Monster villas for the whole family, discovered in Turks and Caicos

This isn’t your mom’s beach getaway, but it’s meant to be enjoyed with your mom.

A new resort development in the Caribbean, aptly named South Bank, is boosting family travel to Turks and Caicos.

Set along 31 acres of pristine coastline on the island of Providenciales – “Provo” to the locals – the country’s latest luxury residential resort has created a city of second homes. With 92 villas, the district is divided into four boutique neighborhoods, all optimized for multi-generational travel.

The resort community’s quartet of distinct residential complexes all offer slightly different takes on the same contemporary Caribbean aesthetic, with clean, straight lines, white facades and large, airy windows. While hardly camouflaged, the properties are also built to blend into their surroundings through the use of natural materials.

The 38 private dockside homes at Boathouse Residences are set on a marina, while the 18 residences at Lagoon Villas are built around a man-made lagoon. While all buildings are optimized for large broods, the 19 villas at Ocean Estates are particularly spacious, with four to six bedrooms that are as large as 8,000 square feet. Next door, Arc offers a single six-story “neighborhood” consisting of 17 “Sky Villas” designed by Italian architect Piero Lissoni.

Residents also have access to shared amenities, including tennis and pickleball courts, a fitness center and a spa.

In designing South Bank, developer Windward – which is also behind Providenciales’ Blue Cay and Nivå peninsula villa collections – kept families in mind.

“We didn’t want to create more of the same thing. We wanted to create something unique and special that maybe doesn’t appeal to everyone, but really appeals to a smaller percentage of the population,” said Windward co-founder Ingo Reckhorn. “What we’ve done with South Bank really speaks to that multi-generational travel target group. Many of our buyers are people who are in their 50s and 60s and want to create a haven for the whole family so that their children and their children’s children can come together and enjoy a special lifestyle together.”

This meant designing multiple bedrooms with shared common areas in each home – a less common offering in Turks and Caicos resorts. Privacy was also essential, so families could focus on spending quality time with each other.

To achieve this, Windward chose to build South Bank not on Providenciales’ most popular Grace Bay beach – a stretch of white sand protected from ocean swells by a barrier reef that has won the best beach in the world several times – but in the southern part of it, Long. Bay beach side.

Where Grace is home to the vast majority of upscale Turkish accommodations and businesses, Long Bay offers much less foot traffic and is, in Reckhorn’s words, “a little less curated and perfect. It’s a little more for the adventurer, if you will.”

And, for those who can afford it, it still has all the resort-level amenities just on a more personalized level, with butler service, private chefs and the like available.

“I think there are people who probably would have stayed on the Great Bay side a few years ago, but maybe they find it’s getting too busy,” he said. “Or there are people who would have stayed in self-contained villas before but missed the community aspect.”

While it’s not quite finished — South Bank opened earlier this year, with the Arc slated to open by 2026 — only two neighborhoods have units still available.

For those looking to buy, the remaining apartments on the market include three two to three bedroom villas
lots in the Boathouses neighborhood asking $2.15 million to $2.45 million each; and seven condos at the Arc, which are asking $3 million to $4.75 million each. However, her sixth-floor, 12,600-square-foot apartment is asking $20 million. Laguna and Ocean Estates are already sold.

Families who aren’t ready to pull the trigger can also try before they buy. South Bank began accepting rental reservations in May, part of a sublease management system by Grace Bay Resorts for homeowners.

After a 35% discount off the inaugural rate of $888 a night, prices are now going up ahead of the holidays. But with bookings still available from $2,875 to $3,500 per night over Christmas and New Year’s week, it’s a relative steal compared to similar villas on other Caribbean islands – even within the T&C.

So maybe leave your mother-in-law at home and treat yourself.