We recently vacationed in TCI and stayed at Blue Haven Resort (July 3 -10). The resort itself is modestly designed and the guest rooms are modernly appointed – really nice relative to its sister resort Alexandra with rather older rooms. There are two main restaurants in BH: Fire & Ice and Salt. There's a pool bar by the beach and another bar next to Fire & Ice. The resort has a very small beach and the swimming area is rather short – the beach is man-made apparently. As for the location of the resort, it's on the North East end of the island – about 15-minute drive from Grace Bay. There are no other resorts next to BH so it’s somewhat remote and quiet. There were no daily activities at the resort during our stay but Alexandra had daily events such as Trivia contest, Foam party, music band playing, etc. It’s a more ‘active’ resort and BH is a bit subdued – more for those who wish to just sit back at the beach and relax. The front desk where guests check-in in BH is just a small office with one to two staff members. Alexandra’s front desk, on the other hand, is much larger – more like a small hotel lobby with waiting areas and restrooms with showers. There’s also a free shuttle that runs every 1 hour or 2 depending on time of day – useful and convenient if you want to visit Alexandra and Beach House. If you’re looking for an expansive beach and more things to do, be it on the beach or otherwise - go to Alexandra but for dinner I would recommend dining in BH.
Guest rooms: nice guest rooms and fridge is stocked daily with H20 bottles, soda, and local beer. Our housekeeper, Ermily, made sure we had everything and didn’t need to be reminded either. Thanks Ermily for taking care of our room! The rooms in Alexandra are rather outdated – could use a major makeover.
Front desk: Special thanks to Lexi at BH and Dericka at Alexandra who made our stay extra special. They went above and beyond to meet our needs. Without your help I think our experience would have been less wonderful. So, thank you Lexi and Dericka! You guys rock! I wish everyone there was just as wonderful as there was a staff member in BH front desk who seemed unhappy and less helpful to guests. Pitiful really!
Dining experience: Fire & Ice had a good buffet-style breakfast and a la carte dinner. Dinner at Salt was fantastic. Their Conch fritters and fried snapper were excellent! The pizza was not bad at all and would recommend trying them. Our server Natalee (yeah Natalee!) was wonderful and attentive – just the best! Thank you Natalee!
Shuttle or rental car: there's a shuttle that runs every 1 or 2 hours every day depending on time of day. It's mainly for shuttling folks between the resorts. If you’re planning to visit the shopping area or venture outside of the resort keep in mind taxis in TCI are expensive – about $20 per person each way. So consider car rental - we ended up renting as we had planned on visiting other areas which worked out well and we could go between resorts without having to wait and worry about the shuttle.
Pool and bar service: the pool in BH is by the beach. It’s small compare to the pool in Alexandra. Yes, only one pool in each resort. The swim up bar in BH had 1 bartender and I had to wait a long time to get 2 drinks. It was inexcusable! Yes, there were other folks who got frustrated with the service as well and the bartender didn’t care. Pretty sad as this sort of thing is what turns people away. Bar service at Alexandra was way better be it by the pool or at the beach.
Alexandra experience: definitely a livelier resort with more events throughout the day. The beach has a Rumba Bar. There's another bar by the beach deck and a swim up bar at the pool. The other restaurants we tried - Asú and Fish Deck - were mediocre. The sushi restaurant was sub-par as the rice was mushy and sashimi was cut like crudo style – thinly sliced. It was far from being authentic. Oh, and reservation is required which you have to do early morning on the day you’re planning to eat there. Otherwise, you will not get a table. I'm not sure why they wouldn't allow "online" reservation. Bizarre given that people are there on vacation. Who would want to get up early just to make a reservation? At any rate, the restaurant was below average and if you’re a sushi lover don’t set your expectations high. Lunch at Solé was great though! Their jerk chicken and bbq ribs were fantastic. Service was slow due to the number of guests. The mahi mahi panini was one of our favs. The conch salad was not as good as we remember - not enough lime juice and definitely less conch in it. Disappointing. The drinks at Rumba Bar were awesome. Thanks to Rey Rey the bartender who made everyone's day extra special. Keep pouring those drinks Rey Rey! You're fantastic and thanks for taking care of us.
Covid-19 testing: as part of a travel requirement everyone had to get tested for Covid-19 before they can leave the island. I mean every visitor despite their vaccination status must get tested. Thank goodness we only needed a rapid test so it took only about 20 minutes so it was not too intrusive. As an aside, it’s not free ($65 pp). Scam or not?
Overall experience: it was our second trip to TCI but first in BH and Alexandra. We had a wonderful time and split our time between BH and Alexandra! The beach in Alexandra is way better than in BH. The shopping plaza was not as busy as we remember and perhaps it was due to the fact that cruises were not running due to the pandemic, but it was good to see that TCI is slowly coming back. Can't wait to go back. We miss the Thursday Fish Fry but I hope they bring them back soon. TCI’s travel requirements (all defined in TCI Tourism website) were stressful as they require Covid PCR negative test that you have to get no more than 5 days of your arrival to the island, proof of health insurance that covers Covid-19 incident while on the island, and travel approval from TCI. We ended up purchasing a travel insurance as TCI would not honor any major US insurance like United Healthcare, Aetna, BC/BS, etc. Purchasing it was an extra expense that in my opinion was unnecessary as the major US insurance companies cover Covid-19 incidents that occur outside of the US. I wish TCI would revisit their travel insurance requirement as currently, it could be a burden for some folks who wish to visit the island. We’ll be back for sure but will wait until things with Covid ease up as now it seems that we’re heading toward another restrictive time.
