Best Resorts in Turks and Caicos?

[AutismPrincipal]

Belle: Janine and Krys are absolute life savers and have made navigating the island and vendors much much easier.

 

Krys: I spoke with Ileana yesterday, thank you for the follow-up.

[*Meagan*]

Robyn- Loveeeeeeeee Ileana... she was our wedding photographer and an absolute dream to work with!

 

Shenique made me feek beautiful as ever both on boudoir day and wedding day! Her makeup skills are flawless!!

[Bronze8584]

Belle,

 

I just returned from a week in T&C and my wedding there! My husband and I were married in front of the resort we stayed at, Villa Renaissance. It is absolutely beautiful. We used Diane with Island Harmony as our coordinator ([email protected]) She is seriously amazing, she responds sometimes within minutes, never more than an hour wait for her response time. She was a lifesaver and kept me grounded on my day...it goes by SO fast!

 

We chose Kissing Fish Catering Co./Bay Bistro as our reception dinner for our wedding. We had two huge tents set up with a huge bonfire, private chef, private open bar, etc etc. The BEST MEAL OF MY LIFE. Chef Whent is a cooking genius. You will NOT regret working with Clive or his wife Joan. They are outstanding.

 

We chose Tropical Imaging for our photography and videography - you will NOT be dissapointed here, trust me.

 

I am in the process of writing up my review, but WELCOME to the forum. We are all here to help!

[kimberlyg]

So I would love to see some video coverage and or photos from Beaches- I am absolutely going to try to have Tropical Imaging do our pictures- but would like to see ANY BEACHES Turks pictures from their wedding photagrapher- can anyone help please?  This is a great site- so helpful.  Thank you!

Kimberly

[JanineA]

Kimberly as Beaches does not allow outside vendors on the property you will not find any photos of weddings that TI has done on actual Beaches property. They have to take the brides off property in order to shoot them. There are a few brides who have gotten married at Beaches and posted their pics of their wedding on property but it was shot by the Beaches photographer. If you would like to see pics of weddings on Beaches property shot by the Beaches photographer please see Meagans Beaches review:

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/55142/future-mrs2010-tucks-beaches-t-c-review-long-with-pictures

 

This second link is to pics of Chrissy's wedding which was also at Beaches.

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/59220/beaches-t-c-photos

 

As you will hear from each of the girls in their reviews they would have much rather had TI shoot their wedding but because of Beaches policy it is just not possible.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimberlyg 

So I would love to see some video coverage and or photos from Beaches- I am absolutely going to try to have Tropical Imaging do our pictures- but would like to see ANY BEACHES Turks pictures from their wedding photagrapher- can anyone help please?  This is a great site- so helpful.  Thank you!

Kimberly

[allik]

Hi Ladies! I am new to the site and reading your discussions and helpful hints has been so helpful in trying to decide where to have our wedding in T&C. I think we are close to booking for either May 21 or June 4, 2011 and my 2 top options are the Somerset and the Regent Palms. I know that they are next door to each other and seem to be quite similar in price and style but does anyone have any advice regarding pros/cons of each? The rooms at the Regent Palms are a bit  more expensive - can anyone comment on whether they are actually nicer than the Somerset? I think we will do the rehearsal at Bay Bistro, Tropical Imaging for photos, not sure about hair/makeup, and a catamaran ride or something similar for guests on Friday before the rehearsal dinner (does anyone have a recommendation?).

Thanks and congrats to all!

[Tropical Imaging]

Hi,

The Regent Palms and Somerset are very similar and the rooms are both very nice so I would only guess that maybe the Sommerset isn't as booked right now, or they are trying to increase business.  The major difference from a wedding standpoint is the reception location.  The Palms has an indoor a/c room overlooking there garden/fountain area for wedding receptions and the Sommerset sets up most of their receptions on their croquet lawn.  Both locations are very nice and the beach front is identical with them being next door to each other.  My husband says with Island Harmony now doing the wedding planning for the Sommerset, that may be a pro in their favor as you have a dedicated wedding planner vs an employee who does other things as well.  I think either location though will be great.  

 

Here is a good thread about hair and make up on island (there are websites and contact details in it as well)

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/44773/turks-and-caicos-hair-salons

 

Sail Provo is the catamaran on island that does sunset cruises they do a great job. There is also another company on island that is popular, Sun Charters - Sailing charters in the Turks and Caicos Islands It's a hand built large sailing schooner (really pretty boat) named Atabeyra. It tends to be the Boat of choice for a lot of the expats on island. You may want to compare the prices between the two.  Personally I love the Atabeyra, here are some weddings that were done on Atabeyra  so you can see what it's like. 

http://www.brilliant.tc/2010/07/wedding-boat-travel/

http://www.brilliant.tc/2010/04/sailing-perfect-beach-wedding-part/

http://www.brilliant.tc/2010/03/wedding-ryan-marc-part-1/

 

Hope that helps!

Krys

 

[allik]

Krys, you are a life saver!!! Thanks so much for your response (and I have read many of your other posts on this forum). For one step down from Somerset/Regent Palms in price, what would be your top recommendations? We have pretty big group (100-120) so we need a place big enough to accommodate a sit-down reception but we are also trying to stick to our budget! I really like Bay Bistro/Kissing Fish for the rehearsal dinner so are there other hotels in the area that might be a bit less expensive for the reception than Somerset/Regent Palms? THANKS AGAIN!

[Tropical Imaging]

I would say a step down in price from the sommerset/regent palms, my first choice would be the sands or ocean club/ocean club west.  Both properties are a little older, but still with great stretches of beach, nice rooms and each does weddings/receptions.  The Sands is closer to bay bistro but Ocean Club has a great indoor outdoor restaurant with twinkle lights in the trees and they set up a really nice buffet for receptions (which will probably be a bit cheaper vs sit down dinner).    I have also seen Kissing fish set up tents/buffets on the Ocean club beach and the sands for the rehearsal dinner so you don't have to shuttle people all around. 

here are some ocean club weddings (both of these had between 100-150 people)

http://www.brilliant.tc/2010/07/wedding-meredith-jason-ocean-club/

http://www.brilliant.tc/2010/07/allison-phils-ocean-club-wedding/

 

and the sands

http://www.brilliant.tc/2010/07/petals-explosion/

 

Krys

[nsblum]

Allik, I got married at The Somerset back in June. It was amazing. The WC I had then, Monique, is no longer there and as Krys mentioned that have a dedicated person now from Island Harmony named Diane. I have never met her, but have heard good things. I also was deciding between The Somerset and The Palms- it made me crazy for a while. At the point when I had to make my decision, we did a visit to both hotels and stayed in both hotels, did two tastings, etc. I actually think the rooms are less expensive at The Palms. There are literally steps from each other. The Somerset is a smaller, more intimate, boutique hotel and The Palms is a bit larger and more tropical. Lots of gorgeous landscaping at The Palms, but The Somerset is pretty modern and sexy in my opinion. I think The Palms may have more children and families which I didn't love, sorry! Also, I thought the food at The Somerset was amazing. I worked directly with their chef Lauren, and she was so helpful and sweet. I do not know the WC at The Palms now, but back then, it was this woman who I must say really turned me off. I just thought she was a bit slow, and I felt I couldn't trust her. She had some wacky suggestions for me and just turned me off. I am told that she isn't there anymore, so don't worry! But, I did love The Somerset and was very happy with my choice. If you want a ballroom, go with The Palms. It you want a lawn, go with The Somerset. They have a lawn over at The Palms but it's kind of out by the parking lot, next to the Spa. The Spa at The Palms is AMAZING, but like I said, the two hotels are steps away. There is literally a passage way in the brush between the two hotels, so you and your guests can still use the Spa at The Palms by walking right through. I also did my rehearsal dinner with Kissing Fish, under tents outside Bay Bistro. It was great and delicious and fun. Joan from Kissing Fish is terrific. She has her sh*t together! As for a boat ride, we used Sail Provo. We did a catamaran trip from 9AM-2PM. They picked us up on the beach of The Somerset. No buses or shuttles needed. We had lots of fun, the guys were great, the boat was in great shape, and no one got sea sick. I took a ride on the Atabeyra once and it's a much older boat and not a catamaran. It was also rocky for me out on the water. With Sail Provo we had lunch on the boat, went to the reef to snorkel, stopped by Iguana Island and walked around, and just sailed on the gorgeous water. It was a little tricky organizing with Sail Provo so I reached out to the owner, Jay, directly. I wanted to see if special prices could be arranged, etc. All in all, it all turned out great. I used Shenique for hair and makeup, book her now! She is super cool and sweet. Let me know what else I can help with. I love living vicariously through you new Provo brides! Best of luck!