Salterra, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Turks & Caicos

We had an amazing trip! Booked via Travel Zoo. We traveled to South Caicos by the puddle jumper, it's a short trip and you get beautiful views from the windows. It does get very hot on the plane and be aware, your hand luggage will be on your lap. The service can be spotty, but we only had an hour delay when leaving and knew about it, so we could stay at the hotel. SC airport is very, very basic with no air conditioning, just to be aware. Although, I did hear it will be upgraded for international flights next year. I also heard the boat is great too. Some even used it to go to Provo for the day, so that might be worth investigating. The boat takes about 1.5 hours. We were picked up by CJ and given water. CJ also showed us where to go for the sunsets. On our arrival at the hotel, we were given rum punches and cold towels. The staff are fantastic, Uyre, Josefina, AG, CJ, the ladies on the front desk and Lincoln just some to mention. We were in a one bedroom suite on the ground floor. It was huge! We did have some issues with our sliding door lock, but it was rectified quickly and the maintenance man was very polite. If you have a washer and dryer in your room, powder and drying sheets are provided. The room service ladies will also give new bottles of water every day, plus change the towels and make the bed. Chef AG is wonderful. We had the buffet, but on the last night, chose from the main menu and had amazing steaks (50% off for AI). The soups on the buffet were fantastic. He was very interesting to talk to. There is no air conditioning in the bar and restaurant area, but there are ceiling fans and plenty of sea breeze. It was still comfortable. The air con in the rooms is epic! One side of the hotel is completely closed, hence so few people at the resort. The bar shuts 9.30ish, but, you can take drinks back to your patio or balcony and enjoy the stars. Although there is no nightly entertainment, there is karaoke on Friday nights! Not usually our thing, but there were only 8 of us in the bar including staff and we had an absolute blast. Singing, dancing and laughing. Uyre is a wonderful singer. You will also get to meet some great locals in the bar at weekends. Pool is lovely, I took my book and read by the infinity side. The pool bar will not be open as there are not enough people, but, it's a short walk to the bar. For smokers, there is a designated smoking area. Pool area is quiet and lots of towels and umbrellas available. There is a small kiddies pool. The beach is raked by tractor in the morning for the sargassum. You will still see it on the beach, but it is a natural occurrence and vital to fish and sea life when in the sea, so maybe think along those lines, rather than an ugly thing washed up on the beach. The water is very shallow for a long way out and warm. I would recommend the snorkeling trip with Lincoln. First stop, snorkeling (saw a barracuda and lots of pretty fish), second stop, Iguana Islan

Good location, great and friendly staff. They did a great job with the driver from the airport (CJ), nice and polite guy. We were very surprised with the food ( because is all inclusive) usually is not great, but there was good. I can come back for sure.

Ok, I am notorious for the good, the bad and the ugly, but I can only come up with Good for this resort if not Excellent!! Private, secluded, all-inclusive and felt like a High End, family owned, Bed and Breakfast. From our driver CJ to our bartender Uyre, from servers Marilyn, Josephine and Lewis (who took care of us during our Gazebo Annivery dinner) to Scuba guides Lincoln and Willis, and an incredible Manager Roshida who keeps it all together, everything was incredible. The coup-de-gras was Executive chef AG who personally saw to my wife's dietary restrictions with beyond fabulous food. I stuck to the buffet and complained every meal to my wife that I ate too much. This was not your typical All-Inclusive buffet; it was smaller and had more fabulously tasting food than I have had at buffets anywhere! We met wonderful people during our stay and about 11 of us are going to stay in touch to do a reunion tour. The unfortunate truth is that the resort will be closing soon to renovate and then reopen as "Salterra Resort and Spa" in about 12 months from now. If they are able to hold this incredible staff and maintain the intimate family feel of the islands, we will absolutely be back. Turks and Caicos was a bucket list item for my wife and I, and so many people stay in Providenciales or other more popular, larger islands. Don't do it!! South Caicos has all you need, and this resort and staff will blow you away!! Thank you East Bay Resort team!! Our best beach vacation ever and the most memorable anniversary dinner in 19 years!!