The Meridian Club, Turks and Caicos

This 13 room hotel is on a beach that is spectacularly beautiful. The turquoise blue water and white sand beach is the picture of perfection. Because the hotel only has 26 guests, maximum (although they are adding 2 more cottages which will be available by the end of the year), you are unlikely to see anyone at all as you take long walks along the 2 mile beach. The Tiki huts scattered along the beach are set back, often behind dunes. The only lounge chairs set up with a direct view of the water are near the beach bar and are in direct sun. The hotel does not provide or allow umbrellas except for the wonderful tiki huts which are permanently positioned a few yards in front of each room. This piece of paradise is not for everyone as it is extremely quiet, and if you do not like reading books on the beach all day, you may be at a loss. There are no floats, paddle boards etc. available to use in the water. However they do have 3 Hobie catamarans that are available. There are kayaks on the other side of the island but you need a golf cart to get there, and we did not find the spot particularly inviting. There is no sightseeing and the rest of the island is rather scruffy and rustic in appearance. The food is good and beautifully presented. Our only complaint is that breakfast service was really slow, taking 10 minutes to get coffee brought to the table and another 15 to 20 minutes to get our order of eggs etc. However, after a few days, we got used to the pacing. The rooms are simple--we stayed in both a cottage and a regular room. The cottage bathroom and screened- in porch are larger than those in the regular rooms but the bedrooms seemed to be the same size in both room types.The room decor is not fancy but fits the beach setting perfectly. Twice a day Housekeeping was wonderful and towels and linens are of the highest quality. The entire staff was gracious and friendly, contributing to the lovely atmosphere and very friendly vibe of this special dot on the map. We look forward to returning!

Overall we really enjoyed our vacation here, but there are a few things we wish we would’ve known in advance (even our TA was unaware…). Here’s the rundown of our April stay: The staff is incredibly warm and friendly, especially those from South America and Antigua. The cuisine is 5-star, service and hard product are 4-4.5 stars (more on that below). Every meal was amazing, just wish they knew how to make a proper espresso drink. The beach is STUNNING! Photos don’t do it justice. Oftentimes I would walk on the beach for an hour and cross paths with no one. Take a Hobie Cat to the sandbar and search for sand dollars - such a unique experience. The rooms were nice but not luxurious. Nothing more to say on the hard product. We loved the room setup, especially spending evenings relaxing on the screened porch. There’s no nightlife - not even live music. Zero. None. They don’t play music throughout the property and don’t allow you to play music unless in your room. There are no TVs on property. We’re active mid-40s DINKs and were bored out of our minds after two days. This resort is intended for those that want to truly disconnect and have no interest in anything other than good cuisine and a lovely beach… We’d love to go back for another visit when we retire. They tell you they offer butler service via WhatsApp. However, we often had to trek to the front desk because we rarely, if ever, received responses. Anytime we’d inquire about the status of our WhatsApp request, it was clear they hadn’t monitored WhatsApp. Hence my 4-4.5 star rating for service (+0.5 stars for the amazing staff from Antigua & South America). We’ve stayed throughout the Caribbean and understand service is generally slow-paced. We booked through my TA. Because we booked a Virtuoso rate we should’ve received a welcome amenity. We didn’t, so I inquired several hours after our arrival and was told since our stay was only six nights and not considered a full week, no welcome amenity was included. We paid $2k+/night to stay here and they couldn’t spring for a bottle of champagne on our arrival?! I contacted my TA and magically our welcome amenity arrived about an hour later. Supposedly this is a non-smoking property which is a complete lie. On our next-to-last day a chain smoker checked-in next door to us and ruined our final 24 hours. Our room stunk like cigarettes nonstop and we couldn’t enjoy our room’s outdoor spaces because the next door guest was outside nonstop smoking. Upon checkout we never even received an apology - just an assurance they’d add a notice on their web site for future guests (which to-date hasn’t happened). Even a Ritz-Carlton would’ve at least comp’d beverages for the inconvenience.

We had an absolutely perfect week at beautiful Pine Cay! The most stunning water and soft, cool sand and miles of quiet, empty beach. This was the first vacation in a long time I was truly able to unplug and recharge. Food was delicious and varied, and drinks and wine options were also tasty and plentiful. Thank you to Timothy, Andres, Levi, Oscar, and Gustavo for taking such wonderful care of us! Yoga on the beach with Lucia was fabulous—I enjoyed it 3 different mornings! We went out on the snorkel boat twice, did the Sunday snorkel at the reef balls and had the amazing experience of getting to see the glow worms a few days after the full moon. Thank you to Kenny and the rest of the water sport staff and captains for making the outings such fun and providing so much entertainment all week. Travel was smooth and convenient, from the pickup at the airport to the marina and boat and back again. I have a big smile on my face just writing this review and remembering what a special place this is. I can see why one of the couples we met was there for their 26th time!!