My wife and I recently returned from a five-night stay in the Turks and Caicos Islands. If you're looking for a place to relax, unwind and bask in Caribbean warmth, Turks and Caicos is hard to beat.
Our trip started with a bang - literally. With our flight scheduled to depart from our hometown airport at 6:10 a.m., we set two alarms to wake us at 4. When the first one started pealing loudly in the dark, I sprung from bed to silence it but tripped over my luggage, which I had left partially packed on the floor nearby.
A startling crash ensued as the full force of my nearly 200-pound frame descended on a small particle-board table my wife had quaintly outfitted with a tablecloth, framed photos and a lamp. The table's collapse and a light bulb's shatter roused my wife (and probably woke the neighbors), but I fortunately emerged with only a stubbed toe, a sore shoulder and a bruised ego, none of which kept me off our flight to paradise.
After a pleasant layover in Charlotte, we arrived mid-afternoon in Providenciales, the island chain's main tourist destination. There was a bit of chaos as we awaited our resort transfer - we were told the airport's traffic cops "had a meeting" and were thus absolved from directing traffic at the exact time of our arrival. Imagine that happening in New York!
But chaos yielded to tranquility once we disembarked at the Regent Palms in Grace Bay, about a 15-minute ride from the airport. The staff greeted us with a delicious fruit-juice cocktail before a friendly young lady spirited us off to our spacious garden-view room.
Our stay only improved from there. The Regent Palms knows how to do things right. The resort doesn't overpromise and underdeliver on service, as so many resorts do ... the place just delivered. Complimentary bottled water for the length of our stay. Pool and beach "wizards" offering up frozen fruit hors d'oevres and aromatherapy spritzing in the hot sun. Five "sun pods," or circular mattresses, for poolside lolling. I could go on and on ...
We spent our days floating in the infinity pool, walking the immaculate beach and frolicking in the azure sea. At lunch, we hit the swim-up bar for Pina Coladas and tasty but overpriced food (what can I say, it's an island). Even so, I didn't feel completely gouged by the $15 hot dog platter, a decadent treat featuring two foot-long wieners and a nice pile of fries.
In the evening, we enjoyed the resort bar (great martinis!) and hot-tubbing under the stars. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from in Grace Bay; most are within walking distance or a short cab ride from the Regent Palms. Most offer alfresco dining as well. I particularly enjoyed the seafood risotto ($32) at O'Soleil, the restaurant at the Somerset Resort next door, and the grilled lobster tail ($42) at Coco Bistro, where we dined beneath a huge grove of palm trees.
There's not a ton to do in Grace Bay other than relax. We played tennis on the resort's court one afternoon and checked out the shopping another day (a lot of empty storefronts). But the place is perfect for R&R.
The trip wasn't without its warts, of course. There was the obnoxious frat-boy type talking too loud between swigs of beer at the pool bar (don't those guys ever grow up?), and our long wait at the hot, crowded Providenciales airport for our flight home was certainly forgettable.
But all told, it was a marvelous, rejuvenating journey.
