My wife, son, and I are thinking about going to the Beaches resort in Turks & Caicos in mid-December.

Has anybody been there or heard about this resort?

Thanks!

Is this an Allegro Resorts all inclusive resort?

If so, yes. It's fine, nothing special EXCEPT for the beach. Crystal while sand and some of the most beautiful water.

There are frequent activities planned for kids/adults as well as a good amount of free watersports equipment.

If you are a true beach person (not a pool person) and you don't mind a severe lack of nightlife, shopping, or high end dining, the Turks/Caicos are incredible.

Best scuba diving I've done in the western hemisphere.

Thanks for the feedback! It's actually the Sandals/Beaches all-inclusive resort. We are not night people and will be spending a lot of time in the kiddie pool and children's areas.

I stayed at the allegro two years ago. it's just down the beach from Beaches. Grace bay is incredible! But as previously posted, there is not much else to do on the island with the exception of some sailing cruises and great diving. Avoid Provo divers if you do go diving.

btw, I have heard that the Beaches resort is great for kids.

[This message has been edited by tazi (edited 10-31-2002).]

Phoenixitc, did you take the trip to Beaches in Turks? We are considering the same resort in July.

Any feedback about your experience, including reservation suggestions, is appreciated.

Thanks

My family and I visited this resort on Dec. 15-19, 2002. It was the low season immediately before the Christmas/New Year crowds. We stayed in one of the larger suites (Parrot Cay) so we cannot respond to room size but we certainly talk about the stay. The resort is very nice. The grounds are well maintained and clean. The beach is excellent. There's a lot to do there for kids, swimming, activities, games, etc. I can say that the hotel staff are some of the most unfriendly people I've met. With the exception of a handful, the staff are stand-offish, unfriendly, non-smiling. Their attitude is a complete turnoff. The food is average at best. The food in the main restaurant is below average for dinner, lacking flavor, over-cooked, and bland. The Japanese-style restaurant is ok, our Chef was not very good at the presentation. Avoid the 50's style restaurant.
Oh! One last thing... absolutely verify and get in writing that they have reviewed everything in your room before you leave. Three weeks after leaving the resort we were charged for the two robes provided. They claim we took them. We were charged $130. I am still waiting for a response to my reply email asking why they think we took them (we did not) and why it took three weeks to determine it was us. I've asked if they had audited the guests who stayed after we did. I am protesting the charge to Citibank. I'll post an update when the manager responds to my request for credit.

Sorry about the bad experience. Just want to be perfectly clear, Phoenixitc. Your bad experience was at the Sandals All Inclusive Beach Resort. This post had some mention of both Sandals and Allegro.

A coworker of mine just returned from the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort at Montego Bay, Jamaica. He reported a horrible experience, which has made me very leery of some Carribean resorts and the all inclusive concept.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Jeeves:
which has made me very leery of some Carribean resorts and the all inclusive concept.</font>

Yes, I absolutely prefer not to stay at all-inclusive resorts, but the rate through skyauction.com at the all-inclusives was 40% less than "regular" resorts, too good of a deal for us to pass up.

It's unfortunate you had such a bad experience. Especially since you could have probably paid half and stayed at the Allegro instead.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Jeeves:
A coworker of mine just returned from the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort at Montego Bay, Jamaica. He reported a horrible experience, which has made me very leery of some Carribean resorts and the all inclusive concept.</font>

I have stayed at the Allegro Turks & Caicos, Allegro Playacar, Occidental Grand Aruba (formerly Allegro), Caribbean Village Playacar, Iberostar Punta Cana, Melia Tropical Caribe in Punta Cana, and the Jolly Beach Resort in Antigua. The only one I had a bad experience at is the Caribbean Village Playcar. The rest have been great. These are all generally what would be considered 'budget' all-inclusive resorts so some of the services varied but they are a great value for the money.