A visit to Turks & Caicos

A British Crown Colony 550 miles south of Miami

Twenty years ago, there were only two real “hotels” in Providenciales, Turks & Caicos:  Club Med and the Grace Bay C above. But with one of the most gorgeous beaches in the Caribbean --- proverbial white powder sand and peacock blue water – other hotels were bound to follow. 

They did, but these two are still the places to go.  The Grace Bay Club now includes three side-by-side resorts, with personal concierges (you’re given a cell phone to call if you need anything), outstanding restaurants, swim-up pool bars, romantic lounges with fire pits, a 5000-square-foot spa, gorgeous rooms and suites overlooking the ocean, and a free buffet breakfast that could easily tide you over to dinner. 

The Estate section, with 22 residences bigger than most homes, is the most upscale and private, to the degree of separate check-ins and entrances, its own pools and restaurants.  

The “Friends and Family’ section is geared toward those with children, providing concierge nannies, alcohol-free drinks, and a kids club with a tree house.  

The original adults-only main hotel is for the rest of us who can’t afford the Estate section and don’t want to vacation with children around.   

The hotel’s Anacaona restaurant is the only gourmet oceanfront "dining experience" on the island. And what an experience it is! It has a 90-foot infinity bar overlooking the ocean, and after cocktails and hors d’oevres, they will arrange a private dinner of their delectable entrees for you right on the ocean-- on the sand next to it anyway – tiki torches and all. 

The only way it could be better would be if you weren’t wearing anything so you could jump au naturale into the ocean – but that’s more like what the Club Med guests nearby used to do. And anyway, there are those kids in that family section. So wear your best clothes and have one of your best meals ever here.  

Grace Bay Club is a member of the Leading Small Hotels of the World. JetBlue has direct flights from Boston to Providenciales. See their website here.

Paulette Cooper is the author of 17 books, including "The Most Romantic Resorts for Destination Weddings, Marriage Renewals and Honeymoons." Her travel articles have appeared in the The Sunday Times of London, The Christian Science Monitor, Cosmopolitan, , Travel Weekly, Travel Agent, Sposa, Luxury Living, The New York Times, The Washington Post, etc., plus online media like she serves as Cape Cod TODAY's New York and Florida Travel Editoras well as ceotraveler.com, getawayweddings.com, etc. Paulette started her travel writing by successfully stowing away on an ocean liner for a week. She owns and edits South Florida Traveler. Email Paulette here. See all Paulettes's Travel Tips here.