Ever since my daughter started Kindergarten where attendance counts, finding deals during school holidays has been hard. I tried to book one year in advance for the best price since airlines know the school calendar, flight tickets are just going up and up after that. I originally booked to go to the Algarve in Portugal for the April vacation week by taking 2 school days but then we had 2 more snow days to make up (plus the 5 days she already missed during our Bora Bora trip over Christmas) so I decided to change. After tracking flight prices on a few destinations in the Caribbean, there was a drop in price to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. We also have 2 Hilton free night certificates available to redeem and I quickly checked that their newest resort – South Bank Resort is available on those dates so I called Hilton to redeem right away. Therefore, we used 2 free night certificates plus 210K points for our 3-night stay. Cash rate would be over $1500 per night for the 2-bedroom Boat House. The 2-bedroom Boat House is for up to 4 people but I want to bring my mom along so I emailed the hotel and ask if it’s okay to have 5 people (3 adults and 2 kids). The hotel responded quickly and offered a complimentary upgrade to a 3-bedroom WOW!
Despite a minor technical issue that required a 30 min delay on paperwork, we still landed on time at 2 PM! As we approach Turks and Caicos, the beautiful shades of blue and the coral reefs underneath:
The immigration line was long….we waited for 30 minutes! Remember to bring pens to fill out the old-fashioned paper form and don’t forget to fill out the bottom part (you need to retain that but they didn’t collect it on departure so I had no idea what is the purpose of that). After we finally got through immigration, we walked out to the hall and found the Grace Bay Car Rentals counter (it is the only rental car company within the airport, all others need to be shuttled and I read people waited for a long time for the shuttle bus). The guy at the counter walked us across the parking lot and filled out the quick paperwork at their van; I don’t know why they did that instead of filling out at their counter where it was much cooler. Then, he drove the car over, we did the usual inspection, took pictures, and off we go. The rental for 3 days plus full coverage (only $11.95 extra per day so a piece of mind since they are driving on the left side) total $298.
The drive to South Bank Resort was straightforward; they only have one main “highway” (Leeward Hwy) and then turn right to the marina. It took 25 minutes and we arrived. The resort has a security gate and we told security that we are checking in, the reception area is very close to the security gate. He said we can park there for our check-in. The reception area:
The receptionist welcomed us, took our passports to photocopy, and we signed the form. It was quick. For the welcome drink, he asked if we would like an alcoholic drink or fruit punch. We said we don’t drink alcohol so fruit punch. The fruit punch was cold and refreshing.
After that, another receptionist pulled up a golf cart and gave us a tour of the property while the receptionist who did our paperwork got our car key and drove our car to our boat house. South Bank Resort consisted of multi-million-dollar villas ranging from 2 to 6 bedrooms! You can buy one of those if you have $$$$ 😀 The receptionist showed us the tennis court adjacent to the lagoon villas and at the end of the road is the kids club. Then, he turned back to the other side of the road to the hotel’s only restaurant, the spa and gym, and then to the boat house.
The boat houses:
Right next to the boat houses is their newest development complex called the Arc which will be ocean facing apartments and penthouses.
In the middle of the boat houses is the pool. We arrived at our 3-bedroom boat house, E6. The other receptionist already arrived with our car and loaded our luggage into the house! Right after entering the boat house is the dining area:
Then, the open kitchen with fully furnished appliances.
The welcome letter and the receptionist recalled that we don’t drink alcohol so he immediately switched the champagne to a non-alcoholic one. A South Bank beach bag was provided, I don’t see a note on the price so I assumed it is a gift.
Across from the kitchen hidden under the stairs’ doors are the washer and dryer! Those were very handy to wash and dry our swimsuits. 2 boxes of detergents were provided, I bought my own as well as dryer sheets.
The living area:
Sliding doors from the living area to the terrace and it is fully furnished as well. We can see the Arc from here. Yes, we could hear the construction noises during the day but with the door closed, it was not that noticeable. Besides, we spent the day out having fun so that didn’t bother us.
They called our villas “boat house” because each house has its own private deck to park your own boat!
The second floor has two bedrooms, one with a king bed and one with two twin beds. Each bedroom has its own bathroom! Up on the third floor has one king bed bedroom with a huge bathroom. The king bed bedroom each has a walk-in closet so plenty of space for our luggage! I requested extra bath towels because my kids are very sweaty when they sleep and they stocked the closet with towels…more than enough for our 3 nights! Their mattresses were very firm and comfortable!
The bathroom on the 2nd floor king bed bedroom is walk-in shower.
The toiletries are L’Occitane brand, one of my favorites. However, the conditioner’s smell was yucky.
The twin bed bedroom has a tub but no handheld shower so not convenient for kids.
The kids couldn’t wait to hit the pool so we changed right away and walked across our boat house to the pool. The pool is decent-sized, starting with 1 feet in depth to 4 feet; the kids love it. My daughter practiced her swimming in the shallow part of the pool. There were two floating beds and two tubes on the pool, not sure if those were leftover from previous guests or provided by the hotel. When we were there, there were only a few people hanging around on the beach chairs, no one was in the pool except us! The pool water was warm enough to be comfortable.
Our only complaint was those white caps on the ground, this one popped open when my son stepped on it and he tripped and fell!
We set the alarm at 5 PM so we had enough time to get back to our room to shower and then head out for our dinner reservation at 6 PM at Seafood Hub TCI. There were a few tables of guests sitting outside, and we chose to sit inside for the AC and fewer mosquitoes. Their menu, seafood focused:
We ordered the fish tacos but ended up with shrimp tacos. The shrimps were big and fresh.
Jason splurged on the ultimate feast bowl but since it wasn’t the lobster season, they substituted with more crabs instead. It was spicy and tasty!
I ordered the shrimp po boy but they gave me chicken (they really messed up our order) so I told the waitress and they corrected it.
For the kids, I ordered chicken lo mein but the sauce was sweet and mild spicy. Their menu didn’t indicate mild spiciness so my poor son couldn’t eat it. My daughter was able to handle a little bit of spiciness. Even their fries were seasoned with spicy powder!
Our dinner cost $212.09 included an automatic service charge and taxes. After dinner, we drove down the road to Graceway Gourmet, a supermarket. Prices were really high in Turks and Caicos (since most of their stuff are imported), a box of strawberries cost $12 (compared to $5 at home). We bought milk and mango juice (made in Dominican Republic but I forgot to read the label, they added 50% daily serving of sugar yikes). It was dark by the time we drove back to our resort, there was no street lights on Long Bay Highway so thankfully not many cars on that road. When we got back to the resort, the turn-down service was quite simple, refill the cans of water in the fridge and that was it. There were no sweet treats/chocolates.
The next morning, my daughter came to our room and woke me up at 7 AM, I thought she would sleep in! We got the kids ready and walked to the hotel restaurant, Lua Beach House, for our breakfast. The restaurant faces the hotel’s private manmade lagoon.
Breakfast was complimentary for everyone staying at the property, not just 2 as Hilton gold member. Here’s the breakfast menu, only items that have a $ next to it are additional charge. I saw fresh watermelon juice included so I ordered 5 of those.
You only need to order hot breakfast, rest of the items are available at the buffet.
The buffet was a small spread but have all the basics – cereal, pastries, fruits, etc.
Their fruit selection wasn’t as great as in the Dominican Republic or it wasn’t the season. The watermelon wasn’t sweet, the pineapple wasn’t ripe, and no mangos.
The chia seed pudding was really good.
The croissants were crunchy and fresh.
The watermelon juice turned out to be sour, it tasted weird so we didn’t drink it.
I ordered the full English breakfast and it was a huge plate of different items.
I got the kids scrambled eggs but not well done so they didn’t like it.
Jason ordered the avocado toast, he said it was just okay.
After breakfast, we walked around the lagoon for our vacation photos. It was around 9 AM so the sun wasn’t high enough to light up the lagoon water yet.
My kids don’t like to take photos so it was hard to get them to look at my camera never mind smiling so I was lucky for this one. On the back are the beach villas with pool.
The left side of the lagoon are the spa rooms and gym.
We had the whole lagoon to ourselves!
The kids were hunting for seashells. They found some big ones.
We reached the end of the lagoon so we walked back toward the spa. In the middle of the spa and gym, there is a deck with sunbeds and beautiful views of the manmade islands in the middle of the lagoon.
My daughter takes better photos than my mom and she took this one with my camera.
We walked to the manmade islands; there are two.
The first one:
The bridge that connects the two manmade islands:
The second island:
The lagoon has plenty of picturesque photo spots but my kids have limited patiences 😛
Lastly on the deck; my son is already making funny faces!
We walked back to our boat house, use the restroom, and whatsapp the hotel to send us a buggy to pick us up to the kids club. The buggy usually came within 5-10 minutes except for 2 times where it took much longer! The kids club opens from 10 AM to 6 PM with lunch break at 1-2 PM that you need to pick up your kids. This was the schedule for the day:
The rest of the week schedule posted inside the kids club.
We need to sign a form and our kids were the only ones there so it was like having a free private babysitter :O The kids club is in its own house, a small room filled with toys that kept our kids entertained.
They had a blast playing air hockey.
While the kids had fun at the kids club, we took the buggy to the beach – Long Bay Beach. There is a pathway to access the beach and a service booth there for beach towels and sunscreen.
There are more than enough beach chairs and umbrellas, only a family there when we go there.
The Long Bay Beach has a wide stretch of powdery sand, warm and crystal-clear water.
The multi-million ocean front villas:
A little peaceful time without the kids!
We picked up the kids at noon to have lunch. We walked over to the marina to Sail Shades restaurant; there is a gate next to the kids club to the marina very convenient! Lots of bougainvillea there, very pretty reminded me of Greece. There is a seesaw there so the kids were having fun while waiting for food!
Their Monday’s special was the curry chicken so I ordered that with 2 sides: white rice and sweet fried plantain. The curry chicken was surprisingly spicy! I think the cuisine in Turks and Caicos tned to be more on the spicy side despite that it is a British overseas territory!
Jason ordered the jerked chicken wings as appetizers, which were spicy lots of ginger!
Jason ordered the shrimp tacos, they were good.
I ordered chicken fingers for our kids.
Chicken wrap for my mom:
Lunch was $99 included service charge and taxes so it was more wallet friendly. After lunch, the kids went back to the kids club for bracelet making, my son just played with toys. After that, we went back to the pool again to spend the rest of the afternoon! For dinner, we ordered takeout from Chinson – I read that they have the best jerk chicken. It was a 25 min drive there with traffic! Their deck next to the bar:
We ordered the jerk chicken of course! But I don’t like the texture, too hard for my liking.
Beef with broccoli, guess what, their sauce is spicy even though the menu has no pepper sign! Oh my poor son 🙁
Jason ordered the ox tail, he and my mom loved it.
He also ordered the really good goat stew.
Dinner was only $81 saved on the service charge by taking out and at the comfort of our boat house. I got a few mosquito bites while waiting for our order 🙁 Another relaxing day just flew by!
The next morning, we had breakfast and tried out new dishes. I ordered French Toast for my daughter, she liked the chocolate sauce much more.
The “superfood” egg white omelette was okay and healthy.
The regular omelette was okay too.
After breakfast, we went to the kids club for its arts and crafts time where they made a paper turtle! Once they were done with their turtles, I called the buggy and waited over 30 minutes!!! We got back to our boat house at around 11:30 AM and then we drove to Grace Bay. Previously, South Bank guests were able to access the facilities at their sister property – Grace Bay Club. I messaged via Whatsapp and they said they ended the facility sharing 🙁 Thankfully, there were plenty of public parking lots around Grace Bay, we parked at “Grace Bay Beach Public Parking” by searching Google Maps. The parking lot was next to Seven Stars Resorts. It was an easy walk out to the world-famous Grace Bay Beach. The sand is powdery soft and the ocean colors were more deeper blue than the Long Bay Beach at our hotel.
Much wider stretch of sand than The Long Bay Beach and of course a lot more people….but still not as much as other Caribbean islands like Aruba or the Cayman Islands.
The beach is very clean, no sign of seaweed!
We tried to be quick to snap a few photos and kept the kids off the water to avoid sand sticking on their legs, of course my naughty son did exactly what we told him not to 😛
He wouldn’t stand still and made all those faces LOL!
Does Grace Bay Beach lives up to its name as being the top 10 most beautiful beaches of the world? Yes! The colors of the water, the white powdery sand, and crystal-clear water were top-notch. However, in terms of picturesque, Bora Bora is still #1 with its mountain and overwater bungalows as the backdrop and aquamarine color of the lagoon.
After the quick Grace Bay Beach visit, we drove to the nearby CastAways Conch Bar for lunch. It was on the main Grace Bay Road and plenty of parkings on the street.
Right outside the restaurant, there was a local vendor selling souvenir arts and crafts that you would typically find in Caribbean islands.
Seatings were outdoors and it wasn’t too hot (in the 80s) nor humid so it was okay.
I ordered the paradise fried rice for the kids, finally, that one wasn’t spicy at all and surprisingly tasted very good with “wok” taste. We bet the chef is Chinese or Asian!
On the other hand, the shrimp Caesar salad wrap was super salty! I can hardly finish it!!! The fries were seasoned with spices.
Jason ordered the fried fish with sweet potato fries and sweet fried plantains as sides. At least the sweet potato fries werent’ spicy at all so my son enjoyed that.
My mom’s chicken Caesar salad wrap was extremely salty too! Lunch total was $120.78.
After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to spend time at Long Bay Beach. The hotel provides water buckets and shovels so the kids had a blast at the beach! The water was warm, very shallow even though it was windy. The water is so clear that the kids were trying to catch fish with their buckets and hands LOL!
That smile was priceless 🙂
We much preferred Long Bay Beach over Grace Bay Beach even though it was a little less pretty but we had the beach all to ourselves! Can you believe this long stretch of pristine beach only us were there?
Our precious family vacation time!
We spent the whole afternoon there; lost track of time and missed the cupcakes decoration at the kids club. Oh well…..we can decorate cupcakes at home 😛 We switched to the pool at 4 PM so the kids can hang out there for the rest of the afternoon. There were a few more families at the pool that day so the kids made new friends. We got them out of the pool at around 5:30 PM after I placed our takeout dinner order at Kin Khao Thai Restaurant. We ordered more dishes to save for tomorrow’s lunch before our flight at 3 PM. Each dish was good even though they lacked the ingredients like the flat noodle was substituted by rice noodle. All those dishes with 4 white rice cost $126.
The next morning, we had breakfast and our plan was to spend another 2 hours at the pool and 2 hours to shower, wash, and dry our clothes, and to have lunch. The GM stopped by at breakfast and talked to us on how was breakfast and what was our plan for the day. I said we are leaving today unfortunately. After breakfast, we went to the pool but they were cleaning it and said it’ll take an hour 🙁 Change of plan, I texted the hotel for a buggy to the beach. After more than 20 min of wait, there is still no buggy. The kids went to the pool and no one was there, I guess they were done cleaning? The kids jumped into the pool right way. The hotel called me and said they were having a technical difficulty with the buggy, but it’s fixed now, so it should be coming shortly. I said nevermind, we’ll hang out at the pool instead. The kids spent an hour at the pool, then shower, and have lunch before checking out at 11:45 AM. The guy at the reception desk wasn’t professional…he had to call someone on how to handle the bill (restaurant tips for our 3 breakfasts)….if it’ll be automatically charged to the card on file or need to swipe yikes. After a few minutes’ wait for his phone call, he thanked us for our stay and that was it. There was no goodbye gift or anything.
Our 3 nights at South Bank Resort was wonderful, the kids definitely had fun at the kids club, pool, and the beach. Breakfast was good, their lagoon is picturesque, the boat house is comfortable and has all the amenities that we need. Their service was great at check-in that they drove our car to the boat house while giving us a tour of the property on the buggy. However, I felt the turn-down service and the check-out experience were lacking for a luxury resort. It was one of the best redemptions of the Hilton free night certificate! The beaches at Turks and Caicos were beautiful, the most beautiful of all the Caribbean islands we had been to in my opinion. If we had time, I think 4 nights would be better to enjoy more of the island and its beautiful beaches. I totally recommend South Bank Resort and Turks and Caicos!
