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.