I have just returned from a lovely week in Turks & Caicos!
We stayed three nights at the new Ritz. It sits on Grace Bay and is the tallest building on the island. The resort has a clean and more contemporary feel, a large lobby and two pool areas. The rooms are spacious and customer service was excellence. The Ritz offers sushi in the lobby, Casa Nonna, an Italian restaurant and BLT, a steakhouse – excellent food all around. They have a small casino and small but nice gym.
Next door to the Ritz is Seven Stars and I would give this resort a ten! Classy and elegant – the pool area had lush cushions and teakwood chairs. Their restaurant SEVEN is very popular. In my opinion if you want to splurge pick this resort over the Ritz.
We spent the rest of the week at The Sands at Grace Bay which has an amazing beach, tropical walkways and an inviting, cozy atmosphere. Our one-bedroom Oceanview suite was complete with a full kitchen, washer and dryer and a large living area with balcony. Very spacious and beautiful. The SANDS has dining privileges at the Palms and the Shore Club on Long Bay. Complimentary shuttles are provided. We enjoyed the sunsets and dining at Hemingway’s at the Sands.
The Shore Club was beautiful with excellent restaurants but it is on Long Bay which is a shallow beach and does not offer the tropical blue water that Grace Bay is famous for. I would pick the Sands over the Shore Club for this reason,
We booked a ½ day snorkel tour with Dreams Caicos - $112 per person and worth every penny. Excellent guide, beautiful reef and lunch included. Coco Bistro is a fabulous popular restaurant on the island – reservations require 4-5 month’s notice. The food was amazing and the ambiance stellar.
The Sands provides bikes and we enjoyed riding around town, playing tennis, walking the beach and taking in the island’s beauty. To me, Turks is an upscale romantic tropical getaway – can’t wait to go back!