Blue Haven Resort

We stayed about a week here as a couple after Thanksgiving celebrating a milestone anniversary. If chill is your vibe, this is absolutely the place to stay. There’s a lot to love about this resort, with a few caveats. Pros: - Secluded with a relaxed, peaceful atmosphere. The vibes are quiet and calm. - Always plenty of beach chairs available so there's no need to wake up at dawn to reserve a spot. - The food was delicious, and it was easy to find vegetarian and vegan options, or customize dishes to be fully vegan. I also appreciated the to-go packaged items. - The taxi the hotel arranged for our departure was nicer, private, and somehow cheaper than the shared/group taxi option - a great surprise! - Loved the ability to shuttle to The Alexandria for a change of pace. - The clear kayak tour was fantastic. We did it at sunset, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Cons: - The Alexandria definitely has the better beach since it’s right on Grace Bay. We only made it over there once and wished we had spent another full day. Their drinks were also a bit more fun. Not a major con though, just something to keep in mind. - The only true downside was the soundproofing in our room. We had a room with an adjoining door, and the noise transfer was shockingly bad. It sounded as if the other guests were literally in the room with us - like having a conversation right next to our bed. They weren’t being particularly loud; the soundproofing around the door was just that thin. I could even hear them pressing the buttons on their safe. This was a major bummer. Thankfully, the room next to us was only occupied for two nights, so it was quiet the rest of the stay, but I seriously considered calling down to request a room change.

My husband and I just returned from a wonderful four-night "babymoon" stay at Blue Haven. We selected this resort at the recommendation of our travel agent. It was our first visit to Turks and Caicos. Overall, we very much enjoyed having Blue Haven be our home base but having the ability to make frequent shuttle rides to Alexandra, the sister resort. The staff at both resorts are friendly and helpful and excellent at their jobs. I hope they know how much we appreciated them! **Location** Blue Haven is secluded, which makes it peaceful, but if you're planning on taking a stroll downtown or along the beach, you won't be able to do it from here. Everyone says the beach is better at Alexandra, which we felt was partially true. What I preferred about the beach at Blue Haven was that there were always beach loungers available, and it was quiet. There's also a Bongo water bouncer (like a giant floating trampoline) and a couple of floating ring loungers, which Alexandra does not have. My husband was looking forward to renting a Seabob but was disappointed to learn its use is only permitted within the same small area where swimming and paddle boarding are permitted. We both wanted to snorkel but were told we wouldn't see anything at Blue Haven. More on that later. One day, we asked the front desk to call us a taxi to take us "downtown" to the Shops at Salt Mill--shopping and restaurants a couple miles from the resort that you pass when traveling between BH and Alexandra. It cost us $24 for a 12ish-minute ride, which we felt was exorbitant. We wound up walking to Alexandra afterward (it's closer--about a 20-minute walk or so) and catching a shuttle back to BH. The shuttles between the two resorts run once an hour from 10:20am to 10:30pm. **Room** We stayed in an oceanfront studio with a king bed. The room was clean and spacious, with an amazing shower that my husband says got hot faster than any previous hotel shower. We were on the fourth floor and had a great view of the pool. The room had a mini fridge well stocked with water bottles and cans of soda, and a microwave. When we arrived, there were a bottle of wine and plate of desserts waiting for us. The A/C worked well. **Dining** The food was good, but we would have felt limited in our choices if we hadn't frequented Alexandra. Fire & Ice is where breakfast is served, and you can do the buffet and/or order a la carte off the menu. The regular breakfast buffet offerings include breads and pastries, fruit, an omelet station, yogurt, granola, cereal, and possibly a couple of hot options I'm forgetting. The a la carte menu (available online, along with all of the a la carte menus from both resorts) contains pancakes, French toast, various egg dishes, oatmeal, and more. Seaside Grill is where lunch is served, except on Sundays when it's closed and Fire & Ice reopens for "brunch" (actually lunch). Our favorite menu items were the coconut shrimp with cajun mayo, fish tacos, sweet potato fries, and truffle fries. Dinner options are Salt, which we didn't get a chance to eat a meal at, although my husband ordered food to-go from there twice, and Fire & Ice, which we liked but didn't love. Keep in mind both Salt and Fire & Ice close on Monday evenings when the only dinner option at BH is the Caribbean buffet offered during the Beach Party. Outside of these restaurants, Café Agave is a coffee/smoothie/dessert bar, and there's a little snack/coffee corner in the lobby where you can grab a soft drink, coffee, chocolate chip cookie, granola bar, fruit, or bag of chips 24/7. I'm purposefully not reviewing the bars because I was pregnant, so drinking was not a priority for either of us. But the bartenders made me some fantastic mocktails! **Activities** While we loved lounging by the pool and on the beach, we were also grateful for things to do. The Entertainment staff was top-notch; they brought the energy poolside beginning around 11 -12 every day. We played Bingo, Family Feud, and a fishing game, and placed a song request during song request hour. There's no night-time entertainment at BH, with the exception of live music a couple of nights a week, so we shuttled over to Alexandra a couple of nights for activities like Battle of the Sexes, a Couples' Game Show, and a Silent Dance Party. BH guests aren't given the entertainment schedule for Alexandra, but it's prominently displayed on Alexandra's property as you head toward the pool. We played pickleball one morning and borrowed bikes to ride back "downtown" for some more shopping. When we arrived, we were told that BH's bikes were unavailable for maintenance, but it was better to borrow them from Alexandra anyway, since the bike ride was much shorter from there. As I mentioned, we borrowed snorkel gear and walked from Alexandra down the beach about 25 minutes to the Bight Reef/Coral Gardens, where we saw SO MANY FISH. It was definitely a trek but worth it. Lastly, shout out to the masseuses at BH's Elevate Spa. Kanesha (I'm sorry if I'm spelling your name incorrectly) gave me an amazing prenatal massage! She's probably the reason I easily made that 25-minute trek down the beach and back despite being five months pregnant. In general, Blue Haven is a well-maintained, quiet, family-friendly-but-not-overrun-by-kids place to stay when visiting the beautiful Turks and Caicos Islands. We liked seeing the same people day after day and not struggling to find places to sit. Thank you to everyone who made this a memorable babymoon!

We just spent a week at this fabulous facility and there’s nothing bad to say about it! It met and exceeded all of our expectations, the staff is extremely cordial and helpful, and the food was out of this world! We stayed in the 1250 ft.² room and it was spacious, clean and you never felt cramped the whole time there! I read reviews beforeI go to a place and they did not lead us wrong!

Loved our weeklong getaway at Blue Haven. If you are looking for a little solitude than this is the place. The quiet, private beach was a big draw for us. The staff at Blue Haven were all so friendly and welcoming, starting with Shaneka, who showed us around upon arrival. Our favorite staffers include Kervens, Janet, Maya and Rodney. They all treated us like family and Yessica and Sly kept us properly hydrated. If you go, check out the Fish Fry on Thursday nights in town.....the best Grilled Lobster Tail on the planet. Overall food wise, dinner food is average, breakfast above average. Spa and workout facilities are cozy, but perfect. You will pay extra for any outings you want to go on, and that can add up quickly. They do have a sister resort where you can visit via a shuttle. "Alexandra" is bigger, a little louder, but not as nice. The key there is the long public beach where many stroll for hours on end. It was a great break from the hectic lives we normally lead, but hope to make it back someday to visit Blue Haven. The weather, the smiles from staff members and rhythm of the area are hard to top. 4 Stars!

This resort was a mixed bag for us. On the positive side, it is small and quiet. We enjoyed the restaurants options, which were mainly à la carte and high-quality. The resort is adjacent to the canals, where we spent hours on the stand-up paddle boards looking for sea turtles! We never had trouble getting a chair and the small size of the beach made it ideal for families with small kids. A couple things you should be aware of if you’re considering booking here: First of all, look at the map and notice how far it is from the main beach. If you are a beach walker, you really don’t have anywhere to walk here. You will want to shuttle to the sister resort. Second, we have stayed at many resorts and I would not classify this one as a 4 star. The service was mostly good but not consistently so. We were looking forward to using the bicycles but they were all broken or had flat tires. And the walls are quite thin, so we could hear our neighbors pretty clearly. I hope this is helpful for those considering a stay here. I would definitely recommend it if you have small children.