Burt the morning bar server has the best service. He made me & my sisters experience here enjoyable. The beach is a slice of heaven!
I would only suggest bringing the beach chairs and umbrellas a little closer to the water! Additionally better service from the employees that work in the beach towel/ water equipment area.
We had the worst vacation ever at the Royal West Indies. We had booked and pre-paid an Ocean Front suite 6 months prior to arrival. Instead, they did not honor their confirmed reservation and gave us a Garden view room and expected us to pay for the Ocean Front rate. Upon checking-in, they never told us that we had been switched to a different room than the one we confirmed and paid for. If you book here, don't expect management to honor your booking. We spoke to a lot of people during our 7 day stay and found out that rooms are owned by some other people and this "resort" leases the apartments to tourists. We traveled for two full days to get to Turks and Caicos and expected to get the room for the price we paid in impeccable condition. Instead it was obvious that no one had occupied this garden room for a long time... the balcony was dirty, the kitchen oven was filthy, just to mention a few things. We had to ask housekeeping to deal with this. It's not a "luxurious" property. We have traveled extensively around the world and this is a mere 4 out of a 10. We tried the Pelican Restaurant and they were not consistent in their service as they seem to hire untrained people when busy. For 6 months we dreamed about waking up in the morning to enjoy the beautiful ocean scenery and instead we were deceived and lied to.
RWI is a great resort. We give it a 4.5 star rating.
Pros:
- Location: one of the best spots on Grace Bay, if not THE best. We’ve stayed at other spots on TCI, and this is our family favorite. The most beautiful water, beach is not very crowded (compared to other spots with larger resorts on site with loads of guests). Walkable to shops, ice cream and a few restaurants. Kids loved snorkeling right off the beach. I can’t stress enough how perfect the location is for couples or families.
- Size of the rooms. We had a 2 BR 1st floor botanical view, perfect with loads of space for a family of 5. 2 washer/dryer, full kitchens etc. The 2BR suites are essentially 2 1-BR rooms that are connected by an entry door.
- Water sports (SUP, kayak and hobie cat available for free use) and bike rental were great.
- Small, quaint resort that doesn’t get very crowded.
- Very friendly staff (shout out to Sherman).
- Staff leave you alone unless you need something, a positive for us. We didn’t want to be pampered (our preference), so it was nice to not be asked for food, drinks while on the beach or sitting by the pool. We’ve stayed at other places in TCI and, although nice to some, we don’t want the red carpet while on family vacation. I will say, they will honor requests. They took our luggage to our room, and picked it up for us when checking out. Fantastic staff, but they’ll leave you alone and let you enjoy the peace on Grace Bay.
- There is a nice Adults-only pool. Great for couples or anyone seeking peace away from the main pool. The main pool does not get very crowded though.
- Last but not least, the cost. TCI, and hotels on Grace Bay in particular, are very expensive, rightfully so. It’s one of the best beaches in the world. To pay less than $1k/night (late June 2024) for a 2BR suite with a 2 Kings, full kitchen, washer/dryer, 3 TVs, 2 bathrooms, pull out couch, 2 good-size patios, steps away from the beach for a family of 5, it arguably cannot be beat.
Cons:
- Some rooms could use updating. Of our 2 rooms, one was updated and the other wasn’t. When booking, maybe ask for an updated room.
- Building 3 is TERRIBLE if you have a family or looking for peace and quiet. The Pelican restaurant is next to this building, and several nights they had LOUD music, karaoke etc way past 10:30pm, keeping us and our little ones awake. Nice to be closer to the beach than other buildings (FYI, building 1 is closest to the beach, then 2, then 3, etc etc), but would rather walk further than not listen to loud music every night.
- The Pelican restaurant is open to the public (and they allow guests of the restaurant to use the pool), so on occasion dinner guests would crowd the pool for some night swimming. Not a big deal, nor did it take away from our enjoyment of the pool.
- The main pool is very small. Although a quaint resort, when there are more than a few guests or families at the pool, it’s pretty tight to relax or swim.
Overall, we loved our stay at RWI. We considered other resorts when booking, but we’re glad we chose RWI. Of all the other options on Grace Bay, we’ll definitely stay at RWI on our next visit.
Where do I start. This big deal is that they had construction going on in the adjacent unit. I'm not talking a couple bangs here and there, but loud jackhammering. We heard it as soon as we got to the room. When I called to complain the response was, "yes we have construction going on" I said it was way too loud , no response to that. I thought well it's Friday so it's just one day, so I asked they wont be working tomorrow, right? and the response was' It will be going on all weekend" - our entire stay. In addition I had made a reservation for a two bedroom unit. Upon check in we where given keys that opened 2 adjacent units and explained that together they made up our rental- she was very specific in her description how it all worked. Prior to dinner I went to confirm that that what they had give up was the correct set up and they insisted that it was. I was confused because one door opened a room with a king and 2 twins, and the key also opened another room with a queen. We were not suppose to have twin beds but it did not matter because we had the other room with a queen. I still thought this was wrong but the front desk insisted it was correct. Upon returning from dinner the 2nd room the key opened was now occupied with other people's luggage. (what the heck- and they wanted me to bring them the key to the far away lobby to to take it away from us saying they had made a mistake when they checked us in.- I had to tell them to come get the key themselves from us) The unit we were left in had a room with 2 twin beds, the description said the 2nd room would be a queen or 2 double beds- no where are twins mentioned. They said they could move us the next day to the correct type of room reserved but it would still be adjacent to the jackhammering. We only had a total of 3 nights so it was not worth moving 5 peopel luggage. The next day we could not take the noise anymore and called them them listen to it over the phone so they could hear we were not exaggerating and my husband went next door and told the workers our granddaughter could not sleep, that it had to stop for her to nap and we would tell them when she woke up (and we did). At check out I brought up the noise again and that they should not book people next to construction or at least warn them. They did not even say I am sorry- just starred blankly at me. Noise might not be a big deal for people gone all day but with a 2 year old in our party that needs naps it is- and they knew that in the reservation. It was impossible for her to sleep. In addition we had a rain day which kept us in our room. The wrong room not the biggest deal, two twins where not fun but the horrendous noise from construction combined with their non caring attitude about it is unacceptable. Lots of people love this place but I doubt they had to listen to a jackhammer.
Great resort that was relatively quiet even with families/children at the resort. They have adults only pools for a more relaxed experience if that's what you are looking for. Royal West Indies staff are so nice. Take advantage of the half price happy hour for drinks from 5pm to 7pm. Beach is amazing with plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas set up for RWI guests. Public beach access is right next to the RWI resort beach so it can get a little busy but not bad for the month of June. Note there are no elevators and we were on the third floor walk up. Also, bring bug spray as there are A LOT of Noseeums biting away. Mosquitos were not an issue as we had a nice breeze during our stay. It's humid in Turks and Caicos in June so even with moderate 80s temperatures it will feel hotter due to the humidity. This is our second time staying at this resort in 19 years it hasn't changed or aged....it still feels fresh. And if you rent from Hertz please note that it's not like any other Hertz you will go to....it takes a long time to pick up and return as it takes about 10 minutes to process each rental pick up and return AFTER waiting in a really long line. And they cram you into a shuttle van to and from the airport that is hot and uncomfortable. Back to the Royal West Indies I would definitely return for a third time due to the cleanliness and convenience.
