Want to take advantage of Marriott STARS benefits, including a space available room upgrade, complimentary breakfast, a hotel credit, and more? Contact Ford ([email protected]) for more details. He may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked. This is valid for paid stays at BVLGARI, EDITION, Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, and St. Regis.
The Ritz-Carlton Turks & Caicos will be opening this summer, so in this post I wanted to go over the basics of this property, since it’s a points property that may interest some (though personally I’m skeptical).
Ritz-Carlton Turks & Caicos basics
The Ritz-Carlton Turks & Caicos is currently taking reservations for stays as of July 2, 2021. The 155-room hotel will be in Providenciales, and will have views of Grace Bay.
The resort will feature everything from a club lounge, to a casino, to a spa, to multiple pools, to a BLT Steak restaurant. Unfortunately as of now there aren’t many pictures of this property, so we’ll have to be patient and use our imaginations.
For that matter, the hotel is selling rooms even though the website doesn’t state the square footage or features of these rooms. There seem to be a limited number of room categories as of now — there are deluxe rooms, club rooms, junior suites, executive suites, and then a few more categories of specialty suites.
This will be Ritz-Carlton’s fourth property in the Caribbean, after Aruba, Grand Cayman, and St. Thomas (this doesn’t include Ritz-Carlton Reserve properties, which for all practical purposes are separate).
Redeeming points at the Ritz-Carlton Turks & Caicos
The Ritz-Carlton Turks & Caicos will be a Category 8 Marriott Bonvoy property:
- A free night will cost 70,000 points off-peak, 85,000 points standard, and 100,000 points peak
- As always, you get a fifth night free on Marriott Bonvoy free night redemptions
As a point of comparison, paid rates at the Ritz-Carlton seem to start at somewhere around $600, but can get way higher than that.
If you are going to book a paid stay at the Ritz-Carlton Turks & Caicos, I’d recommend booking through the Marriott STARS program, so you’ll receive complimentary breakfast, a room upgrade subject to availability, a hotel credit, and more.
My Ritz-Carlton Turks & Caicos skepticism
I’ve been wanting to visit Turks & Caicos for years, especially given its proximity to Miami. I’ve heard it’s gorgeous, and in particular that the beaches are truly special.
That being said, I’ve always struggled to actually book a trip, given the hotel options up until now:
- Amanyara is probably the best hotel, but it’s also outrageously expensive (you’re basically paying the “not that far from rich New Yorkers tax”)
- I’ve heard COMO Parrot Cay is great; while still very expensive, it’s a bit more affordable than the Aman
- Point Grace Resort & Spa looks pretty good too, and is part of the Hyatt & SLH partnership, so you could earn or redeem World of Hyatt points there
That brings us to the Ritz-Carlton, which to be honest I have a hard time getting excited about, even with the current lack of options:
- While most other Turks & Caicos hotels are a couple of floors high, the Ritz-Carlton has 12 floors; this just feels so out of place for the area, and the concept of a casino and BLT Steak has little appeal to me (interestingly enough the new St. Regis Bermuda will also have a BLT Steak as its signature restaurant)
- While 155 rooms isn’t that much, between the hotel, residences, and casino, you can expect that this will feel like a resort factory
- On top of all that, it’s not like Marriott Bonvoy elite members even get great treatment at Ritz-Carltons, as Ritz-Carlton is excluded from the breakfast benefit for Bonvoy Platinum members and above
- Whenever I think of Ritz-Carlton resorts in the Caribbean I can’t help but think back to the below video from the Ritz-Carlton Aruba
Bottom line
The Ritz-Carlton Turks & Caicos will be opening in the summer of 2021. There aren’t many major chain hotels in Turks & Caicos (for better or worse). While there’s a lot I’m willing to overlook in order to earn & redeem points, I think I’ll skip this hotel, between the casino, the BLT Steak, the lack of elite benefits, and my generally low expectations of Ritz-Carlton’s Caribbean properties.
And it’s one thing if there were an amazing deal, or something, but at 70,000-100,000 points per night, there are better places to redeem points.
Do you plan on staying at the Ritz-Carlton Turks & Caicos? If you’ve been to Turks & Caicos, what was your experience like, and any recommendations on where to stay?
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