What’s the most beautiful beach in the world? It’s not among the sugar-soft sands of the Seychelles or the sun-warmed playas of Spain. The most beautiful beach in the world, according to Tripadvisor reviewers this year — and who would argue with them — is Grace Bay beach on Providenciales, a Caribbean island in Turks & Caicos.
Grace Bay is three miles long, running into Leeward Beach and Bight Beach to form an unbroken seven-mile stretch of pure white sands facing the Atlantic. An offshore barrier reef keeps the water calm and shallow while the ocean’s exquisite multilayered shades of turquoise are #nofilter perfection.
Turks & Caicos consists of 40 low-level sandy islands, only eight populated, with the main action, the principal international airport, most five-star hotels and holiday homes, on Providenciales. It’s a popular fly-and-flop destination with North Americans, 1 hour and 45 minutes from Miami by plane, and the hotels that line up on Grace Bay have a solidly built American feel rather than the rustic-reggae vibe of Antigua or Barbados.
Yet the British influence is strong. Turks & Caicos is a British Overseas Territory, like Gibraltar, the Queen is head of state and BA flies in twice a week from London. These are key motivators for many homebuyers, says Sam Hunt from Hamilton Real Estate, a Savills associate.
“This is a safe, established country, and international buyers feel additional security because of the links to the UK and shared legal system,” he says. “We have great airlift with plans to expand the airport, crime is low, we use the US dollar and there’s a wide choice of accommodation from five-star resorts to mid-market resorts, all of them on truly amazing beaches.”
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Most homes are condominiums on top-price Grace Bay. Older two-bedroom homes from the 1990s in good condition start from $500,000 (£382,000) or from $650,000 to $750,000 if beachfront. New-build apartments at the Ritz-Carlton, the first 12-storey building on Grace Bay, are closer to $2.5 million. Hunt’s average sale last year was $1 million, which would buy an inland villa with three bedrooms and a pool. As Providenciales is a slender ribbon of an island, 17 miles long and only four miles wide around Grace Bay, “inland” is a relative term.
Demand for homes has rocketed. Sotheby’s reported a year-on-year 158 per cent increase in annual sales volume in 2021 and a 30 per cent increase in average prices. Hunt too has had his busiest season in 15 years, with inquiry and sales numbers booming. He quotes a 25 per cent increase in British buyers, many digital nomads taking advantage of the Permanent Residence Certificate for investors. This allows anyone spending $1 million on property to stay long-term, instead of the 90-day limit for British passport holders.
“We’ve seen a 15 to 20 per cent increase in prices since the start of Covid, especially at the top of the market,” Hunt says. “Last month a $3.5 million condo, new to the market, had seven offers in five days, all from cash buyers. It went to sealed bids and sold for $250,000 over the asking price.”
Ten minutes west from Grace Bay, Rock House aims to bring a low-level Mediterranean flavour to Providenciales. The 14-acre site with 600ft of waterfront is developing 42 two, three and four-bedroom villas around a restaurant, bar, gym and pool built into the limestone cliff with prices from $2,125,000. Developed by Mark Durliat, the chief executive of Grace Bay Resorts, whose portfolio includes the prestigious Grace Bay Club, Rock House will operate as a hotel and property owners must put their properties in the rental pool when not using them.
“Rock House is soon to open on North Shore, also known as International Drive,” says Nina Siegenthaler, vice-president at Turks & Caicos Sotheby’s International Realty. “Other prized residential locations on Providenciales include Long Bay Beach on the southern shore, Leeward with high-end canal and beachfront homes, Turtle Tail with spectacular elevations and ocean views and Sapodilla Bay, an established vacation home area in the southwest.”
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As sales heat up on Providenciales, attention has turned to the more remote outer islands with talk of eco-resorts in the pipeline. The most famous outer island is Parrot Cay, where past and present owners of beachfront homes around the luxury hotel include designer Donna Karan and actor Bruce Willis, and where Sotheby’s has an estate newly listed at $37.5 million. Not everything runs smoothly in paradise, however. Directly opposite, almost close enough to wade across the blue waters, is Dellis Cay where the early signs of a planned but never completed five-star hotel can still be seen.
“Typically, for beachfront land, you’ll pay $3.5 million for one acre in Grace Bay and $1.5 million for five acres on lush, green North Caicos,” Hunt says. “Providenciales is still relatively underpopulated though. No cruise ships dock here. I walk on the beach with my family most days and it never feels busy.”
