The Sands at Grace Bay - European Plan

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

2504 reviews

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  A Disappointing 40th Birthday Celebration at The Sands

  We recently returned from Turks and Caicos, a trip we had eagerly anticipated to celebrate my 40th birthday. We spared no expense, hoping for a memorable and luxurious experience. Unfortunately, The Sands failed to deliver. We chose The Sands because of its reputation for being on the best beach—Grace Bay—and booked a junior suite with an ocean view. Upon arrival, we were assigned a room on the first floor with barely any natural light or ocean view. After voicing our dissatisfaction, the staff relocated us to a room in Building 1. This was far from the picturesque scene shown on the hotel’s website. Comparing the room to the advertised photos, it felt more like a garden-view room, with a distant, partial and obstructed view of the ocean. The room itself was underwhelming—comparable to accommodations we’ve had elsewhere for $100-$200 per night. For a staggering $1,000 per night (excluding meals, beverages, or additional services), we expected a significantly higher standard. Over the course of our seven-night stay, we hoped for something “special” to mark the occasion, but it fell far short of expectations. What made matters worse was the lack of accountability. We later discovered that The Sands operates as a timeshare property, which likely means the best rooms are reserved for frequent residents. While understandable, the hotel has an obligation to accurately advertise what is available to short-term guests. We booked three months in advance for a week-long stay, yet our assigned room did not match what we paid for. « Sorry, but we don’t have anything else available at this time », is the only thing we heard from the staff. I rarely write reviews, but I feel compelled to share our experience. We worked hard to save for this trip and expected something truly exceptional to celebrate my milestone birthday. Instead, it felt like a complete waste of money. At the very least, the hotel should have ensured our reserved room was available or refunded the price difference. Their failure to do so, combined with the lack of empathy or effort to rectify the situation, is simply unacceptable. We left The Sands deeply disappointed. This was not the luxury getaway we envisioned, and I would not recommend it to anyone expecting a high-end experience at this price point.

  Jan 01, 2025
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  Good mid budget option on the beach

  We had some specific wants and Sands met the criteria so we booked via British Airways holidays. Our room was spacious and really comfortable. We were happy and would return for sure. Washer and dryer really helpful. Kitchen was great and we prepared two meals per day here and had pretty much everything we needed. Dishwasher wasn’t really reliable. Bring your own sponge/flannel as only paper towels are provided so cleaning up after meals is easier. I would recommend at least one oven tray or baking dish is provided as there is otherwise nothing to use in the oven. The screened terrace is terrific as you can eat here without worry about getting bitten or insects flocking to your food. Sofa bed in living room is not the most comfortable but our 12 year old managed. Bed in bedroom super comfortable. We were not disturbed by any noise even with a wedding party on site. We did have a blocked drain in our shower which we reported but it was never fixed. Wasn’t an issue till the last day. Gym is small but had everything we needed albeit towels were not always available. We didn’t want all inclusive so this was a great option for us to gym, swim (directly on the beach) and eat as we normally would. In terms of price this worked in our budget. Car parking was easy and appreciated. We enjoyed the drinks and nibbles with the GM one night provided to all. It was a nice touch.

  Nov 03, 2024
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  Feels Like Home...Again!

  This was our eighth visit to Provo and stay at The Sands. We wouldn't stay anywhere else. After a long day, we were greeted with cool towels and rum punches. The staff was waiting with smiles and everyone was wonderful. The Sands is affordable for us, and that allows us to stay more than twice as long. For our budget, we usually opt for the Courtyard view, but this visit we were upgraded to a garden view. This was our first time in building #2 (first floor), and we loved being able to walk a few steps from our screened-in porch to one of the smaller pools (which was pretty much our private pool). The newly furnished rooms were just beautiful, and we loved having the washer/dryer. Also, thank you for the thoughtful bottle of wine to welcome us and add to our anniversary celebration. We love going in October and we were fortunate to have great weather. Counting down the days til our return (God willing...next year).

  Oct 24, 2024
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  Loved this place!!!

  Turks is a great place to vacation. I came here with my family and friends over spring break so around early April. This place was perfect for my family and super nice. Not too big and not too small. The beach and pool were both so great and the staff was overall kind. I recommend this place for people who aren't looking for private villa-type stays and like to interact and familiarize themselves with people on vacation. Could not encourage people to stay enough.

  Oct 14, 2024
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  5 day stay in October

  This was our first time on the island and we stayed in this hotel from Saturday through Wednesday. Overall, our room was good. It was clean. It was functional everything worked. In fact the weather was in the 90s with a feel like 102 the air conditioning did great and kept the room very cool, the hotel itself had three pools that were small but had a lot of privacy. We were there in early October and so there was very little people staying and a lot of days we had the pool to ourselves. It’s right on the beach. They have towels and chairs and umbrellas for you they also have a restaurant called Hemingway. That’s right on the beach by the property, very nice and helpful. There was a hot tub, but it was small and it kind of looked dirty so we didn’t use it. They did have bikes that you could use for free of charge but we walked most places. It’s probably a 10 or 15 minute walk to the downtown area. Felt very safe. They had a pickle ball and basketball court that you could play on.. they have like five buildings and only one of them has an elevator so if you can’t do steps, make sure that you tell them when you’re making the reservation so you can get into the appropriate area.

  Oct 13, 2024