Turks and Caicos Trip Report 2021

 

The Shore Club – Room with a View

 

I have just returned from The Shore Club at Turks & Caicos and am so grateful for being able to escape to such beautiful islands during these difficult times.

I stayed at three resorts and visited at least six other resorts on Providenciales. If you need an expert opinion on which property is best for your vacation, I am here to help!

I’ll start with my favorite property, The Shore Club at Turks and Caicos. I absolutely adore this resort. Its sister property, The Palms, is also wonderful. I also stayed at the famed Amanyara. While it is fabulous in many ways, it was not my personal favorite this trip.

THE SHORE CLUB

The Shore Club, a luxury Turks & Caicos Resort, has been the best surprise of my trip. It is contemporary, sophisticated, beautiful and peaceful. The Palms and The Shore Club are owned by the same company. Guests of each resort may take the complimentary shuttle to both properties and charge meals and drinks to their rooms. The Shore Club feels small and unhurried. You see other guests, but the resort never feels crowded. I would say families were the most prevalent during my stay. However, I would send families, couples, friends, really anyone who enjoys a sophisticated, residential feel. The suites are all quite large and can be made into 1, 2 or 3 bedroom suites with balconies or terraces. Every suite has a full kitchen, family room, laundry facilities and space…lots of space. There are also 6 stunning beach front villas for those hosting a large family or group and want privacy. Each villa is 2 stories and has 6 bedrooms. In the summer, you are able to rent just 4 bedrooms within a villa for a reduced price. Each villa has an entry courtyard with a private swimming pool.

I really enjoyed the food at The Shore Club. The sushi is wonderful! They also have a nice selection of Indian and Peruvian food.

There are three pools and a very long stretch of beach. I love the beach. Long Bay is very shallow which causes the water to be an amazing color of blue. It is beautiful. You can walk a few miles into the bay without ever being more than waist deep in the water. It is also a long beach, great for long walk. This is the windy side of the island, so some days can be quite windy on the beach. It is fun to watch the kite surfers! If the wind gets to be a bit much, then you can spend some time at one of the three pools.

The Shore Club at Turks and Caicos offers peace, quiet and serenity, perfect for my 2021 rejuvenation. I then moved from Long Bay to Grace Bay on the other side of the island. Grace Bay has a hotel row with many 4-5 star resorts. I got to stay at The Palms which is currently one of the nicest resorts on Grace Bay.

 

 

 

THE PALMS

If you are looking for a traditional, luxury Turks & Caicos resort on one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in the World, then you cannot go wrong with The Palms Resort. My first impression was wonderful. I stepped out of the car and was immediately greeted with warm smiles, a cold, fragranced towel and a delicious cocktail. The service was perfect at all times. The staff is so friendly and welcoming. The service is really The Palms strong suit. It is managed by Jeff Morgan, and he truly cares that his guests are happy every second of their stay.

Grace Bay Beach is breathtaking. The sand is so soft and pure white. The beach is much wider and longer than Long Bay Beach. So, if the beach is important to you, then you will really enjoy Grace Bay Beach. The downfall of having such a beautiful beach is that there are too many hotels without any real space between them. The typical banana boats and parasailing boats were present as were the many chairs in front of each resort. While I enjoyed the peace and quiet of Long Bay Beach, teenagers and anyone who loves to people watch and socialize might be happier on this side of the island.

We enjoyed wonderful service at the beach and were really feeling spoiled. The poolside restaurant is also a great place for a casual lunch or dinner. The hot tub located in the middle of the pool was filled with young couples enjoying a much needed holiday with drinks flowing.

There are many room categories, so I am happy to find the configuration and view that works best for you. The ground floor units by the pool sell very quickly to young families and are best reserved far in advance. The ocean view categories might be my favorite. You see the ocean in the not so far distance, and at night you have a wonderful view of the beautifully lit pool. Of course, there are beautiful oceanfront suites with expansive patios directly overlooking the beach and ocean. I do hope the suites receive a small renovation. The wall coverings and floors feel clean and updated, but the furniture and accessories are dated.

If you enjoy spas on vacation, The Palms is known for having possibly the best spa on the island. It is a wonderfully serene private space to relax, enjoy a massage or workout. You do not need an appointment for a treatment in order to experience the steam/sauna or just to relax in a chaise lounge.

The Palms, a luxury Turks & Caicos Resort, is located in the center of the action with lots of restaurants nearby for dinner. They also have a great shopping district that will be lots of fun on the afternoon you feel like you have had enough of the sun.

It was truly a very special visit at The Palms. During my stay I visited many other properties on Grace Bay Beach and have a great understanding of the options available and which resorts suit my different clients best.

AMANYARA

I finally got to stay at an Aman property! Amanyara is stunning. It is located on a rocky point about 35 minutes from the tourist center in Grace Bay. It offers complete privacy, and, as a result, is very popular with celebrities and athletes. You can enjoy a quiet, anonymous vacation, so long as the pesky paparazzi don’t snap your picture offshore. The resort is positioned perfectly to watch sunsets. The architecture is stunning. Each room is actually a private pavilion and has quite the WOW factor as do the rooms at all Aman properties. There are a surprising number of activities available for the enjoyment of adults and kids. The beach is gorgeous. Everyone is really friendly and welcoming. Room rates and food prices are not for the faint of heart. While Amanyara requires a large budget, there are ways to save money. I recommend finding travel dates with offers of complimentary breakfasts and a few complimentary lunches/dinners. The difficulty with charging such high prices at a resort is that perfection is expected. I did not find perfection. There were enough failures in food and service that I started to feel disappointed. Clients have returned with glowing reviews of Amanyara, so maybe my experience is not typical.

For me, my expectations were exceeded at The Shore Club, a luxury Turks & Caicos resort, and I hope to return with my family. However, all three of these resorts are excellent choices for guests with differing interests and budgets.

I quickly visited Seven Stars Resort, Grace Bay Resort, Wymara and checked out the construction of the new Ritz Carlton. They are very different from each other, but I think they are each wonderful. I also visited a few resorts that failed to impress, but there is no need to mention them. Turks has plenty of wonderful options, including the ones I mention, that will fit different clients with different interests and budgets.

Don’t make the mistake of picking a random resort from the long list of options on Turks and Caicos. I can make the best choice for you and take care of the details for transfers, beating the lines at the airport and suggesting fun activities. Let me know when we can talk!