Turks and Caicos

We spent a very relaxing time in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos in April 2011. This was our 2nd trip to the island. We, sans child, celebrated our 7th anniversary at the Grace Bay Club in 2006  and we loved it.

VILLA DEL MAR: Add us to the list of Trip Advisor fans. This property is really nice. We stayed in a studio which was quite spacious. The studio has a sofa bed so Patrick slept on that. There isn't a full kitchen, but there is a sink, small fridge, toaster, coffee maker, microwave, plates, cutlery, and glasses. The unit has a nice size bathroom with a tub and a separate shower (the shower is a little tight). The only negative for us was the room location. We were on the 1st floor (despite asking for an upper level unit) so there wasn't much privacy while sitting on the terrace. We faced part of the pool and the reception area.

There are 2 pools (one big, one small) as well as a hot tub. I think the big pool is heated because it was never cold. There's also a bar by the pool.

There is no restaurant on the property. Complimentary continental breakfast is offered every morning by the pool. It consists of coffee, juices, bagels, bread and pastries. It was okay. Nothing to write home about.

The property is across the street from the beach, behind the Grace Bay Club. The walk is short and not a big deal. There is a Villa del Mar stand on the beach where you pick up your towels. The attendant will set up an umbrella and chairs for you. There's water available and you can order drinks as well. Grace Bay is as great as we remembered it!

You can pick up Grace Bay Club's free WIFI while on the beach. No passcode needed.

Would we stay again at Villa del Mar? Absolutely. It's a great value.

THINGS WE DID: Not much. We really wanted to chill on this vacation. We hoped to take a day trip to Salt Cay to do some whale watching but the whales were all gone by then. We did go on the Undersea Explorer http://www.caicostours.com/ . Fun! I'd recommend if you have kids. We saw lots of fish, rays and turtles.

We snorkeled at Coral Gardens (didn't see much) and spent a morning on Sapodilla Bay (as pretty as we remembered).

Coral Gardens

Sapodilla Bay

RESTAURANTS: We love eating at various restaurants while on vacation. It was a struggle deciding which ones to try since T&C has so many of them. Some restaurants had a 10% service charge automatically included in the final bill, some did not. So you can get an idea of $$, I will put the cost of each dinner which typically included 3 entrees (no appetizers), 2 desserts, 1 bottled water, 1 alcoholic drink, 1 soda and 1 juice.

The following were our DINNERS:

~ CAICOS CAFE: Excellent. Kids menu available. Not on the beach but outdoor setting. Dinner came to $128 (10% service charge included)

Baby pork ribs

Catch of the day: red snapper

~ COCO BISTRO: Excellent. No kids menu. Not on the beach but in a lovely garden setting. It was our best dinner in 2006 so we knew we had to try it again. Dinner came to $190 (10% service charge included).

Rib eye

Mahi mahi

Grilled tuna

Coco Bistro punch - Best drink on the island!

~ HEMINGWAY'S: By the water. Kids menu available. I don't get why people recommend it. We tried it in 2006 and were disappointed. We decided to give it a 2nd chance. We shouldn't have. Dinner came to $96.

Great outdoor setting though

Grouper creole

Grouper vera cruz

~ BAY BISTRO: Very good. By the water. Kids menu available. Dinner came to $113.

Beef tenderloin

Oven roasted chicken

~ GRILL ROUGE: Very good. By the water, really pretty setting. Kids menu available. Dinner came to $108 (10% service charge included).

Love the setting!

Grilled mahi mahi

Chicken satay

Chocolate rum cake

Chocolate cream puffs

~ BELLA LUNA: Good, not great. Not on the water. Indoor and terrace seating available. No kids menu. Dinner came to $155 (10% service charge included).

Carpaccio

Lasagna

Veal piccata

We ate BREAKFAST at 3 different places: Saltmills Cafe (bacon was not good), Mango Reef (omelette was not good) and Angela's Top O the Cove deli (loved my egg, cheese and ham croissant).

We ate LUNCH at 3 different places: Jimmy's Dive, Tiki Hut and Las Brisas. The first 2 were okay. We loved Las Brisas.

~ LAS BRISAS: The setting overlooking Chalk Sound is simply lovely. The food was very good. Lunch came to $88.

View from Las Brisas

Small cheese pizza (it wasn't that small)

Salad nicoise with seared tuna

Grilled chicken sandwich

Tiramisu

Chocolate cheesecake

RENTAL CAR: We rented a small car from Avis at the rate of $39.95/day. We had the car for our entire stay. I see a lot of questions about whether to rent a car or not. Personally, we love the freedom a car affords and we understand that taxis tend to be expensive. The rental process went smoothly. I loved our little road beast! :)

 

GROCERY SHOPPING: We stopped at the Graceway Supermarket to get a few things like snacks, bread and drinks. The prices are a little bit more expensive than in the U.S. but I didn't think they were outrageous.

MOSQUITOES: There were quite a few at Villa del Mar and they'd get into our room. I only got 2 bites but my son got several more. If I were to do it again, I'd buy spray for the room. We did have mosquito repellent towelettes. We'd use that before going out to dinner and that seemed to work.

WEATHER: We had great weather. I never quite believed people who'd say the weather was hot in T&C at this time of the year... well they spoke the truth. It was hot! The water was a bit cold when you'd first go in but it was fine once you were in. The water was mostly calm. It rained one afternoon and one evening.

 CHEERS!!