COMO Parrot Cay

I want to share how much of a positive impact El Roy had on our stay. On our first morning arriving at the beach, he immediately approached us and helped us get set up. He remembered us from our visit in 2021 and we enjoyed making that connection with him. Additionally, he very quickly learned what my husband and I enjoyed beverage and food wise and within one day his service had become anticipatory of our wants and needs. This is not something we have experienced at other hotels as the staff change daily/hourly. El Roy was like having our own personal butler on the trip which provided an extremely personal experience for us. Beach chairs were arranged for us before we arrived and our drinks were never empty. I don’t recall asking for anything- he somehow always knew what we wanted before we even knew that we did! He is someone we will never forget and he is one of the main reasons that we are already planning our next return to Parroy Cay. El Roy is a unicorn of an employee and deserves recognition for his consistent and incredible services. I never saw another group at the beach or pool want for anything. At other resorts, beach service can be chaotic and slow, but this was the first time we did not witness any guests complaining or having to ask for drinks on their own. El Roy made sure everyone was taken care of. He runs a tight ship and keeps beach services moving quickly with his ability to multitask. We have all over the world and this was a first for us. We are so grateful to have been reconnected with him and honestly I was very sad to leave him on our departure day as he felt like part of our family as that point. Additionally, we were also very impressed with how quickly the in room dining staff was able to provide items like ice, water, and other beverages within 1-3 minutes of us requesting. The pizza chef made phenomenal pizzas and we had excellent dining experiences at both restaurants. We don’t recall the food being at the level it was on this trip back in 2021. Housekeeping was also swiftly efficient. We cannot wait to return soon and you can thank El Roy for that!

We travel often to Mexico and the Caribbean but this was our first time to Turks & Caicos and we have admired Parrot Cay for a long time and were very excited to try it. While we used to be avid reviewers, we rarely find the time to do it lately but felt compelled given our experience. We are regulars at Four Seasons, Rosewood, and Cheval Blanc properties and expected this resort to be on par. Our arrival to the resort was seamless. We were chauffeured off the plane, to a private SUV and straight to a boat for an enjoyable journey to the island. As our lovely buggy driver gave us a tour, we were thinking this could be our new spot we come back to every year. Unfortunately, this was the last time we had that thought and we were consistently underwhelmed for the rest of our trip. Before we elaborate, important to highlight a few bright spots. The kids club programming is top notch and often included evening activities like movie nights, dance, or karaoke parties. The location itself is stunning and the beach and ocean is pristine. Daily yoga and Pilates are offered and were very good. There are a few staff members who are true stars and were very kind and special but unfortunately they are the exception. For the most part, the employees here do not appear to want to be at work, are candidly lazy, and in some cases even rude. I recall asking for directions to the spa from a staff member who told me “I don’t know” and let me wander off on my own. Or the woman at the Activity Centre who rolled her eyes every time we approached and told us tennis was not available (despite the courts sitting empty - someone else helped get us set up for a match). Management was not present on site at all, at least to our knowledge. We stayed in a room in the main house. It was small, dated, and not clean. A small plate of apples is in the room at check-in but taken away after the first day and not replenished. The mini bar is rarely restocked. An ice bucket is full on arrival and then sits empty for the remainder of the stay. Housekeeping lacks attention to detail and maintenance issues were common (eg. Leaky toilet) albeit rectified when flagged. My understanding is the beach rooms (unfortunately completly booked at the time of our stay) are updated and quite special - they also come with butler service while the other room categories do not. This stark difference makes you feel like a second class citizen despite the room still costing $2K+++ per night. Food was consistently mediocre or wrong. It is expensive (understandably so given everything has to be brought to the island) and unvarying with just two restaurant options. We were often charged for items we did not order and a child’s cheeseburger came rare (ordered well done) on two occasions. We mentioned it and it went ignored and uneaten…and yes still on the bill. The pool/beach attendants are hard to find and loungers are all reserved before 6am by butlers who place items on them to save them for their guests. We’ve never experienced anything like this. (To managements credit, when we mentioned this via the app, we know they tried to put a stop to it but this should be a non negotiable at a resort of this calibre). Pool towels are torn and bleach stained. Cabana cushions have mold spots. The stairs to the beach are roped off with caution tape. The spa, again, has great potential but is poorly executed. The massages are very good but you’re left to wander around the facilities on your own with no guidance or tour. I discovered at the end of my treatment that a sauna was available. The gym has many machines in need of repair. Bicycles, while available, are not delivered to rooms and many had flat tires. We could go on. Beautiful spot, great potential, big miss on service and execution.

Parrot Cay, as always, does not disappoint! It is a magical island oasis with incredible views and amenities. We truly relax and enjoy our time away from the craziness of life. We stayed in a beach house with our own butler, Richard. Richard was so attentive and accommodating. He catered to our every wish and was a pleasure to work with. He always had a smile on his face and worked hard to ensure we had a great experience each and every day that we were on the island. Thank you, Richard and Parrot Cay! We will return.

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.