A Hotel On The ‘World’s Best Beach’ Aims To Become a Caribbean Culinary Destination
A luxury resort on the world-renowned Grace Bay Beach hosts the annual Caribbean Food & Wine Festival.
It’s little wonder why Turks & Caicos’ Grace Bay Beach has repeatedly topped TripAdvisor’s annual World’s Best Beaches list. Set upon a sunny Caribbean archipelago halfway between the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic, Grace Bay’s famously powdery, utterly pristine stretch of white sand is a stunning ecological marvel.
The distinctively pockmarked beach flows into clear turquoise waters with gentle waves that are ideal for paddleboarding, kayaking, sailing, snorkeling and cooling off from the island sun. This idyllic setting is at the heart of the enduring appeal of Grace Bay Club, the first luxury all-suite resort in Turks & Caicos, which sits on 1,100 feet of prized Grace Bay beachfront in Providenciales.
All of the resort’s 82 suites face the ocean and feature private patios or verandas and island-chic interiors by designer Thom Filicia. There are also seven restaurants, three pools and a luxury spa at the property, which is a popular couples getaway and wedding destination.
Grace Bay Resorts, the company that owns Grace Bay Club and the newer, cliffside Rock House nearby, aims to further dine out on its enviable location by hosting the annual Caribbean Food & Wine Festival at both hotels.
Last month’s festival—now in its 12th year—was highlighted by a four-course tasting menu paired with wines from John Legend’s LVE Collection, a beachside cigar and whiskey tasting, and a culinary trends symposium led by James Beard Award-winning chef Meherwan Irani.
The food and wine connection comes naturally to a hotel brand that prides itself on serving fresh, locally-sourced seafood at both the flagship Grace Bay Club and the more intimate Rock House, which features a coastal Italian menu to match its Amalfi Coast-inspired aesthetic.
Both kitchens shine at churning out fresh-caught grilled spiny lobster, mahi mahi and red snapper, while Rock House’s standouts include chili crab linguini, lobster-flecked lemon spaghetti and an impressively airy eggplant parm.
“We started the Caribbean Food & Wine Festival to engage visitors in the rich culinary heritage of the Turks and Caicos Islands,” says Nikheel Advani, COO of Grace Bay Resorts.
“This was our twelfth year, and the festival has increased our culinary prominence on an international level and put Turks and Caicos on the map as an epicurean destination. It’s also a great opportunity for culinary talent from the U.S. and Europe to share their talent in Turks and Caicos.”
Grace Bay resorts is already planning on raising its game for the 2023 Caribbean Food & Wine Festival by expanding amenities at the recently-launched Rock House, a 46-suite hotel carved into the rugged limestone cliffs of Providenciales’ north shore.
Designed to evoke the cliffside vibes of Italy’s Amalfi Coast, Rock House features striking one and two-bedroom rooms jutting from the coastal limestone rock that come with outdoor terraces, floor-to-ceiling windows, 13-foot-vaulted windows, and private outdoor plunge pools.
Rock House enlisted interior designer Shawn Henderson to appoint rooms with porcelain and terrazzo flooring, oversized soaking tubs and Waterworks fixtures, full-sized SubZero fridges, and an eclectic mix of custom furnishings.
The cliffside hotel’s visual centerpiece is a 100-foot infinity pool that’s the largest in Turks & Caicos, situated near the main Beach Club restaurant and the more casual, cocktail-centric Cave Bar.
Advani says there are plans to open a “nature-themed” Rock House restaurant in 2023 along with a spa, tennis courts and elevated, two-to-four bedroom villas with 180-degree views of the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding islands designed by Coast Architects.
Both Rock House (rooms starting at $655) and Grace Bay Club (rooms starting at $700) are offering up to 30 percent off room rates as part of their Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals. Check out Grace Bay Resorts website for further details.