The Insiders' Guide to St. Barths: Trip Report-The Palms, Turks & Caicos

I recently returned from a week at the Palms (www.thepalmstc.com) and overall had a great stay. I struggled with not returing to St. Barts this year but glad I saw something else. Although Turks was great it still isn't the same as my favorite, St Barts.

We stayed in luxury suite (the cheapest of all the rooms). The room was nice for the time we spent in it. Satellite TV, high speed internet access, iPod docking station, VERY comfortably linens and a small porch facing the back of the building.

The grounds of the hotel are top notch. Marble floors throughout and lush grounds with colorful flowers. The pool area is one of the nicest I have seen. A swim up bar/restaurant was a good place to chill in the afternoon. However, the hotel was about 60% full when I was there and finding an empty chair around the pool was difficult at times. Also finding an empty cabana on the beach was somewhat challenging towards the end of the week. The beach service could get you a chair but not always a cabana which gives you shade. I would not want to be here during high season when the place is full.

The food was excellent. The continental breakfast that comes with the room was good. Lunch and drinks can be expensive. 2 drinks at the pool bar will easily run $30-40. Parallel 23, the main dinning restaurant is one of the best in the Caribbean and the best on the island. However, it comes with a price tag and it will be hard to escape the dinning experience without a bill of at least $150. If there is one restaurant to dine at on the island though, I would make it Parallel 23. Overall, the rest of the food on the island was good but quite expensive. I found it cheaper to dine in St. Barts actually. It was hard to escape a restaurant without a $100 bill and we did not even drink much alcohol with our dinners. Cabs too ad up, anywhere from $8-25 roundtrip each evening.

The hotel had a nice spa and fitness center. The prices for services at the spa were comparable to those in the states. Also, a few gift shops selling designer and "The Palms" logo clothing were in the courtyard area. Plans are to ad an art gallery and a deli within the next few months. The lobby and pool area was always filled with music.

The service is good but not quite up to 5 star standards. Free cup of sorbet in the afternoon, use of a mini i-Pod and the free bottle of Fuji Water every night was a nice touch but maid service was inconsistent. The staff was attentive to requests but I wouldn't say they went out of their way to make you feel spoiled which is fine by my standards but if you are use to a Four Seasons standard of service then you will be let down. I found the service better in Anguilla at the Cuisinart but maybe over time the Palms will reach that level.

A lot of construction on the island makes you wonder how any of the hotels will be able to charge extraordinary fares in the offseason. I would definitely return to Turks and Caicos and the Palms if the price is right. If you like walking a long beach with beautiful water this is the place for you. It does look like next time there will be even more alternatives for lodging that might be worth checking out (Mandalay or Grace Bay Club).

This is the 4th island I have visted in 4 years. Here are my rankings...

1) St. Barth
2) Anguilla
3) Turks & Caicos
4) Aruba

The construction on Turks is scary, so many Americans from the northeast down there when I was there slightly took away from that special feeling. Many of the hotel workers are from Haiti, Jamaica or the Bahamas as there are not enough natives to work in all the hotels and such. Prices to buy are expensive beach front but noticed they were much more affordable inland just a few block 300K for a 3 bedroom. Where to next year? Thinking I may try Harbour Island before making St. Barts and Anguilla my official home away from home in the Caribbean.