It’s been five months since our trip for my 30th birthday when we visited Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. Five months too long if you ask me. It is funny how below 30 degree temperatures can make you wish you were on a beach wearing nothing but a bikini, taking in the sun, and enjoying a cocktail or two. Quite frankly, I’m tired of bundling up, and layering clothing. Instead of sloshing around in the cold, wet snow, I’d rather frolic on Grace Bay Beach that was conveniently located steps away from our room at The Sands at Grace Bay.
Upon our arrival at The Sands at Grace Bay, we were first greeted by friendly staff with a complimentary beverage, rum punch. The hospitality didn’t end there. In fact, throughout our stay, we encountered the same hospitality and friendliness from the staff at +The Sands at Grace Bay just as we did on check-in day.
The Sands at Grace Bay is a beautiful, 4-star, 114 room luxury resort that has courtyard, garden, and ocean view suites or studios, which are housed in six, three-story buildings. Like its name states, the resort is conveniently located on the 5 miles of the 12 mile long Grace Bay Beach, which is one of the world’s most top-rated beaches due to its soft white sand, and clear turquoise waters.
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| Peep that mirror across from the bed. |
During our stay, we had a modest one bedroom studio that was equipped with a queen-sized bed, kitchenette with a microwave, dinnerware, cutlery and a small sink. It was kept immaculately clean by the staff at The Sands at Grace Bay. Our room had views of the tropical foliage of the central garden courtyard that surrounded two free-standing wading pools, which was not only beautiful during the day, but, even more so, and romantic during the evening hours.
Unfortunately, during our stay, the resort was pretty booked so we had to keep our studio, which had an adjoining room that was divided by a locked door. Needless to say, we heard everything our neighbors did. Everything. Our next visit, we’d definitely try and get a different room. Thankfully, most of our time was spent outside of the room.
If you’re wondering about the bathrooms, they were simple. The shower stall is cut out from the picture, but, it was a standard walk-in shower. The bathroom was kept clean, and the toiletries were re-stocked daily.
Location
Not only is The Sands at Grace Bay conveniently located on Grace Bay beach, it was just a few minutes’ walk to downtown shops and restaurants. Both my husband and I love it when a vacation spot is walkable and safe. Providenciales, and The Sands at Grace Bay offered both. This is why every morning we walked to what turned out to be one of our favorite breakfast spots, Shay Café, which I mentioned in my previous post about our trip. And later on in the day for lunch, we frequented Big Al’s Island Burger. We were also able to walk to one of the popular spots, Mr. Grouper’s, where we once had lunch.We spent a lot of time on the beach. I think I mentioned that in my initial post. When I say lots of time, we were on the beach first thing in the mornings, in the afternoon, and at times, we’d even walk the beach at night to catch the sun setting.
We even woke up early to catch the sunrise. My husband enjoyed this the most. He’s an early riser. I’m talking, 4:00 a.m. Who does that on vacation? It was nice, but, I’m really not a morning person.
a mom, and blogger, is a wi-fi connection. We were going to be away from our daughter for five nights. That’s a long time. With a wi-fi connection, we were able to connect with her via Facetime, and receive updates on her from my mom and sister. The wi-fi connection also
allowed us to research local restaurants, and things to do around time using one of my favorite travel sites, Tripadvisor.
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| View of pools from our room |
As I mentioned previously, The Sands at Grace Bay has two free-standing wading pools that are connected by a canal. There’s an additional pool located closer to the beach. Closer to the entrance, in the garden area, there’s an adults-only hot tub, which we took advantage of several times. The resort does provide for free non-motorized water sports activities – hobie cats (small sailing catamaran) sea kayaks, paddle boarding, and snorkeling. My husband snorkeled while I floated in the water using one of the complimentary pool noodles. Life jackets were also available for use. Palapa and lounge chairs are also complimentary. Trust me, 15 out of 24 hours of ours were spent lounging on the beach under the palapas sipping on cocktails from the resort’s restaurant, Hemingway’s.
The Sands at Grace Bay provides complimentary bicycle rentals, and features a tennis court for anyone looking to get more active outside of the water. There’s also a gym, but due to the storm that hit Provo a few days prior to our arrival, the gym was closed.
Getting There
The Sands at Grace Bay is about a 15-minute ride from the Providenciales airport. Airport transfers are provided via taxi for a fee.
The Sands at Grace Bay is the perfect atmosphere for couples, as there are very little activities for children outside of the pool and water sports. To me, the resort was the ideal romantic setting for both my husband and I, and a lot of other couples we saw during our stay. Couples can spend time strolling the white sand beach, having cocktails and conversations under a palapa, snorkeling, and more. If you are looking for a vacation offering seclusion, then you need to stay at The Sands, and experience the serenity and “Grace” of Grace Bay.
My 30th birthday spent in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos at The Sands at Grace Bay was just the retreat from city life, and the calm that I needed to relax and regroup. It’s time to plan another trip!