Alexandra Resort – All-Inclusive — Hotel in Providenciales

My family and I were really looking forward to our first trip to Turks and Caicos. However, with multiple teenagers we thought booking an all inclusive vacation would work best for our family. While I still think there are multiple benefits to an all inclusive resort, the Alexandra resort is not the answer. ||It’s run down and dirty. When we arrived, we were surprised by the “lobby”. It’s a building on the right when you enter the “resort” with no signage. I checked in while my husband and kids waited in the car. No valet, no bellman, no help to locate your building or room. Just a map and vague directions to locate your building on the property. It’s a cluster of old condos that they have trued to turn into a “resort” but at the end of the day, it’s still a cluster of free standing 4 story condos. ||Upon check in, I received a schedule of when and which restaurants would be open at various times of the day for certain meals. I was surprised that for an all inclusive experience there was such a limited amount of restaurants to choose from - one buffet option for breakfast daily for the entire resort, a handful of lunch options and 3 dinner options none of which all seemed to be open on the same nights. If you failed to make a dinner reservation, you might be able to walk in but it’s unlikely. Dinner service stopped at 9pm. If you missed dinner then you had to wait until the late night grill opened at 10pm. The snack shop consisted of apples and a few salads or sandwiches in a fridge in the smoothie station. Nothing I would consider snacks or want to eat other than the apples. ||The food is not fresh. The fish options are previously frozen and then often run out of food. Multiple times we waited 30-45 minutes after our reservation time to be seated. We also have a child with celiac. Very few gluten free options for her during our stay. The pizza at lunch was previously frozen. The hamburger patties were previously frozen. Limited healthy options. ||The “spa” (if it can be called that) is the bottom floor unit in one of the condo buildings. It appeared dirty and the staff lacked customer service skills to put it nicely. I canceled both my service as well as the services for my teenage daughters. I would not feel comfortable receiving a massage there much less allowing my teenage daughters to do so. ||Our second night at the resort, my youngest got sick so I stayed behind from dinner to take care of her. I asked my husband to bring me a salad and soup from the fish deck restaurant. They informed him that he could not take food to go. When he explained the situation and asked again if they could accommodate so I could eat dinner, they brought him cold soup in a coffee cup to bring upstairs to me. ||The pool - towels are stocked in the morning and not refilled during the day so if they run out mid afternoon, they’re out. The pool and beach girls are old. The cushions on the beach lounges are dirty, dingy, stained, ripped and old. No beach or pool service. In the 5 days we stayed there, one day someone came around the pool to pick up cups. Not once did I see anyone clear dirty or wet towels from pool or beach chairs during the day. ||Some members of the staff were very polite and genuinely tried to make your stay enjoyable. However, the other 80% acted like you were bothering them or it was an inconvenience for you to ask for anything - whether it was ordering food, ordering a drink at the bar or asking for clean bathroom towels. ||We checked in on a Saturday. By Monday we were talking to management about a refund so we could move resorts. Management declined despite our concerns. We asked again on Tuesday and Wednesday. Again, management declined our request to refund the pre-paid fee for nights we hoped to not be staying at the Alexandra. We weren’t asking for a full refund for nights already spent at the resort. Just a refund to allow us to move somewhere to better accommodate our family. We finally said enough and checked out on Thursday. We moved to the Ritz. The difference between the two resorts in terms of customer service, the politeness of staff, the ability to communicate with staff, the cleanliness of the pool, beach and the resort, the food and the spa are night and day. ||Unless you enjoy lighting money on fire, avoid the Alexandra at all costs. It’s a complete...

We just returned from the Alexandra Resort in Turks and Caicos and it was a beautiful vacation. I was a little hesitant after reading some of the reviews but as with many things you have to experience it for your self. With that said, I will share the following:

Resort: The resort grounds are beautiful. The landscape is very serene and boutique style which is more of my preference. Everything is pretty easy to get to and centrally located. There does appear to be areas that need to be renovated and updated but other than that, its a beautiful resort.

Rooms: The rooms are hit or miss at this time. We stayed in the Chesela building which is updated and has ocean front view. Our room was nice, modern, clean and somewhat updated. Our other family members stayed in the Prima Donna building which is not updated yet. We were able to see each other's rooms and the difference. Our family members did mention a strange smell was permeating their room. The room was nice, it included a washer and dryer but the rooms furniture and decor was very dated and could use a make over. Our room in the Cheslea did not have a washer and dryer.

Food: The previous reviews had me really scared about the food. LOL. There is more than enough food on the resort for everyone. They even have to go sandwiches, salads, a smoothie bar, fruit, and plenty of snacks. The meals are decent and again they have many options. Breakfast is buffet. Dinner also has a buffet if you can't get restaurant reservations. Lunch there are stations open for that also. I fell in love with the fish tacos at the Truck stop. There are multiple restaurants on the resort. The only weird part is most of the restaurants are outside. Not sure why folks are complaining about the food. Is it top quality best food in the world, probably not. But you will not starve, that's a fact.

Dinner Reservations: Ok, this part can get tricky. However I figured out why. Its because not every restaurant is open every day. So depending on your stay, you may or may not get to experience a restaurant you desire. I now understand how that can happen. It happened to us also. We were not able to eat at every restaurant, but again they have enough. Trust me.

Pools: I love the pool at the Blue Haven a little better because its newer and more luxury vibes. But I also enjoyed the pool at the Alexandria, the pool at the Alexandria does need to be done over. But once they do, its a nice pool. Both pools have swim up bars.

Beach: OMG!!! BEAUTIFUL!!! Period. The beach at Blue Haven is man made and small but the ocean is at Alexnadra and its gorgeous. I stayed on the beach.

Hotel Staff: Some of them just seem to not be happy that is true. Some of them are cool. But I tried to tip as many folks as possible, I think this helps. They work hard to service the guest.

Shuttle to Blue Haven: The fact that we can use both resorts is literally a win win for everyone. The guest and business for the resort we all win here. Trust me, this is a super great perk. The shuttle gets full, so be out there on time or simply wait for the next one.

Transportation around Turks: this is technically a 1 star area of this review. OMG. Have you ever paid $20-$30 to go less than 4 miles? Ok well you will in Turks. OMG! There is no Uber/Lyft so you have to rely on the local taxis and honey, they over charge. Its really insane. Everywhere you will want to go is less than 4 miles from the resort except the airport. The little downtown area to get your souvenirs will cost you more to get their round trip, than the souvenirs. Its bad. They have a fish fry festival on Thursday, you can walk to that. We walked back but paid $20 to literally go around the corner.

Airport: This is technically a 2 star area of the review. The airport needs to be done over. Period. You will see when you get there. The reason for the 2 star is because they are very organized about the situation and I have to respect that, but its past time to do the airport over. Like WOW!

I enjoyed my vacation here and I would return...

Didn't want to write a negative review but the check out process was the final straw in a mostly negative vacation experience. Long awaited trip with my two teenage daughters and my mom, celebrating moms birthday turned into a series of bleak experiences at Alexandra resort. Expectations were high for a 12K a week at a self-proclaimed "luxury" resort. I couldn't believe other reviews people wrote saying it's true luxury. I have traveled to many Caribbean and Mexican truly luxurious resorts such as Atlantis, Sandals, Grand Velas, Finest, Hyatt Ziva. Not to mention Grace Bay Club a few years ago where everything was superb. However, the only luxury at Alexandra is the amazing beach, which the hotel can't take credit for. But what they can take credit for is horrendous service. Like someone mentioned in another review, the worst service I've ever experienced at any resort or hotel. The lobby area looks like an old car dealership with a tiny table of rum, which we were not even offered. We booked a one bedroom garden suite which was supposed to accommodate 4 people. There was a king sized bed , pull out sofa and we were offered a rollaway bed. So far so good. The room smelled of old, mold and God knows what else. The sofa was so old, smelly and caved in that my daughter ended up sleeping on the balcony on a lounge chair. The roll away bed was similar with metal springs poking in your back. Multiple calls for extra pillows and blankets because we would be given one item at a time. All guests were supposed to receive complimentary beach bags - we didn't. Housekeeping would be done at 4pm and leave 1 tiny bottle of shampoo and shower gel for 4 people. Not the luxury I'm used to. We had to go down to reception to request toiletries and Adrian was kind enough to send some to our room. The resort has a very confusing dinner schedule and you have to make reservations on line. Food was decent, however cocktails were lacking. The beach is amazing and plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas both at the beach and pool. After a few nights of my daughters not sleeping we had to escalate to the general manager and requested to move to their boutique sister hotel Blue Heaven. Priscilla and Cleopatra were very accommodating, listening to our complaints and apologetic. We were offered a two bedroom suite at BH for extra $1600 a night which we declined. We were then offered a two bedroom ocean view suite at Alexandra. While, the accomodations and housekeeping definitely improved after we moved , the general attitude of most of the staff did not. Most servers seemed unfriendly, some bordering on rude. It seemed like they are doing you a favor. Very few smiled, greeted us or asked about our day. Don't expect to get refills on drinks, no one cares. They would make faces and ignore us. Marjorie at the Fish Deck, however was very friendly and accommodating, when we didn't have a reservation. I had to get a replacement bracelet for my daughter as it tightens on its own and Merkenly at the front desk gave me a lecture they only have a set number of bracelets for their guests, while making faces with another lady behind the counter. Coincidentally, observing check in at Blue Heaven, guests were told to come up if the bracelets became too tight. Same Merkenly at checkout didn't say a word to me, not thank you for staying, not offering to assist with luggage (considering we were two women and 2 girls traveling). A very unpleasant experience overall. Moms birthday, mentioned several times at check-in to the managers - went unnoticed. Not a flower, balloon or even a card. Disappointing. The highlights: The beach Spa at Blue Haven - Katya was phenomenal. Sly at the bar in Blue Heaven - amazing cocktails Fire and Ice restaurant at Blue Heaven - amazing service and shout out to the hostess who made my mom's birthday memorable. Marjorie, Priscilla and Cleopatra - thank you but something needs to change with service in your resort. Rooms are in need of my major upgrades. Unfortunately, this trip left a bittersweet taste...