DC4MS

I have always wondered why the Turks and Caicos was such a popular location for Destination Clubs, so I decided to fly down there and check it out last week.

I had the opportunity to visit every Destination Club property location and actually stayed overnight at the Equity Estates home on Grace Bay and the LUSSO home on Sapodilla Bay.

I will post a full review of the two properties I stayed at and I will also post my opinions and observations on the individual locations of the other Destination Clubs and some will surprise you.

An added bonus was the Ritz-Carlton Reserve took me on a private tour of the incredible Molasses Reef property under construction on West Caicos and I was actually able to visit the exact site where Quintess, LRW is building their 5-10 Ocean Cottages that are selling for about $5.7m now.

Of course, I took tons of photos and will post them with the reviews over the next few days. I even took some video, but that will take much longer for me to post as video editing is a slow process.

There were also a few memorable activities and restaurants I want to share with everyone and I was even able to buzz by the $50m Yellowstone Club World home off Silly Creek, but they did not invite me in.

Here is a photo from the plane window.

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DC4MS

Turks and Caicos Destination Club property overview

Equity Estates – one 4 bedroom, 5 bathroom penthouse property located at The Regent Grand. There are only 50 units in this boutique property and this unit was the best unit in the building and probably the best property of any of the Destination Clubs on Grace Bay. This building was very beautiful and elegant. The cloverleaf pool with double zero entry, double infinity edges, double hot tubs, and 1 inch glass mosaic tiles was one the nicest pools I have seen at any resort. The only thing lacking was an onsite restaurant, but there are several located a few hundred feet outside the main entrance. Published rental rates for this unit are between $2,225 to $3,725 plus 20% tax.

Exclusive Resorts – three 3 bedroom, 4 bathroom penthouse units located in The Regent Palms. This is a 72 suite resort with world-class amenities including a 25,000 square foot spa and two signature restaurants - Parallel23 and Plunge. I did not get rental rates for this property, but the spa was incredible. The only thing that I did not like was the Exclusive Resorts units were not 100% beachfront and it just seemed like a long walk from the beach to the units, even though it was not that far away.

High Country Club – one 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom first floor beachfront property at Villa Renaissance. There are only 28 units in this ultra-boutique property and was built by the same builder as The Regent Grand. This property was equally as nice as The Regent Grand, but on a smaller scale. The glass mosaic tiled pool was very nice, but not as nice as The Regent Grand. This property offers tremendous value as compared to the other properties and is beachfront, but is only 2 bedrooms. Published rental rates for this unit are between $610 to $890 plus 20% tax.

LUSSO – one 4 bedroom 5 bathroom private home located near Sapodilla Bay. LUSSO is the only Destination Club to offer a stand-alone home of any of the clubs and the only club to avoid the more popular Grace Bay area in favor of the much more quiet south side of the island. If you want to visit the Turks and Caicos and want to stay with a Destination Club with a private home with a private beach and private dock, this is your only choice.

Quintess, LRW – one 3 bedroom, 4 bathroom penthouse property at Le Vele. There are only 22 units in this property in two separate buildings. This was my least favorite Destination Club property on Grace Bay. The Quintess unit was on the penthouse and had a huge balcony and great views, but the entire property was minimalistic and lacked charm and quite honestly, seemed out of place on the beach as the buildings appeared to be two square boxes with no style. The pool had a greenish color and was cloudy and I don’t think that was by design. Published rental rates for this unit are between $1,044 to $1,484 plus 20% tax. Although I was not impressed with this specific property, I was blown away with the Molasses Reef (Ritz-Carlton) project on West Caicos where Quintess, LRW has bought between 5-10 homes on the beach that are now selling for $5.5m each.

Ultimate Escapes – two properties at The Somerset - one 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom property located on the first floor and on the beach (Signature property) and one 2 bedroom 3 bathroom garden cottage (Premiere) located about 300 yards from the beach. This was an all around great property that will not disappoint anyone with a nice pool area and fantastic O Soleil restaurant. The rental rates were between $1,450 to $3,200 for the 3 bedroom ocean view to $750 to $1,100 for the 2 bedroom cottage.

Seven Stars – there are no Destination Clubs here, but I toured the property as it has only been open for 6 months. The prices were on the high side with rentals ranging from $1,700 to $5,800 for a 4 bedroom suite. The one feature that I did not like was it seemed like a high end Marriott timeshare with every room able to lock-off to maximize rentals. The property was overbuilt and had too much density, in my opinion, and the blue roof was unsightly. I think this place would be fine as a weekly rental, but I would not recommend any club to purchases a unit here.

Yellowstone Club World – I was able to check out the famous “Emerald Cay” property on Silly Creek from the road and by boat. I did not dare go on property as there were dozens of security cameras surrounding the property and I heard it is for sale at $50m. This is an incredible compound and it is too bad Yellowstone Club World folded.

NeilGoBlue

Great synopsis.. thanks!

AK has a property coming very soon in TC also.. but not sure where..

Kagehitokiri

great comparison. :thumbsup:
did you happen to visit parrot cay, amanyara, or grace bay club?

re rates @ regent palms (formerly the palms) >
12/20/07 - 1/2/08
Penthouse Three Bedroom Oceanfront $6,500 (+20%)
(4BR is not bookable/published)
The Palms, Turks and Caicos - Rates & Reservations
potential savings of thousands of dollars per night

LTTravel

Thanks for your review of the homes in Turks. I have been there and have stayed in the ER home at The Regent Palms and we enjoyed it. Buffet Breakfast is available for ER guests for $25 per day for the entire party (up to 8 people) which is a great plus, especially in Turks were food prices tend to be high. I did not think that the walk to the beach was significant as you only had to walk across the pool. (I have attached some photos for reference) I felt it was more of a resort feel than the Villa Renaissance. There was something about the Villa Renaissance that I did not like but I can't put my finger on it. The unit is just about right on the beach but though the "resort" is boutique with few units, I got more of a condo feel and not a resort with few amenities. Though restaurants were in close walking distance and there was a nice pool and other features, I just felt different there. But to be fair, I did not stay there, just visited. I may feel differently if I were to actually stay there. I have not visited the Regent Grand or the Vele so I don't have any opinions of them.
Just curious. How was the Lusso home? From the photos, it appears the most luxurious and appealing but it doesn't appear that way from your review.

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DC4MS

I rented a car via Grace Bay car rental and they offered good service, but the cars are a little tired. I asked for an upgraded car and received a Toyota Camry with 45,000 miles on it and the alignment was off. The steering wheel was on the right side of the car, which made driving on the other side easier to remember, but I might try another rental agency if I return to this island.

I highly recommend lunch or dinner at Da Conch Shack as this is a quintessential “locals” eating establishment. The entire place appears to be constructed of found materials and had incredible charm. The Alicia’s Infamous Rum Punch was one of the best I have ever had, but perhaps the ambiance helped make it taste even better. The service was incredibly slow, so you have to be patient, but I recommend ordering “Cracked Conch” as this is a true delicacy and it is fun to watch one of the staff wade out into the ocean to actually harvest your meal…talk about fresh!

Here is a picture of my Rum drink.

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DC4MS

I did not get a chance to visit those resorts. Parrot Cay charges $100pp for the boat ride there and you are very limited in what you can do there. Amanyara is on the West end of the island and very remote (oops, I mean private). Grace Bay Club has a good reputation, but I did not visit that place.

Wow...your place looks different than the one I saw as it was set back from the beach and yours was beachfront. Exclusive Resorts has three units there and I was only able to see one and it was not beachfront. There are 5 buildings at The Palms and only 2 are beachfront, one is centrally located behind the pool and there are two buildings set at 45 degree angles from the beach and other buildings and that was the building I visited.

The LUSSO home was fantastic and I will write a separate review and post in the LUSSO forum. I loved the home, but it is a bit of a drive from Grace Bay and all the restaurants. Nothing compares to having your own private home, but it is definitely more isolated than the Grace Bay resorts. That said, LUSSO is making a bold statement by buying homes in residential developments rather than following the crowd and buying a condo on Grace Bay. LUSSO has their "own" private beach which is very cool. I will post about 50 pictures with the review.

Interesting.

I REALLY liked the boutique feel of The Regent Grand and Villa Renissance as it was very private and quiet. I also liked the Regent Palms and The Sommerset and the services they provide (restaurant, spa, kids club, room service, pool bar), but they were significantly more crowded (especially the beach and pool area) than the boutique resorts. All the Destination Club properties in Turks are awesome and I was only stating my personal opinion of the various resoorts, but would be happy staying at any of them.

DC4MS

I found an incredible excursion that nobody knows about.

It is a private boat tour with a captain and first mate of the world famous Chalk Sound National Park on a 28 foot pontoon boat. This is an incredible find as there are no commercial boats in the national park, other than this one boat and they don’t advertise.

I actually found them by accident when I drove to check out the Neptune Villas and saw a boat docked there and I simply asked if it is available for rent. I had a catered lunch on board with several drinks and the entire trip with lunch was only about $70 per person for a 2 hour tour with two snorkel stops. This was a great trip and a fantastic find.

The water on Chalk Sound National Park was an electric turquoise blue color that is unlike anywhere else in the world. The amazing part was we were the only boat on this 10 mile x 3 mile sound and had a wonderful tour. I highly recommend this excursion and ask for Rachel at Las Brisas restaurant at Neptune Villas (649) 946-5306.

Here are some pics and it was a cloudy day!
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DC4MS

Here is a video of Las Brisas...and you can see Rachel.

This from a television news report and it is very poorly done, but you can see the restaurant and they mention the boat ride but fail top show the boat, which is the best part, in my opinion.

pwrshift

Interesting T&C reviews on TripAdvisor: Note Number 2.

Providenciales Hotels: Read Providenciales Hotel Reviews and Compare Prices - TripAdvisor

DC4MS

As much as I like Tripadvisor.com, I noticed that the Turks & Caicos rankings are in constant flux and I do not agree with most of their rankings.

I have seen Villa Renaissance ranked #1 several times and it flip flops with The Tuscany and I think the ratings are nothing more than a popularity contest that is being manipulated

Villa Renaissance is ranked #2, but is not as nice as The Regent Grand (ranked #21)
The Seven Stars is ranked #5, but is not as nice as The Regent Palms (ranked #8)
Le Vele is ranked #9, but is not as nice as The Somerset (ranked #12)

Beaches is ranked #10, but is not as nice as Amanyara (ranked #11) and Parrot Cay (ranked #13)

The only one I agree with is ranking Club Med #18

DC4MS

Although opinions will vary, there are several options when visiting Turks & Caicos.

Boutique properties (no restaurant, or kids club, limited spa services) which are smaller, quieter, and more intimate than the Full service properties. There are also all inclusive resorts and basic hotels and home rentals. Timeshares and fractionals are rare on this island.

Here is "my personal rankings" of the properties in order of best on top.

Boutique properties
1. The Regent Grand
2. Villa Renaissance
3. Le Vele

Full service properties
1. The Regent Palms
2. The Somerset
3. The Seven Stars

All-inclusive
1. Beaches (lots of kids)
2. Club Med (older and getting tired)

Secluded Hotels
1. Parrot Cay
2. Amanyara

Kagehitokiri

Parrot Cay - Como Hotels and Resorts - Parrot Cay Landsales

2 new 3BR villas for sale, wonder what theyre going for.

@ TA. although parrot cay and amanyara do get mixed reports in lux hotels forum on FT.