Stay Report: Beaches Turks & Caicos
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It was a year in the pandemic and while COVID rates had decreased, it was still a pandemic so this was in my mind when searching for a destination and place. In my search I found Beaches Turks & Caicos by Sandals and I liked it because 1) it was all-inclusive so that mean reducing exposure; 2) the resort took care of COVID testing + insurance and other health-related documents and information needed for exit and entry; and 3) Sandals is one of the biggest all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean so wanted to check out their process. Since it was my first time booking with the resort and organization, I did most of my interaction through the phone after doing online research. Their phone agents were really helpful but could not answer specific questions about the resort itself; they could answer general questions about the booking but not specific questions about the layout or details of the resort.
As it was all-inclusive, airport pick-up and drop-off is included in the fare. During my conversation, I was told by the agent that 'there would be Beaches or Sandals kiosk outside of immigration and just let them know you have a reservation and they will coordinate the drop-off.' Since those were the instructions I received, that is what I followed but after immigration there was no kiosk and no Sandals representative; instead there were many white passenger vans that were independently operated and these made rounds of the various resorts - this information would've been helpful to know because I did not know if this was the right transport or if this was an incorrect and I was going to get charged for it.
That level of service, or lacking service in an aspect, is the type of overall experience I received atSandals. When we arrived, we were given cold towels and a welcome drink and then told to sit in the lobby and someone would help us. It took a while and when the person came to check us in, they were not as helpful or as customer service friendly as they could have been. For all-inclusive, especially if it is your first time, there is a lot of information that you need to be aware of but that information was missing in our initial conversation and information was only given when prompted. Even though we arrived at 1pm, our room was still not ready so we kept our luggage at the front desk and went to the restaurant to have some lunch and relax until our room was ready.
There were many restaurants that were included in the all-inclusive and these ranged from pizza and salad and ice cream to fancier restaurants including seafood and pasta. Some restaurants needed a reservation while others were a first-come, first-serve. Some of the fancier restaurants got extremely crowded at dinner time and that made it difficult to choose restaurants because the restaurant you wanted to try that night was completely full. The restaurants had set menus and set selections but it was the service that was slow and lacking at each restaurant - this caused many slowdowns and delays at restaurants and other facilities throughout the resort (we were told by others who were there often that other resorts had recently opened and were paying better thus the more experienced and higher quality staff had left to the newer resorts). The food itself was decent quality and had decent flavor but was not spectacular; there was a lot of variety ranging from seafood to pasta to salad to dessert to burgers. We were there for 4 nights and were able to try a different restaurant each night. Each served the same quality of food in terms of portion size and flavor - nothing was too flavorful nor did anything stand out for being great but then nothing stood out for being exceptionally bad.
We had booked a 2-double bed room on the 1st floor in the Caribbean village. The hotel is divided up
into various Villages and each Village has its own pools and restaurants - each Village also has its own check-in dedicated to that area so that they are not overcrowded dealing with everyone. The Caribbean Village was the oldest part of the resort but was also more centrally located and was near the main entrance (as well as exit point) as well as near the health service as well - it was very easy to walk to the various Villages and to other restaurants. Each room was designed to be a little villa space so all the rooms had a mini-garden and a table with 2 chairs outside; so that you could sit outside your room on your dedicated chairs and enjoy the outside air. Inside, as you entered on your left was a chair and a small table that faced the window. Next to that, along the left wall, were the two beds plus a nightstand in the middle. Across the beds, alongside the right wall, was an chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top. The top also had a long top so that you could store items on top and next to the chest was an armoire to hang clothes up. In the chest area was also a fridge, a microwave, as well as the coffee maker. Further into the room, beyond the armoire, was a vanity area with a sink and a mirror. This allowed people to get ready outside without occupying the bathroom. The bathroom contained a sink, a toilet and a tub. Overall, the room had a decent amount of amenities but the size of the furniture did not match the size of the room; the oversized furniture made the room feel small and cramped. Also, the furniture looked and felt a bit dated and not fresh; the beds provided a decent nights sleep but have had better nights elsewhere. Lastly. there was not a lot of outlets available and this made it difficult to charge all the electronics.
Amenities in the hotel were wide-ranging since it was an all-inclusive. WiFi was available but it seemed to have been added after the hotel was built so not all areas had equally strong access; the signal was very weak in our rooms but very strong in the lobby or by the pool so went there to access wifi. There were many restaurants to take advantage of as well as many pools. There was beach access with a variety and plenty of beach chairs. There were some shops on the property that had both resort and country items. There was a health center as well and this was extremely important because this is where you accessed your COVID tests. We were there during July 4th weekend so they had organized fireworks and a song & dance show; the fireworks were nice but very small and the song & dance show was decent but a bit amateurish. In Punta Cana there were also song & dance shows but those seemed more professional.
Overall, it was an average trip to Beaches Turks & Caicos. Positives included COVID testing and supplying health-related documents, a variety of restaurants, and a large property so you can find nooks and crannies to hide-out. Things that were not positive included the average quality of the food, the average customer service, lack of communication between staff, and poor wifi signal throughout the property. This was my second all-inclusive total and my first with Sandals/Beaches and my experience did not turn me off to the properties but also did not make me a fan.
