I am pleased to
report my visit to Club Med Turkoise in Turks and Caicos was very good. I was
very impressed with what I experienced with the resort in general and all the
activities that are offered at no additional costs. In fact, the resort and
staff exceeded my expectations considerably. I think it is going to serve the RealtySouth group
well and it was a good choice as the site for the 2024 RealtySouth Agent
Appreciation Trip. Club Med is by far the best value in Turks and Caicos in my
opinion. Below is a summary of my experience for your review:
- English
is the official language of the island, and the US Dollar is the official
currency making a visit there very easy for US citizens. Turks and Caicos
is considered a luxury destination and the prices reflect it. Be prepared
for a little sticker shock when you are shopping etc.
- Temperatures
should be between 80 to 84 degrees in February when you are there, and it
is quite humid as you would expect in an island nation. Bring bug spray
and plenty of sunscreen as it will be much less expensive at home than at
the resort.
- Arrival
at the airport.
- Arriving
in Providenciales (PLS) is a typical
smaller Caribbean airport. You will deplane using stairways and walk to
the terminal as there are no gates with jetways that connect to the
plane as big airports have. People may want to consider their carry-on’s
if they have difficulties going up and down steep stairs.
- Customs and Immigration at the airport can have long lines. When I arrived, there were three other planes that arrived at the same time, so the lines got very long, very fast. (Hint – I would advise people to use the restroom on the plane before landing so you don’t end up going farther to the back of the line if you make a restroom stop once inside the terminal.) The lines did move fairly quickly though but it is definitely a wait.
- Expedited arrival and departure is available through a program called SkyPass, but it is pricey, about $65 per person for arrival and $65 for departure. https://skypasscaribbean.com/book-now/. With a group traveling together, it is probably not worth it unless everyone is doing it because if you are expedited through, you would only end up waiting outside for all those who didn’t purchase it.
- Ground
Transportation
- Ground
transfers are being coordinated through Club Med so all those arriving in
a group should be efficiently handled. The problem I experienced is that
after you leave the customs area with your bags and go through the
terminal which is open air to the area for ground transportation, it is
extremely crowded and not well marked. For Club Med, once you exit the
terminal you will immediately turn left and follow the sidewalk to the
end where you will see a turquoise-colored Club Med podium and a
representative who coordinates all the transfers to the resort. This is
the holding area for people waiting for the transfers.
- There
is no public transportation system in Turks and there are no rideshare
services like Lyft or Uber. The Taxi union is very strong and after COVID
they essentially control ground transportation on the island.
- A Taxi can be expensive and is more expensive than what’s common in the USA. Rates are typically per person rather than per trip. If 4 people jump in a cab, the fare is commonly on a per person basis. Ask the cab driver what the charge is before getting in the cab to avoid surprises and make sure you understand if it is a price for everyone together or individual price.
- The Club Med Turkoise Resort
- Your arrival at Club Med starts with a long heavily
tropical foliage driveway that comes to a very Caribbean style portico
where you are greeted by Club Med staff who give a very upbeat welcome and attend to your
luggage. It was actually much more impressive than the Beaches resort we
stopped at on the way to Club Med and it gave a very good first impression.
- As you enter the resort and walk into the lobby, it
is very open and impressive with the pool and views of the beach and
ocean. It caught my attention, and I was a little surprised and
definitely impressed. The resort itself has a very Caribbean vibe with
its bright colors and low-rise structures. Nothing is over three stories
tall. Each building is painted in bright, upbeat Caribbean colors, and I
found the resort to be very clean and well maintained. It is an older
property and is not a five-star resort. People who
go to Club Med are not going for a luxurious and elegant resort, but
rather for the spectacular beach (rated by Conde Neste as one of the best
beaches in the world) and the incredible number and range of activities,
the vast majority of which are all included in the price of your stay.
- The guest rooms are simple, straight forward, roomy
and should meet all your basic needs. They are not necessarily where you
would want to spend all of your time, but quite frankly, people don’t go
there to stay in their rooms. There are only two categories of rooms, as
you are aware from the contract. The Superior Garden Tropical View and
the Deluxe Seaview with Balcony are alike except for the balcony and
position in the building. All Seaview with Balcony are on the second and
third floors and Superior on the ground floors. There are no elevators so
anyone with mobility issues should be aware of that if they are wanting
Deluxe Seaview with Balcony. The rooms are very clean, modern, and
well maintained. Again, it is important to temper expectations of participants
as far as what their room will be like. I have asked that all our room
block be on the end toward the tennis courts as that provides best access
to the restaurants, pool, Sharkey’s Beach Bar, Pickle Ball courts and
sailboats participants can take lessons on and sail themselves. It is
also close to the meeting rooms where a separate hospitality room could
be set up if necessary. (There are so many activities I’m not sure you
will need one this year. If so, we need to negotiate that with the resort
as it will not be set up and stocked complimentary as it was in
Cartagena)
- As
we have discussed, the single restaurant has been an issue we both had
concerns about. Unlike other all-inclusives with multiple dining venues you have been to in the past,
there is just one main restaurant, Grace Bay. I found the quality and variety of food to be very good. I do not
have any reservations at all about the food or dining facility and I
think your group will be well served for the time they are there. It will
be different than your past experiences, but that is a function of the
level of resorts you have been at. The Executive Chef sets new
menus every day so you will always be experiencing new food
options. The layout of the dining rooms is such they can easily
accommodate large groups to eat and the group coordinator for the resort
can request a private room for the group as long as everyone is eating
within a general time period. They will not just hold one room
continuously for the group exclusively, however.
- Onsite activities that are included in the price are so numerous, it is not really necessary to leave the resort for costly excursions in my opinion. Among the free activities are:
- Want to do Yoga on the dock? How about a snorkeling excursion? Learn to paddle board or join in with water aerobics? Whatever you want to do, or what you don't want to do, it is all included in the price you paid. Even excursions on the snorkeling boat are included to various coral reefs twice a day for 40 people, first come, first served. Scuba – free lessons and free dives require sign up one day in advance for lessons and the dive because you have to sign waivers. Other free activities include:
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f. If the RealtySouth group would like to do a private snorkeling trip, the cost is $50 per person for 40 participants for a two- and 1/2-hour trip from 2:00PM - 4:30PM. Arrangements and the $2,000 payment must be made one day in advance so that the resort can prepare the boat and staff to do the private event
g Entertainment at Club Med Turkoise was pretty exceptional in my opinion. Here summary of some of the things they offer:
i. One thing Club Med
Turkoise is well known for is entertainment! From live shows to theme
nights - participants are sure to enjoy their evenings. Even during the
day, they have pool games and many other activities. Everyone should
download the Club Med App before going to get a schedule with all the details.
ii.
Theme Nights at Club Med Turkoise are fun. The staple is White Night where everyone dresses
in white for a gala dinner around the pool (weather depending). It’s your
choice whether you want to participate or not, but they are fun. And of course, White Night is gorgeous! The typical themes for the week are: All Black, Elegant Night (formal attire not required or expected, just whatever you
think is elegant,) White Night, Pirate Night, Jeans and 45 T-Shirt, Turquoise
and White & Colorful.
iii.
Club Med Artists at Turkoise. Every day at 5PM they have a "Happy Hour" at Sharkey’s Beach
Bar. They have daily live entertainment.
iv.
Certainly, the highlight of Club Med Turkoise is the beach.
It is drop-dead gorgeous. White powdery sand and crystal-clear turquoise water
is incredible. Club Med has a unique philosophy about the beach. They believe
people come to Grace Bay to enjoy the beauty of the beach. Consequently, they
do not load the beach up with chairs and umbrellas like the other resorts do
that make it so you are seeing very little of the beach but a sea of umbrellas.
Club Med has a large number of beach cabanas that are first come, first served
along the back of the beach. There are plenty of chairs available if you want
to be closer to the water. Their system is that when you check out your towel
from the towel counter, you can ask for an umbrella, and they will give you
one. That way, only those wanting an umbrella will have one keeping the beach
view uncluttered. The attendant will even take it to the beach and set it up
for you. They will assist you with the chairs as well. The chairs are sturdy,
good quality chairs that are very comfortable. They replace 125 chairs every
quarter with new ones to keep everything in good shape. I was very impressed
with their philosophy and looking down at the beach, you see exactly what they are
talking about with other resorts being nothing but a sea of chairs and
umbrellas. Club Med has the largest, most pristine beach in Turks and
Caicos because they were the pioneer there over 38 years ago.
v.
Unlike higher end resorts, there is no food and drink
service on the beach at Club Med Turkoise. Sharkey’s Beach Bar is close by, and
you can get food and drink there.
6. If you should require medical care, Providenciales has
one hospital, Cheshire Hall Medical Centre, which is within easy reach and
can provide you with excellent care until arrangements are made to get you home.
- The city is about a 20-minute walk from the resort or short cab ride. It is very nice and clean and has a large variety of shops including high end stores like Cartier, Louis Vuitton, etc. As I indicated before, it is not inexpensive. There are a variety of restaurants and bars and that is where the K9 Rescue is located that we did the puppy walk with. It appears very safe and there is a police station right in the heart of the shopping area.