Booking with us, arriving at the villa, and everything about the stay itself. For general Turks and Caicos travel info, see our travel information page. If your question isn’t in either, we’d rather you ask us direct. We answer the phone ourselves.
FAQs
The questions we hear most.
And how we usually answer them.
Booking with Us
Getting to the villa and settling in.
Do I book direct with Hummingbird, or through a platform?
Direct is best. Our own rates are our best available, our terms are more flexible, and you’ll be looked after by the same team from first email through last morning.
Third-party platforms and travel advisors are how many guests find us, and we work with them all. But once you’re ready to book, coming direct means every part of the arrangement can be shaped around your trip.
What’s the deposit and payment schedule?
Fifty percent at booking to hold your dates, and the balance due sixty days before arrival. If your trip is booked inside sixty days, the full amount is due at booking.
We can phase deposits for longer stays or larger groups if that helps. Just ask.
What is your cancellation policy?
Sixty days out from arrival for a full refund of your deposit. Inside sixty days, we do what we can to work with you.
Where a trip has to shift because of weather, illness, or something else beyond your control, we’re often able to move your dates rather than lose the booking. Just tell us and we’ll find a way.
What’s included in the villa rate?
The villa itself and a concierge from your first email to your last morning. Most of our villas include daily housekeeping, butler, welcome provisions, arrival and departure transport.
Optional extras like a private chef, boat charters, tours, and sitters are billed on top and only if you want them.
Are there minimum stays?
Most villas require a minimum of four to seven nights, with longer minimums over Christmas, New Year, and other peak weeks. We’ll confirm the exact minimum when you enquire about specific dates.
Can you hold dates while I decide?
Yes, for a short window. Tell us and we’ll hold your dates while you talk to the rest of your party. If we haven’t heard back within a few days, we’ll gently release them so someone else can consider the dates.
Before You Arrive
Getting to the villa and settling in.
Do you offer airport transfers?
Yes, included with almost every villa. Your driver will meet you at arrivals, help with bags, and take you straight to the villa. Fifteen to twenty minutes to most villas.
Where transfers aren’t included, we can arrange transport separately at whatever time works for your flight.
Do I need a car?
It depends on the villa and your travel style. Grace Bay villas are walking distance to restaurants and shopping. Turtle Tail, Sapodilla Bay, and Blue Mountain villas are quieter, and a car helps for daytime exploring.
We’ll advise once we know your plans, and can arrange a hire car if useful.
Can you pre-stock the villa with groceries?
Yes. Send us a shopping list before you arrive and the fridge will be stocked when you land. We can also handle drinks orders, wine deliveries, or a full welcome supper waiting for you.
What should I pack?
Light clothes, medications, and a good book. Everything else the villa provides. Beach towels, snorkelling gear, most sun cream. A light layer for evenings when the wind picks up.
We’ll send a pre-arrival note with specifics for your villa.
What time can I check in?
Standard check-in is four in the afternoon and check-out is eleven in the morning. We can often flex this for early or late flights. Tell us your travel plans and we’ll do what we can.
During Your Stay
The villa and the day-to-day.
Is there Wi-Fi in the villa?
Yes, in every villa, throughout. Speed is reliable enough for streaming, video calls, and remote work.
Is there daily housekeeping?
Daily housekeeping is included in most villas. A housekeeper quietly tidies through the day, keeping the villa in order without you needing to think about it. For larger villas and those with butlers, the villa is looked after all day.
One villa in the collection has weekly housekeeping only, with additional cleans available on request.
Is there air conditioning?
Yes, in every bedroom and most living areas. Villas are also designed for cross-breezes and shaded outdoor spaces, so many guests happily go with ceiling fans through the day.
Can I bring children?
Yes. All of our villas welcome families with children of all ages. We can arrange baby monitors, high chairs, cots, sitters, and children’s meals through the private chef.
All villas have some children’s equipment avialble, it varies. Tell us the ages of the children and we’ll suggest the right villa.
Are events allowed at the villa?
Small private gatherings for villa guests, birthdays, anniversaries, quiet celebrations, are welcome.
Larger events with outside attendees need to be discussed in advance and may require additional arrangements. Villa weddings and retreats are handled on a bespoke basis by our retreats team.
Services and Extras
What we can arrang and how.
How does the private chef service work?
Add a private chef to any stay. Your chef will discuss menus with you before arrival and shop for what you need. Peas and rice, cracked conch, fresh fish, tasting menus, dietary-specific plans, we’ve done them all.
Chefs work by the meal or by the day. Learn More
Can you arrange boat charters, diving, and excursions?
Yes. Everything from half-day snorkelling with the kids to full-day fishing charters, private diving with a captain we’ve known for years, sailing to the outer islands, or a cruise and cliff-jumping over in West Caicos.
Tell us what you’re curious about and we’ll match you to the right people. Learn More
Do you offer childcare and babysitting?
Yes. We work with trusted local sitters who’ve cared for our guests’ children for years. Some of them have known the family from before Hummingbird existed. Book in advance or arrange day-of for an evening out.
Can I have spa treatments or a massage in the villa?
Yes. Massages, facials, and other treatments can be arranged in the villa on request, either day-of or booked in advance. Your therapist will bring what she needs.
Can you help with special occasions?
Yes. Birthdays, anniversaries, honeymoons, family reunions, milestone celebrations. Tell us what you’re marking and we’ll shape the trip around it.
Cakes, flowers, private chef dinners, hidden beach picnics, sunset boat drinks, whatever fits.
What taxes and service charges apply?
The Turks and Caicos government charges twelve percent on all tourism services. Villa rentals, hotels, restaurants, boat charters, and more. A ten percent service charge is also standard across villas, hotels and restaurants.
Both are itemised on your Hummingbird invoice for what we arrange, agreed in advance. No surprises.
Anything else?
Ask us.
If your question isn’t here, just ask us. It’s how we like it.
Tell us what you’re wondering about. Booking, the villas, the trip, the island. We’ll write back properly, from a person.
A handpicked collection of luxury villa rentals in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
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