Are you looking for the next best place for your destination meeting or event? Seeking a place where sophistication reigns, but convenience is paramount? Call off your search, as the Turks & Caicos is your new meeting and event paradise. This stunning collection of islands in the Caribbean is a direct flight from Newark or JFK. Go from standing in line at TSA to toes in the sand in under three hours. Unlike many other Caribbean resorts where the ride from the airport is long and arduous, most of the island’s resorts, including The Palms and The Shore Club, are within a 15-minute drive.
The first thing that hits you upon arrival is the impossibly beautiful hue of the water. Its beauty defies photography and one of the top spots on the island to soak up the sun is Grace Bay Beach. Consistently chosen as one of the world’s best beaches, this stretch of sand is home to The Palms. This luxury resort rests on 12 acres and though its home to just 72 posh suites, it offers the services of a much larger property. Decorated with an elegant British Colonial style, the suites feature ample space for relaxing and unwinding in between power meetings. Windows and terraces frame picture-perfect views of the beach and Caribbean Sea. Surrounded by all of this beauty, it’s almost a crime to have to get down to work, but The Palms makes transitioning from pleasure to business—and back again— a snap. Indoors, the Messel Ballroom, one of the largest on the island, accommodates up to 100 attendees and can be divided for two meetings of 50. There is also a terrace that makes a nice spot for breaks and receptions.
Of course, when you’re in a setting this stunning, why not take advantage of it and hold your event under the stars? The croquet lawn is popular with groups and can be tented for various sizes, but the beachside deck beside the oceanfront infinity pool makes for a particularly alluring event space. By day, the 25,000-square-foot spa is a bastion of relaxation, but by nightfall it transforms into an intimate setting complete with a magically lit reflecting pool.
While The Palms is well-suited to larger groups and incentives, its sparkling sister property, The Shore Club, is the ideal Caribbean corporate retreat destination for decision makers and power brokers. This resort is the last word in luxury. It whispers its elegance on a quiet and undeveloped stretch of Long Bay Beach. Getting away from it all to a world of refined sophistication is the mantra at this resort, where 106 ocean-view suites welcome guests to a soothing and serene take on coastal décor. Walls made of crushed coral, hand-painted tiles in the bathroom … the details are dramatic in these five-star accommodations.
If they can pull themselves away from the captivating views of the cerulean sea, there’s plenty to keep your guests busy. Pools, tennis, water sports (kite surfing is popular on this beach), yacht charters and spa services at Dune Spa, where each treatment room is its own stilted hut set to the gentle soundtrack of ocean breezes, are all on offer. With all of this, it’s easy to forget that there’s work to be done, but The Shore Club easily accommodates guests with a sleek ballroom suitable for 350 guests and buy-outs of the chic SUI-REN and Sea Grapes restaurants, where open-air is de rigueur. From its lush, private setting to its top-notch service, plentiful amenities and stylish accommodations, The Shore Club is the spot for impressing the C-Suite client.
