COMO Parrot Cay

We chose COMO Parrot Cay for its wellness ethos, ability to handle food allergies and intolerances and quiet, laid-back vibe. This week long stay in Turks & Caicos started shakily, but ended a triumph! Getting to COMO Parrot Cay is quiet a trek, coming from the UK, involving an 9 hour flight to Nassau, an additional 1 hour flight to T&C, then a 30 min car journey to the port, followed by a 30 min boat, and finally a 10 min buggy ride to the hotel from the dock. Check-in was done at the port before boarding the boat, so on arrival at the hotel we were greeted with smiles, a cold towel and a really hot (but delicious) ginger tea. We were then escorted to our rooms (carrying said hot tea). Note to the hotel, either make the tea a drinkable temperature, or deliver the tea to the room on arrival. We stayed in rooms 602 & 603, interconnecting terraced rooms that overlooked the densely planted flora and fauna. I’m not sure if all terraced rooms are priced the same, but the outlook during the day we felt was quite oppressive, and certainly has little view. Rooms in the 200 – 300’s had wider opening views of the lawns, which would have been nicer. Unfortunately, 602 had a few issues which weren’t fully dealt with during our stay. The TV was unwatchable due to signal issues (this was common in other rooms too), which, on the face of it, we didn’t really care too much about as we’re not there to watch TV, but it would have been nice to be able to see some of the closing Olympics. But also, if this is a common issue, either fix it across the hotel, or don’t have a TV. Our shower pressure was pretty poor, and despite the hotels efforts to fix this, it was without much success. Our mosquito net had a hole in it, and generally didn’t feel up to scratch for that kind of price point. I could go on, but it would be unfair as some of my gripes are more personal preferences, but they are the similar issues that affect 90% of the hotels we stay in! It sounds like I’m nit-picking here, but at $2,000 a night, we expected the room to be faultless. The free mini bar was a welcomed addition though, which is replenished each day with sodas, juices, beers and water. Breakfast is taken at the Terrace restaurant with a simple cold buffet (fresh fruits, yoghurts, cereals etc) with hot options such as French Toast, Eggs etc and was very pleasant. We took lunch at the beach club most days which serves a variety of pizzas, fish and meats. There is also the option of the COMO Shambala Wellness Menu, which is catered more for those looking for a healthier option. Dinner is served from one of the 2 restaurants, Lotus (an Asian affair) and the Terrrace (Italian cuisine), both change menus daily, but are not open every day, they alternate some days but some days are both open! Food from both restaurants was very good to excellent, the Lotus was our family’s favourite. Allergens are noted on the menus, however, our biggest issue was that “V” meant either Vegetarian OR Vegan. Our daughter has severe allergies to eggs, dairy and seafood, and mealtimes can be stressful, especially if a plate might or might not have eggs. We had emailed the hotel about the allergies ahead and was assured it would be noted by the staff and kitchen. We don’t feel it was. On Saturday evenings the hotel has a BBQ night, which certainly did not consider food allergens and was the perfect breeding ground for cross contamination. At $150 per head, this was the straw that broke the proverbial camel. On Sunday we spoke with the general manager, Shameka. Who showed great concern over our issues and promised to make it right. By lunchtime that day, she had kept her promise, had spoken to the staff and the kitchens, and upgraded us to another room. This was the defining moment for our holiday. We were moved to 1001, a beach front villa complete with our own butler Vladimir, who was outstanding. From that moment on, meal times were taken care of and the stress disappeared. Vladimir would send us the evening menus in the afternoons so our daughter could choose what she would like and then he would check the allergens for her thus avoiding any mealtime stress. I can’t tell you how much of a difference this made to our holiday and took it from “it’s ok” to “we’d love to come back”. A quick word about the beach front villa. It is in a different class altogether from our first room. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (one with an al fresco shower, both showers worked), sitting room, and a terrace overlooking a private pool and direct access to the beach. Turn down service was flawless, and Vladimir, the butler, was superb. COMO Parrot Cay, is a lovely destination with waters so blue I had to keep pinching myself that it was real. However, on an island that has around a dozen private houses to the likes of rock stars and models, it does come with a hefty price. Each meal was around £100 - £150 per head (not including alcoholic drinks), but breakfast is included in the price though! The other quick mention is the spa – a slice of tranquillity that transcends you to another place. The massages and facials were very good, but again, very expensive. All in all, this is a high-end luxury resort, which comes at a price. But the service was great, the location felt very private, the spa was serene, and the way in which they handled our major concern showed true understanding of guests needs. Yes it was a shame that we had to complain to begin with, but it was turned around very quickly, and we can’t wait to return. Shameka, the general manager and her team, (to mention a few by name, Elroy, Alex and Yoga around the beach club, Om and Shirley in customer relations, Gabriele and Purnami in the restaurants, Laquisha and Patricia in the activities centre and of course Vladimir) looked after us and it was really nice to have these people play such a part in making our holiday that much more enjoyable. CONS: Very expensive Those with certain allergens need to be aware Some minor gripes with the rooms that don’t warrant the price point Avoid the 600 rooms PROS: The service The people The food The quiet exclusive vibe If you can afford it, go for a beach villa

We really enjoyed our 5 day stay at Parrot Cay. We stayed in villa 1021 at the very end of the beach and our butler Richard made our vacation perfect. He was thoughtful about our needs and interests and made sure that we were taken care of the entire time, from showing us around the island to getting us great tables and taking care of us at breakfast, lunch and dinner, to helping us book spa appointments and yoga, and taking us to plant a coconut tree - it was a fabulous weekend in a beautiful location. All of the staff are delightful and the resort is private, calm and beautiful.

My wife and I had a wonderful time here early January. The facilities and staff are lovely! We particularly loved Elroy at the beach front, and Kobe our Kayaking guide.

Really great stay on Parrot Cay. This was after Ambergris Cay, Salt Cay and Provo and almost three week holiday, sadly only three night on Parrot Cay. This was our favourite stop. WHAT WAS GREAT : (1) The staff & the service - outstanding and we especially loved the many staff from Bali (2) Room - very nice inside (3) Food - was great especially the Asian food (4) The bar by the beach - outstanding and amazing cocktails (5) Top management - outstanding, check ed all was OK, very good (6) The Bone Fishing - Capt Eddy in his skiff from Provo, it was outsourced but amazing and he was great. Loads of bone fish and the mangroves are stunning and managed to catch a 10lb plus fish for the first time (7) Spa - The massages were as good as it gets anywhere in the world. NOT SO GREAT (1) The boat pick up - OK but boat not as luxury as we would have expected from a resort like this (2) Bikes - should be given to you and parked by your room on arrival (3) The normal room - has no sea view, not great but we got used to it (4) The clubhouse - not great, very uncomfortable dining tables and chairs on the terrace. The terracotta tiles have got to go and be replaced by light coloured natural stone, they look dirty and tired and the white walls are not great either, glass would be way better (5) The gardens - need more tending and more hibiscus and bouganvilia (flowering plants). Lots of dead leaves everywhere and plants not in great shape and everywhere needs raking out. Overall very good and we will come back

We stayed at this hotel in November. Overall, the experience was decent, but the cleaning could definitely be better. We also found cockroaches in the room, which was quite disappointing. Another issue was the coffee. It was extremely watery — I usually enjoy filtered coffee, but this one tasted as if they were saving on the beans. It was barely colored and had no flavor at all. In a place that presents itself as high-end, you expect a much better quality of coffee. But the ocean and the beach was lovely)