Vacation Villas - September/October 2007

Your Own Private Piece of Paradise

From a large fully staffed luxury villa to a little cottage by the sea and everything in between.

If you think that private Vacation Villas are a holiday prerogative reserved only for the privileged few - the rich and famous, fashion designers, rock musicians, Hollywood stars and high-powered CEO’s … think again!

It was not all that long ago when this archipelago of islands and cays was the Caribbean’s best kept secret often prompting a typical response such as, “The Turks and what?!” Today, word of the rapturous beauty of these islands has reached many a far-flung location, yet these idyllic islands still remain pristine, tranquil and very serene - a rare accomplishment indeed. Beaches of sugar soft sand and ethereal turquoise seas have gained international recognition and global acclaim, and these islands have evolved and developed into a popular and sought-after vacation destination where even though development continues at a frenetic pace, the islands are still virtually an untouched paradise. An infinite and ongoing proliferation of accommodations bestow endless choices ranging from unpretentious, tiny inns to large-scale 5 star condominium and resort hotel developments and all-inclusive resorts, but there is another alternative where you can truly escape from the proverbial rat-race, one that has become hugely popular with vacationers from all walks of life and one that can be surprisingly affordable - your own private vacation villa.

You may not rub elbows with movie stars or musicians but there exists at least one commonality amongst all those who make this exclusive get-away choice - these guests are all looking for something more … and something less. More freedom, more privacy, more quietude, more flexibility, and more personal space. And less. Less hotel traffic, less people, less noise, less distractions, less routine and less structure. So, move over Mick!

Time is indeed priceless no matter what’s in your pocketbook. Your escape from the day-to-day routine and not so seasonable weather is a treasured and coveted commodity and self-indulgence and relaxation should be paramount, not to mention the immeasurable value of getting away from it all, whether it be for personal solitude, intimate time with your significant other, quality time with your loved ones, or a populous and grandiose family reunion.

With a private vacation villa, it’s all about freedom of choice and the personal license to make yourself incommunicado, if only for a week, or two.

Self-indulgence comes in many shapes and sizes from tiny Caribbean style cottages oozing with old-world charm, to the latest in construction and high-end accoutrements, there is a private vacation villa to suit your taste, needs and budget. Here on Provo, we have it all - a little ‘cottage by the sea’; a large, fully staffed luxury villa and everything in-between can be your own personal extravagance - a private piece of paradise to call your very own.

So … why choose this idyllic piece of paradise? Arguably for our world-famous beaches, featuring the one that put the Turks and Caicos Islands ‘on the map’, Grace Bay Beach on the island of Providenciales. It is reputed to be and repeatedly voted one of the top beaches in the world, and for good reason. Flawless and pristine, it is a twelve mile stretch of utopia … the sand is the colour of ivory and feels like silk beneath your feet - the water is often described as an indescribable shade of turquoise, but words simply cannot do it justice. I have heard many a visitor and photographer comment that it is almost impossible to catch the sublime and consummate beauty of any of our beaches on film, but it is forever etched in their memory. With most Grace Bay vacation villas boasting beachfront locations, at most you may have a one-minute stroll to experience your Caribbean ‘nirvana’ with easy access to Grace Bay’s multitude of dining and shopping choices. Grace Bay is also home to Princess Alexandra National Park, a protected marine area with outstanding snorkelling and water sports available right from the beach.

Moving clockwise from Grace Bay Beach, Leeward is located at the far north-eastern tip of Providenciales and boasts it’s own alluring beaches affording a little more privacy with fascinating limestone rock cliff formations and stone jetties carved and moulded by the power of the sea. For boat enthusiasts, some vacation villas front directly onto Leeward canal. The convenience of a marina, along with close proximity to Grace Bay and its plethora of amenities plus the Provo Golf & Country Club, one of the top-rated golf courses in the Caribbean makes this a prime vacation destination.

Located on the southeast shore, Long Bay and its three-mile stretch of isolated beach is a truly magnificent combination of sand dunes and rugged rock formations. With development still in its infancy, Long Bay is natural and unspoiled in its beauty, far from the madding crowd.

Centrally located, Turtle Tail is a narrow peninsula on Provo’s south shore defined by Juba Salina on the north, and the brilliance of the shallow Caicos Banks to the south. Just to the west, discover the pastoral beauty of Flamingo Lake, also host to a prime bone fishing hotspot accessible just steps from your villa.

Chalk Sound, located on a narrow peninsula on the southwest tip of Provo offers a location that imparts a feeling of transcendence on Chalk Sound National Park. Here, the colour of the sea is an iridescent, milky turquoise, almost celestial, dotted with countless cays. Coupled with the resplendent beauty of picturesque Sapodilla Bay, a favourable and popular anchorage, and the calm and delightfully shallow waters of Taylor Bay, both are positioned front row centre to the open sea, under the protection of the shallow Caicos Banks.

Finally, Turtle Cove, an extension of Grace Bay Beach to the west is calm and serene, beyond the borders of the larger scale condominiums and resorts. Exceptional snorkelling is easily accessible at Smith’s Reef, and Turtle Cove is within close distance to some of Provo’s finest restaurants, Turtle Cove Marina and other amenities.

So get off the ‘beaten track’ and grasp the friendly, warm hospitality of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands and take advantage of the opportunity to immerse yourself in the island’s culture. With many vacation villas located in residential areas, discover and experience first hand what Caribbean living is all about.

Many of the villas are professionally managed by several well-established and reliable property management services that are able to assist you not only with your accommodations, but also in many cases, they are able to provide their clients with a varied range of concierge services including car rentals, excursions, and suggestions for dining and shopping and even special events. Alternatively, the owners themselves, who live on the island and personally manage the villas, are able to assist you with any and all needs throughout your stay. For a listing of Vacation Villas and Villa Management companies far too numerous to mention individually, refer to pages 60-67.

Need to borrow a cup of sugar? Owners of Acacia Villa in Leeward pride themselves on offering the ‘little extras’ in a peaceful neighbourhood setting, without intrusion. After all, the ‘big’ things have already been taken care of! Acacia Villa was designed and built to cater exclusively to its vacationing guests. The architecture is definitively contemporary with a charming and elegant Caribbean twist, indulging you with infinite privacy surrounded by beautifully landscaped grounds plus a spacious and comfortable pool area with plenty of room for sun worshippers and shade enthusiasts alike. Complimentary beer, wine and soda are already chilled and waiting upon your arrival. Repeat bookings and referrals are commonplace, with many guests re-booking before they even finish their vacation. A familiar guest testimonial here is, “We’ve been looking for this place”.

Genuinely gracious and downright neighbourly island hospitality is second nature to the hosts/owners of Turtle Watch. When asked what motivated them to get into the villa business eight years ago, their facetious response was, “It seemed like a good idea at the time!” Recognizing and acting on what they perceived to be ‘a hole in the market for their kind of operation’, they tried to fill that need and have done a convincingly remarkable job, with a 70-80% return rate. At Turtle Watch the visually appealing architecture is Caribbean inspired with themes of cornflower blue on grey tucked away amidst tropical gardens of brilliant colour. Intimate and breezy accommodations for two, the Carriage House is probably Provo’s only Bed & Breakfast, and The Guest House, is a delightful self-contained Caribbean cottage. Centrally located in a lovely residential area on the canal in Turtle Cove, you can actually sit on the dock and watch Hawksbill turtles swim past.

“One way to judge a place is by how much you hate to leave it. Do so hate to go!” That’s a typical testimonial from a guest who has holidayed in one of Henry Moog’s TC Villas. His self-proclaimed ‘Mom and Pop’ business is a family affair boasting over 35 years of experience on these shores with seventeen vacation villas … and counting. Each villa is completely individual in design and is stunning and unrivalled in its architecture in all the preferred, sought-after locations. Guests have called his taste for décor impeccable; and his villas have been characterized by phrases like, “rare gem”. A true pioneer in the vacation villa business, Moog has created and developed some of the most extraordinary and remarkable villas on Providenciales.
Thousands of hand-cut, individual stones create the façade of Villa Stonecrest, giving the demeanour of old Caribbean rustic grandeur, yet in reality it is newly built with all the modern amenities. The Cottage has been described as a “special secret”, a bewitching and charismatic combination of furnishings “some antique, some whimsical” with an aesthetically pleasing yet robust exterior of stone and timber. Villa Palmera is one of the newest additions to TC Villas impressive portfolio and at 6 bedrooms, the largest … for now. This magnificent villa is forty feet above sea level and boasts its own sandy beach. The epitome of luxury, it features a thirty-five foot high-beamed ceiling, a 360° infinity edge pool and even an optional nanny suite. More recently, he has developed the essence of simplicity - two beachfront cottages in scenic Turtle Cove that possess what he states, “have all the magic words - your own pool, beachfront, snorkelling, privacy, one bedroom”. Moog was already inundated with booking requests long before construction was even complete. When I asked Moog what sets his vacation villas apart, he stressed that his selection process is without exception, yielding a quality of properties that speak for themselves. A consistently high occupancy rate with some villas renting at 100% elucidate the huge amount of momentum TC Villas is experiencing. Like a protective parent, Moog stands firm behind all of his villas and advocates that he is very reluctant to take a property under his wing unless he has been personally involved in its development.

An impressive two decades in the business, Joanne Phillips of TC Safari has spent 14 of those 20 years managing vacation villas while living on Provo. Now located in the US, she is a booking agent providing her extensive North American and European clientele with her superior know-how and experience gained from her comprehensive background. Joanne admits she has found a definitive increase in large groups wishing to rent several vacation villas in close proximity to each other, and her extensive portfolio makes this easily achievable. “It permits friends and family groups to spend more time together in a more intimate setting”, Joanne explains. Further, she acknowledges that professionals make up a significant portion of her market, citing that, “With internet connections, they can easily stay in touch with work from the villa and still be close to family and friends. I do not know if that is good or not!” she jokingly adds, although, it is in fact the veritable reality of many professionals lives today. From quaint simplicity to quintessential luxury, Joanne has built an all-encompassing portfolio of exceptional properties, a loyal following of satisfied and repeat guests and voluminous archives of testimonials to prove it.

Prestigious Properties, an already well-established and respected real estate company offers villa property management services from beachfront cottages to the ultimate in luxurious villas for short or long-term stays. Be spoilt by their virtual multitude of accommodation choices, whose portfolio brandishes an extensive selection of condominiums, luxury villas and single-family residences, with most located directly on the beach, or within very close proximity.

With over 20 years of combined experience in the industry, their impressive list of villa accommodations and their professional service, Island Villa Management ‘guarantees your dream vacation will become a reality’.  “With the Turks & Caicos Islands fast becoming one of the most talked about destinations in the Caribbean, we have found that the clients renting our villas now have higher expectations and demands.  It is not unusual for people to want to have a chef at their disposal for the week, together with babysitters to keep the children occupied and a pre-stocked refrigerator and pantry.  In order to succeed in this competitive market we have learned to tailor our services to meet the ever changing needs of our clients.”

“All the comforts of home … all the beauty, luxury and sophistication of the Caribbean” await you with Sea Feathers Villas. “Sea Feathers is an established villa rental and property management company, based here on Providenciales and in operation for over 10 years. We provide airport greeting, island orientation, and an excellent personal service to all of our guests staying in our beautiful 1 to 6 bedroom ocean front and beach front villas. We can offer help with car rental, golf, dive packages, boat trips and fishing or pamper you with our Villa Spa Service. Children are very welcome in all our villas.”

When it comes to vacation villa rentals, personal contact is critical, insists Basia Zaidan of Tranquility Property Management and Vacation Rentals. An extensive traveller, she has amassed invaluable experience staying in villas throughout the world, has first hand knowledge of villa ownership, and quite simply, she recognizes and understands what both owners and vacationers want - hassle-free personal service. With 23 years of collective experience, she is the consummate professional, making herself available 24-7 and emphatically maintains, “You cannot just wave hello and goodbye. Villa guests deserve more than that”. 

Think about it, the two most common curiosities questioned upon when returning from a getaway are, where did you stay, and how was the food? Dining is an elemental and memorable part of any vacation experience, and vacation villas provide the flexibility of dining whenever and wherever you wish. Stock your pantry with all of your favourite culinary items from one of our well-stocked supermarkets or specialty stores, and relish in the ability to prepare your own meals at your own pace. Cater to specific dietary needs, or even those small, finicky appetites with ease. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to see all that is locally available in foods, baked goods, fresh meat and fish and fine wines. If you’ve come on vacation to ‘get out of the kitchen’ your own private chef can be arranged, or many of our dining establishments offer excellent catering or take-out services. Even if your holiday is one of seclusion, you simply must take advantage of dining out at least once, or ideally several times at many of Providenciales’ spectacular restaurants. Consult The Providenciales Dining Guide for a comprehensive collection of choices from laid back, kid-friendly and completely casual to world-class five star gourmet dining and everything in-between. Provo plays host to some of the most talented and creative chefs in the world, each offering a truly unique and unforgettable dining experience in some of the most romantic and exotic ambiances imaginable.

Aside from all the obvious factors to acknowledge when choosing a vacation villa, consider the fact that private vacation villas are exempt from the 10% service charge that is attributed to all other types of tourist accommodation. Therefore, the only additional charge is the 10% government tax, which can translate into significant savings, perhaps even an extra evening or two out.

So forget about the compulsion and urgency of having to rise at the crack of dawn to meander down to the beach with your current paperback and towel for the sole purpose of securing that coveted and elusive object of many a resort guests’ desires … a chaise lounge in a choice beachfront location or a prime poolside position … sleep in as long as you like and enjoy the ultimate in freedom, privacy and seclusion and languish in the boundless latitudes and carefree spontaneity that only a private vacation villa can afford.

STORY BY MANDY ROSTANCE-WOLF

Care was taken to ensure correctness of information at press time. Information is subject to change without notice. Ad Vantage Ltd. accepts no responsibility for such alterations or for typographical errors or omissions. Entire contents of this page may not be reproduced in any manner without written permission of Ad Vantage Ltd. © September/October 2007