Turks & Caicos for time looking for recommendations where to stay

[gina&peter]

This is our first Time to T & C. My husband is a seasoned diver. I am looking for recommendations for hotel to stay on the beach and the best location. I would like to be right on the beach with balcony ocean view. It is our 40th anniversary so we are ok to spend a little money. Just booked great flight price on American Airlines for Oct 25 - Nov 1. He will also want to be near a dive shop. It appears Grace Bay is the best place to stay ? Any recommendations or suggestions would be appreciated ! Thanks !

 

[Malpaso]

We stayed at Ocean Club West and liked it a lot. It is also walking distance to Dive Provo, but they will pick you up there as well.

 

[KathyV]

Good thing that it is okay to spend money because the T&Cs are expensive! I would recommend staying in a condo or apartment because eating out 3 times a day is very pricey. I know that you don't want to spend your vacation cooking, but you can easily prepare simple breakfast and lunch meals and then go out for a nice dinner.

I also recommend renting a car on Provo because cabs are expensive. It's also nice to tour the island and a car is convenient for things like buying groceries.

Grace Bay Beach is gorgeous, the water is amazing! A few years ago we stayed in a condo or apartment at the Royal West Indies and it was very nice, not spectacular but clean and convenient and the beach was lovely. I don't remember if we had a balcony? We had a full kitchen and a washer and dryer.

I am sure that your husband can make arrangements with the dive ops, either to pick him up or meet at the marina if he has a car.

We stayed on Provo for several days before getting on a liveaboard dive cruise so I don't have any experience with the local dive ops - but they have good reputations.

You might also take a look at the Breezes all-inclusive resort on Provo, it looks very nice but expensive. Scuba diving is included but I have read mixed reviews about the diving with Breezes. Search this forum for more information.

We will be traveling to the Caymans around the same time as you to celebrate our 40th Anniversary, congratulations to all of us!

 

[Damselfish]

I wouldn't worry too much about choosing a place based on being near a dive shop. It's not the sort of destination where you stay someplace with an on-site op and stroll out to the dock to get on the boat. You might stop by the shop once when you get there to check in and see what they have, or maybe not at all. Most of any physical dive shops are not even near the water. Possibly only exceptions would be Breezes, or Provo Turtle Divers/Turtle Cove Inn, but that doesn't sound like the sort of place you want to stay.

To get to the best diving the boats leave from a marina opposite side of the island from where most of the hotels and condos are, so you would either drive there or they would pick you up. They leave from the Grace Bay/Turtle Cove area for some dives that are not generally considered as good, but will take much less time out of the day. They'll pick you up for those dives too. So you'd just want to pick an op and make sure they pick up where you're staying if you don't want to drive to the departure point. We had a car but still found it more convenient to just have them pick us up.

 

[Damselfish]

just occurred to me, if you want to spend some money on your anniversary, there's this - Amanyara - Luxury Resort in Turks & Caicos - Aman

I don't know anything about diving from there. I think it's close to the Northwest point diving, and they say they provide diving through an outside op and will pickup from the beach there when possible. Far from everything else though.

 

[gina&peter]

just occurred to me, if you want to spend some money on your anniversary, there's this - Amanyara - Luxury Resort in Turks & Caicos - Aman

I don't know anything about diving from there. I think it's close to the Northwest point diving, and they say they provide diving through an outside op and will pickup from the beach there when possible. Far from everything else though.

That is an absolutely beautiful resort ! But a little bit out of our price range ! We need to find something cheaper ( :

 

[Landau]

Club Med on Grace Bay - incredible atmosphere but may not be as luxurious as you are looking for. Rooms are angled so all have some ocean view.

On site scuba shop. Walk from my room to the dive boat dock was about 2 minutes. They have separate boats for scuba and snorkeling. Twice daily snorkeling boats included, scuba extra. Lots to do when not diving.

I snorkeled there but didn't get to dive as a hurricane passed nearby and put a halt to all activities for 4 days.

 

[Joneill]

This is our first Time to T & C. My husband is a seasoned diver. I am looking for recommendations for hotel to stay on the beach and the best location. I would like to be right on the beach with balcony ocean view. It is our 40th anniversary so we are ok to spend a little money. Just booked great flight price on American Airlines for Oct 25 - Nov 1. He will also want to be near a dive shop. It appears Grace Bay is the best place to stay ? Any recommendations or suggestions would be appreciated ! Thanks !

As other's have said, there is no need to be near a dive shop as the best diving goes out of a marina on the south side and heads to West Caicos, Northwest Point and (if conditions allow, French Cay which has some of the best dive sites (esp if one wants to see sharks). The Dive Ops will pick up /drop off at your resort/hotel. I highly recommend Aqua TCI or Flamingo Divers - smaller ops with gret service and no cattle boats.

The Sands at Grace Bay is really nice, yet not crazy expensive - and it recently underwent a multimillion dollar refresh. We've stayed there twice so far and loved it: Great location on Grace Bay Beach with a pure white sandy bottom (no seagrass beds there) and a short walk/bike/drive to a great shopping area with some nice restaurants, cafes and the excellent Graceway Gourmet grocery store.

Spectacular Luxury Turks & Caicos Resort - the Sands at Grace Bay

Exclusive Sneak Peak...Multi-Million Dollar Resort and Restaurant Upgrades! - The Sands at Grace Bay

 

[gina&peter]

As other's have said, there is no need to be near a dive shop as the best diving goes out of a marina on the south side and heads to West Caicos, Northwest Point and (if conditions allow, French Cay which has some of the best dive sites (esp if one wants to see sharks). The Dive Ops will pick up /drop off at your resort/hotel. I highly recommend Aqua TCI or Flamingo Divers - smaller ops with gret service and no cattle boats.

The Sands at Grace Bay is really nice, yet not crazy expensive - and it recently underwent a multimillion dollar refresh. We've stayed there twice so far and loved it: Great location on Grace Bay Beach with a pure white sandy bottom (no seagrass beds there) and a short walk/bike/drive to a great shopping area with some nice restaurants, cafes and the excellent Graceway Gourmet grocery store.

Spectacular Luxury Turks & Caicos Resort - the Sands at Grace Bay

Exclusive Sneak Peak...Multi-Million Dollar Resort and Restaurant Upgrades! - The Sands at Grace Bay

I was looking at the Sands and it looks very nice. The website doesn't have a lot of detailed pics of the rooms. I am wondering if the oceanview rooms are unobstructed views of the ocean ? This is just very important to me and it is hard to tell from the pictures and the site map ?

 

[Snoweman]

I was looking at the Sands and it looks very nice. The website doesn't have a lot of detailed pics of the rooms. I am wondering if the oceanview rooms are unobstructed views of the ocean ? This is just very important to me and it is hard to tell from the pictures and the site map ?

My wife and I stayed at West Bay Club a year ago. We will be returning there this fall. My wife is not a beach person, but absolutely loved WBC. The rate usually includes breakfast, but I wouldn't bother with any other meals at their restaurant. The ocean side units come with a full kitchen. Plus, there are plenty of good restaurants on the island (try Bugaloo's - great food and a wonderful view). Look at AquaTCI for a dive op. Very competent, but they don't dive on the weekends (silly to me, but maybe that's when most people arrive/leave - just not me).