A Unique Turks & Caicos Adventure for Couples
thegov
A recent 6 night honeymoon stay.
21 Jun 2006
based on 10 votes
This is for the couple and honeymooners that are looking to have a relaxing, but unique and fun trip to the Turks & Caicos. This includes some activities that not every tourist would do.
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Providenciales
- Category: Perfect week or more
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1. The Palms Turks and Caicos
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Ave price:
$775
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I'll start out by saying that I travel a great deal for work, and am used to staying in nicer hotels like the Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, etc, and have some good examples for comparison.
1) The Room.
The room was spectacularly appointed. The marble floors, granite countertops, huge down pillows, plush linens, nice furniture, spa grade bath supplies, heavy doors with brass hardware, and wonderful tub were all top notch. Very much in keeping with what you would find at a 5 star resort.
2) The grounds.
The grounds at The Palms are picture perfect. Compared with what we saw at the other resorts we visited, The Palms looked to have the most beautiful landscaping, architecture, and pool area.
3) The Spa.
During our stay, we went to the spa on the first and last day of our trip and it was EXCELLENT. The facilities and design of the spa areas are amazing. Very calm, zen-like, and relaxing. My only criticism is the communication. I'm not a regular spa visitor and could have used some more consultation on items such as if we wanted a couples massage, gender of the masseuse, how to dress, etc.
4) The Service.
I was surprised at the earlier comments of poor service. Every staff person we encountered was great. Some were just regularly friendly, and others really went the extra mile. Marie (who cleaned our room), Carlton (at the Plunge pool bar), George (at the spa), and Jim (at the pool) were just a couple people who seemed to be genuinely interested in making sure we were having a great time.
There were a few small glitches in service while we were there, but nothing so bad that it is worth mentioning. Besides, things move a little slower on Island Time anyhow.
5) Food
We ate at both the Parallel 23 restaurant and the Plunge pool bar, and both were good. They were also expensive, but the prices were in line with most other places we went in Provo. The atmosphere at both restaurants at night were very cool.
6) Value
I'm normally a frugal shopper, and found The Palms to be worth what you pay for. The included continental breakfast was anything but continental. They had fresh juices, french toast, eggs, bacon, hash browns, bagels, english muffins, smoked salmon, cooked to order eggs and omelettes, and much more. We were also surprised that when we went to pay to use the Hobie Cat for an hour, the person said it was free to any Palms guest.
7) The Pool.
The pool area is quite nice, and you can swim up to the bar. They have about 5-6 large circular beds next to the pool which looked very comfortable. It was annoying that other guests would stake their claim for one of these beds early in the day, leave for 2 hours with all of their stuff on the bed, and then come back and use the bed for another hour or so. Let's hope others show more courtesy and share. The infinity pool is great though, and the hot tub as well.
8) Kids.
There were a few young kids there, but they were all well behaved.
9) Summary.
If I had to plan this trip all over again, I would definitely choose the Palms. My complaints are minor, such as a wake up call coming in at 5am instead of 8am, concierge just connecting me to a restaurant instead of making the reservation for us, and the pool beds. |
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| We drove to Chalk Sound and explored the road that runs paralell to it. There really isn't much to do except stop and look at the sound, as there are homes off of this road and really no beach on the sound. Nonetheless, it was cool to check out. |
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Off of the same road is Sapodilla Bay, which we stayed at for a couple hours. There is nothing to see in the water, so don't worry about snorkeling, but this is a cool spot to lay on the beach and swim. We met some people that had a house in Provo and they gave us some good tips.
The entrance to Sapodilla Bay is VERY easy to miss. It will be on your left side about 1/8 of a mile down the road right after you turn on it. Immediately after the entrance is a house that looks like it could be from morocco. White on the outside, boxy. Turn left immediately before this house down a sandy road that almost looks like a driveway. |
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| On the way back, we stopped at Da Conch Shack. This was probably the best restaurant experience we had. Most of Da Conch Shack is outdoors, or underneath an open dining area. You sit right on the beach, and out in the water is an underwater pen filled with live conch. As you order, you watch someone go out into the pen, get a load of conch, bring them onto the beach, and crack them right there. This fresh conch is then taken to the kitchen, cooked, and serve. It doesn't get any fresher!! There is also a Rum bar here, and the menu is short, but all very good. Da Conch Shack is out of the way if you don't have a car, but worth it. |
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You want to go to Malcom's Beach, which is part of the Northwest Point preserve.
we hopped in the Jeep and drove way out to Malcom's Beach. We LOVED it. It was an adventure as we drove to the middle of nowhere and made it out to this semi-secluded beach. The snorkeling was great and we brought some snacks with us. |
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| John at Caicos Dream Tours called me this morning to let us know that he had enough people to go out on a 3 hour snorkeling tour, so we met up with the group on the beach right to the left of The Palms. This trip was worth EVERY penny we spent. We first went out to the reef off of Grace Bay and snorkeled for about an hour. The conditions were calm, and there was much to see. Then, we got back on the boat and headed towards some uninhabited islands. On the way, we saw JoJo the Dolphin!!! We took a few photos, and went on our way. Then, we stopped in some shallow water and snorkeled for Conch. After getting about 1 Conch per person, we were taken over to Half Moon Bay where we played around for a couple hours, and our captain took our conchs and made fresh conch salad with spices, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic, green peppers, and more. We ate and drank and had the best time, and then headed back home. All in all, the 3 hour trip lasted over 4.5 hours, and was excellent. John who runs Caicos Dream Tours is the BEST, and our Captain Terrell was amazing. Caicos Dream Tours is definitely my company of choice. You can't go wrong with them. |
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