I think people here are a little more reserved. They're polite enough but not especially friendly. We met several of the entertainment staff who were extremely friendly and fun, but most of them were from the DR!! If you go be sure to look for Javier, Leonardo, AJ, Maruicio, Amurice and JC. (All entertainment staff and ALL Dominican!) We also got great service from a handful of others- David at the Riviera pool bar, Orlando at the Kimonos Bar, Lando at Kimonos and Chuck & Kat at the dive shop. Come to think of it, only one of THEM is actually FROM Turks and Caicos! I'm taking the time to mention them because their great service really shone through at a resort where I would rate the service a 5 out of 10. This is an area that the resort really does need to work on.
The beach here is FABULOUS! Wow! Of all the places I've been before this was by far the clearest, most beautiful water I've ever seen. I couldn't get enough of it and actually took over 15 pictures just of the water!! The sand is pure white and very fine. I didn't see any seaweed or rocks and the beach seemed to go on for miles. It is a very narrow beach, which I suppose some people don't like, but I loved it like that. I don't like trudging through a ton of sand to get to the water. The ocean was calm and warm- great for swimming. There were plenty of chairs and shaded areas. We never had a problem finding a spot even though the resort was at full occupancy. The dive program was excellent and the snorkeling was too. Sunsets at night over that beach were amazing! I could've lived on that beach for 5 days and been happy!
There are several pools- five I think. We spent most of our time at the Riviera pool, since it's located in the French Village where our room was. It's a huge pool with a swim-up bar and a very large jacuzzi. (I wish they would designate this as an adults only pool.) The pirate's Island pool was a lot of fun, with the waterslides and swim-up SODA bar for the kids. We never got in the other pools but they looked nice as well. One of them always seemed to have a volleyball game going on and the other had nice, romantic waterfalls and quiet spots. I think they ALL have swim-up bars which is a really nice bonus!
Entertainment was were this resort really shined. We enjoyed the Sesame Street characters just as much as the kids! They had a parade with all the characters and fire dancers and a junkanoo bandand a pirates show, which was great The house band wasn't too bad either. We found that the "disco", Le Bar De Musique, was entertaining until around 11pm, occasionally 12pm. After that it was empty and often closed early. We also found a rather large crowd of adults in Turtles Bar every night from around 6pm to 10pm. If you're a night owl who likes to party until 3am you may be a little dissapointed but otherwise there was plenty to do. DON'T miss that parade! It was something really special and unique!
The spa was also excellent. Ask them if they have any specials that day or week. We got a 50 minute massage and a 50 minute body wrap for $140. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of that!
All in all we had a fabulous time and would go back in a heartbeat. I will continue to recommend this property to my clients- especially ones with children. It IS worth the extra money. I'd be more than happy to talk with anyone about this property or others that I've been to in the Caribbean. My email is beth@aplustravel.net . Happy travels!
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| Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
Mike and Lisa
Canada
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| May 2006 |
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My wife and I just returned from a week in the glorious Turks and Caicos, having read the last post I was wondering if we were staying at the same resort. My wife and I traveled with our two boy's aged 10 and 12 and both were upset that we had to leave. This was a great place to take your kids, they bill this as a family resort and this is what you are going to get, we saw all types, tons of young families with high chair bound kids and toddlers right up to pre teens.
We traveled on the tail end of spring break for the states of New Jersey and Georgia so the resort was busy for the first few days we were there but we never felt overwhelmed by the amount of people. This resort is huge and tons of room, there is a planned upgrade for an Italian seaside villa expansion with a wave pool, water slides and 160+ suites and a couple of new restaurants.
We had always wanted to travel here but decided to blow our budget this year and go. We broke up the air and land because Air Canada wanted an extra $3000.00 to fly direct, we routed through Charlotte and waited 3 hours and saved in the long run. We also traveled from Wednesday to Wednesday. We had talked to other people there and found that they had contacted the resort directly and managed to spend the same as us but managed to get a suite in the French villas. So do your due diligence and maybe you can save some money in the long run.
Getting through the airport was a breeze, the Beaches rep was there waiting for us and secured transportation for us to the resort. It was a local with a beat up van with no air-conditioning but it was only 15 minutes from the airport and riding with these guy's is part of the island culture.
Checking is was very friendly and our room was ready when we arrived. It was clean and cool. We had just the basic room in the east wing closest to the Pirate Ship for the kids, within 5 minutes we were changed and headed for the beach, and what a beach, nice soft powdery sand so soft you will want to bring it back home ...well at least I wanted too. Every morning, while our kids slept, my wife and I walked for miles up and down the beach, close to the waters edge it was hard packed and easy to walk in....paradise. All the beach areas are public and when we first went on it we were introduced to Joey, a local who tries to sell you parasailing and banana boat riding, once you tell him you are either interested or not he leaves you alone.
The restaurants were all great. We went to reflections in the morning and has adequate amounts of fruit, all fresh, and an omelet bar. They had hard boiled, scrambled, egg whites only, French toast, pancakes anything you wanted and always a friendly face to say hello. We normally went to the beach, grabbed a few towels that they supplied and grabbed some of the cots and watch life go by. Right by the beach was Arizona's which served a good lunch fare which our fussy kids always managed to find something good to eat. Just outside of Arizona's at lunch they always served BBQ'd hot dogs with hamburgers and pasta, twice they had jerk chicken and ribs ...all you can eat.
We hit Giuseppe's twice since it was so good the first time, great pasta and marinara sauce. Our favorite was Schooners, we went there three times and had Dane serve us all times. He was a great waiter with a great sense of humour. The grouper there was to die for, along with plate of Alaskan king crab legs ...... Our last dinner was at Kimono's the Japanese restaurant, it was a great show along with the dinner, three cheers to Dodi, our cook.
The real bonus for us was the activities for the kids. They have a restaurant called Bobby D's which was open 24 hours and served my sons favourite hamburger, fries and chicken fingers, and an unlimited supply of ice cream. We felt really safe letting our kids wander off to the kids centre, after dinner they managed to spend a couple of hours in the Xbox center playing games. I was in here a few times to check up on the kiddies and noticed that it is well patrolled by staff and there was always somebody every hour to make sure the machines were working.
Other activities included sailing Hobie cats, you can take them out yourself or go with a staff member. water trikes, and windsurfers. There is snorkeling stuff available but we brought our own down. There is a reef down to the left near the Coral Gardens and it has great snorkeling, we saw fish, rays and turtles and even a school of barracuda.
Our week seemed to zoom right by, the kids had a great time and we did as well. I cannot say enough about the staff, very friendly, always saying hello. I know you pay a little more for a vacation like this but there is a difference... we would love to come back here.
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| Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
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We just returned from a week at Beaches in Turks & Caicos and, I am sad to say, it was a profound disappointment. This was our third all-inclusive vacation in as many years, having stayed previously at the Starfish Trelawny in Jamaica and the Paradisus Riveria in Mexico. I have some misgivings about all-inclusive resorts anyway but as the single father of a preschooler (he turned four during our trip), at this point in our lives the advantage of built-in kid-friendly activities outweighs the inherent disadvantages of being essentially stuck at the same place all week. I decided on this resort last year, largely because the reviews here and elsewhere back then were rather glowing. I was a little concerned when I checked back (after booking the trip but before departing) to discover the tone had changed, significantly for the worse. I'm not sure if that reflects a change in management over the intervening months or what but it is difficult for me to believe anyone who! has been much of anywhere else could rate this place above average.
On to specifics.
I would have thought a resort this supposedly upscale would have had its own bus or at least fleet of vans to shuttle guests to and from the airport. Wrong. Transportation is provided but by local taxi service, not Beaches' own vehicle. We rode with another family in a van with torn upholstery, a fettid stench, and an air conditioner that didn't begin to cool things off until we were halfway there. The roads were in better condition and the surrounding town of Provo looked less impoverished than could be said of our comparable drives from the airport in Jamaica and Mexico. A cool facial towel was offered upon arrival. The lobby, thankfully, was air conditioned. Check-in was slow but uneventful, probably because we arrived around 4 PM (I understand that if you get there much earlier, your room won't be ready). We were assigned a room on the third (and top) floor of the main building with what is as close to "ocean view" as is available here (a glimpse of the so! mewhat distant water through the palm trees, past a courtyard with shuffle board and past a pool). The extra cost was worth it, though, to have a balcony from which to view the spectacularly beautiful sunsets (and the opportunity to leave swimsuits out to try wasn't bad, either). The beds were comfortable enough. The A/C and room safe worked well. There was a mini-fridge but it, by design, was NOT stocked; it is there merely as a convenience. The TV had roughly 60 cable channels available; the assortment was fairly good but didn't include any premium movie channels and surprisingly little for very young kids (Nick but not Noggin, Cartoon Network but not Boomerang; this meant that most of what was on just before bedtime--the only time you'd really want to be in the room watching TV--was anime with violent content not appropriate for the Sesame Street crowd). I was glad I brought my laptop and an assortment of DVDs, especially the day it rained. Internet access IS available i! n the room but they don't make that abundantly clear. The first few da ys, I touched base with my office by using the pretentiously titled "internet cafe" (a mosquito-infested unattended room on the second floor with 3 computer "kiosks" that accept cash or credit cards at the confiscatory rate of 80 cents a minute). If you ask at the front desk, though, they'll give you an instruction sheet that explains how to configure your modem to use their dial-up service at the relative "bargain" of 50 cents a minute (plus, you don't get eaten alive by the mosquitoes). The grout in the bathroom could have used a thorough scrubbing with Tilex but I just kept telling myself it *was* the tropics and the tub itself was clean so no actual body parts were coming into contact with the mold.....
The landscaping is beautiful and meticulously maintained. My son was tickled by all the lizards; I was less thrilled, though, by the feral cats. Our first night, I went down to the front desk to see if my son's blanket was in the lost and found (he'd left it in the lobby while we were checking in). The couple on line in front of me were waiting to see the manager because (I swear I am not making this up) she had been attacked by a wild cat at dinner. I'm a physician so I offered to look at the bite and scratch wounds on her calf. They were superficial and required no immediate treatment beyond application of an antiseptic. The manager finally arrived and assured them he'd send for the nurse. I encouraged them to make sure the matter was reported to the local animal control authorities and also to get a tetanus shot if she wasn't up to date. I ran into them the next morning at breakfast. She had been seen by the nurse for first aid the night before and the! y were taking her to see a doctor in town later that morning. When they asked about animal control, the nurse assured her there was no rabies on the island. That may be so (I know it's true of Hawaii) but... still. Even if they don't have to impound the animal for observation like we would on the mainland, you'd THINK the resort would try to remove these aggressive animals from their grounds! Attacks apparently are common enough an occurence that the nurse even asked (mistakenly) if this had happened over in the French Village area because they'd had "problems" with cats over there. This woman had been attacked on the sidewalk outside Reflections, the main buffet restaurant. Anyway, my point is that most kids reflexively approach dogs and cats they encounter in public so parents should be even more cautious than usual at this resort.
The beach is wonderful: white sand, turquoise water, excellent snorkeling, free nonmotorized water activities. If you're already certified, scuba diving is available at no charge (but you have to go through orientation in the diving pool first). A one-day resort course is available for $70 (class and pool in the morning, dive in the afternoon). I'd tried that in Mexico last July and was "hooked" enough to go for my certification this time around. You can get the P.A.D.I. scuba diver certification (which entitles you to dive to 40 feet, with a divemaster or instructor) for $200 (it takes the better part of 2 days and involves reading about 175 pages); the actual open water certification is a little more (it costs $350, takes 3 days, and involves 250 pages of material) but lets you dive to 60 feet with a buddy, not an instructor. You can start off with the $200 course if you're not sure scuba is for you then upgrade by paying the additional $150 for the third day.
The pools are nice enough but probably no better than most of us have access to through our local parks and recreation departments. There are four and each has its own design feature (a waterfall at Cascades, water slides at Pirates' Island, a volleyball net at Iguana's, and zero depth entry at Riviera). Foam floatation rafts are abundantly available but many families brought their own inflatable floats or life jackets. All the pool areas have hot tubs and, additionally, there are other adult-only tubs. All pools also have swim up bars but, understandably, the one at Pirates' Island (meant primarily for kids) only serves nonalcoholic drinks. The bartenders were more friendly and efficient than at other all-inclusives I've stayed at. I didn't drink an alcoholic beverage the entire time but I could tell from looking at the bottles (Captain Morgan, Absolut) that these were more premium spirits than is usually the case. The "virgin" pina and ba! nana coladas we had were excellent (although I should note that at half the bars, asking for a nonalcoholic pina colada gets you a premade "slushie" dispensed from a machine rather than a blended-from-scratch drink; the banana coladas, on the other hand, were always made fresh). There is no beverage service on the beach. I packed a 44 ounce thermal mug and just filled that up with iced tea or soda before hitting the sand.
We never had trouble getting beach towels or finding lounge chairs at the beach or the pools. Apparently, like a lot of resorts, Beaches used to have a policy where you were issued towel tokens or some such at the beginning of your stay and you had to return your used towels each day for clean ones and you were charged for the towels at the end if you didn't have them to redeem for your tokens. Thankfully, they don't do that any more (even though the "Passport to Paradise" guide they send you before your trip still mentions this policy). Towels are available at the activity hut and, usually, at the pools. In fact, they place a folded towel at the bottom of each chaise every morning; if a towel is ALL you see, that chaise is not reserved or in use (it takes beach bags, flip flops, sunscreen, or some other personal effects to do that).
The Kids' Club was okay. Some days my son didn't want to leave; others, he didn't want to go at all. I just used it while I was in my scuba class. The upside is this is the easiest way for kids to meet the Sesame Street characters (somehow, though, I suspect the folks at Children's Television Workshop would rethink this partnership if they saw, as I did, "zylophone" listed as one of the words when the Letter of the Day was Z). The hours, ostensibly, are 9 AM-noon and 1 PM-6 PM. What they don't tell you is that they actually open at 8 AM (then relock the doors shortly thereafter) and take any kids NOT picked up by noon to lunch. This concession is necessary for the scuba divers and may be available if you have some other pressing need (a spa appointment, an outside tour). Babysitting is available in the evenings but I never utilized this because I wanted to spend my non-diving time with my son and, besides, who wants to eat alone?
The Fitness Center wasn't bad. It had a fair assortment of free weights and Cybex equipment, as well as treadmills, stair steppers, elliptical cross trainers, and exercycles. It's air conditioned and towels are provided. Inexplicably, there is absolutely no locker room. The spa is in an adjacent building and you are allowed to shower there as well as use the dry sauna and steam room but you are NOT permitted use of a locker, a privilege reserved for people about to receive a spa service. What this means is you have to strip down in the reception area for the spa (maybe 4 feet away from the male and female desk attendants) and just leave your belongings in a heap on the floor while you shower. Inexcusable. I didn't actually utilize any of the spa services but everything I heard was that they were good, if pricey.
The evening entertainment (held on an outdoor stage) was hit or miss; helped pass the time some nights but we were ready to go after 5 minutes others. One night, they showed movies (Aladdin and Lion King II). The electronics game room at Pirates' Island is nearby. They have probably 40-50 stations that, at first glance, appear to be arcade games but actually are just cabinets housing a TV and X-Box console. At any given time, 4-5 were inoperable. If you have pre-teens going through video withdrawal, this is better than nothing but it's not exactly the free arcade suggested in their promotional material. There's no sense packing your own console because the room TVs are incompatible (the only input they have is coax for the cable, no RCA whatsoever). In an adjacent "building" (it's a covered but not entirely enclosed shelter, the open air of which allows in mosquitoes), they have pool tables, ping pong, and one air hockey table with negligible air pressure. Board games a! re available to check out from the activities hut. We usually stopped by the Cafe de Paris coffee shop in the French Village on the way back to our room for a hot chocolate that I transferred to my son's sippee cup for bedtime.
For all the Sesame Street hype, you could easily go all week without running into any of the characters. If photo ops are important to you, make sure to get both the general Entertainment & Recreation as well as the Kids' Club schedules to see who's going to be where when. Typically, a character shows up for 15 minutes in the morning in the lobby; in the afternoon, a professional photographer takes souvenir photos with a designated character but this is by appointment and you have to schedule a day in advance. They also have a Sesame Street parade on Wednesday night and a character breakfast on Thursday morning. I foolishly assumed this would be more like Disney World (where there's ALWAYS a character breakfast somewhere) and scheduled our trip for Thursday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon, totally missing the 12 hour window between the parade and character breakfast. But luck wasn't with us at all Sesame-wise as the real-life Gordon was on premises for a speci! al show with Elmo... starting the day after we left. My point is if I haven't yet talked you out of going to Beaches and if any of this matters to you, try to ask when you're scheduling your trip if any special Sesame Street visitors are expected around that time (or if the parade still is on Wednesday and the breakfast on Thursday).
I can't say enough about the food but that isn't a good thing. This was, by far, the worst food I have had on any vacation, and the only vacation on which I've actually LOST weight. If you are one who eats to live rather than lives to eat, you'll find enough to meet your daily caloric requirements. For me, though, food defines pleasure and there was precious little to enjoy here. I didn't have a single meal all week that made me wish a comparable restaurant would open back home. And lest you write me off as a gastronomic snob, I didn't have a single meal all week I wouldn't have gladly traded for a trip to Applebee's or Olive Garden. Or Taco Bell, for that matter. For breakfast, there are three options: the buffets at Reflections and Giuseppe's and a la carte at Schooner's. The *only* reason to eat breakfast (or any meal, really) at Reflections is if you're staying in the main building and it's raining, you don't have to venture outside to get there. It's a ca! ttle call. You wait to get a table that is literally 12 inches from the next person's and the service is beyond atrocious (if someone even bothers to take your drink order--and there is no guarantee that will happen--they won't actually bring your iced tea or OJ or whatever until you're almost done eating and there is no chance you're getting any refills). Giuseppe's offers essentially the same food but it's a less crowded, more relaxed atmosphere. Schooner's overlooks the beach and has menu service; the French toast there is made from banana bread, which was an interesting twist (not as good as the banana-stuffed French toast I make myself at home, but you can't have everything). Lunch is available at Reflections and Giuseppe's but I'm not sure they allow you to dine in your swimwear; most people seemed to take the noon meal at the swim-friendly options (Arizona's at the Cascades pool or Bobby D's Diner at Pirates' Island). The french fries actually were goo! d, the burgers only tolerable. The pizza was inedible; I've had far be tter at convenience stores. The "nachos" were the serve-yourself variety: stale chips under a heat lamp that you could squirt some molten cheese-product over. I've had better at a ballpark, or cineplex. Did I mention I was craving Taco Bell by mid-week? Dinner, in theory, has the most options but by all accounts reservations are so hard to come by for Sapodilla's that even if I'd been inclined to dine there by myself (kids aren't allowed), it would have been limited to one night toward the end of my stay. The buzz on the Japanese restaurant and Sushi Bar was universally bad. The French restaurant is also adults-only and I don't care for seafood so Schooner's was out. That left the buffet at Reflections (so-so), Giuseppe's (where I had an adequate made-to-order dish at the pasta bar that, in comparison to everything else, became the stand out best meal of the trip; they have a variety of veggies that they essentially stir-fry then add your choice of spaghetti o! r tubular noodles and your choice of alfredo or marinara sauce; I skipped the sauce and the spaghetti with veggies and olive oil wasn't bad), or Arizona's (which at night has menu service rather than buffet but it is absolutely DREADFUL; I ordered the "chuck wagon steak" one night but there were maybe four or five edible bites once you removed the bone, gristle, and fat; I tried the fajitas at Arizona's a couple nights later, wrongly assuming you can't mess up fajitas). The desserts generally weren't worth bothering with. They were the same every night, in every restaurant (you couldn't even escape them at the coffee shop): low-rise two layer cakes with various cream fillings (lemon, chocolate, banana), more a torte than a cake actually. I'm convinced these were not made on site but were commercially prepared desserts that they simply thawed out and put on the buffet. Cookies were always available at Bobby D's and almost everywhere else at lunc! h time; the white chocolate chunk-macadamia nut weren't bad. None of the fruit (which was pretty much served breakfast, lunch, and dinner) was remotely fresh; the watermelon was pink not red, the pineapple was off white not yellow, and the honeydew and cantaloupe bordered on Styrafoam in both texture and taste. I think my son subsisted mostly on the boxes of Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes, and Cap'n Crunch I learned to squirrel away for him at breakfast so he'd have something besides french fries and ice cream to eat the rest of the day.
Checking out was a disaster. Our flight wasn't until 3 PM but we still had to have our non-carry on luggage outside our room by 8 AM. We were supposed to be at the "departure lounge" by noon for our van to the airport. We wanted to spend a little time on the beach so I asked if we could check out of our room at 1145 rather than 1100 but, nooooo, that was going to be way too much trouble. I was told we could shower and change at the departure lounge and that the bellman would take the two bags we still had in our room to the lounge. I handed the desk clerk my room keys and *thought* I was checked out. We went to the departure area at 1145 but our carry on luggage was nowhere to be seen. We headed back to the main desk and, sure enough, the carry ons were still in our room. They agreed to let us go ahead and go back to the room after all and change. While we were in the room, the bellman finally showed up for the luggage! I told him we'd just take it from there. I had to ! go back down to the desk because when I'd returned the keys before I had not, in fact, actually "checked out." By the time we got this all squared away, we'd missed the van. They directed me to return to the departure lounge and wait for them to send another. We did, but I noticed that one of my four suitcases had somehow gone on the earlier van with the other guests. They finally did send another van, about 45 minutes later (in the ample time we had to explore the lounge, I never did find the showers or changing rooms). They told me I'd "probably" find my missing suitcase at the airport. The driver actually stopped outside the resort to chat with a buddy he saw standing on the street, who then asked if he'd mind giving his wife a ride into town since he was heading that way. Unbelievable. When we pulled up to the airport, there was my missing suitcase just sitting on the curb. When I reached for it, a local man swooped out of nowhere and kept telling me repeatedl! y he KNEW it belonged to someone and he'd been keeping his eye on it f or me. We still had plenty of time to check in and wait for our flight, which makes me wonder why the resort has you leave so early. We also were not charged the $35 per person "departure tax" they'd mentioned (apparently, that had been included in what we paid up front, but you would think Beaches would have a standard policy on whether or not they included the charge for that).
Well, anyone masochistic enough to have read this review in its entirety is probably self-hating enough to enjoy a stay at Beaches. If you've just been skimming, though, and skipped to the end for my bottom line, I'd have to say you can do better than this. If I'd paid half what I did, I'd have been able to take some comfort in the old saying about a bad day at the beach(es) being better than a good day at work. But this is an incredibly expensive place (I forgot to pack flip flops and had to get just a basic pair at the gift shop for an exorbitant $52). It simply isn't worth the cost (which is considerable) or the trouble (there were no direct flights available, unlike the charters offered to Cancun, Jamaica, and other places I'll go in the future that DON'T entail 3 hour layovers with a tired toddler). Probably the most positive thing I can say is that at least they don't tag you with those annoying wrist bands all week like a lot of resorts do. I have no id! ea how they tell guests from nonguests... maybe they just figure no one who HADN'T paid in advance would eat their food.
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| Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
Bobby and Nalby & Kids
USA
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| July 2004 |
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First let me start off by saying that I really enjoy your web site and have used it quite a bit for planning out our Caribbean vacation for next year. Based on what we have read, we are leaning towards a vacation at an all-inclusive in the Dominican Republic.
Now for our review. My family and I recently returned from a 6 night stay at the Beaches all-inclusive resort in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands. Our group consisted of my wife and I and three children ages 13, 9 and 13 months. Overall we would consider our vacation as quite good, there were definitely areas where there was opportunity for improvement however. Here are our thoughts.
Arrival into Providenciales -
We left Orlando very early and had to make a connection in Miami to Provo. The flights were short, 60 minutes and 90 minutes respectively which was a blessing because of our 13 month old "lap" child (we did not have to buy a ticket for our baby). Thankfully, he slept during most of the flights. Arrival into Provo was fairly easy. Almost all of the passengers on our flight were people going on vacation and we all had to check through immigration. We waited on line for about 15 minutes and were led to a room where all of our bags were already deplaned. After retrieving our luggage, we were immediately met with someone that led us to a van for Beaches. We were on our way to the resort within 10 minutes of getting our bags. BTW...seat belts and child safety seats don't seem to be a big deal in Provo.
Check-in -
Upon arrival to Beaches, we were met with a cool towel and a tropical drink (non-alcoholic, option for rum if desired). I found this to be a nice touch and was encouraged for the the rest of the week. After filling out a few forms, we were told where our room was. We went to our room and our luggage arrived shortly thereafter.
Lobby -
The lobby was very nice with the main buffet restaurant "Reflections" right in the lobby. There was a gift shop outside of the lobby and a children's store and duty free jewelry store right in the lobby. There was also a guest relations desk and tour desk for off property tours in the lobby. A bar was in the lobby and the main doors led out to the pool and beach.
Room -
We booked a Honeymoon Grand Deluxe Room on the third floor in the main lobby. When we got to our room, we were quite disapointed. It was no more than a standard hotel room that you would find at any budget hotel in the states. Our room was equipped with two double beds, a pull out chair, table, two chairs, safe and dresser. There was a balcony with a nice view of one of the pools. We requested a crib before we arrived but it was not there. We called reception and had one delivered a short time later. The room was not "deluxe" in any way. Some of the furniture was worn/old and a drawer in the dresser did not open. We had five peoples worth of vacation clothes for a week, so it was very tricky trying to get everything unpacked and put away. We ended up leaving most of our stuff in our luggage. The floor was all tile and somewhat dirty and there were these tiny ants in the room altho! ugh we were on the third floor. The air conditioning never really got cold even on high and there was this damp mildewy scent in the room all week. For five people, this room got very crowded. For family groups like ours, I would recommend the larger suites of the villas on the grounds. I think they would be more spacious with room to spread out although you would have to pay more for those accomodations. We already paid quite a bit for this room and expected much much more.
Weather -
For a summer vacation, it was perfect. Actually it did not rain except for a two minute shower late one afternoon. It was very hot and the sun was intense. Make sure you bring lots of sunblock and re-apply every hour or so, especially if your swimming. We were very careful about sun care with our kids and they still got burned. We saw some other fair skinned guests that had serious sunburns that looked like 2nd degree burns. Be very careful with the Carribean sun....it can be dangerous.
Staff -
We found the staff to be very good. They were always smiling and helpful throughout the week and always obliged us with our continous requests for milk for our baby and soft drinks for the kids. I was surprised there was no poolside or beachside service but overall, the staff did a good job. We met and spoke with some very nice, young and hard working staff members at the resort.
Grounds -
The grounds were nice. Lots of tropical vegetation and paths leading throughout the resort. It will take you about a day to learn how to get around but once you get it, you won't get lost. All the paths seem to lead to and from the main lobby. The French Village was beautiful with nice little restaurants and newer hotel buildings. If you have little kids like us, I would recommend bringing a stroller, the resort is spread out and our umbrella stroller was used everyday. If you don't have one, you can borrow one at the nursery.
Pools -
Lots of pools to choose from here. Our kids tried all of them. The Iguanas pool was directly outside the lobby. There was also another pool by the beach, a large pool at the French Village and Pirates Island pool for kids. Some pools had jacuzzis and the Pirates Island pool had two water slides and a swim up bar for the kids. Milkshakes and sodas flowed freely for the kids. There were plenty of areas to layout but shaded areas later in the morning were hard to find. Our older kids went to the pools a lot but my wife and I mostly went to the beach.
Beach -
Ahh, the beach. What an awesome sight. The beach was absolutely gorgoeus with very nice fine sand, crystal clear cool water and very little surf. Easily the highlight of the vacation. Plenty of places to lay down but if wanted a shaded area (we needed one because of our baby), you needed to get there by 9:00AM or late in the PM. Peak beach times was between 10:00AM-2:00PM. There was good snorkeling about 100 yards from the beach and lots of activities through Beaches watersports. You can kayak, sail, and snorkel as part of your all-inclusive package. There were also daily snorkeling trips to "table top" which is a natural reef with an abundance of fish, rays, barracudas, sea turtles and octopus. The watersports staff was helpful and friendly. Note, if you wanted to take the included scuba "resort course", you had to take a 200 yard ocean swim test to qualify. We decided that it was too much work! for a vacation. Since this is a family resort, there was no topless sunbathing and I only saw one thong all week. Although there were quite a few Europeans and Canadians, the beach scene was tame for the Carribean.
Nightlife -
Not much here at all. There were these little shows for the kids most nights and they did have a Junkanoo parade another night but there was no disco, karaoke (as advertised) or club that we could find. The few bars were fairly active (we were there during the Stanley Cup Finals...the Canadian guests relished this) but outside of that, there was nothing for grown-ups to do after dark. We also found out that the casino off-property recently closed. Sadly, we turned in at about 11:00PM every night....lame.
Food -
Overall, the quality of food was good. There were 9 places to eat, a mixture of ala carte and buffets. It was a little frustrating to get into some of them though because since it was June, there was an abundance of weddings going on. On our Saturday there, we counted no fewer than 6 weddings and they all reserved time at the various restaurants. Also, for the reservations only, adults only restaurants, they book out about a week in advance. We found this out the hard way by trying to make a reservation at the upscale adults only restaurant for the following night. We were able to talk our way into a table and had an excellent meal.
Bobby D's Diner -
By Pirate's Island. Hamburgers, pizza, chicken nuggets, fries and other kid friendly choices. This place was open all day and night until 6:00AM. Ice cream was always available and unlimited sodas. The kids hit this place all week. Actually, there were some surprising choices during the dinner hour like pasta and roast chicken the night we went there with our kids before my wife and had dinner at the adults only French restaurant. Overall it was OK if you were 12 or under.
Schooner's
This was the seafood restaurant right on the beach. You can also get an ala carte breakfast here that was just OK. The location was great with views of the beach and pier. All tables were outside which led to some problems with mosquitoes, no-see-ums and flies around your food (yuck!) All of us got bit by the bugs during dinner. The food here was disapointing. The crab legs were dry, mussels were flavorless and conch was really not very good. Service was good however.
Reflections -
Buffet in the main lobby. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Food was quite good with lots of choices at all meals. Lunch items sometimes included lamb, pork roast and baked ham. They recycled the food sometimes, I noticed that the roast turkey one dinner was a breakfast option the next day. Desserts at dinner were quite good. Usually had regional choices and lamb (or goat I suspect) was a recurring theme. Seafood was overcooked sometimes. They also rotate different theme meals throughout the week. It was always busy for breakfast and lunch. A convenient place for a good meal.
Guiseppes -
The other buffet option in the French Village that had an Italian feel. Less crowded than Reflections and had good choices as well. The setting was a bit more intimate and was pretty much empty during the lunch rush.
Arizona's -
Tex/Mex restaurant near one of the pools and the beach. Due to it's proximity, the attire is very casual. You see lots of people walking around in their swimsuits during lunch. We did not eat here for dinner but did eat at their lunch buffet several times. The choices for the lunch buffet ranged from pizza and nachos to regional fish and bar-b-q ribs. Also there was salad choices and great french fries...thin and crispy.
Sapodillas -
This was the adults only restaurant that required a reservation. It books out about a week in advance so plan accordingly. We did not have a reservation but were able to sweet talk our way into getting a table. The service here is very good and the choices were nice. You basically order in four courses and have can have wine. The appetizers were good and they did a good job with my steak. Setting is very intimate... soft lighting, easly listening music and no kids. It made for a very nice respite.
Le Petit Chateau -
This place actually surprised us the most. It was the other adults only restaturant but did not require a reservation. It was busier than Sapodillas but we did not have trouble getting a table. The setting was nice but not as intimate as Sapodillas. The food was excellent. There was escargot, salmon tartare, trout, and other french staples for the taking. Food was prepared well and the service was very good.
Japanese restaurant -
We did not eat here for dinner. We did try it for sushi and it was just awful. They were very stingy with the fish in the sushi. It was sliced extremely thin. Also, they used some sort of crabmeat salad instead of crabmeat for the California rolls that tasted terrible. The rice for the sushi was also low grade. I learned that you don't go to the Carribean for the sushi.
Departure -
You had to leave your bags out in the lobby by 8:00AM the day of your departure. You were given your final bill for any incidentals during your stay (phone calls etc...) and settling it was easy. They had a lounge for departures and you had a sheduled time for shuttles to the airport depending on your flight departure time. Beaches process was expeditious and they tried their best to get you to the airport in plenty of time. Going through the airport was OK although they did open all bags in front of everybody. There was a lot of idle time waiting for your flight at Provo's no frills airport.
Overall we would rate our vacation a 7 out of 10. There were some great things about the resort like the amazing beach and kids activities but for a comprehensive family vacation, there was much room for improvement. Children will have a blast but for the parents/adults that paid for the vacation, there should have been more options. This resort and island are extremely expensive and for what we paid for the vacation, we were expecting more. We probably would not return to this property unless we got a great deal on a villa. We are looking into 5-star all inclusive options in the Dominican Republic for next year.
Thank you for reading our review and we hope it was helpful.
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| Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
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| My daughter 10yrs and mother 56 yrs and myself 38 all had a great time at Beaches all inclusive in Turks and Caicos it was 5 stars all the way, we were trying to find something wrong and to our advantage the entertainment, food, staff and property were unbelievable, my daughter met a friend and we never saw them, they had the time of their life and keeping busy with all the children’s activities. This resort had the most amazing food, and several different restaurants, the alcohol was premium and the rooms were spotless. Everyone we spoke with, this was their 2nd or third time, that tells ya something. This is a family resort mostly for kids, but we did see quite a few couples with no children, there are four pools, maybe five can’t remember and all seemed to have plenty of room, although we went in November great weather by the way and it wasn’t as crowded as summer months. |
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| Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
Ethan & Linda
USA
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| November 2003 |
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My husband and I just returned from yet another fabulous vacation at Beaches, in Providenciales, Turks & Caicos. This is our second visit - we were married at Beaches 4 years ago and returned for a vacation with our 18 month old son and my husband's Mother. For anyone who has not visited Turks & Caicos, be prepared to see what we feel are the best beaches and most amazing turquoise water in the Caribbean or Mexico. We have visited many other islands and Mexico, and feel T & C is the BEST by far!!
TRAVEL - We took the Beaches/Continental Charter out of Philadelphia, nonstop to Provo, and our flight's service was second-to-none. Champagne toast on the flight, great service and attitude from the crew. We arrived a bit early. Shuttle service was prompt and we were on the beach that afternoon.
For our return, our shuttle back to the hotel was scheduled to leave 3.5 hours before our flight. We reluctantly took the shuttle rather than getting a taxi a little bit later, however, there was no reason that we could find to be at the airport that early. Our flight was at 2:30 and by 12:10 we were ticketed, through security and ended up waiting in the crowded gate waiting area, not nearly large enough to accomodate the 3 flights leaving that afternoon. We left on a Saturday and were told we had to shuttle early because Saturday was a busy day at the airport. It was busy, but we could have arrived at 1:30 to no line at Continental, no line at security. We will remember that next time. A taxi to the airport would cost $20 and would be well worth it. The airport is not air conditioned, and the gate area was overly crowded. They do allow you to exit the gate area and go outside or to the restaurant which we did because our child was not tolerating the crowds and heat well. We stayed outside until they started boarding our flight.
ROOMS - We stayed in a 2 room suite so that our son could have a separate room for his crib. We had suite concierge service which was excellent. All questions/concerns were handled by the suite concierge. Our room was beautiful, however I must mention that in our first suite, we noticed a few large roaches at night when we turned on the lights to tend to our baby crying. They scurried across the floor, were hard to catch but my husband was able to kill them. I was quite alarmed to see roaches in our room, as we never saw them during our 1st visit to Beaches. We immediately went to concierge and were met with many apologies, and prompt action. They moved us to another building/suite, and upgraded us and our mother in law several levels to bigger and nicer suites. A valet moved ALL of our bags, and even wheeled our crib to the new room which was on the other side of the resort and closer to the beach. All was fine until the night before we left. It had rained the day before, and I found 3 more roaches in the room! Extremely alarmed, I called concierge and they sent the room manager to our room with a housekeeping person. Again, we were treated extremely well with huge apologies, and the explanation that pests are a constant battle on all tropical islands, which is true. The manager oversaw the housekeeping staff while they searched and cleaned our entire room, sprayed and assured us of no more roaches for our last night's stay. They offered to move us again but we declined since we were leaving the next day. We didn't see any more bugs. They also provided us with a generous credit of some incidentals on our bill as an apology, and a $50 gift certificate for the gift shop.
I must emphasize that even though the above incident was upsetting as I HATE bugs and they really freak me out, the way the staff and management at Beaches handled it was exemplary. I am very aware that roaches are on tropical islands, and even places like Florida have a hard time battling them. The Beaches staff was more than apologetic, very concerned about the situation and nipping it in the bud for the resort in general, and we felt the situation was handled very well. All in all, despite the above, we would still visit again. The "great" at Beaches far outweighs this incident.
STAFF/SERVICE - Excellent!! The staff at Beaches was very friendly, helpful and attentive. My mother-in-law was constantly commenting on how pleasant everyone was. Most of the staff seemed genuinely happy working at Beaches, which was refreshing.
The grounds of the hotel are just beautiful - immaculate landscaping and flowers.
FOOD - Get ready to eat ALOT. There were 9 restaurants to choose from, 2 of them for adults only. If you have children, you will love Bobby D's diner/cafe...serving food around the clock, snacks, ice cream, etc. The water slides are great for kids AND adults...we went there often. The food in the restaurants was great - I would highly recommend Reflections Friday night seafood buffet - lobster, crab, etc - it was excellent. Giuseppe's was excellent for dinner and lunch, and the Cafe Paris had great dessert crepes served from 3 to 5 in the afternoon.
THE ISLAND & BEACH - I save the best for last. The beaches and water in T & C are spectacular. The sand is powdery white and super-soft. The water is SO turquoise that sometimes the bottoms of the clouds in the sky have a turquoise hue to them, from the reflection off the water. You can walk for MILES on the beach undisturbed. We feel the island to be very safe and therefore rented an SUV to visit some of the more remote beaches.
CHALK SOUND/SAPODILLA BAY - I would HIGHLY recommend venturing off the resort in an SUV. It was SO worth the $69 for the day. We rented from Scooter Bob's. They picked us up at the hotel and took us 5 minutes to the car lot. We got a Toyota 4-Runner in very good condition, with air conditioning. We had brought our son's carseat and he came with us. Scooter Bob's also had snorkel gear for rent for $10 a day - again, worth it as you will visit some amazing beaches. This was our second visit to the island and we knew where to go. If you visit T & C, you MUST visit Chalk Sound and Sapodilla Bay. I just cannot emphasize this enough!!!Just 10-15 minutes from the hotel, this sound and bay boast THE most amazing water in T & C. The sound is a HUGE area, as far as you can see, and looks like a huge lake of waist-deep, clear and almost "neon-like" turquoise water. The sound/bay is dotted with tiny islands the size of a few cars. It is a very ethereal (sp?) experience to see this bay. It feels like you are on another planet!! There are amazing houses along cliffs surrounding the sound and bay. It is THE most beautiful sight I have seen yet on this earth, and you cannot miss it if you go to T & C. You can see the sound beautifully from the road and there is a little pull-off area to stop, take pics and breathe it all in! Go further up the road and ask someone how to get to Sapodilla Bay Beach - a small, deserted beach with again amazing knee-deep water as far as you can see. You can park there, sun and relax. It's a little hard to find but worth it.
MALCOMB'S ROAD BEACH/TIKI HUTS - Malcomb's beach is another great find. The road to get there is much better than it was 4 yrs ago, but there is a 100 yard or so stretch that is AWFUL, but if you have an SUV, put it in 4-wheel drive and take the chance. Just take your time. It is worth it. When you arrive at Malcomb's beach, you will find several other SUV's/visitors who made the trip, so you won't be alone. This beach is beautiful and is the sight of an old French Polynesian game show. There are very old, battered Tiki huts remaining, but there is NO shade, so bring your sunscreen. The tiki huts provide no shade, contrary to what the maps say. There is GREAT snorkeling here, and again it is a great place for pictures, sunning and relaxing. It is WORTH the drive.
All in all, our vacation was great! We will be going again, and are now considering purchasing a condo in T & C. Enjoy!
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| Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
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| We just returned from a wonderful vacation at the Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort. The beach was absolutely beautiful. The water was as clear as tap water and pretty shades of blue. We booked the cheepest room on the internet and it was fine for us - in the main building. We would recommend this over the French village because it is closer to the beach. The food was better than we expected and the people were friendly. My husband and I were traveling with our 3 year old and 5 month old. We used the nursery some and it worked out fine. However, we were there during the low season when the nursery wasn't too crowded. During the high season, it sounded like the nursery would be pretty crowded. Overall the ladies were good with the kids. We snorkeled, used the sailboats and kayaks. We would recommend taking the 10 minute walk down the beach to snorkel. It was great. We liked the fact that the resort was only about 15 minutes from the airport - especially with small children. The airport is small and I heard that it gets crowded during high season, but it was fine for us. We had a few rainy afternoons while we were there and were told that almost all of the rain comes in October. We were there right before the rainy season started. Every morning was perfect weather. We loved this place so much that we are talking about going back next year. It is the perfect vacation for a family with small kids. About the only drawback we saw was that sometimes the service was slow, but this really didn't bother us. The resort wasn't crowded when we were there and was very relaxing.
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| Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
Dolores & Carl
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| August 2003 |
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| We are going back to T&C for the third time. The second time to Beaches. We are in our 50's and are going without children. Who said we would feel out of place going there without kids? They are wrong. We loved it. There are even restuarants there for adults only. We went last November while most children were in school. There were many families with pre-schoolers there. It was wonderful seeing all the small children at the entertainment each evening. We met plenty of couples vacationing there with no children. The sand and water are the best, bar none. That's what keeps us going back. The staff at Beaches is determined to keep you happy, and they are very organized. We had no problems that weren't fixed quickly. We would recommend this resort to anyone, and have recommended it to friends with children. They all went and loved it. Everyone plans to go back. We will be there again in November. We are counting the days. |
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| Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
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My family and I just returned from a wonderful vacation at Beaches 3/8/03 - 3/15/03. There were five of us. My elderly mother, wife, son 8 and daughter 7 years old.
We decided to go to Beaches because it was advertised as being kid friendly. We adults felt that if the kids had a good time, then so would we. My mother, wife and I are more likely to go to a smaller higher end facility than something like Beaches. The Four Seasons and better are the norm for us. It would be unfair to compare Beaches with our standards, but I have to admit that it did well. Our kids had a great time!!! We felt at ease with allowing them to have free an unsupervised freedom within the resort. At one point my son got lost, a staff member saw that he was in minor distress, phoned our room and then found my wife nearby in a very timely manner. This resort is very kid friendly. If you don't have kids, or are not traveling other family members or friends that do, then you will feel out of place.
The facilities are terrific, with the grounds lush and beautiful. We had a one bedroom presidential suite on the third floor, with ocean views. It was terrific. The Cascade pool which was closest to our room found our kids in it all day. The beach is one of the most beautiful that I have seen anywhere in the world. The white sand is soft and talcum powder fine. The ocean water was clear with no seaweed in it, or on the beach. Visibility while diving was in excess of 100 feet. The dive operation, was top shelf. The staff was very knowledgeable. The boats were comfortable and very well maintained. The scuba safety procedures were well thought out. The food, while resort in nature was very good. Sapodillas and the Sushi restaurant were very good, though the sushi variety was limited in comparison to a normal Japanese restaurant. Being from Seattle, we had no problem finding good coffee.
Cons:
I have read much about problems with getting lounge chairs. I normally rise with the sun, so getting up early for a stroll to the beach or pool to get chairs was never an issue with me. I can understand though where later risers would take issue. My only negative thought is that there ought to be a beach umbrella per every two chairs. Shade is a premium here and is highly necessary for our winter white skin. There seemed to be many more chairs than there were shade opportunities.
Getting shuttled to the airport for our return, was a bit of hassle and rather disorganized. We had to have our bags outside our room two hours before departing for the airport. This in itself was not an issue. Our bags were the last to make it to the departure lounge 45 minutes after we were supposed leave. This was not a big deal as we made our flight with time to spare. This hassle just encroached on the calm and peaceful attitude that the resort had fostered for the entire previous week.
Final thoughts:
Would we go back to Beaches? Yes in a New York minute. Was it worth the money? Every penny. Our kids had the time of their lives. My mom loved and thoroughly enjoyed the easy and ample time that she had with our kids, my wife and I. None of us wanted to return home and we wish we were back there now...
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| Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort |
Aaron
Ridgewood, NJ
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| March 2003 |
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We were Beaches returning guests, Feb, 2001 and Feb 12-22, 2003.
We have two teenagers, a boy 13 and a girl 17. After spending 2 weeks
in Maui during August, 2002, we decided that our next vacation would
be of the "relaxing" variety so it was logical to pick Beaches Turks
& Caicos for a second time. We wanted to return to somewhere where we
could just stroll out of the room and enjoy meals at our choice of 9
restaurants, right on the property - no reservations to make, no car
to get, no wait at the restaurant and no driving back to the hotel
after having a few glasses of wine at dinner.
For the moment, I'll leave the travel and transfer segment for last.
We chose the presidential 2 room suite again since it's well laid-out
for 4 adults or near-adults. The room had been repainted since our
stay 2 years ago. The air conditioning - usually not suited to
American tastes in many non-US Caribbean island resorts - worked
surprisingly well. There are TVs in each room, and best of all, a
fully stocked bar in a mini kitchenette - all the conveniences of
home. Most anything you'd want to consume in the room, including
microwave popcorn, all included in the air & ground package.
The room was located in "Salt Kay" just steps from one of the most
pristine beaches I've ever seen. Or, located just a few steps in a
different direction, there is a huge swimming pool with swim-up bar .
The Arizona bar and restaurant and is open for dinner as well as
lunch on the pool deck.
From this vantage point, the ocean and pool views are spectacular.
The weather was the best we've ever had on any vacation - 75/85,
clear, with cooling trade winds.
The Beaches staff were more professional and helpful than we
expected; even more so than they were during our stay back in 2000.
In commenting on this improvement in service, we were told by some of
the middle managers in the restaurants that "experienced staffs
needed to be brought in from Jamaica to supplement the native island
teams". That's why you'll now find more Jamaicans than locals serving
you. In either case, the service and attitude were markedly better
than 2 years ago.
Although there are about 9 themed restaurants on the property, they
share staffs and in some cases, kitchens. However, regrettably, the
resort food has a sameness about it across all the dining spots. You
can recognize the same cuts of meat, whether they're used in
breakfast steak & eggs or beef medallions in the French bistro for
dinner. When tenderloin of lamb is offered as a dinner entree at the
continental restaurant, you'll also see it at the carving station at
the lunch buffet the next day.
But a Beaches Turks & Caicos vacation is not about fine dining. The
food is ample, adequate, mostly fresh and they offer an wide enough
selection. Most of the restaurant items are imported from the
mainland (greater South Florida) since the island doesn't have the
infrastructure to produce and process food on its own. However, they
do use some local items, like the breads & rolls, hot dog & hamburger
rolls and white bread. It all tastes like cardboard. Like they've
been frozen, re-frozen and then nuked. The dinner rolls and french
breads are a tad better. But still nothing like their counterparts at
any fine restaurant back home that you'd pay real money for.
But despite the food's shortcomings (Club Med's is better), the good
service and convenience factor goes a long way toward overall
satisfaction. But there are those rare times when you happen upon a
surly waitress or bus person. But this never happened at higher staff
levels.
The suite concierge department was nearly flawless.
The water sports programs were very well organized and as good as any
I've ever seen - maybe better.
There are numerous pools throughout the property, each offering
different features and benefits. The kids had waterslides, couples
and singles had pool volleyball, aquasize class and other poolside
activities. "Adults" had a quiet pool right on the beach with nothing
to do but sun, swim, eat, drink and relax. What could be bad about
that?
On the downside, the person who was the decision maker on the buying
of the resort's lounge chairs obviously has never had to sit in one
(the lounge chairs are color- coded for each property, pool or beach
location). The chairs have pre-formed plastic frames and what seems
to be a nylon-like net stretched across the seating area. This is not
as comfortable as vinyl webbing. It doesn't have much give when you
plunk down on it plus it seems to block the airflow from underneath.
Worse, the lounges have no arms - a welcome feature for experienced
lounge-sitters. The chair back system is so light and flimsy that the
back springs up and hits you in the back of the neck when you first
sit. This is due to how tight the netting is stretched across the
frame. And once you finally sit, and reach for a book, the chair back
system disengages and snaps to a different position - anywhere but
where you've chosen. Since the chair back can't be adjusted while
you're sitting, you've got to wrestle your way out of the chair,
stand, go around back and readjust the chair back tilt. I finally
learned to approach the chair with a running start and distribute my
weight very evenly across both the back & seat area.
The pools are sparkling, the water temperature is perfect and the
chair and deck areas are hosed and neatened-up daily.
But a recurring disappointment is this Beaches, like other resorts,
is that they have not solved the "towel rat" problem. This is the ad
hoc lounge reservation "system" where people wake as early as 6 am to
reserve lounges in all the choicest locations. By 10 am, there is no
place to sit - unless you've sent on of the kids down between 6 and 7
am. What's worse is that the large pool is just steps away from the
pristine beach. This is a problem when large families or groups
reserve as many as 12 or 14 lounges at both locations. During the
course of the day, you never see more than 2 or 3 lounges at either
location being used. A real waste.
Beaches is the family version of the Sandals Group. This particular
President's Week, the property was filled with young families, many
with pre-school aged children. Parents used the hot tub in the
Arizona pool as a kiddie pool. Kids were spilling their drinks into
the hot tub and you could see orange juice pulp floating on the
surface (there IS an adults only hot tub at a nearby location but the
water was only luke warm). We soon discovered that our teenage
children now enjoyed more adult tastes and would have enjoyed staying
at a property with fewer young children.
The travel portion of our vacation was a huge disappointment. Both
from the Beaches charter standpoint and an airport security one.
On our prior visit, seats were pre-assigned avoiding a crush at
check-in. On this trip, seats were assigned on a first come, first
served basis and, inexplicably, filled from back to front instead of
the reverse.
Check-in at Newark was uneventful except that we were early and I
questioned the ticket agent when I saw that she had placed us in the
back rows rather than the front. After I questioned her, she
immediately re- did the boarding passes and sat us in the second row
after the bulkhead (row 6). We waited a leisurely two hours at the
gate and the aircraft boarded a half hour late due to delays at the
originating airport (Boston).
As we took our seats on the aircraft, the Continental cabin crew was
busily checking boarding passes, helping with carry-ons and
admonishing people to take their seats so they can get a head count.
That was an ominous sign since there were at least a half dozen
passengers that had the same seat assignments. After 15 minutes,
families were separated, and empty seats were filled. The
announcement came that the door would be closing and our departure
would be imminent. But then came another announcement: catering had
made a mistake and forgot to deliver our food... and that "there
would be a 55 minute delay since the caterer had to cook the food
first...".
The passengers booed and hissed loudly. There was a unanimous ad hoc
vote to leave without the food. The stewardess carried that vote to
the pilot who agreed (we're still at the jetway with the door open).
The pilot then announced that departure would be imminent. Five
minutes later, another announcement came: "we have no choice but to
wait". The pilot had contacted the tour operator and was directed to
wait for the food. Since the aircraft was picking up a load of
passengers on the the return flight and catering facilities were not
available at the Turks & Caicos airport the returning passengers
would have nothing to eat. We waited the 55 minutes for the "beef or
chicken". We were soon to learn that other things were not available
at our destination airport as well.
After the delay, departure was uneventful. We had a tail wind and
were "ahead of schedule" and began our decent into Turks & Caicos. As
usual, the landing was flawless except that Turks & Caicos has a
short runway and the packed 737 we were on used every last inch of
it. As we were turning left off the active runway onto the taxiway,
we could see the desert scrub grass of Turks & Caicos at the end of
the runway pavement. It is our understanding that an effort is
underway to lengthen the runway. Currently, it doesn't seem that they
can handle anything larger than a 737.
Transfers to the Beaches resort was organized and uneventful.
Guest services at the hotel and the suite concierge were extremely
professional and organized. It was one of the smoothest check-ins in
our traveling experience (except that a Turks & Caicos immigration
document was missing from our on-board documents packet and there was
pandemonium when we attempted to clear customs at Turks & Caicos
arrivals).
Conversely, departure was the worst ever of our vacation experiences.
It's a san fact that if you are traveling for one week, even within
the same time zone, and you are traveling with a family, you can just
about write off a day of your vacation for going and a day for the
return. But this particular trip, the time expended for travel to and
from was excessive. And if you add to that the increased time to
clear security, a 7- day vacation is clearly a 5- day vacation in
terms of actual down time. And to that, you need to add the very
hectic and exhausting days at either ends of the vacation to pack and
depart and then for the turn- around.
On our return home, In anticipation of additional security and
delays, our family decided to leave for the airport a bit early. We
avoided the group transfer bus from the hotel and took an earlier
one. When we arrived at the Turks & Caicos terminal (about a half
hour earlier than we were scheduled to), the picture was ominous as
we approached the terminal. There were hordes of families with
baggage carts and screaming kids in tow, all converging on a single
double door to enter the terminal. We found a sky cap and got on line
only to find that three other flights were departing prior to ours.
Because of the bottle neck there was a delay caused by increased
security and our flight was directed to form a line outside the
terminal. We did this and our family was fourth in line. About 20
minutes later, the balance of our fellow Beaches passengers arrived
at the airport to find that the lines for our particular flight had
now rounded the terminal corner. The passengers already on line
were sweating in the mid-afternoon sun (many had already changed into
their cold weather clothing).
Most of our plane mates were from the Metropolitan New York area and
unfortunately, many of them believed that getting on a plane was the
same as getting on the subway. You simply push, and you are there. As
they broke into a sweat, many of them began jumping the line and
pushing into the terminal security area (and this came after an
additional one-and-one-half hour-wait). Needless to say,, your
average traveler at this point would be out-of-patience and ready for
terminal rage. Picture New Yorkers on a subway platform with
screaming kids tugging at their coat tails, all trying to get into
one subway car. Airport security had to be called and fistfights
almost broke out on the terminal floor. To add salt to our already
open wounds, we were then told that the aircraft was preparing for a
departure to Philadelphia, NOT Newark. A second wave of terminal rage
coursed through the hot and sweaty tightly packed crowds. Things were
getting uglier.
Four and one- half hours after we arrived at the terminal, our
aircraft door closed and we departed for what was now an uneventful
night flight back to Newark. H
Here are my final observations/conclusions:
* While the Beaches people tried as hard as they possibly could - for
the price - they need to improve on the food.
* In terms of the charter, we can't fault Continental. It appears as
though Beaches was organizing things on th cheap (for example, the
Beaches representative that was supposed to travel from Newark to
Turks & Caicos with us could not go because "he did not have a return
flight to Philadelphia as promised by Beaches").
* I will probably never return to Turks & Caicos again until I can be
convinced that the terminal staff can handle the tourist load.
* On the positive side, the beach is pristine and the water is
sparkling - Turks & Caicos certainly deserves to be included among
the 10 most desirable dive locations in the world.
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