The Sands at Grace Bay - European Plan

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

2525 reviews

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  Affordable resort!!

  This resort was a pretty good choice for the price. It is a nice resort with beach access. Nice swimming pools and hemingways restaurant is in the property. Nice private beach area right on grace bay. Its only 1 min drive to a main area with alot of restaurants and shopping. They welcome you with a tropical drink. My check in time was delayed so management upgraded me to an ocean view room and comped me with a bottle of wine!. That was a classy move!!

  Jul 01, 2025
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  Good stay with a few issues

  The Good: Ambiance/Vibe This hotel is one of the more affordable ones compared to the more luxury properties in TCI. While not "luxury" the resort is very nice, clean, and overall architecture/design is exactly what I was looking for: a nice accommodation that highlights a casual island-forward ambiance. I much prefer this over properties that for example, are inspired by "Italian style villas" in their design in an effort to create luxury. We are in the Caribbean so I don't want to feel like I'm in Europe, I want to feel like I am in the location I am traveling to! We had a junior suite garden view and loved the room, the bed and pillows were comfortable, the AC was very quiet, and it even had a partial ocean view! Also appreciated the washer/dryer. The terrace is a good size and the lounger chairs were very comfortable. Beach: The property is on a beautiful stretch of Grace Bay - location is top notch. Loved the selection of beach/pool floats that guests could borrow for free. Shuttle: Appreciated the complimentary shuttle to their sister properties that allowed us to dine at different restaurants Issues: -Room: check-in is at 3PM, but our room wasn't ready til a bit after 4PM due to an issue with the AC that maintenance was fixing. They did give us a complimentary bottle of wine for the inconvenience but this did throw us off as I really hoped to check in prior. On our second day, there AGAIN was an issue with the AC that required maintenance. It made me feel like the issue wasn't really fixed properly the day prior as how could this happen two days in a row? Luckily the issue wasn't that the AC stopped working, but the issue was with a leak with the machinery that caused a puddle in the bathroom. No issues after this and the front desk did check on us, but again, still quite the annoyance. -Attentiveness: Because of the issue above, we had to use towels to wipe up the puddle, so naturally we kindly requested that extra towels be sent up to replace them. We asked twice and never got them. Towels were replaced with routine housekeeping the next day - so I guess we got them eventually. Second, we were celebrating our babymoon - I had mentioned this in an email when asking a few questions prior to our vacation. I was surprised the front desk did not acknowledge this. I have never been to a hotel that did not acknowledge a special occasion. While this isn't technically a "problem" small gestures go a long way. My small disappointment was further exacerbated when we made a reservation for the on-site restaurant Hemingway's for dinner. I specifically booked Tuesday night as Tuesdays and Fridays were apparently special Caribbean bbq nights with live music. When we arrived for our reservation we were told there was no seating on the outdoor deck. There was nowhere to add a preference for seating when booking the reservation but you would think with the preparation of the night's reservations, the restaurant would assure the best tables are available for reservations as opposed to walk-ins. I opted to wait until a table opened up but again was disappointed -especially since we were also guests of the hotel. Also, apparently there was no live music that night either! It was a let down since I probably would have just came another night or not booked at all. -Pools: the pools throughout were very nice, but perhaps need to be cleaned more often. One that we used had leaves/debris in it while we used in the middle of the day -Last is there is still ongoing construction next door with the building of the new St. Regis hotel so there is noise during the day - was not a deal breaker for me but keep in mind. There was one morning the noise was so loud it woke me up in the morning. My room was not in the building directly next to the construction luckily - I can only imagine how much louder it must have been. Overall, the resort is nice, location on Grace Bay is ideal and the staff are nice but I think the place could make some considerations to enhance the guest experience.

  Jun 27, 2025
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  Great spot!

  Let me say this stay was great! I stayed at 7 stars before, and I found The Sands service, rooms, landscaping, food, etc. so much better! From the moment we checked in they were so friendly, they gave us a cool towel, and a rum punch. We were there early so we left our bags there and went to the beach. There is construction beside, now and again its loud, but I didnt pass much notice. The room was beach view and had a screened porch. For me I loved the screened porch, it super safe for kids. This was one big thing for me compared to seven stars, its just much safer for kids. The room was clean and the upgrades are really nice! The grounds were kept very well, and there are multiple pools. Which is good as it was never busy, and again good for kids if you wanted to go to a quieter pool. We mainly sat on the beach. To be fair I didnt see much beach bar service , but didnt bother me. I just found them and asked them for a cocktail, they would bring it over. Everyone was super friendly. Hemingways was good, seemed always busy. I have been to many resorts, 4 & 5 Star mainly Turks and Saint Lucia, and here I found everyone so nice and welcoming. So keep up the great work!!

  Jun 12, 2025
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  Good Times at The Santa at Grace Bay😎

  The Sands at Grace Bay has become a bit of a home away from home for my family over the last couple of years. We very much enjoy the laid back atmosphere where it feels like a resort, but also gives the sense of a communal condo property. We have little ones and the 2 bedroom condo layouts are perfect for us…especially with the full kitchen. The pools are also a big hit😎 Once in a while a minor snafu can pop up, but both managers I dealt with - Imtiaz & Glaudira (apologies for the spelling) - handled everything with swift professionalism. Whenever coming or going we were always met with a big smile from the best bellman in Turks & Caicos - Samuel, as well as the lovely Diana at reception. It’s these details that can really make a stay extraordinary. Speaking of extraordinary…if you ever have a need for childcare, and you can get her, Janice is an absolute angel and my girls love her. If you’re expecting an all-inclusive resort-style vacation, then The Sands might not be for you…but if you want a beautiful spot that’s laid back, and has everything you might need to enjoy a family trip, I can’t recommend this place enough!

  Jun 05, 2025
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  The Sands at Grace Bay

  A beautiful resort. Multiple pools, all with gorgeous landscaping. Direct beach access to crystal clear blue waters. Plenty of chairs and umbrellas with someone on site to help you get set up. Floats, kayaks, sailboats, and snorkeling equipment all right there. We had an ocean front view in a room that was gorgeous...must better than we expected. Room was very clean and well maintained. Weather is perfect everyday. The Hemingway Restaurant on site is very good. Turks is VERY expensive. The room we stayed in had a full kitchen. I would recommend visiting the local supermarket and getting some supplies for breakfast or a light lunch. Otherwise, expect to pay within the range of $40 to $60 for breakfast or lunch for two. Best to take an excursion for snorkeling...very few fish unless you go out on a boat. We walked down to Coral Beach, which had been recommended for snorkeling, and saw very few fish. Unfortunately, the coral there is pretty much all bleached out.

  May 23, 2025