My husband and I just returned from the 6 nights in Turks & Caicos . We were there from March 20-26th. After reading many of the posts on this board, we chose to stay at the Ocean Club West.

I know that there are many fans of this resort. Unfortunately, my husband and I are not in that group. We booked the trip only a few weeks prior to departure and the only room type available was a studio suite with a view of the parking lot. The screened in porch was nice to have but otherwise the room was not spectacular. The bedding/furniture/television looked old and the kitchen was infested with small ants. We did use the Gourmet Goods service to have the refrigerator prestocked upon arrival. We had to store all food items in the refrigerator so the ants did not get in to it. The Gourmet Goods service was perfect because we did not rent a car and I did not want to waste time going to the IGA. Since we did not rent a car, we took cabs everywhere. They were easy to get and not very expensive.

The hotel grounds were pretty. The pool is decent. The work out facitlies were not very nice. The treadmills are circa 1985. The Seaside Cafe was terrible with very slow service. We ate there 4 times and did not receive a correct order any of the times. The beach is beautiful. There were plenty of chairs available at all times at both the beach and pool. The OCW was in a good location and within walking distance of many restaurants. It is also next door to the Grace Bay Club which is one of the best places on the island. I would highly recommend staying there or the Palms. Both were beautiful properties and much more my style.

Restaurants

We ate at Anacoana, the Grill at Grace Bay Club, Hemingways, Shark Bites, Bella Luna,Mango Reef, Plunge and Bay Bistro . Luckily, OCW is next door to the Grace Bay Club. We had many lunches at the Grill at the Grace Bay Club. While it was more expensive than Seaside Cafe,($50- $60 for lunch for 2 people), the increased level of service and food quality was worth every penny to us. The Lounge at the Grace Bay Club also has a South Beach feel and is great for cocktails to watch the sunset.. Plunge at the Palms is also a great place to watch the sunset.

We really enjoyed both the atmosphere and food at Hemingways. We tried to go there again on our last night but we were rained out.

Shark Bites in Turtle Cove had a good bar atmosphere. Many of the local ex-pats hang out here which I think is a good sign. Since the NCAA tournament was on, we watched a bunch of the games there. The food was pretty good and it was very reasonable.

Bella Luna was also a pleasant surprise. We were not planning to go there but got rained out at Hemingways. It turned out to be very good and was walking distance from OCW. They had the best service we received on T&C.

I had a mixed impression of Mango Reef. We went there for lunch and it was very good. They had good service and good food. We went there for breakfast and it was a total disaster. It took over an hour to get our breakfast and then it was incorrect.

Overall Impression:

Turks & Caicos has a very beautiful beach. Unfortunately, we were visiting during a VERY rainy week. It rained non-stop for 2 days straight. If we decided to return, we would stay at the Palms or Grace Bay Club.