Jaclyn and Jimmy's review of Excellence Playa Mujeres

Jaclyn and Jimmy got married in one of the worst blizzards that Philadelphia has seen and left for their honeymoon 2 days later. Here is their review.

"Our trip to Excellence Playa Mujeres was beyond anything we could have imagined. I have never been out of the United States, so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect with a beautiful resort.

Upon arrival, bags were taken, checked, and brought to our room. The concierge checked us in, and as we were giving information, champagne was brought over to us to enjoy. Checking in was so easy and fast, and we were soon on our way to our beautiful honeymoon suite.

One of the tour guides took us looking around the resort on our way to our room. He explained the restaurants, the pools, the bars, night life, everything that you could want to know. They also supplied us with a booklet that listed everything out, as well as it's location on the resort.

Entering our room was like entering paradise. The balcony over looked the ocean. The huge master King bed also showed the ocean. There were beautiful towel folded swans kissing with a rose in the middle, and rose petals all along the bed. The jacuzzi was indoors, but allowed you to open the windows to make it outdoors, and become a part of the beautiful balcony.

The balcony had a table with chairs and a beautiful bed to lay on so we could look out at the beach. We spent many nights on the balcony looking up at all of the stars, listening to the waves crashing in against the sand.

Our bathroom was like a spa. The huge sinks overlooked these two beautiful sun mirrors. There was also a huge two person shower, with many shower heads, that were so wonderful to use.

There was also a living room area, which had a bottle of champagne chilling, along with two champagne glasses. There was also plenty beer, water, soda's, and other drinks in the free mini bar, that was stocked daily. On the table there was a booklet that gave us our 24 hour inclusive room service menu. We surely didn't have to leave our room at all while we were there if we didn't want to.

Through the course of the week we learned the resort. We at at all 8 fantastic restaurants. Spice - the Asian restaurant, was by far my very favorite. Others that were very high on my list were Chez Isabelle - the French restaurant, and Barcelona - the Mediterranean restaurant. All 8 were fantastic though, and you really couldn't go wrong with any of them. The presentation of the food was just beautiful, and I always loved seeing how each restaurant folded their towel into a different animal. They were all so beautiful. All of the food was 5 star, and every last bite was more delicious then the one before it.

During the day there were many activities you could chose from. Some of our favorites included the beautiful bike tour around the resort, which also showed you the exotic animals there. We also really enjoyed riffle shooting. It was a neat activity we didn't usually do at home. If you are interested in sports, they had a ton of those as well! From poker tournaments, to water volleyball, to boccie ball, they really had it all.

At night they had shows that they put on. Circus night was my favorite. It was a take on Cirque Du Soliel, which I love. The people were so very talented. I was blown away at how fantastic they all were. There was a show going on every night, and all were very entertaining.

The resort also did theme nights outside. I was there for valentines day, so they put up a huge buffet dinner, and had a saxophone player going and playing around the beautiful tables with roses and rose petals.

By the 3rd night we noticed the cigar shop, and my husband just HAD to get a few Cubans to smoke for the week. The woman was very knowledgeable and we were able to pick out some really nice one's. These were smoked outside near one of the best bars there, Cafe Kafe. This was the main bar for the night time, and the bar tenders were so friendly.

By day 9, we were both really upset to be leaving our favorite resort. Between the beautiful warm beach, the 8 beautiful pools, the 10 bars, the servers walking around to every pool and the beach taking any order you could possibly want, and the amazing 5 star food, it was really difficult to leave and come home.

With 3 resorts to chose from, and a 4th being built right now, we are sure to go back to an Excellence resort again. "

Best beaches for beach combing

Beach combing, is defined as someone who "combs" (or searches) the beach looking for things of value, interest or utility. To some it is a serious hobby or life style. For most of us it is a time to enjoy the fresh sea air, sand, breeze and a good walk while we pick up some treasures that are great for craft projects or tokens of a beautiful day.

Here are some beaches that offer a wide variety of collectible items in addition to the standard sea glass and seashells. Some of the treasures you might find at these beaches are coquinas, scallops, whelks, sand dollars, shark teeth, ark shells, moon snails, razor clamshells, and much more. Experts will tell you the best picks come the days after a storm.
• Sanibel Island, FL
• Point No Point Beach Hansville, WA
• Gulf Islands National Seashore Pensacola, FL
• Shipwreck Beach Lanai, HI
• Cumberland Island, GA
• Point Reyes National Seashore, CA
• Silver Strand State Beach Coronado Island, CA

If you plan to collect treasures while traveling bring some sturdy ziplock bags. Rinse the items several times. Let them dry thoroughly and put them into the ziplocks and make sure they are sealed well. Make sure you cushion them well in your suitcase or have a box you can put the ziplock bag into for extra protection.

Royal Caribbean- new online dining reservations

Royal Caribbean's My Time dining has gone one step further- allowing advance dining reservations and advance reservations for the specialty restaurants on board. The Oasis of the Seas is the first of the fleet with this capability but the others will be onboard soon.


"Royal Caribbean Launches Online Dining Reservation System
Published on: February 17, 2010

Royal Caribbean International is launching Daily Reservations, an online reservation system for guests enrolled in the My Time Dining program. Through Daily Reservations, My Time Dining guests can make nightly reservations in the main dining room for themselves and guests at their table. Guests can access, request and review their Daily Reservations in advance of their sailing through the Pre-Cruise Planner or Cruise Enhancements section of www.RoyalCaribbean.com. Daily Reservations is currently available for Oasis of the Seas sailings and will be deployed fleetwide throughout the spring.


Dinner reservations can be requested for a table for two to 10. Guests can request reservations for the same time with the same people nightly or a different time every evening with different companions. If a particular time is unavailable, Daily Reservations will suggest an alternative time that is closest to the request. Guests can then review their daily dinner reservation details in a calendar view, as well as request changes.


My Time Dining lets guests dine in the main dining room whenever they wish during dining hours. Guests choosing My Time Dining will not have a pre-assigned table, but will be seated in the main dining room and order from the same dinner menu. To ensure a smooth and undisrupted experience, no additional guests will be seated at a table once dinner service has begun. Guests choosing My Time Dining must prepay gratuities and enroll in advance through www.RoyalCaribbean.com, their travel agent, or the cruise line’s reservations department.


Guests also can make dinner reservations in four of the ship’s specialty restaurants, including Chops Grille steakhouse. Oasis of the Seas also features new specialty dining concepts that require reservations, such as Italian family-style dining in Giovanni’s Table, healthier fare in the Solarium Bistro, or the sophisticated experience of 150 Central Park. Other select Royal Caribbean ships offer the signature Portofino Italian restaurant."

For more information,
contact My Vacation Lady at mindy@myvacationlady.com

Oahu's THE BUS - Insider Tips

This info came from Stacey from the Oahu's Visitors Bureau. She is full of great ways to save money on your next visit to Oahu!

Oahu’s Public Bus
www.thebus.org
Bus fare: $2.25 each way, plus one transfer good for two hours
Bus passes are available at ABC stores in Waikiki
Exact change required
Insider tip: Purchase a 4-day bus pass at any ABC store for $25.00. Good for unlimited use for four consecutive days. This equates to $6.25 a day for unlimited use. * Great alternative for visitors between 18-24 years (since they can’t rent a car) and seniors.
Insider tip: thebus.org website has a listing of all major Oahu visitor attractions and their corresponding bus numbers and routes. The website also has a downloadable “Quick Reference Guide”.
For both, go to the website and click “visitors”. Then select either “attractions” or “quick reference guide”

FREE Hilo Hattie Trolley
Insider tip: Take the Hilo Hattie trolley to the Hilo Hattie store on Nimitz. Go to either Zippy’s or Sam Choy’s (across the street) for lunch and shop at Hilo Hattie. Return on the trolley to the Aloha Tower Marketplace or Ala Moana Center for more shopping. The trolley stops at the Aloha Tower or Ala Moana Center on the return trip to Waikiki.

Unusual Beaches

Do you always picture the beautiful white sand and blue water of the Caribbean when you think of a beach escape? Here are some more unusual colors you might consider visiting.

Pink Sand Beach, Bahamas - Considered one of the most breathtaking in the world. It is a mixture of fine golden sand and pulverized coral and shells.
Punalu Beach, The Big Island, Hawaii - One of the rare black sand beaches. The black sand is from molten lava that poured into the ocean and cooled rapidly. (I was on this beach in Nov 2009 and it was very different from the white sand beaches I was used to. The black sand ranged from rocks to pebbles to fine granular sand)
Kaihalulu, Maui - On the far side of Ka'uiki Hill south of Hana Bay on Maui. The sand gets its red-black color from the crumbling cindercone hill that surrounds the bay.
Papakolea Beach, Hawaii - Green Sand Beach is one of only two beaches with olive-green sand in the world. The unusual green color of the sand comes from a semi-precious stone called olivine that surrounds Papakolea Beach that the ocean has eroded. .
Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, California - Purple Sand Beach has beautiful views of rocks and sea stacks. The purple sand comes from manganese garnet particles washing down the hillside.

An interesting article about Trip Advisor

Many travelers take consumer review websites as "gospel" and make their travel decisions strictly from reviews of strangers who post 'unbiased' reviews on those sites.

I know many of my clients will review sites such as TripAdvisor so I also scan reviews as one part of my research process before recommending a hotel that I don't have recent personal or client feedback on. It is not my sole research tool- just one part. Yesterday, I was checking into hotels in Europe for clients and was amazed to think that the reviewers actually stayed in the same hotels at the same time. One reviewer loved the property while the next hated it. You might wonder about who wrote these reviews and what their motivation was for writing these reviews.

A colleague of mine sent this article to me a while back, but it is worthwhile sharing.

http://www.foodvacation.com/id40.html

What do you think?

Four Seasons Hualalai (Big Island of Hawaii)

When you enter the lobby of the Four Seasons, you know why this resort is consistently ranked among the top 10 hotels in the world. Is it that you are greeted with a lei, mango rum drink, scented towels and pineapple upon arrival? That could be part of it but it is more the beauty, tranquility and serenity of the property that makes this hotel stand out.

The Four Seasons is not a huge resort, just 243 rooms and suites spread out within 2 story bungalows through out the property. The rooms are decorated with island inspired décor, with bathrooms that are to die for. Many of the first floor rooms and suites have private outdoor showers which are perfect for honeymooners or couples looking for romance.

Five pools include a sandy bottom kids pool, Kings Pond which is their natural aquarium and is perfect for snorkeling, the seashell pool, adults only pool and a lap pool. Lounge chairs and cabanas surround the pools. The beach is just beyond and turtles will rest right on the sand.

The Kids for All Seasons program is a complimentary camp/child care program designed for kids 5-12. Three restaurants are on the property. Service is attentive but unobtrusive- exactly the way the upscale guests who frequent this resort want it to be.

There is a basketball court and rock climbing wall on site. A great fitness center is complimentary to guests but some fitness classes have additional fees.

The biggest draw to the Four Seasons Hualalai is the spa. Probably the best on the Big Island, the spa is 28,000 square feet including outdoor hales. What makes the spa so unique is that you can customize the ingredients in your spa treatment.

Between the great golf courses surrounding the Four Seasons, the spa, the rooms and suites and the service, this property justly deserves the ranking of one of the 10 best hotels in the world.

We took these pictures on our last visit. Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/myvacationladycom/sets/72157623008905069/show/