Brides Helping Brides ™ - Honeymoon Review - Parrot Cay, Turks & Caicos - with pics

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Honeymoon Review - Parrot Cay, Turks & Caicos - with pics

belle22274 Posted: Nov 05, 2005 10:05 PM+

belle22274 MEMBER SINCE: 1/04 TOTAL POSTS : 659 WEDDING DATE: Oct 07, 2005

Posted: Nov 05, 2005 10:05 PM

Honeymoon Review - Parrot Cay, Turks & Caicos - with pics

Since my wedding review is taking a looong time, and I am still waiting for professional pics to complete it, I thought I'd post a honeymoon review. The place was just too good not to write about.

TURKS & CAICOS ~ PARROT CAY

DON'T DO WHAT I DID! So our reception ended at 1:30am, and our car to the airport picked us up from the Garden City Hotel at 5:45am for our 8am flight from JFK. Looking back, booking it this way was not a great idea! In the end we were happy to get right to the honeymoon and not waste anytime. However, I ended up having the worst flight of my life. I was EXHAUSTED, underfed, a little hung over and all around miserable. I still had half of my makeup (including false eyelashes) on from the wedding, and my hair was still in its updo. I got some odd looks on the plane. The only thing that made the flight bearable was that we were in first class, and that it was only a 4-hour plane ride - direct. Thank goodness. That was the only bad part of the honeymoon. Now, onto the good stuff.

Parrot Cay is insanely amazing. The water is crystal clear, the air is fresh and clean and the people couldn't be more welcoming and attentive. The resort itself has about 52 rooms and is totally private. It was not filled to capacity when we were there, so I'd estimate that they were probably 40-50 other people there during our stay. Total seclusion. If you are looking to totally relax, eat (amazing food), drink and spent time alone, this place is for you. If you want a place with nightlife, lots of people, shopping, activities etc... I wouldn't recommend it.

I could write a novel on this place, but I don't think anyone really wants a day-by-day breakdown of my honeymoon. So I'm going to just go through some highlights. Feel free to FM if you want more info. Many more pictures can be found in my Shutterfly album.

HIGHLIGHTS:

The room: We had an oceanview suite and it was magnificent. It was spacious, had a balcony and the views were amazing!

The food: I am highly allergic to dairy and don't eat meat, so finding a place to honeymoon where I would have more than steamed veggies as an option was a challenge. One of the reasons we chose Parrot Cay is because of their cuisine. They cater to people like me, and even have an entire spa menu devoted to healthier choices (but don't be food, DH is a meat lover and had plenty to choose from). From day one the staff learned my name, and if I happened to order something with hidden dairy, they made sure to let me know and offer ways they could make substitutions in the meal. I learned later that there was a note on our account that came up every time we ordered that said, 'Mrs. A cannot have dairy, meat or seafood.' Not only were there plenty of options for me, they were all outstanding in both taste and presentation. There are 2 restaurants at the resort. The outdoor restaurant, Lotus, was by the pool and the food had an Asian slant. The indoor dining room was skewed toward Mediterranean cuisine. I would compare both of these to any of the best places I've eaten in NYC. There are certain meals I still miss and get cravings for.

The service: Every last staff member at Parrot Cay is there to make sure that your stay is perfect. From the bartenders that quickly learned our names and favorite drinks, to the manager of the resort who always stopped by to check on us, everyone was top notch. When we realized we had brought the wrong memory card for our digital camera, we simply went to Guest Services and they made sure we had the correct one the very next day.

DH with, Eka, one of the two bartenders

The spa: Aaaaah the spa. I am a spa whore. I love to be pampered. This place is unreal and surpasses anything I've been to in NY. Bliss be damned! COMO Shambala spa rocks! DH and I each had a full body massage included in our honeymoon package, and boy was it amazing. It took place in a glass-enclosed room that had a magnificent view. The products they used were amazing. I've never been so relaxed. We decided to go back for an additional service (me, a Sundari facial, DH another, different massage with some kind of mud bath). Both of these services were incredible and we seriously toyed with having another. We opted instead to buy some products. (We also 'stole' all the shampoos etc... from the room as they all came from the spa. Hee hee.)

The sunset cruise: This was an extra splurge for us, but we decided that on the last night it would be fun to take a cruise. After all, Bruce Willis and Donna Karan have houses on the island and I wanted to see them! ;) So we signed up for a sunset cruise. Despite that fact that we had to beat a storm back to the dock at the end (THAT was a little harrowing), the cruise was beautiful. It came with a bottle of wine, some crackers, fruit and cheese, some dessert and some seafood. And we got to bring along CD's of our choice from their collection. A neat touch. We got to see the entire island and spend some time on the open (and somewhat rough) sea. It was incredible.

The beach picnic: Also included in our honeymoon package was a picnic on the beach. DH and I are thinking, 'Here's a basket and a blanket, have fun!' But, like everything else at Parrot Cay this was a little more than expected. The picnic was actually in a beautiful hut way out on the beach (totally private). We were served a three-course lunch, along with champagne and allowed to hang there for the whole afternoon. It decided to pour during the lunch, but it didn't matter. We were covered and we had food. It was perfect.

The case of champagne in our room: This was DH's surprise. We had heard that drinks were expensive at the resort (they are, and they are not included), so DH had a case of our favorite champagne waiting for us in the room when we arrived. We still ended up drinking at the bars, but not nearly as much as we would have. I don't know if it saved a lot of money, but it sure was romantic!

Pool and beachside service: No matter where you choose to spend your time, there is always a staff member around to being drinks, water, towels etc... My favorite touch was that around 2pm everyday they'd walk the beach and poolside handing out mango ice pops to everyone. They were yummy and totally refreshing.

All in all the honeymoon was perfect and we are seriously planning our next trip. The only minor downsides for anyone planning to go are bugs and extra expenses. It's a buggy place and although they do a great job of spraying, if you leave your room without bug spray on you're going to be in a world of hurt. And, anything that is not included in your package is crazy expensive. A glass of wine can easily run $15. Suntan lotion was $18. Sunglasses started at $150. You get the idea. But if you know this going in, you can bring everything you need and budget for everything else accordingly.

Overall I HIGHLY recommend Parrot Cay!