Believe it or not, I won!
I couldn’t believe it myself when I received the official announcement letter back in 2008 but it was true.
I entered a code found in a perfume package just on the web page of the producer and hit the jackpot.
Twelve days and nights for two in a five-star resort on a private secluded island south-east from the Bahamas.
And as if that wasn’t enough, it was all, and I mean all, included. Flights from Germany over Miami to the capital Providenciales of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Transfer by boat to the island Parrot Cay which is really private and secluded plus a big amount of pocket-money for lunch, dinner, massages and other amenities.
When I called my best friend to ask her if she would like to join me she first thought I was kidding but then quickly said of course we go.
Women planning a trip – what to say? A man would just pack his swim trousers, one or two pair of denims, some shirts and ready to go…
But we started lists which grew longer on a daily basis. Clothes for the beach, for breakfast, for dinner, for walks around the island, for relaxing time just sitting on the balcony, for the night, for the trip itself, sun protection, body lotion, book, sunglasses, several pairs of shoes, camera, arranging documents, are our last vaccinations still active, do we need thrombosis prophylactic stockings for the more than ten-hour flight…I can go on for ages like this, women will understand, haha. We ended up with really heavy luggage just at the edge to pay overweight and our hand luggage was what some need for a three-day trip.
Here we go, two normal girls on their way to an island where we found out Bruce Willis has a villa as well as Donna Karan.
After the first ten-hour flight to Miami we were desperate for a coffee and for gods sake the first we saw after getting out of the gate in Miami was Starbucks right in front of us.
Our flight to Providenciales was delayed so how do women spend time while waiting? Correct, do some shopping, the first piece were sunglasses and the second a zebra scarf. We quickly realized on the island itself that there was only one shop at the reception and not a shop which was affordable for us. Unusual but this trip wasn’t filling up our suitcases.
Landed in Providenciales we were picked up by hotel staff for the boat transfer to the island itself. At arrival it was already dark so the whole beauty of the secluded island wasn’t visible for us that night. It hits us the next morning when we stepped out on the balcony and were welcomed with sunshine, orchids and birds chirping. Relaxation! Silence! Beauty! Food! The terrace for breakfast was directly in front of our room and turned out to be the perfect start for a day – they offered everything you can imagine. There was not one single piece you can think of which wasn’t served. It just took a few days for the servants to realize that we will need a second table to put the amounts we were ordering each day right in front of us. Pancakes with syrup, waffles with slices of mango, fresh orange juice, scrambled eggs with bacon, sunny-side-up eggs, coffee, cereals, fruits, … Before arrival we were thinking about leaving the island for a day trip once or twice during our stay, but when being there we got into a full relax mode, which you could call also lazy mode. If there’s no lack of anything and you feel completely pampered there’s no reason to change it. This mode was starting off with the breakfast followed by beach with book & fruit cocktail, during lunch time we went to the bibliotheque where cookies or cake and tea were offered and where it was cooled down. The bibliotheca was also the only place with access to the web. Afterwards we either went back to the beach / pool area or enjoyed the balcony of our room. And dinner was each night a ceremony of starter, main course and dessert, no way to leave one course as they all were so delicious. Instead of leaving the island we booked massages and went to the area with steam rooms and sauna, which is awesome even in the Caribbean sea as you have orchidees around you and stunning sea views. All shower and body care products offered there underlined the feeling of total relaxation. I never thought twelve days on an island without places to shop or heritages to look at will keep me to stay there more than forty-eight hours in a row but honestly, enough food, the sea, the weather and lots of silence were more than sufficient for us. We didn’t even had a slight thought about leaving for shopping or crowded places.
What’s the main conclusion after this trip?
If you win it, definitely accept and go! If you have to book it yourself you may choose another location which is not that expensive because it was expensive, almost not affordable for ‘normal’ people. If you want an idea, the trip for us with a stop over flight from Europe, twelve nights breakfast included was about twelve thousand Euro. A three course dinner was around one hundred dollar for two persons. We never had lunch and didn’t missed it as it was warm during this time and after the extended breakfast also not hungry.
They offer a lot of massages and treatments which are had to resist, at least once is a must during a staying.
Not much of us are falling into the category ‘I don’t care about money because I have enough’, if yes, book and relax.
If not, honestly, there are lots of offers even around the Turks and Caicos islands which are affordable. It won’t be the secluded exclusive island with security boats during night. This is a ‘nice to have’ but not really something desperately needed for relaxing holidays. I have seen the beaches and the surrounding out there and it’s awesome. White beach and turquoise water raise instantly a vacation mood, at least for me. I think I is kind of similar to the Maldives but I cannot assure it as I haven’t been there yet. I would imagine it to be similar. Nevertheless – we loved our stay and if I’m ever in the situation of having too much money I may consider to go to a second time but with my fiancé. It’s a romantic place where many spend their honeymoon or even get married.
In holiday mood? Enjoy a few pictures of the island.