The most beautiful beach and a gloriously relaxed vibe make Turks and Caicos irresistible – especially as guests of Wymara
Words: Libby Norman
Turks and Caicos Islands delivers a Caribbean experience without the crowds. This ribbon of 40 islands and cays, eight of them inhabited, sit south of the Bahamas in the Lucayan Archipelago – so geographically within Atlantic not Caribbean waters.
While low key for tourism, Turks and Caicos punches above its weight for plaudits – notably, topping multiple lists for world’s best beach at Grace Bay.
We are guests of Wymara Resort + Villas on Providenciales (locals call it Provo) giving us direct access to this celebrated beach. Like Turks and Caicos, Wymara is a heavy hitter for awards. You’ll find it on all the best lists, including Forbes, Tripadvisor and Conde Nast Traveler.
Guests rave about serenity and superlative service in a picture-perfect romantic location. We’re lucky guests indeed, experiencing both its luxurious villas and the boutique resort, a few minutes’ drive away.
Even arriving at Providenciales Airport feels like stepping down a gear. We’ve been advised not to bother with a taxi because everyone takes the minibus – and so we join returning islanders and visitors, a convivial crew happy to be paradise side.
Everyone knows Wymara Resort, but the Wymara Villas Harbour Club is newer and there’s some debate among our fellow travellers as to where precisely it’s located. Thankfully, our driver knows the way – we’re dropped off with happy holiday wishes within minutes.
As arrivals go, this couldn’t be easier, and so it continues. After the swiftest check-in, we’re whisked up the hill by golf cart to our one-bedroom pool villa by our personal concierge. Our sun-drenched space is dazzling, ultra-modern and sleek with total privacy. Doors open to our outside deck – ultimate serenity spot with dining area, private plunge pool, shady loungers and views of glittering blue ocean just down the hill.
Inside, the villa is a design marvel with a huge ocean-facing bed, cosy sofa plus a kitchenette so well imagined that we could cook up a feast, should we so desire. The bathroom gives more superb views of the blue ocean below from its walk-in shower.
Refreshed after a quick dip in our private pool, we head out to a reception and dinner at one of the six-bed villas recently added by Wymara. While our space feels roomy, this is positively palatial – huge pool, incredible entertaining spaces and direct access down to the ocean via private steps. We are treated to a lavish feast created by the in-house chef team before retiring replete.
“Doors open to our outside deck – ultimate serenity spot with dining area, private plunge pool and views of clear blue ocean just down the hill”
Next morning, breakfast gets delivered discreetly to our hilltop deck and then we head down to the chic Beach Club, where energetic souls swim laps, play tennis or try pickleball. We’re tempted by the fantastic in-ocean pool. Accessed down wide steps from the jetty, it’s a vast and deep seawater marvel hewn from rock. You can swim lazy laps to your heart’s content and then recharge at the Tiki Bar, where food and drinks are served all day. Sundowners here provide the best sunset views.
One evening, before heading out, we have a sound bath therapy on our deck. It is an out-of-body experience that leaves us simultaneously relaxed and recharged. This, like all the spa treatments, comes to your villa if you don’t want to go to the spa. Sustainability and healing are key tenets, with treatments from beauty-insider favourite 111SKIN from London and island-developed Wildflower Skincare Lab. With the latter, flowers used in products are grown right here on resort.
Sustainability is a top concern resort-wide – and with Green Globe Certification to prove it. There are generous ongoing Wymara contributions supporting initiatives to maintain what makes Turks and Caicos unique – including its spectacular reef system, third largest in the world. No visitor to this pristine environment would ever argue with that.
After a couple of days in idyllic villa seclusion, where we don’t need to lift a finger or go anywhere (we’re reliably informed that’s precisely what a fair few guests come here to do), we move Resort side to an Oceanfront Suite.
This is another brilliantly designed space, with vast living room and kitchen and separate bedroom with double-height doors you can close (useful for hosting guests). There’s a glamorous in-bedroom bathtub for leisurely soaks, with wonderful bathroom adjoining. But the biggest luxury is the uninterrupted ocean vista from our terrace.
Amazing Grace Bay Beach – there is no better description. It is vast, curved and wide, and stretching into what seems like infinity in both directions. It has the softest sand we have ever walked on and is blissfully uncrowded. There are swimmers and loungers dotted about and couples walking the shore – it’s a dreamy stroll along this beautiful bay with its vivid blue waters.
Life at Wymara Resort happens on or around the beach, unsurprisingly. Pink Bar offers the best cocktails and a great bar menu fresh from the laidback Blue Water Bistro right next door, while the cosy loungers and fire pit beyond – plus regular beach barbecues – tempt guests to linger barefoot in the sand long after the sun sets.
For even finer dining, Indigo is top-rated across the island and far beyond, with multiple culinary awards. Menus offer delicious fish and seafood specialities, always with emphasis on provenance and sustainability (Australian executive chef Andrew Mirosch is also an avid fisherman).
There’s a brilliant range of vegan and wellness options, too, and simply everything – from shrimp and local mahi-mahi to the fabulous array of steaks – is on point for taste and presentation. The dessert menu deserves special mention for house-made ice creams and sorbets, chocolate lava cake and deconstructed banoffee pie – divine indulgences one and all.
In fact, divine indulgence is the best way to describe Wymara. Whether you are resort or villa side or (like us) experience the pleasures of both, this is an enchanted retreat on the most beautiful island.
“Amazing Grace Bay Beach – there is no better description – has the softest sand we have ever walked on and is blissfully uncrowded”
It delivers perfect down time – quietly luxurious, supremely relaxed, and with the softest sand and bluest ocean. And yes, amazing Grace Bay deserves that crown for world’s best beach.
Wymara Resort + Villas
BA flies to Providenciales via Nassau. Direct flights from several North American cities. wymara.com
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