Reach the Beach: Luxury Resort Style in the Turks & Caicos Islands {Exclusive Feature}
Click above for a high-res image gallery
The Turks and Caicos islands in the British West Indies is well known for having the world's most beautiful beaches. It also has some of the world's most stylish and luxurious beach resorts, which are remarkable for their amazingly private settings and lush natural landscapes, far removed from the over-development that plagues some other Caribbean hotspots. The perfect setting for our latest style feature, we're sure you'll agree.
Parrot Cay, located on a pristine 1,000-acre private island, including a mile-long powdered beach, is an elegant combination of glorious nature, understated luxury and unparalleled privacy complete with an award-winning holistic spa, healthy gourmet cuisine and beach villas with private pools (above).
The villas are a favorite with celebrities including Donna Karan, Bruce Willis, Keith Richards and Sir Paul McCartney. Some like Willis and Karan were so entranced they decided to build their own beach houses on the island. Want to own one? So do we. Parrot Cay is currently offering a small selection of villas for private ownership, starting at $10 million.
The Hamptons-style three-bedroom villas are each set on an acre and a half, protected by lush vegetation and sand dunes, orientated towards the sea. The open-plan living space extends directly onto a Brazilian hardwood deck, flowing into an infinity-edged pool and on down to the beach. Here's a tip while you're saving up: you can win a five-night stay in one of Parrot Cay's villas during the Fashion & Friends for Japan charity auction through April 28.
A stylish tone is set the moment you arrive at the resort in one of Amanyara's fleet of Land Rovers and enter through a large reception pavilion opening onto a central reflecting pond surrounded by mahogany trees, framed on one side by a library and boutique and on the other side by the restaurant and bar with a dramatic infinity pool perched over the ocean beyond. Your private pavilion is infused with light and a zen-like calm.
What to wear and bring with you when staying at such luxurious and stylish locales? We've assembled some of our favorite items of the season in the image gallery, whether you've booked a villa for a week or are just having dinner at Bagatelle bistro and lounge, the chicest restaurant on the main island of Providenciales located within the alluring Gansevoort beach resort.
Click through for our favorite finds from Helly-Hansen, Vineyard Vines, R A E N Optics, Girard-Perregaux, Tod's, Rizzoli books and Royal Elastics, along with scenes from the ultimate Turks and Caicos getaway, designed to see you through the resort season in style, comfort and luxury. It's not about being flashy or flaunting your wealth, but rather relaxing, looking your best and being attuned to your surroundings. And don't forget to send us a postcard.
How to get there? As we noted last month, it's a whole lot easier now thanks to JetBlue. The eco-friendly airline known for its style and value just introduced direct service to Providenciales from New York's JFK and Boston's Logan airports. The flights leave JFK daily. At the moment the Boston run is on Saturdays and serves seasonal traffic through April, though we expect demand will be high leading to an increased schedule in the future.
