Beaches Turks & Caicos - The art of actionable feedback outside of work
In April 2023 we marked our third visit to Beaches Resorts and second time at the Turks & Caicos property. From Sesame Street characters through water slides and beautiful sand, we enjoyed as much as we could absorb from Beaches offerings.
As a business executive, I spend my non-vacation time helping organizations grow through strategy, market analysis, and perhaps most importantly - client and customer experience. It is through this professional lens that I decided to share with Beaches management not only our compliments, but some of our observations. My hope was that this feedback would be valuable as the company continues to sustain and grow the Beaches brand and customer base.
Similarly, I figured it was a good test of something drilled into me since early days in management consulting – feedback is the art of making a palatable sandwich that has some real ‘meat’ and punch of flavor but is book-ended with softness so it’s easily both swallowed and nourishing. I thought it would be beneficial to share the key points of my feedback both to help other travelers and to show that feedback isn’t to complain, but to leave something better than you found it. Sharing the bread and meat of my guest feedback below. Note, I recommend the hotel overall and look forward to its continuous improvement!
Beaches Turks & Caicos Highlights:
Kids Camp: Our nine- and seven-year-olds once again raced to kids camp daily. The programming and activities were diverse, appropriate, and well managed. Our nine-year-old especially loved being out on the Hobie cat, swimming in the ocean with kids her age, and snorkeling. She made some friends with whom she plans on keeping in touch. Our seven-year-old son really enjoyed the boat ride, water slides, and parade. The staff were great, especially Vadeline, who struck the right balance of fun, smiles, and rules to ensure our kids had fun while remembering they need to be responsible guests.
Food & Beverage: We really enjoyed Soy, visiting there multiple times. Juliette remembered and welcomed us, always bringing superb service. Likewise, we appreciated Mario’s for dinner with its balance of an appetizer buffet (to ensure hungry kids can eat quickly) with the tailored entrees options. We lunched at Barefoot multiple times, seemingly unable to satiate our fish taco hunger. The bartenders across the resort are not only kind and funny, but really spectacular at handling the vast array of adult and kid orders.
Member Opportunities: Our member lunch at Schooners was both delicious and fun. The lamb chops were our favorite! Thank you for the gift and recognition.
Water Sports: Kayaks, Hobie cats, and help with both made for some fun times out on the water. I am embarrassed to forget the name of the gentleman (Jamaican, helped open Ocho Rios, now has two sons that also work at the resort) who worked at the water sports desk. He was friendly, funny, and willing to share stories of his Beaches employee experience. It really personalized our view of the organization.
Opportunities for Improvement:
Arrival: The airport was very busy upon our arrival with long lines. Despite having done the Fast Track immigration package, we ended up waiting with very restless kids. Once through immigration and baggage claim, we expected signage as to where to meet the Beaches shuttle. There was none. Not only was there no signage, but there were also no staff assisting with directions. Once we found the outside line (amidst many other tourist lines, pick-ups, etc.) and the Beaches-outfitted coordinator, the welcoming vibe was non-existent. We are used to Beaches staff being enthusiastic towards guests. That was not the case, nor was there clear direction on where we should wait or what van we should load. The driver, however, was friendly and very welcoming.
Handling Split-room Reservations: To have a whole week within our cost envelope at the time of booking, we took advantage of the opportunity to have two rooms - first in the French Village (1214) and then in Key West (6634). We were assured at booking that it would be a seamless experience and was relatively common. This was not the case. At arrival, staff were confused about why we asked questions about our second part of the stay. The day of moving rooms, we had to ask repeatedly about what to expect, timing, etc. Once we checked out of the French Village, we were told we had to physically go check in at Key West. This is a bit surprising in an era of digital technology and communications that we would have to walk over to repeat a process and couldn’t have a more automated path. We did as directed and checked in at Key West, only to be told that we would receive a text when our room was ready. All day and no text. Finally after what should’ve been check in time we inquired and were told that our room had been ready earlier. We got into the room, but then we didn’t have our luggage - something that we were told would be delivered earlier. The overall transition of rooms could and should have been easier and less effort for us as guests to figure out and explain to staff. And, although our first room wasn’t at the concierge level, the fact that our second room was Concierge, we thought should have availed Concierge activities from earlier in the week to us.
Lounge Chairs and Towels: Despite signs that state that chairs are not to be claimed/staked, there was nothing or no one stopping people from so doing. It is disheartening to arrive at a pool at 9am and not be able to get a seat when so few guests are actually present. Having vacationed in Aruba, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas at Marriot, Ritz-Carlton, and Hyatt properties, we know that it is possible to limit guest “claiming” chairs while not in use. We found ourselves over the week just piling our items on the ground while we entered the pool, never having a seat among all the empty, towel-clad chairs. Speaking of towels, there were simply not enough. We had to resort to holding on to our towels day-to-day to ensure we got one. Every day, multiple times, and at all the pools and beach access points we visited, there were no towels. If you saw one, it was a rarity.
Furnishings: We last visited the property in 2021. While that was a complicated time with much less travelers, we remembered the quality of the room and furnishings across the resort. On this visit, we frequently saw ripped or tattered seats (Mario’s restaurant, Guisseppi’s restaurant, room 6634 - to highlight a few). It’s a shame to see such damaged items as it really lowered the ambiance of the hotel.
Spa & Gym: We partook in both spa services (in Key West spa) and gym equipment (in both gyms). The French Village gym was more well equipped than the Key West one, but both could benefit from a bit of equipment updating as some machines were out of order. While we cannot compare spas, it was disheartening that both the male and female steam rooms were broken in Key West. There was also no key for me in the women's locker room and I had to sit out in the sun rather than in the relaxation room before my service due to overcrowding. There were also no smaller-sized slippers, which made it difficult and unsafe to navigate the staircases with shoes many sizes too big.
Check Out: We nearly left the property without our luggage. We were assured three times that it was going to be picked up outside our room. As we boarded our shuttle - not seeing our bags - my husband got off and raced back up to the room. The suitcases were still sitting outside our door. Especially because we asked, confirmed, and confirmed again, this is a frustrating near mishap that could have truly been a disaster. The attention to follow through in check in, room transition, and check out seemed missing.
The App: It is great to see that there is now an app available. Moving forward, it would be improved with more interactive app/mobile offerings that include daily calendar updates, activity listings, and other resort information. The reliance on paper - including the need to physically walk to a culinary concierge office to make a dinner reservation versus being able to digitally book, for example - is surprising in such a digital age.
In summary, there needs to be better capacity planning and equitable guest access to pool/beach offerings and updates to the overall infrastructure for me to rate the property as highly as I’d like on travel sites. Despite these areas for improvement, the week truly was amazing - especially because of the overall family commitment that Beaches maintains and the exquisite beaches of Grace Bay. We appreciate the staff and loved seeing staff events/parties to support them (something I believe is essential as a corporate strategy exec - staff care!). We hope this feedback is received in the vein that it’s intended: to continue to enhance Beaches’ market position as a family vacation destination.