The Palms, Turks and Caicos

The Palms is a visually breathtaking resort. The rooms are spectacular. We had a two bedroom ocean front suite and the room was nothing short of exceptional. The quality of the suite was only matched by the outstanding service of the housekeeping staff that were attentive and thorough with their twice daily attendance to the room throughout the week. The concierge staff and tour desk were helpful prior to our arrival in helping to book dinner reservations and excursions while on the island; but much less so upon arrival. Beyond the rooms, and the pre-vacation experience with the concierge, I would say that the rest of the experience was less than I would have expected for a resort at this price point. The food was fine/average and the service was fine/average. But at this price point, a guest is likely expecting something more than "fine". Examples: Unless you are willing to get up prior to 6 a.m. to 'reserve' your spot at the pool with a non descript towel and magazine, plan to spend your time on the beach. Unless you are a regularly returning guest or owner of one of the properties on-site (which we were not) service was sporadic at best. The focus of the staff clearly went to those they were familiar with. In general, the staff (except housekeeping) seemed indifferent whether or not you needed a towel/drink/chair/table/reservation. To order food or a drink poolside normally required finding a server, pointing to where you were sitting or standing and asking them to serve you. There is a lot of talk on this site about the wonderful breakfast. The breakfast is "included" for your reservation fee. To be clear, the breakfast area is in an area covered in trees where you can look forward to having leaves blow and fall on your food and in your coffee. The "amazing breakfast" is equal to an omelet station, some fresh fruit and juice, perhaps some pancakes and pastries. Coffee is free, a diet coke will cost you $7.00. . . In general, a lovely resort, small, great beach, not crowded, but the service was lacking. Have been to many other places across other islands where the cost was far less and the staff seemed engaged and excited to welcome you to their country, to their island and to make it a memorable experience. Perhaps the 15-18% embedded tips at The Palms and the 10% service charge on the overall reservation expense dampens the focus for great service.

The Palms was a wonderful Spring Break escape! The grounds were immaculately kept, service was excellent and everyone was friendly. Nadine and the folks at the Conch Critter camp were amazing! Our daughter (8) had so much fun, kept asking to go back, and made friends, memories, and lots of crafts. Would highly recommend! SiSi on the beach and the beach bar were a daily experience with a great menu, Parallel 23 was the best meal we had on the island and such a beautiful space. 10/10, we will be back.

The Palms is a beautiful hotel with a lovely staff who make your stay as wonderful as possible. They are all so friendly and have incredible customer service. Especially, Arlean Brown who served us at the restaurant for their complimentary buffet. She was so nice and made the stay that much more special!

Another amazing 2 week stay at The Palms! We have been vacationing at The Palms every year for the past 10 years. The resort is second to none. The accommodations are outstanding and the grounds are beautiful but it's the service and the people who work at The Palms that set this resort apart from others. From the moment we arrived to greetings from Alvin and Sabine, we knew that we were home. Butler Mac was indispensable; he made sure all of our needs were met and his towel animals always brought smiles to our faces. We started our days at the superb breakfast buffet with friendly and attentive staff. Jane, Sherrie, Sandy and Fitz Roy, to name a few, were happy and eager to fulfill any needs. Most of our days were spent lounging at the beach where invaluable, service minded pool & beach staff such as Arnel, Phillippe, Jean & Robert and Pool & Beach Bar Staff Oats, Stevie, Abraham catered to our every need. Managers Neville and Clive and GM Jeff always go out of their way to welcome us back each year, make sure every detail is just right and make us feel like family. Our nights would not have been complete without a stop at The Parallel 23 Bar to see Dwayne, Freddie and Z. Plus, Dwayne makes awesome espresso martinis! While the renovations done last year are absolutely beautiful, we cannot understand why the beach bar was taken away! That amazing structure, staffed with top notch bartenders, truly set The Palms apart from any other resort in TCI and was a wonderful gathering place. Everyday, at happy hour, the beach bar was packed with people, dressed in swimsuits, having an amazing time. Over the years, we met so many great people at that bar. We love The Palms but we really miss the beach bar! The vibe is just not the same without it. Please, please bring back the beach bar!

We had a nice time at the Palms and it is a beautiful property with nice rooms, however it is billed here and elsewhere as a 5-star resort (and charges accordingly), but falls short of that level experience. It lacks the unexpected special touches that you see at that class of hotel and I would describe the service as inconsistent, unenthusiastic and generally reactive vs. anticipatory. Some examples where we felt the experience fell short: Upon arrival there was no bellman/valet to greet us and assist with luggage. I’m sure we could have asked for assistance, but it wasn’t offered. We also were not offered welcome drinks; however, we observed other guests receiving them during our stay. The breakfast buffet was adequate for a mid-range hotel stateside or maybe a convention, but lacked the quality, variety and presentation one would expect from a 4 or 5 star hotel. There was an omelet station that consistently produced overcooked omelets. There were no local or international specialties, the fruit selection was the same as you’d get out of a precut container at any grocery store and the juice options were limited and came out of a big plastic food service bottle – not fresh squeezed. Mid-way through our stay, we learned that there was an ala carte menu from another guest, but it was never offered to us as an option. If you wanted a chair at the pool you had to get up at the crack of dawn and throw down your belongings as if you were on a low budget cruise. Not once during our stay did we observe more than a third of the chairs actually occupied with people, but they were all claimed. We even observed some guests that had chairs reserved both at the pool and the beach. There was a posted policy that belongings would be removed from chairs not in use, but it was not enforced. The pool bar was a nice setup, but the experience was frequently interrupted by unsupervised children bumping into you and splashing pool water into your $20+ drinks. The bar should be a no-kids zone. We asked the hotel manager about this, but he was dismissive and did not seem to think that this behavior or children at the bar was a problem. I injured my foot during our stay and called room service to request ice be delivered to our room along with a plastic bag to help with the pain and swelling. Over an hour passed with no ice before we called back and got a curt response with no apology. Eventually the ice was delivered, but with no bag. That’s not to say that it was all bad, just not consistently a 5-star (or 4-star) experience. Certain aspects of our stay were in the 5-star range, specifically, the food and service at SiSi was great for both lunch and dinner, the grounds were beautiful and meticulously maintained and housekeeping was very friendly and attentive.