Infinity pool at Gansevoort TC
The bride and groom say their vows in front of the sea under a canopy billowing in the wind, their guests sitting in front of them on white-covered chairs. There’s no one else on the beach.
It couldn’t be more romantic or beautiful. I’m watching from my balcony of my room at the Gansevoort on Turks and Caicos, where the wedding couple and their 80 guests have been ensconced for the last few days. (www.gansevoorttc.com)
I’ve had a pretty terrific day of my own—an early anniversary gift since we also got married in November on Thanksgiving weekend (27 years ago).
I started with a “core fusion” class—a really good work out that is taught on in an open air pavilion and is so popular with locals that they outnumber the hotels guests at every class, the instructor told me.
After an excellent breakfast of fresh fruit and yoghurt (and my husband’s spinach and goat cheese omelet) we took a long leisurely walk down the beach—it stretches for 12 miles of gorgeous white sand, all marine sanctuary. We thought of snorkeling but the water was too choppy so we walked back, settled ourselves at The Gansevoort’s drop dead gorgeous square pool—it even has floating islands with beach chairs on them and ordered bloody marys.
Nice! So nice to have a day all to ourselves in such a beautiful spot. Last night over a wine-pairing dinner showcasing the Gansevoort’s chef’s specialties general manager Grant Friedman told me that “if we have 10 arrivals, at least half are honeymooners or couples celebrating anniversaries.”
And just since the hotel has opened last March, there have been quite a few engagements too, celebrated with candlelit dinners on the beach or those floating pool islands.
That’s not to say kids aren’t welcomed. They are and Friedman says his staff will arrange special activities for them. It’s just that this is so designed for adults to relax. You can’t quite imagine kids doing cannonballs into the pool—as they are a short walk down the beach at Beaches where the beach is crowded with families building sand castles, playing football, and playing in the water rather than canoodling couples. At the Beaches pools, kids are giggling and splashing and jumping and no one cares.
With kids, I’d want to be down the beach at Beaches. With just my husband, I’m happy to be here at the Gansevoort. Watching the wedding brings back memories of our own and our Caribbean honeymoon oh so many years ago.
Since this is supposed to be a “romantic” weekend I talk my husband into a couples massage at the Gansevoort’s spa with its own private garden and outdoor shower just outside the treatment room. I’m so relaxed, the masseuse jokes, she thought she should check my pulse. That’s a rarity.
My husband enjoyed it too. Now we’re heading to another resort, The Somerset on Grace Bay for Dinner while the wedding festivities continue here.
We meet up with Karen Whitt, a Texan who is the general manager of the beautiful 69-unit resort and also happens to be president of the local hotel association. This resort is only two years old and the spacious units (3200 square feet for a three bedroom!) cry out for a family reunion or for close friends to gather with the spectacular pools and beach.
The restaurant Soleil, where we join Karen for dinner, in fact, has the reputation for being the best fancy eats on the island and I can’t disagree–beetroot salad with goat cheese, grilled local lobster, risotto and deserts to die for– the chocolate lava cake. Yum! I could see my family here or close friends enjoying a few days respite with the wrap around decks, barbequing.
When we got back to the Gansevoort, the wedding festivities were in full swing. We smiled and went to bed.
END of Turks and Caicos Travel Diary