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Turks Caicos Information

USA Today Spotlights The Sands at Grace Bay

This past month USA Today’s Melanie Reffes visited The Sands at Grace Bay and wrote an incredible article highlighting her stay at our Turks & Caicos resort! Below is the Seaside Splendor article written by Melanie Reffes, accompanied by her beautiful photo tour of The Sands at Grace Bay which can be fully viewed on the USA Today website: Seaside Splendor.

Less than two hours by air from Miami, Providenciales is the biggest island in the Turks and Caicos and a sunny escape from the winter winds at home. Seven miles from the Providenciales International Airport, The Sands at Grace Bay fronts the baby-blue sea on Grace Bay Beach; the finest talc white sandy stretch on the island. The resort marries Caribbean chic with a casual vibe in 114 suites and studios in six three-story buildings that stand no higher than a palm tree. Each one to three bedroom suite features with ocean or garden views and all of them are spacious — up to 1,600 square feet — and have modern kitchens, dining rooms, washers and dryers and screened in furnished patios and balconies ideal for an afternoon siesta or a cocktail as the sun sets behind the beach. Studios with ocean or garden views are cozy comfy with pull-out couches for guests (or small kids). Wi-Fi is high-speed and complimentary throughout the resort.

 

For the active-minded, gratis bicycles are perfect for exploring the island, tennis and basketball court is lit for night play and the fitness center stays open until 11 p.m. The Sands at Grace Bay is also a short hop from the 18-hole Provo Golf Course and a pair of marinas for those wishing to explore the island by boat. Caicos Dream Tours arranges paddle boarding, kayaking, Hobie cat sails, spectacular snorkeling and diving in the healthy barrier reef and tours around the island. If you’re lucky, you may spot JoJo; the playful dolphin who has called this section of the sea home since 1980. If you’re just looking to wind down, find your own lazy hammock in the Coconut Grove Garden, revel in a calming soak in the open-air Jacuzzi, plant yourself on a sun lounger by one of three pools or snag a shady spot on the beach under a thatched palapa. For a regal rubdown; massages at Spa Tropique or en-suite are blissfully serene.

 

A culinary ode to Ernest Hemingway, who fished in the sea surrounding the island, Hemingway’s is beachside dining perfection from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Perched on the shore with servers so friendly you’ll swear you’ve met them before, a table on the dune deck is where to greet the morning with a spicy Blood Mary, stack of crazy good almond pancakes or a yummy ’Ernest’ omelette with a dab of the local hot sauce called ‘Ghost Story’. Big salads are divine for lunch and for dinner; locally-caught frittered conch and a buttery South Caicos lobster tail are the order of the day. Save room for a key lime pie martini and a deliciously shareable fried ice cream served in a sweet tortilla basket sprinkled with cinnamon powdered sugar and chocolate sauce.

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Things To Do In The Caribbean Turks Caicos Information

Turks and Caicos Conch Festival Returns for 12th Year

The Sands at Grace Bay resort offers an affordable and convenient option for travelers in town for the island’s 12th annual Turks and Caicos Conch Festival – a popular weekend event that celebrates the island’s most famous delicacy, unofficial mascot, and chief exporting product.

Located on Providenciales’ world-famous Grace Bay Beach, The Sands at Grace Bay is offering incredible savings for fall travelers now through December 19th including a 4th Night Free offer, low-season rates starting from only $195 per night, and an array of free amenities including watersports, bicycles, a weekly cocktail party and much more.

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Kicking off on Saturday, November 28th, the 12th Annual Turks & Cacios Conch Festival will take place in Blue Hills, Providenciales. This year’s line-up of family-friendly events includes tasting tents where local restaurants compete for the best Conch dishes, live local music and entertainment, and plenty of children’s activities. The hallmark “conch-etition” conch tasting event showcases over 25 local restaurants that compete in several culinary categories including the Best Conch Salad, Best Conch Chowder and Best in Show. A Bacardi Mojito challenge is a mojito making competition that features the island’s best bartenders, including the resort’s first place reigning champion Hemingway’s Restaurant. The line-up of children’s activities includes a special kids’ area that will feature traditional island games including tug of war, sack race, and egg and spoon races, as well as an appearance made by Henry the Conch. For more information on the Annual Turks & Caicos Conch Festival, visit http://www.conchfestival.com/.

The resort’s 4th Night FREE promotion is valid for new bookings made on all room categories at The Sands at Grace Bay, for consecutive stays of four nights or more started and completed now through December 19th, 2015More information on this 4th Night Free 2015 offer can be found online at www.thesandstc.flywheelstaging.com – or by calling toll-free from the U.S. (877) 777-2637 or from Canada (800) 567-5327.

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Things To Do In The Caribbean Turks Caicos Information

Providenciales (Turks and Caicos) Golf Club – Jewel of the Caribbean

turks and caicos golf club

Just a short drive away from The Sands at Grace Bay, The Provo Golf Club is a top-rated Caribbean golf course that has received a 4-star rating from Golf Digest and was listed as one of the “Top 10 Courses for Golf in the Caribbean” by Travel & Leisure.

The course is known for its rugged layout and beautifully maintained playing surfaces, surrounded by 7 lakes with abundant birdlife, over 1000 palm trees and the natural flora and fauna of the Turks & Caicos Islands. The club has a fully stocked pro-shop, premium Taylor Made club rentals, a short range warm-up area, and practice chipping and putting areas. There’s also a Fairways bar & grill for dining before or after your game and optional golf instruction programs and lessons are also offered for those interested in enhancing their game.

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Rate options include a per person/per round rack rate, a “twilight” afternoon special, 3 and 5 round passes, and two week or monthly unlimited passes. For the current golfing green fees and rates at the Provo Golf Club visit: http://www.provogolfclub.com/course/rates-and-green-fees

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About our Caribbean Resort

Experience an earthly wonder of sand and sea at our 114-suite luxury resort on Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, British West Indies.

Family-friendly, yet ideally suited for romantic getaways and wedding celebrations, The Sands at Grace Bay offers a harmonious balance of home comforts and sublime Caribbean elegance – as well as a picture perfect location on the sparkling shores of Grace Bay Beach.

If you are dreaming of a beach holiday in the Caribbean that gives you the flexibility of having your own fully-equipped suite while enticing you with fine dining, pristine grounds and sigh-inducing vistas, we look forward to welcoming you to The Sands at Grace Bay.

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Beach Weddings Turks Caicos

An Extraordinary Turks and Caicos Wedding… In The Rain

We had the pleasure of recently hosting the wedding of Lisa & Kevin Owens. Their wedding day was far from ordinary – in fact, it was extraordinary.

On the day of their Grace Bay Beach wedding ceremony that was held at our resort, it was a picture perfect day here in Turks & Caicos complete with sunny and clear skies.

As the beach ceremony began, the weather took a sudden turn for the worse and the skies opened to pouring rain – not something that the bride and groom had ever expected would happen during their beautiful beach wedding ceremony. However, Lisa and Kevin were as determined as ever to say their “I Do’s” even in the midst of the pouring rain. Our resort staff worked quickly to provide umbrellas and beach towels to the soaked wedding guests, while the ceremony continued.

While most couples fear rain on their wedding day, Lisa and Kevin’s positive outlook, humor and extraordinarily memorable wedding experience that they graciously shared with us below, will hopefully reduce the fears of unexpected weather to future brides and grooms who are worried that rain may damper their special day:

“Lidra Barranco at The Sands was my contact for planning the wedding ceremony (and Ri-ann helped her to execute everything the day of the wedding). She was very helpful and responsive to my 8 months-worth of email communications to her. The ceremony package we had through The Sands included the officiant & marriage documents, the beach arch, chairs with white covers, bouquets & boutonnieres for our wedding party, a steel drum player, and the wedding cake – which meant less planning for me! They handled all the details! The ceremony was set up on the far side of Grace Bay beach at The Sands where the huts ended. Everything looked beautiful and went smoothly, until the skies opened up out of nowhere and it started pouring, soaking everyone. The staff provided umbrellas and towels as quickly as they could to try to dry people off. The ceremony kept going – we all had some good laughs – and we envision the pictures will be pretty entertaining!

All in all, our wedding day was perfect and we couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out. We heard a ton of “best wedding ever” and “best trip ever” comments from our guests, which made us so happy since everyone had traveled so far to celebrate with us. It was slightly nerve-wracking planning a destination wedding sight unseen, having never been to the island before, and not using a hired wedding planner. Meeting with all of the vendors/staff the week leading up to the wedding put my nerves at ease – they know what they are doing and they are great at it!

Thank you, Sands, for a wonderful wedding ceremony, honeymoon, and memories that will last forever. We can’t wait to return to the island and hopefully see some of the wonderful people we met again.”
– Lisa & Kevin Owens

In the end, Lisa and Kevin enjoyed a beautiful rainbow as the tropical Turks & Caicos rainstorm subsided following their wet wedding ceremony. They still made memories of a lifetime and have taken away incredible photos and stories from their beach wedding ceremony – that was filled with lots of laughter and love.

 

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