Grace Bay Club Turks & Caicos

September 4th, 2021

Enroute:

We checked out of the Ritz-Carlton at around noon and headed just down the street to the Grace Bay Club. You can find the review for the Ritz here. The two hotels are close to each other, so the walk took no longer than 10 minutes. This isn’t our first time at the Grace Bay Club, as we stayed here during Labor Day Weekend two years go. The property still felt familiar, as there were no visible updates made to the rooms or public areas.

Check-in:

While we waited on the front desk agent to handle the formalities, we were offered a round of rum punch.

The lobby itself was maybe 400-500 sqft, but I liked that they designed it as a living room, with seats scattered throughout. Although there weren’t any other guests this time, I remember last time each party had their own section where they were checked in. Meanwhile, we were introduced to our concierge. A lot of hotels try to have the concierge service. When it’s well executed, it certainly adds value to a stay, but rather frequently it proves to be more of a gimmick. Personally I rarely make use of it, but that’s just because I would never call if I could text. Like I’d rather eat at a restaurant bookable on Resy than somewhere I’d have to call? Fortunately the hotel restaurants were, in fact, all on OpenTable, phew.

Also, can we talk about how OpenTable used to own the space, and all of a sudden everybody ditched them for Resy, Tock or SevenRooms? Now the only restaurant you can book on OpenTable is Ruth’s Chris? What happened to capitalism breeding innovation?

Unpack:

Once the concierge had keys to our room, we were offered a property tour, which we politely declined this time. He then escorted us to our room. We booked a villa junior suite, which was the entry-level room for the villa section of the hotel. There were also the actual hotel section and the estate section, with the latter mostly consisted of multi-bedroom suites for larger groups.

Upon entry, there was a narrow hallway leading to the main room.

The hotel prepared us some packaged snacks, a welcome note, a beach tote and two face masks. We weren’t celebrating anything this time, but on our last visit we received a bottle of wine and some chocolate covered strawberries.

Walking down the hallway, the bathroom was on the left.

I’m quite a fan of the use of dark wood in the room, and the shutters by the bathtub, as they allow you to have a view of the ocean while soaking. Turks & Caicos is in the British West Indies, so the choice of Elemis toiletries seemed appropriate - a seamless continuation of British Airways business class, if you know you know 😉. The shower pressure, on the other hand, was abysmal.

Moving on, the integrated closet space was on the right.

The fridge was stocked with a rosé and bottled water, which was always appreciated. It’s essential to stay hydrated when all you do is drinking by the pool, you know?

Lastly in the room were the king bed, a writing desk and an armchair.

Needless to say the room was a little dated, but I find it quite charming and had a bit of local flair. The mattress, however, was overdue for a replacement.

On the balcony there were a dining table and two more armchairs. Not only were the armchairs well padded, they also had cushion covers on, unlike the Ritz next door that didn’t even have cushions for their beach chairs.

Later when we returned to the room at night, the AC system was emitting this really musty odor that smelled like an abandoned storage unit. My partner and I both have allergy problems, and the odor eventually became too intense for comfort. The front desk was understanding enough to offer us an alternate room. However, when I got to the other room in a different building, I realized this was a much more complicated issue as the new room had the same smell. In the end we just decided to sleep with the balcony door slightly open.

Other than that, I thought the room was fine. It wasn’t over the top grand, but it felt fitting for the island.

Unwind:

After recalibrating in our room for a short while, we ventured out to seek some sun. The hotel had three pools, one in the estate, one adult pool and one general pool. Right in front of our room was the general pool. Interesting enough the general pool was the one with the swim-up bar. I guess the hotel figured that the parents could probably use some help. Now that I think about it, though, I don’t recall seeing a single minor during our stay. Lord had mercy.

Across the way from the pool was the Grille restaurant, which served all three meals.

I quite liked the winding pathways that connected all the buildings at the hotel, with towering palms trees extending refuge from the blazing sun.

Hidden behind thick greens was the spa.

And the gym.

The adult pool qualified for a quasi infinity pool, perhaps?

The size of the pool was on the smaller side. However, there never seemed to be a crowding issue. We also walked over to the estate pool one day to order some drinks from the Krave restaurant.

There was a hot tub by the adult pool, which for reasons unbeknownst to me is increasingly less common at new hotels these days. On our last day, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the beach.

Refuel:

The hotel featured several onsite food and beverage outlets, with Infiniti being the most famous. By famous I mean there were some IG models. It’s more like a bar and lounge style venue serving lighter fare and a great happy hour menu.

We ordered conch fritters, chicken satay and some lamb dish to nibble on while drinking. The food was surprisingly decent, especially the chicken satay, which came sizzling on a mini stone grill.

As the place filled up, we decided to just get another couple of things to go, so we ordered more conch fritters because they were delicious and a tuna sashimi with salsa and watermelon.

Breakfast was served buffet style at the Grille. The space itself was completely outdoor, and the selection was about average.

Getting service was an endeavor, though. I’ve come to realize one shall wholly relinquish the shame associated with flagging someone down, because otherwise nobody would stop at your table. Once we did acquire such attention, we ordered omelets and an outstanding iced latte.

A meal is better with a view, of course.

Service on the beach and at the pool was much like at the restaurant, which required ample assertiveness. We started with a bucket of beers. I ADORED the design and names on these beer bottles, so vibrant and cute.

Later in the afternoon we ordered a jerk chicken wrap and a pepperoni pizza.

When we migrated to the pool, we switched to cocktails. The purple drink was the berry colada, which I highly recommend. The drinks were strong per the norm on the island.

On the last evening, we had dinner at the Grille. The ambience was plenty romantic, and a good place if you’re in the mood to put in a bit more effort than room service in a robe. For food, we went with the tomahawk and shared some broccolini and fries.

I’ve got to say that the island does steaks pretty well. I haven’t had a bad steak anywhere on Turks & Caicos. To finish things off, we split a warm chocolate cake.

A very satisfying meal indeed.

Depart:

On the next day, it was time for us to head back to the States. But before we were allowed back, we had to get a Covid test. The Grace Bay Club converted one of the ground floor rooms as a temporary testing site, and it was complimentary for all guests. The experience could not have been less painless.

The Grace Bay Club is a solid option for Turks & Caicos. Of the two hotels I’ve stayed at, I would choose the Grace Bay Club over the Ritz. Although an older property, the Grace Bay Club felt more upscale and elegant and had its unique character. The island of Turks & Caicos is stunning - there isn’t many destinations where you get both the water and the beach.