Turks & Caicos has always been on my bucket list.  This  April I was able to go for my first time! If you wish to see my general Turks & Caicos post you can click here.  While in Turks & Caicos, I stayed at the Gansevoort hotel which is located at the end of the famous Grace Bay beach. Grace Bay has been named the” best beach in the world”.   Providenciales (the largest island in TCI which Gansevoort is located on) has been named the number one island (both rankings by TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice 2016)

1. Getting there: The hotel is not very far from the airport and  the concierge can arrange a private SUV transfer ($132 up to 6 people one way).  You can also take a taxi for around $23 (for 2). It’s not very far, about a 10-15 minute drive.
2. Arrival: The hotel lobby is open to the main pool area and you have a view all the way to the beach. It is pleasant scenery after  travelling (about a 4 hour flight from Toronto, Canada).  The front office staff will offer  a drink while you check in.
3. Rooms: The rooms are large and have a condo-type setup. They have living rooms, full kitchens, a bedroom that has a sliding door to separate the living area/kitchen,  large soaker bathtub,  large shower area, dual bathroom sinks, a separate room for the toilet, and even a washer/dryer.
4. Restaurants/Food options: There is one main restaurant at the Gansevoort called Stelle (it’s right next to the pool), where the complimentary breakfast is daily but you can also go for lunch or dinner. There is also the beachside restaurant (we didn’t try it) and food service poolside (which was good).  The dinner at Stelle was very good, especially the steak and lamb. We looked forward to going there pretty much every night!
5. Pool: There is one main pool at the hotel which you see right when you walk into the hotel. It is large and you can swim laps in it. There is also a hot tub right next to it. The lounge chairs are on a first come first serve basis, but the chairs in the middle of the pool are rentable for $75usd/day (for a set). Guests become quite aggressive with the chairs, placing items on them to  “reserve”.  Sometimes we would come and there wouldn’t be any chairs available. For $800usd/night+ hotel, we would expect to always have a lounge chair available, this was really the only negative we found at this hotel.
6. Beach: The beach is wide, has nice soft sand, and the water is nice to swim in. There are beach lounge chairs that are complimentary for hotel guests, and lounge beds you can rent for $100usd/day.
7. Things to do: If you walk out of the property on the beach, turn right and walk about 5 minutes, you will find some of the best snorkelling! The landmark  is a beachbar named “Somewhere” and there is a protected reef right in front of it. You can swim all around this  reef, and within 1 hour of snorkeling in the morning, we saw a large spotted eagle ray, a barracuda surrounded by a large school of fish, over 10 turtles, and parrot fish, etc. It was amazing to see and we can’t wait to come back!

Overall would rate this as one of the best hotels in the Caribbean. Top notch rooms, service, and food. It has a trendy but laid-back vibe and you can really relax here. Would love to come back one day! 🙂

xo

Alina