Beaches Resorts - Jamaica and Turks & Caicos

[N&B'smom]

We also have a Beaches Turks & Caicos Facebook page where we post little known items about the resort that we get straight from our friends at the resort.

We have quite a few friends at the resort too. It's so nice after going back over and over to see familiar faces.

 

[IslandBreeze]

We had a group of friends 5families go to Beaches T&C this past summer (sadly for our family of 5 it wasn't in our budget ). They had kids ranging from almost 16 to 2, one with special needs. They ALL loved it. Really couldn't say enough about it. One family owns 2 restaurants (are very picky esp about AI) and said the food and service was wonderful

The Executive Chef, Colin Watson is awesome with special diets too (Gluten Free, allergies, ect) They maintain a Culinary Concierge Desk to take care of dietary concerns for the duration.

The last couple of times we spoke, on average he has 20-25 families with dietary concerns.

I think I can post the FB Beaches page we operate now - lets see if this works - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beaches-Turks-Caicos/113342515390575

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Turks & Caicos is beautiful. And that's an understatement. Grace Bay beach is often voted among the best beaches in the world. A hotel 2 properties down from Beaches was just rated one of the top 500 hotels in the world - partially due to location.

The beach at Beaches sometimes seems crowded - 3 or 4 lounge chairs deep- but there are also a lot of family activities so perhaps that makes up for it. I bet you've never seen water this clear. It's amazing.

The island is small with limited shopping or dining options but there are some neat places to explore. Not really within walking distance so would require a car or taxi. If you want dining recommendations, let me know but with Beaches you probably don't need them.

I would definitely recommend visiting Turks and Caicos!!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I love Jamaica and that was our first real vacation to someplace nice without the kids. I would go back in a heartbeat but my heart is in Turks and Caicos. It is worth every dime and with the new improvements and water parks it will be just that much more fun for kids. The beach at Turks in Caicos is better then any beach in Hawaii and the facilities are great. My daughter learned to scuba dive there and loved it. The food and drinks are awesome and for some reason the kids there seem better behaved then other places we have been. My husband and I even went without the kids and had a good time. For adults only Jamaica has more going on and some devine service and I am familiar with Jamaica but didn't even consider the beaches resort there as we had been to turks before we took our kids and knew that was it for us. IMHO the beaches in ocho rios aren't that good and negril sucks, it reminds me of dirty mission bay in san diego.

U had me until u said Negril sucks. 7 mile Beach is one of the most if not the most beautiful beach in Jamaica. Just look at N&B's pictures of Beaches in Negril . That is 7 mile beach. I love that it is open from resort to resort also. You can walk for miles if thats what you desire.

Must have been the resort you stayed at. In the last 10 years of visiting Jamaica, 8 visits have been to resorts that sit on 7 mile beach. Well taken care of , clear water and clean. But if the resort doesn't keep up, I could see how u could say its aweful . We love Negril.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Turks & Caicos is beautiful. And that's an understatement. Grace Bay beach is often voted among the best beaches in the world. A hotel 2 properties down from Beaches was just rated one of the top 500 hotels in the world - partially due to location.

The beach at Beaches sometimes seems crowded - 3 or 4 lounge chairs deep- but there are also a lot of family activities so perhaps that makes up for it. I bet you've never seen water this clear. It's amazing.

The island is small with limited shopping or dining options but there are some neat places to explore. Not really within walking distance so would require a car or taxi. If you want dining recommendations, let me know but with Beaches you probably don't need them.

I would definitely recommend visiting Turks and Caicos!!

Thanks for adding to the lovefest for Turks & Caicos. Glad everyone is in agreement.

As for the 3-4 deep lounge chairs, I'm from NJ. Have you ever been to a beach in NJ during the summer? I'm not worried about the crowding.

Not sure we're definitely going. I would need to get a good deal in order to make it happen and, honestly, we're looking to go as cheaply as possible. Has anyone stayed in the main buildings in the double rooms?

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Thanks for adding to the lovefest for Turks & Caicos. Glad everyone is in agreement.

As for the 3-4 deep lounge chairs, I'm from NJ. Have you ever been to a beach in NJ during the summer? I'm not worried about the crowding.

Not sure we're definitely going. I would need to get a good deal in order to make it happen and, honestly, we're looking to go as cheaply as possible. Has anyone stayed in the main buildings in the double rooms?

We have booked these rooms both times we went and have always been "upgraded" to the French Village. It is further from the beach, but the rooms are newer and we liked the location.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

We have booked these rooms both times we went and have always been "upgraded" to the French Village. It is further from the beach, but the rooms are newer and we liked the location.

Great to know. Like Disney -- it would be great to be upgraded, but I'd just be happy to be there at all.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Great to know. Like Disney -- it would be great to be upgraded, but I'd just be happy to be there at all.

Keep checking the website. Sometimes there are unadvertised sales and just like Disney there are cheaper times of the years to go than others. I would stay away from the winter months though because don't forget Turks isn't that far from Florida. If its chilly in Floriday, its usually chilly in Turks.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Keep checking the website. Sometimes there are unadvertised sales and just like Disney there are cheaper times of the years to go than others. I would stay away from the winter months though because don't forget Turks isn't that far from Florida. If its chilly in Floriday, its usually chilly in Turks.

Saw a sale, but it ends tomorrow and we just started looking two days ago, so I'm not sure we're ready to jump that quickly. Looking to go in the beginning/middle of July. Could be less expensive because it's summer, but it might be more expensive because it's prime vacation time. Guess I'll have to keep my eyes open and my credit card ready.

 

[IslandBreeze]

Saw a sale, but it ends tomorrow and we just started looking two days ago, so I'm not sure we're ready to jump that quickly. Looking to go in the beginning/middle of July. Could be less expensive because it's summer, but it might be more expensive because it's prime vacation time. Guess I'll have to keep my eyes open and my credit card ready.

Low season starts on May 1st and runs through mid-December. June, July, and August are great times to go because occupancy is less and guys like Mr. Satar (Butler Manager) and Adrian Whithead (Hotel Manager) are very accommodating when it comes to upgrading your room.

That being said, I can't really think of a bad time to visit Grace Bay!!

 

[N&B'smom]

Yes, we've stayed in the main building 5 times. We've had all sorts of room categories but always booked the cheapest. We actually request that section over the French Village just because we want to be closer to the beach. It all depends on what you like. The last time we were in the Italian Village right on the beach...amazing! We still love the old section too!

Honestly, you can't go wrong!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Yes, we've stayed in the main building 5 times. We've had all sorts of room categories but always booked the cheapest. We actually request that section over the French Village just because we want to be closer to the beach. It all depends on what you like. The last time we were in the Italian Village right on the beach...amazing! We still love the old section too!

Honestly, you can't go wrong!

Good to know. We'll definitely be booking the cheapest rate possible.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Well, we did it. Sale only ran until midnight tonight, so we went ahead and booked it. And I think we got an awesome price too. It will be me, my DD15, her best friend 15 and best friend's mom (whom I'm very friendly with). We decided on sharing a room (honeymoon Caicos with double beds). It's going to be a little tight, but hopefully we can coordinate bathroom time. DD and I have slept together before in a double (ASMo) so we can do it again. 6 nights/7 days roundtrip airfare, travel insurance. Total $6865, so $3432.50 for each family. Had the other mom call her travel agent who told her it was an unbelievable price and she'd be a fool not to book it, so we did. Of course we would have each loved to have our own room, but it just wasn't in the budget for either of us.

FYI, I ran into a problem booking online. Since both girls are 15 (birthdays toward the end of the year), the dropdown menu would only allow me to chose a birth year of 1996. Both girls are born at the end of 1995. Opened a chat screen with an agent who told me it was okay to put 1996 as their birthdays and the booking agent would change it on their end. I was not happy about that, since the info would not match their passports. She couldn't convince me it was okay, so she went ahead and booked it for us, through the chat screen. Even send me invoices to confirm before accepting our deposit. If you ever have the opportunity to chat with Sierra, she's wonderful! I will be send an email to her supervisor in the morning to let her know what a pleasant experience it was working with Sierra.

Thank you all for your encouragement, pictures, information and reassurance. It's because of you wonderful DISers that I felt comfortable making such a quick decision.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

One quick question for anyone who's been: is it safe to drink the water?

 

[E&BMom]

We were just there at Christmas. We drank the water and were ok. They do stock your fridge everyday with bottled water and you can ask for it at the restaurants. Otherwise I think they serve tap. They did put lemon slices in it at the bar. Have fun!!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

We were just there at Christmas. We drank the water and were ok. They do stock your fridge everyday with bottled water and you can ask for it at the restaurants. Otherwise I think they serve tap. They did put lemon slices in it at the bar. Have fun!!

Thank you! Last thing I want to do is get sick on vacation.

 

[E&BMom]

DS had a touch of something the first day. Boo. Noone else got it so that was good!
Have a great time. We had fun. We were in the French part. The pool was great there. WE had some funky weather so the beach was really windy and the water was up on the chairs so we hung at the pool. It was heated and had a great hot tub.

Try the pizza in the Italian village shop area. ( I can't remember the name of the restaurant.) It is yummy!! The kids loved they could get cotton candy everyday at Bobby D's. In the French Village there is a cute shop that has pastries and coffee drinks. In the evening they had melted chocolate and marshmallows and fruit and cookies!! Yummy.

IF you have any questions pm me if you want. We enjoyed it. You did get a good deal. If you are going in the off season I hear they do upgrade people sometimes so maybe you will get lucky. We were there at Christmas so it was busy.
Have fun!!

 

[IslandBreeze]

Beaches Turks & Caicos ships their bottled water in from Miami. Even though the water is purified down there, but we still drink / brush teeth with the bottled water.

East Coast People - try the cheese steak in Bobby D's! It's not Pats King of Steaks or Gino's in South Philly - but it's very tasty and great at poolside!!

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I am dying to go to Beaches T&C. We had a trip all booked a few years ago, but had to cancel it.

I'm looking at it again for the first or second week of June. How's the weather at that time of year? Are rooms and restaurants air conditioned? I can handle the heat and humidity at the beach or pool but can't stand it indoors, where there's no body of water to jump into to cool off.

Thanks!

 

[CandyMandy]

We did Beaches T&C years ago before the expansion, staying in one of the beachfront villas suites. I concur the quality of accomodations and food service is high and the landscaping and maintenance are impeccable (most of T&C is dry and arrid, but you would never know that being at this resort).

But I must mention two downsides:

- First, a real attitude problem in the diving operation. All the staff in that area (at least when we visited) were relatively arrogant young men from a certain western European country, who acted like they were doing a favor by taking us diving. We were not the only ones who felt this way, numerous other guests we sopke with has the same feeling.

- Second, the transfer operation was shaky. We spent top dollar to go, but our first experience when arriving in T&C....was to be abruptly herded into beat up, un-air-conditioned van by a disorganized group of drivers. On the way out, the staff handling the return transfer wasn't much better.