Grace Bay Club

Ten years ago, we almost honeymooned at the Grace Bay Club. We ended up at the Hotel Bora Bora instead (which changed the course of our vacations for years to come). But for sentimental reasons, we decided to give the GBC one night of our stay. DavidO booked us under the Suite Deals and Virtuoso packages which was a tremendous value including an upgrade if available, full American breakfast, French sparkling wine, tropical fruit plate, early check-in, late check-out, and a $100 food and beverage credit. The property had tripled in size the last decade and while there were still adults-only sections, it seemed to cater mostly to families. We were met by the Director of Guest Experience, Prasad Sankaran, a very personable Aman-type manager who frequently checked in on us to make sure we were being taken care of.

Our 1,748 square foot suite was beautifully appointed with an ocean-viewed living room and bedroom, a full-sized, fully equipped, modern granite kitchen, an expansive stone veranda, a large master bathroom with oversized tub and shower, a powder room, and even a washer and dryer. There was a butler team assigned to each building and we were given a cell phone to speed-dial the butlers directly.

The entire resort (including all rooms) took advantage of the oceanfront setting with views throughout. There was the Infinity Bar with live (but not loud) music for adult socializing and when we wanted more privacy, there were several little nooks with lanterns hanging from the trees.

We had dinner at the fine dining restaurant, Anacaona. The restaurant had a dress code, but for those wanting to dress more casually the menu (all menus, actually) could be ordered off of from anywhere on the property. We made our reservations ahead of time and requested a table on the edge of the beach which was very romantic at sunset. Service and food were excellent, with a special emphasis on locally-caught seafood. Breakfast was an oceanfront buffet with the usual eggs, meat, pastries, yogurt, fruit, etc. but they also served the local favorite (and Mr. Ericka’s new favorite) conch and grits.

Grace Bay is a several-mile long beach that is strikingly beautiful, but it is home to many resorts and condominiums which means there is a lot of foot traffic and families. If you don’t like this level of activity, this might not be the resort for you. Beach service was also a little off. We decided to enjoy a beach bed at about 4:30pm and didn’t receive any water or towels until we asked for them. We were supposed to receive a flag so that we could order drinks, snacks, etc. but that never happened. It seems the beach boys had mentally shut down for the day. We also noticed a GBC worker dragging a large garbage bag along the beach picking up dozens of bottles. Why hadn’t those been picked up earlier?