The Most Family Fun…Luxury Style!
It’s no secret that I am a HUGE fan of the Sandals and Beaches Resort brand. It’s also a favorite amongst my clients when it comes to all inclusive vacations. While my husband and I have been traveling to Sandals for years (and I have visited every Beaches Resort myself for work), we had not yet taken the kids on a vacation that wasn’t to Disney, Universal or somewhere in the States. Mind you, they were born in England…although they are currently both unimpressed with that fact. So we decided that needed to change, especially when the kids heard how much fun we have at Sandals.
The Review:
Turks and Caicos’ Grace Bay is home to Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort. So automatically you have one of the best beaches IN THE WORLD just steps from your room. There are three service levels at Beaches Resorts, and they vary slightly from Sandals…some of these differences catch even seasoned travelers of the brand by surprise if they have only stayed at Sandals.
Butler Level: This is our favorite way to stay at Beaches OR Sandals. Not only you have the best rooms and room LOCATIONS on the properties, we never have to wait in lines, or worry about getting up earlier than the rest of the resort in order to have beach chairs (as a butler guest you get dedicated cabanas, the frequency can depend on season and how the resort is currently operating, but we got a cabana in location of our choice daily), but you can walk away with new friends. Your butler team will make sure you are never hungry, handle all dining reservations, and you walk right into a table already waiting for you…again, with no lines. You will have a kitchen stocked with premium spirits of your choosing, non alcoholic drinks, as well as some snacks. THIS IS ALSO THE ONLY ROOM CATEGORY WITH ROOM SERVICE. During our visits, I am always surprised at how many people didn’t know this (and this is EXACTLY why you use a travel agent who actually travels to the resorts). I’ll go into detail about what our butlers did for us throughout the review.
Concierge Level: The next level that is usually the MINIMUM I recommend for the Beaches Resorts for several factors. This room category has some better locations and rooms than the entry level (the luxury designation), includes a concierge team to help with dining reservations when needed, activity bookings, any issues during your stay, and an optional in-room bar that typically includes beer and wine.
Luxury Level: This is the entry level at Beaches Resorts. It is your typical, standard all-inclusive stay, does not include an in room bar, and in all honesty, most of the rooms in this category could use a little bit of a refresh. These rooms tend to be at less ideal locations, and typically do not have any kind of views worth writing home about. This can vary based on resort, but it is a good rule of thumb. Any dining reservations or activity bookings must be done on your own.
The Resort
Beaches Turks and Caicos is a MASSIVE resort, and they are currently expanding it. What theme or inclusions will be part of this expansion is still a mystery, but if you go any time in the near future, expect construction on part of the resort…some of the rooms are impacted by this. It currently features 4 villages: Key West (which is quieter and further away from the action, I highly recommend this area to adults traveling without children or those with older kids), Italian, Caribbean and French. Each area has its own unique features, restaurants and style, and every area is suited for different needs and desires…again, why using a travel agent is going to be ideal when booking your trip.
The water park area and lazy river got a refresh JUST before we arrived in December, so we got to enjoy the water park fully…the kids were VERY happy about that. They spent most of their days here, becoming all-day regulars of the surf simulator. The kids’ clubs and XBox lounge are also located in the Pirates Island area. The area also features a dedicated kids swim up bar, Bobby Dee’s diner (complete with burgers, chicken sandwiches, wings, pizza, ice cream, cotton candy and popcorn), Curls ‘n Swirls Ice Cream Truck and our favorite, Mr. Mac, the Mac and cheese truck parked between the water park and the French Village.
The resort features three large pools with swim up bars and hot tubs, with the Italian pool always being the busiest, the French Pool typically the quietest, and the Caribbean village pool. The Iguanas pool is slightly smaller and also on the quieter side, near the Caribbean village pool.
There is also an adults only pool on the Key West side, and an adults only hot tub not too far down the beach.
We spent most of our time at the Caribbean pool or the French pool. We loved how close to the water park the French pool was, while we still got some quiet relaxation (and you can’t forget the Beaches Caramel), and the Caribbean pool for family fun, waterfalls and beach views from our cabana. We found the Italian pool too warm and far too busy and chaotic…although one of my favorite drinks on the resort was at the Italian pool, made only by the always smiling Neko.
The resort is a large one. We were often grateful for the golf cart rides in the morning to breakfast at our favorite spot…as it was quite a ways away. Blisters were prominent and all three kids ended up walking most of the resort barefoot after the first day and a half (outside of where shoes were required).
The beach is absolutely stunning. White sands and clear, calm turquoise waters. Usually, that is. When I went in February the water was almost like glass, but with the storms that hit just before our time there, and other storm systems in the area, the waves were STRONG, with lots of coral and sharp pieces being rolled in by the waves, as well as more seaweed than normal. The water was chilly in both February and December, but it’s the ocean. It’s supposed to be refreshing, I don’t personally like my oceans or lakes to feel like a bathtub since I’m usually in the water to help mitigate the heat 
As for the resort grounds, they are always clean and BEAUTIFULLY manicured. It is truly stunning to walk around and spend time in, finding the little quiet nooks and fun spots.
Quite a few rooms and room categories at this resort could use some upgrading and a facelift, as mentioned, but if you are one of those people who TRULY just consider your room a place to sleep, then they may do just fine. Personally, both myself and one of my kids sometimes just need some quiet time away from the hustle and bustle, in the cool air, so our room DOES matter to us. Plus, have you ever stayed in a hotel room for a week with three teen and pre-teen boys and only ONE bathroom? Thanks, but it’s a hard pass for me 
Our room…Beaches Turks & Caicos best kept secret.
No seriously. You will hardly find ANY information about this room on the internet. And I promise you, with first hand experience, most of the information you find isn’t even quite accurate. And there is only ONE of them on the entire resort.
Honestly, because of the ages of our kids, we booked this room for three reasons. A separate bedroom for mom and dad complete with door, location central to water park and beach, and the PRICE. You won’t get a butler room for less than this room. Watch the 7-7-7 sales and occasionally you will see it come up. We were able to get a KILLER deal on it because we booked at Loyalty & Travel during one of our Sandals stays, have a military discount AND grabbed it on the 7-7-7 sale…plus we had some points to redeem for dollars off.
This is REALLY important to note: I do not travel as a travel agent or use special rates etc. I pay out of pocket just like YOU, my clients. One, I want a TRUE guest experience, so I can bring that back to my clients…and when they know you are a travel agent, it’s usually a little different. Two, if I won’t spend MY money on a vacation, how on earth could you trust when I say that it’s totally worth the price tag?
This best kept secret is the Caribbean Penthouse One Bedroom Butler Suite. It features a LARGE living space with HIGH ceilings, a separate master bedroom and bathroom, a kitchen (with a service entrance for butlers), and a SECOND half bathroom. I promise, until this review, that information was nowhere on the internet. That alone is worth it’s weight in gold! It also has a massive balcony that spans the entire length of the room. We often sat out here in the evenings and watched the boys on the playground below, a glass of wine or whisky in hand.
The room is also much more updated than the website will have you believe.
I would say the ONLY downfall of this room was the sleeper sofas were not comfortable, and because of their orientation, made it difficult for two boys to sleep in the bed…as their heads had to be by the arm side of the couch, not the back…making it very narrow and difficult to get in and out. My youngest ended up using the couch cushions on the floor and making his own bed out of those.
The second bathroom is in the living space near the front door…which means kids needing to use the bathroom in the middle of the night don’t have to come into mom & dad’s room!
Our room’s AC worked AMAZINGLY…in fact, for the first time EVER, my husband and I got TOO COLD at night. That right there is a major perk for many who cannot sleep when it is hot.
The Service…
Since we had butler service, outside of drink service at the bars, most of our service was honestly from our butlers. Our absolutely WONDERFUL team for the week were Zhané and Kayon, and let me tell you, we absolutely adored them. Prior to our stay, I put in our butler preferences (as your travel agent I would do this for you) and requested a fun-loving team, as we are a fun loving bunch.
We were picked up from the airport (a totally different story for another post) in our luxury private transportation. Our “white glove service” started before we ever even pulled into the resort. We were welcomed back home before we ever touched to door, and offered rum punch (no rum for the kids) and a cool lemongrass towel to refresh ourselves from travel and the airport heat. On arrival, we were met by our first butler, Zhané, who escorted us to our suite to be greeted with our FAVORITE cocktails and mocktails…a piña colada with extra rum for me, a dirty banana for Shawn (my husband) and virgin piña coladas for all three boys (our two sons and their friend). This is where the “best vacation ever” declarations started. Knowing that the pizza at Sandals and Beaches is my husband’s FAVORITE food, and we still had quite a ways until dinner, she quickly brought up our fresh and hot pizzas…which were promptly devoured. She went over everything with us, and gave us our butler phone so we could contact them at any time, or they could contact us as needed.
We opted to unpack our own items (she offered to unpack, as your butler will) and relaxed and checked out our amazing view and enjoyed our cocktails and other treats that were awaiting in our suite for our arrival. When it was time for dinner, we were met by Zhané and whisked away to Arizona’s, our choice of dining for the first evening. Your butlers will arrange tables for you nightly, you will never wait in line, and they will make sure your wait staff is on point with service. They bring your first drink of choice, and then leave you to enjoy dinner. Often, your butler may pop in during your meal to make sure that you are having an enjoyable time and meal.
When we saw her next, she asked where we would like our dedicated cabana for the day set up at, where we would like breakfast and what time. We then went about our evening, returning back to our suite to find chocolate covered pineapple, chocolate chip cookies and popcorn for evening treats.
Kayon and Zhané worked alternate shifts, so we would have one or the other half the day, and one of them a full day on the other’s day off. They were a great team. Kayon made our “makeup” anniversary (my husband had been deployed for nearly a year) day soooo special. From morning decor at our breakfast table, special coconut drinks, to a beautifully decorated cabana, and a whole PLATE of lobster tails as a pre-dinner snack, and a gorgeous cake and bottle of champagne after dinner.
We always had pre-dinner snacks waiting in our room, and always came back from the evening festivities to sweet treats and Shawn’s favorite, coconut shrimp (only available to butler guests, and with a 24 hour advance notice).
Several nights the boys wanted to go get sushi a couple hours before dinner, so Kayon or Zhané would escort and seat them, and check on them. One evening to give Shawn and myself some extra alone time, Zhané took the boys to dinner at Bobby Dee’s played with them at the Shadow Lounge (teens and preteens only), and then made them special ice cream desserts and met up with us for the end of a show after our dinner was over. The kids were begging to go live with Zhané by the end of our stay, and I can absolutely say that her and Kayon MADE our vacation.
Here is just a peek at some of the goodies, snacks and special touches that truly made this vacation unforgettable.
The Food & Drinks…
We’ll start with breakfast! You have a few different breakfast buffets to choose from, as well as a la carte dining options. We found Neptune’s to be our favorite spot, for both the view and the food. We always had the same table, and every morning was a chance to enjoy the gorgeous beach with mimosa in hand…with pineapple juice, of course! We did try out Sky for breakfast and it was FANTASTIC (and our amazing waiter Alan really made the meal special), but be aware, you will get HOT as you are in direct sun. While the food was amazing, the lack of real shade outside umbrellas made it an uncomfortably warm breakfast spot, even in December…but if you go, go early and make sure to order the tangerine beignets!). Our favorite breakfast buffet was the one in the Caribbean village, where we ate a couple times. Buffets for breakfast are always a good option with kids, and the omelet bar was fab.
As a side note, we also had room service brought to the room for breakfast one morning. If you are a butler guest, you can order from any open restaurant (even for dinner) and have it brought to your room to eat. The meal was great, but with the time it takes to get food across the resort and to the room, it wasn’t as hot. The kids loved the idea, but after that breakfast they declared that dining in the restaurants was way better.
On to lunch! There are plenty of options for lunch. Sometimes we would request our lunch to be brought to our cabana from our butlers (when it came to pizza) because they can place an order and go pick it up on their bike carts, where as if you are ordering yourself, it can take about an hour if they are busy. One of the perks of having the butlers, not having to take time out of having fun to wait for food. We enjoyed the lunch buffet (it had AMAZING carne asada) outside of Arizona’s next to the Caribbean pool, and the kids’ favorite was probably Mr Mac for lunch. Since you could get it to go, we usually just walked over and grabbed some, especially if we knew our butlers were very busy. Because extra steps never hurt when you are consuming a billion calories a day My other fave lunch spot is Cricketers Pub. The butter chicken is AMAZING. We did not frequent all the lunch spots, but having been here before I know that Neptune’s also has amazing and delicious lunch options.
Our top 3 lunch items: Pizza (from Dino’s or Bella Napoli), Buffalo Chicken tied with Cheeseburger Mac, and the carne asada.
Now for dinner, and what most people would consider the most important meal of the day. I’ll go into a little more detail about dinners!
Arizona’s: Our server here was Keel. Very funny. Prompt. Amazing service.
The Ruby Rita was the signature drink, and it was perfect. Not too sweet, quite strong. Just how I like my cocktails!
Appetizers we ordered were: Pulled Pork Taquitos (very good, had BBQ sauce in it so a little sweetness), Caesar Salad (deconstructed and not quite enough dressing for the amount of lettuce), Grilled Shrimp (hot, well cooked and well seasoned…all of the guys rated it as fantastic), and the Red Chili Tuna Tartare (probably what I was most looking forward to, but it lacked a LOT of flavor, so this ended up being the least favorite appetizer).
Entrees: Honey Chipotle T-Bone (3 of us ordered to different doneness ranging from medium rare to blue rare, and every one of us voted this as a fantastic steak. A little sweet, a little spicy, full of flavor and tender), Southern fried chicken (on the dry side, but good flavor), and Shrimp Tacos (a little too heavy on the sweet component, but overall good.
Dessert: Key Lime Pie (my husband’s favorite), chocolate chili mousse (pretty good) and the flan (kids ordered this and enjoyed it).
Schooners: Our server was Pascal. Very sweet and VERY accommodating.
The kitchen here was slower to get our food out, and Pascal kept checking in and apologizing for the wait. This was one of those nights where the kids were STARVING and tired from a day out in the sun and water, so we had a little grumpiness on our hands. If you look at the first photo of us, you can probably tell which one was the grumpy pants 😅
The signature cocktail was the cucumber (or as you’ll hear it pronounced, coo-cumba) cooler. Hands down, this is my favorite signature cocktail the entire brand offers, and I ALWAYS get it when available. Not overly heavy or sweet, very refreshing with cucumber juice, sprite and two types of rum.
Appetizers: Fried Crab Cakes (fantastic and the coleslaw was not heavy or overly mayonnaise-y, and the fresh peppers cut through the richness) and Roots, Fruits and Leaves (mixed greens salad…make sure to add the goat cheese! The goat cheese is not strong, and the salad is refreshingly light with a little tang and a little sweet mixed in with the earthiness).
Entrees: Vegan Lasagna (one of the boys ordered it because he wanted to try a vegan dish, and what better way to try new foods than when EVERYTHING is included…the whole menu, if you really wanted. He said it was very good and hearty, he wouldn’t have known it didn’t have meat if it didn’t say. It did need a little salt, though), Chargrilled steak (medium rare, both were perfectly cooked but one was not seasoned AT ALL, the one that was seasoned was amazing), Shrimp Alfredo (one was great, hot and fresh, and the other arrived barely warm and the sauce congealed…they also were out of shrimp in their kitchen and they ended up going to another restaurant to get more for my husband), the Swordfish Steak (their signature dish…this was cooked well, and the tomato relish was amazing and really elevated the dish), and the Sesame Crusted Tuna (this was a little lackluster in flavor on the actual fish, but the accompanying sweet reduction sauce was amazing, there just needed to be MORE of it…and I’m not even a “sauce” girl). Three of them also ordered the kids chicken nuggets (my husband being one of them) and all said they were amazing. Apparently someone also ordered just the plain spaghetti, which must have been not good or not notable either way, since I don’t even have it in my notes!
We skipped dessert here and opted for ice cream and shakes at Bobby Dee’s.
Sapodillas, Adults Only restaurant: Loricka was our waitress and my husband declared her the best waitress of our trip, because they did not serve Caesar salad and he is a picky eater…but she went to another restaurant that did and got him his Caesar salad. It’s the things like that that make Sandals & Beaches Resorts stand out.
Entrees: We dined with 4 in our party this night, as we met friends for dinner…the kids went to get sushi and then Bobby Dee’s (thanks to our amazing butlers for getting them into Soy and set up) so we tried several options. Vegan Chorizo with curry butternut squash (very good, just a touch of the curry and butternut on the end, not overwhelming as curry can be), Beef Tenderloin (delicious and perfectly cooked), the Couscous with added lobster (was voted amazing) and the lobster dinner (it was amazing and we got additional plates of this…and we loved it so much we came back another night )
Dessert: the Sinful Chocolate Cinnamon dessert….absolutely TO DIE FOR. And I am not a dessert person (I usually find them too sweet, or heavy, or both, and typically consider sweets a waste of stomach space lol). It WAS rich, but not overly sweet, and the ice cream and cinnamon cut through the richness of the chocolate. EASILY the best dessert on property, and again, probably my favorite dessert of all time, anywhere. Sorry, crème brûlée 
Below you will find photos of Le Petite Châteaux, currently for ages 12+. It was very dimly lit, so not great photos. The food was just what I would consider ‘ok” here. Nothing to write home about, and I wish they had Escargots a la Bourguinonne instead of de Ragout, it’s usually my favorite dish at any French restaurant so I was disappointed. One of the boys thought said THIS was his favorite steak on the resort, though. The boys were bored by dessert, so left us to head to the shadow lounge (and probably Bobby Dee’s ) and we ordered the chocolate molten cake and the peach clafoutis. I wasn’t impressed by either, but they weren’t terrible. The service was fantastic, however.
We also had a great experience at Kimono’s, the teppanyaki (or hibachi as many know it), I just didn’t take any photos that evening. We had some grumpy kids this night (they were worn out at this point), but the show was great, our chef was Tristan and he was probably one of our favorites ever. Hibachi is my husbands favorite kind of dining experience, but they have been quite lackluster at some of our prior Sandals vacations…so he was ECSTATIC with how fun and interactive Tristan was. Junior was our waiter, and was also outstanding. The other family at our table included a little girl who was visibly unhappy with the food options, so he asked her what her favorite food was, and 3 minutes later she had a big slice of pizza. She happily ate her pizza and enjoyed the show.
While our wait staff at Marios was fantastic, and my osso buco was good (the accompanying risotto was less than stellar), the antipasti buffet did not compare to what it used to be, and everyone else hated their meal. We left wishing we had dined somewhere else (although we had feasted on lobster prior to dinner so none of us were starving and we went back to plenty of treats and sweets in the room…again, a butler perk), and the general consensus of other guests on the resort was that this should be a “skip” dining venue for now. I have, however, dined here before and it was fantastic.
