We returned from our recent trip to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos celebrating my 40th birthday. We stayed at Seven Stars in Grace Bay and it was wonderful! We flew in on a Friday and returned on a Tuesday so it wasn’t a super long trip and we missed the local fish fry on Thursday. We will be sure not to make that mistake again.
Hotel: Was recommended by a co-worker who has stayed there multiple times…and now I know why! Everything about it was great! When we arrived to the airport, it was very easy to find the Seven Stars rep and she quickly got us into a taxi van and we headed straight to the resort. It was $33 for the transport, as we had heard and expected. We were welcomed with cold towels and yummy rum punch. The complimentary breakfast and omelet station was very good. Stanley & Demond were very friendly and helpful during our entire stay. The rooms are very nice and spacious. They also left a nice birthday message in the room along with some brownies and a plate of fresh fruit which were very much appreciated. We stayed in room 3607, an oceanfront 1 bedroom jr suite with a small kitchenette and very large bathroom (which even had a window over the tub overlooking Grace Bay – breathtaking). We had requested a higher floor if possible when booking and we were on the 6th floor of building 3 and the views were amazing! The room had a huge motorized shade on the window which was so nice to just click the button and close at night and allow us to sleep in a tad without the sun waking us up. We enjoyed the free wifi and they provided us with as much bottled water as needed. We also enjoyed using the complimentary bikes, snorkels, and paddleboards! The only one thing I didn’t love was the pool…it was a heated salt water pool. Heated…in June…in the Carribean? I don’t understand this. My husband took a quick dip one evening and I put my feet in but it was too warm for me. I really wanted to go for a refreshing dip as soon as we finished a hot bike ride but the thought of the warm water was a letdown. However, it was a perfect vacation with the most beautiful ocean ever so I opted for a dip in the ocean instead and was never disappointed spending all of our time at the beach. We typically travel to adult-only (& often all-inclusive) resorts and this was neither. The kids were always well behaved and not in the way, but I was surprised at how many kids/families were there. Overall, we were very pleased and we will be returning to Turks and Caicos and will very likely be returning to Seven Stars!
Transportation: We took advantage of the free bike rentals at the resort and also walked a lot. (Many restaurants, groceries, and shopping very close by). We knew the cabs would be expensive….but they were crazy expensive! We heard from so many that you could rent a car for $30-40/day and we will do that during our next stay. I would highly recommend renting a car. We were too afraid to do that this trip since we didn’t know where to go and they drive on the left side and have tons of roundabouts (and you go to the left) so we did the cabs but did I mention they are SOOOOOO expensive? Almost $20 PER PERSON EACH WAY almost everywhere you take them. That is insane. We will rent a car next time for 1 or 2 of the days now that we know a little more about the area.
Taylor Bay: You HAVE to go to Taylor Bay. Grace Bay was GREAT and Taylor Bay was AMAZING. Seriously, the best day of my life! It was unbelievable…so worth the trip over to that side of the island. It was my favorite day of our amazing vacation. It was us and maybe 12 other people who stopped by the island all day long. We felt like we were on a private island! The water was even clearer than Grace Bay (hard to believe that is even possible) and it was no more than knee deep almost as far as you could walk! Insane! Although we took the expensive cab ride there, it was only about a 10 min drive to the other side of the island. The driver knew exactly where to go and took us right to the path to enter the beach. (It can be hard to find – so be sure to research more about Taylor Bay before you go if you are driving). As we were leaving the hotel, Demond offered to call someone and arrange for them to drop off 2 beach loungers and an umbrella. It was less than $40 for the service and worth every penny since Taylor Bay is so secluded and we were going to spend the entire day there. We were so thankful for his recommendation! Pack a cooler and enjoy a day in paradise.
Safety: We felt SUPER safe everywhere we went – unlike most others places we’ve traveled in the Caribbean. We typically do not like to leave the resort and this was not the case this trip.
Food: The food (& alcohol) is super expensive. We were right across from the grocery store so that was helpful but many items are very expensive. I would recommend squeezing in as many things as you can and take with you to save money (we packed several items like lots of sunscreen, bug spray, pringles, mustard, peanut butter, ziplock bags, crackers, snacks, a small inflatable float, softside cooler, etc) That way we only had to buy bread, sandwich meat, cheese, beer, etc. Just as a reference for price – carton of OJ was $17 and 12 pack of beer was $38, etc…..crazy! so even the little stuff like mustard and ziplocks saved us a ton on groceries we would have had to buy there. I was able to find Miller Lite and many other common beers at Graceway groceries across from Seven Stars. However, my husband will only drink Bud Light and we could not find it at several stores. Luckily, they sold it at the gift shop at Seven Stars and they were great to order him cases as needed. (They were $4 per bottle there which is still a little high but way less than ordering it from the hotel bar or at the restaurants). We had heard the island didn’t sell beer on Sunday…the problem was we were on vacation and didn’t realize what day/time it was until 9:30pm on Saturday night and Graceway had just closed. The hotel gift shop does sell beer on Sunday but may have a limited selection. Just be sure to plan ahead. As others have mentioned, many people brought coolers with food/beer/drinks to the pool and ocean at the hotel and there were no issues with that at all. This helped us save a good bit of money on the trip.
Restaurants: ALL of the food we had during our trip was very good. (again, not the case other places we have traveled) We ate at boogaloo’s – great atmosphere and practically eating in/on the water. Pricey but good. We had the coconut cracked conch that was recommended and it didn’t disappoint. They also allow you to take home a conch shell from their pile on the beach, which was really fun to pick out. (The guys at the beach hut at Seven Stars will clean it for you overnight so you can pack it in your bags and take it home).
We also ate at Cocovan (food truck next to coco bistro fine dining) It was very good and one of the least expensive dinners we had but still more than you’d pay in US. We had the lobster mac and cheese balls as an appetizer and they were delicious! We each had grouper tacos that were very good. However, don’t leave without getting the fresh hot churros for dessert - they were soooo good!
Other: You will need lots of bug spray. They do have tons of sand fleas or noseeems or something that bite all day/night. We brought bug spray but kept forgetting to use it, especially during the day and got lots of bites on our feet/legs. You can’t feel them at all but still annoying to have the bites.
We never like to visit the same place twice, as we want to experience different places in the Caribbean. However, we have both decided we will be breaking tradition and returning to Turks and Caicos again ( and hopefully very soon). It was the Best Vacation Ever!