OT: Best resort you stayed in

[nyhuskies13]

Wouldn't stay at Sandals, unless youre looking for value (open bar w/ well drinks, food menu designed for all inclusive)

Antigua is ok, but hit Turks or sail and island hop the BVIs

Top 5 in no order....
- Belize Belize Luxury Hotels, Resort Belize - Blancaneaux Lodge at Coppola Hideaways (2hr trip to middle of rainforest)
- Chiang Mai, Thailand Luxury Hotel in Chiang Mai | The Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai (northern thailand, elephant santuaries, soak in the culture)
- Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Resorts | Luxury Hotels in Puerto Rico | The St. Regis Bahia Beach (married here, biased opinion but world class beach, service, rooms)
- Bali The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah, Ubud, Bali | Hotels in Ubud | Ubud Hotels (incredible cultural experience)
- Lanai, Hawaii Hawaii Adventure Vacation | Lanai Activities | Four Seasons Lanai (secluded, but incredible)


If daughter is just getting into travel, much cooler experiences than most of the carribean.

have her use skyscanner.com to reverse inquiry interesting places based on price

 

[Robertelamin]

 

[RichZ]

Just remember--and I'm saying this to myself as well--there's a reason it's called a "honeymoon." We vowed that we would go back and redo ours in Costa Rica for our tenth or twentieth anniversaries and of course have done neither. Maybe 25th?

In any event, I'd be most curious to hear from people who weren't on their honeymoons and had been married for a long time when they went to whatever resort they're recommending, because I'm guessing we'd all see it a little differently then than when on our respective honeymoons.

My son-in-law and daughter honeymooned in Aruba and liked it a lot. They decided then and there to do Curacao for their 25th Anniversary, which is tomorrow. They are really enjoying their stay at the Santa Barbara Plantation there.

 

[mauconnfan]

Hard Rock Punta Cana - with couples and kids. Plenty to do for all without leaving. Four wheeling with kids, beach and water stuff, golf of course and a fantastic Brazilian Restaurant.

WestinDawn Beach Club, St Maarten - favorite island

 

[Excalibur]

My son-in-law and daughter honeymooned in Aruba and liked it a lot. They decided then and there to do Curacao for their 25th Anniversary, which is tomorrow. They are really enjoying their stay at the Santa Barbara Plantation there.

Have they gotten off the resort at all? Curacao is a great island to rent a car and explore. Lots of secluded coves and beaches.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Because confirmation is always good...

I stayed at the Fairmont Mayakoba with my wife for our first trip without our twins a number of years ago. Loved it. The only issue was that the walls were pretty thin in the rooms which I'm a bit sensitive to. But we loved it. They also drove us across to one of the other resorts in Mayakoba (Banyan Tree) which was off the charts nice, with a great restaurant. The restaurants/drinks are pricey, but better than all inclusives. Also, we really enjoyed going into Playa del Carmen, which had good, cheaper food and more authenticity.

On the other side of the spectrum was Finest Playa Mujeres. Same owner and location as Excellence, which was referenced in this thread. Horrible food, mediocre (at best) service, and lack of personality. I will say that it had only been opened for 4 months or so when we went, but it was not up to snuff.

Other great ones I've stayed at that I remember: i) Halakalani (sp?) in Oahu. Amazing oasis tucked into a crowded area. ii) Fiesta Americana Cabo San Lucas. Much better all inclusive than Finest. iii) Ritz Beaver Creek. iv) "Name your high-end resort in Phoenix/Scottsdale (and a trip to Mastros).

Were you in the main hotel or one of the Casitas? We had a Casita, which was amazing. No adjoining rooms on any side except the floor or ceiling.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Empty trip

I see no mention of Jaco, lady boys or, 10 dollar a gram, 99 percent pure Cocaine, so I question whether you actually entered Costa Rica.

Not everyone (actually almost nobody) is as big a degenerate as you.

 

[8893]

Home - Trump National Golf Club Mar a Lago

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

I sorta feel like one tropical island is as good as the next. Like.. if you're staying at some super swanky hotel and you're mostly chilling there, what is the enormous difference between Puerto Rico, Antigua, Costa Rica, Mexico, or Barbados, etc.?

Like... what makes the super fancy island worth more than, say Puerto Rico or Mexico?

Cause it seems to me that if it's 85 degrees and sunny and I have a fancy drink, I'm pretty happy.

 

[RichZ]

Have they gotten off the resort at all? Curacao is a great island to rent a car and explore. Lots of secluded coves and beaches.

My daughter is a planner on vacations. I'm pretty sure they have all waking hours booked with something she wanted to try. And yes, they have a rental car and have been all over the Island.

 

[8893]

I sorta feel like one tropical island is as good as the next. Like.. if you're staying at some super swanky hotel and you're mostly chilling there, what is the enormous difference between Puerto Rico, Antigua, Costa Rica, Mexico, or Barbados, etc.?

Like... what makes the super fancy island worth more than, say Puerto Rico or Mexico?

Cause it seems to me that if it's 85 degrees and sunny and I have a fancy drink, I'm pretty happy.

Well, for starters, Costa Rica and Mexico aren't islands.

As for Costa Rica, I chose it precisely because I wasn't looking for a generic tropical island experience. I liked the hiking and variety of different climates and options in one country, especially having both a Caribbean and Pacific coast (I preferred the Pacific, fwiw). Volcanoes, cloud forests, rain forests, coffee plantations. People are different, too. Like all of these places, Costa Rica has its share of crime and poverty, but it also has the highest literacy rate of any country in the world (including ours); it is famously neutral politically, in a part of the world where its neighbors are far less stable; and its former President, Oscar Arias, won a Nobel Peace Prize. There is a reason there are a lot of ex-pats living there.

 

[Chuck]

Were you in the main hotel or one of the Casitas? We had a Casita, which was amazing. No adjoining rooms on any side except the floor or ceiling.

It was a Casita. It may have been an issue because of our first Casita-mate. I think it was four college kids. No issue with them having fun, we were just on different schedules. We moved to a different casita and while I could hear the neighbor (maybe it was below us?), it wasn't really an issue. We went during the swine flu scare. We got a few of the first available vaccinations in NJ (my wife chased them down) and we may have been the only Americans (besides the college kids in my first casita) in the whole place.

 

[arch]

Wouldn't stay at Sandals, unless youre looking for value (open bar w/ well drinks, food menu designed for all inclusive)

Antigua is ok, but hit Turks or sail and island hop the BVIs

Top 5 in no order....
- Belize Belize Luxury Hotels, Resort Belize - Blancaneaux Lodge at Coppola Hideaways (2hr trip to middle of rainforest)
- Chiang Mai, Thailand Luxury Hotel in Chiang Mai | The Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai (northern thailand, elephant santuaries, soak in the culture)
- Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Resorts | Luxury Hotels in Puerto Rico | The St. Regis Bahia Beach (married here, biased opinion but world class beach, service, rooms)
- Bali The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah, Ubud, Bali | Hotels in Ubud | Ubud Hotels (incredible cultural experience)
- Lanai, Hawaii Hawaii Adventure Vacation | Lanai Activities | Four Seasons Lanai (secluded, but incredible)


If daughter is just getting into travel, much cooler experiences than most of the carribean.

have her use skyscanner.com to reverse inquiry interesting places based on price

For Belize you might add Monkey Inn. If you are at Blancaneaux be sure to try the apizza. Best ever.

 

[mauconnfan]

Mama Pizza, Oyster Pond - Restaurant Reviews, Phone Number & Photos - TripAdvisor

Best pizza in St Maarten (more than likely any island resort), outdoor overlooking the bay. Made of stone and concrete really really surprisingly solid pie, NY style, good sauce would recommend it if it were in this area it was very good. Just drank beer and ate a couple pies with a couple had a blast outside beautiful night.

 

[boba]

The frau and I went with Mt Travel Sobek to Peru to walk on the Inca Trail a few years back. We started from a place that was under the Saltankay which I enjoyed immensely. I suspect if you go through Mountain Lodges Peru, the prices are cheaper than Mt Travel Sobek. She hired SITA for the trip we had to Rwanda and Uganda, but that was good too. However, we stayed in hotels for the most part except when we stayed in an East Africa Resort for two nights. That was cool too, but don't know where it was located. The trip ended up being a "special" because SITA took our money and forgot to get permits, so they scrambled at the end to accommodate us, and we didn't have the typical itinerary.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Need to know your budget. Antigua has some amazing luxury hotels as well as more budget locations. I'm not a fan of Sandals and avoid their properties. We did the Pineapple Beach resort on a budget when I was younger and it was fine, though the food was underwhelming. If money is less of an object, try Galley Bay.

Middle ground. ~3500 for two for the week

 

[SubbaBub]

Molokai Ranch was my favorite. Sadly it is now closed.

Generally, I stay away from mega resorts.

 

[JSM1970]

A guy I used to work with, he was in sales, crushing it, and wife did too, and they've traveled all over the world on President's Clubs, etc.

I recall him saying that St Regis in PR was the best place he's ever been. I'd like to go, but rarely find it under $1g/night. Now that Starwood & Marriott merged may be able to use Marriott points for it.

My sister went to the Four Seasons Costa Rica recently and apparently Nike had some college football coaches summit and Saban, Meyer others there and said place was unreal.

A lot of it depends on the room too. We went to Moon Palace (Cancun) a few years ago and good place, but our room was unreal. We upgraded and got this crazy suite in main building with huge private deck, hot tubs, overlooking pool, etc.

An underrated place worth a visit with a family is the JW Marriott San Antonio resort. Phenomenal place. They play a PGA tourney on course, 20 mins to River Walk, great everything.

Wouldn't stay at Sandals, unless youre looking for value (open bar w/ well drinks, food menu designed for all inclusive)

Antigua is ok, but hit Turks or sail and island hop the BVIs

Top 5 in no order....
- Belize Belize Luxury Hotels, Resort Belize - Blancaneaux Lodge at Coppola Hideaways (2hr trip to middle of rainforest)
- Chiang Mai, Thailand Luxury Hotel in Chiang Mai | The Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai (northern thailand, elephant santuaries, soak in the culture)
- Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Resorts | Luxury Hotels in Puerto Rico | The St. Regis Bahia Beach (married here, biased opinion but world class beach, service, rooms)
- Bali The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah, Ubud, Bali | Hotels in Ubud | Ubud Hotels (incredible cultural experience)
- Lanai, Hawaii Hawaii Adventure Vacation | Lanai Activities | Four Seasons Lanai (secluded, but incredible)


If daughter is just getting into travel, much cooler experiences than most of the carribean.

have her use skyscanner.com to reverse inquiry interesting places based on price

 

[NYC_HUSKY22]

Rawi Warin Resort Koh Lanta, Krabi - Thailand.

My girlfriend and I got to the resort, walked around the grounds, checked into our room, immediately went back to the front desk to extend our stay an extra two nights. Kicker - it was $65 USD / Night.

Rawi Warin Resort and Spa: 2017 Room Prices, Deals & Reviews | Expedia

HIGHLY recommend.

 

[nyhuskies13]

A guy I used to work with, he was in sales, crushing it, and wife did too, and they've traveled all over the world on President's Clubs, etc.

I recall him saying that St Regis in PR was the best place he's ever been. I'd like to go, but rarely find it under $1g/night. Now that Starwood & Marriott merged may be able to use Marriott points for it.

My sister went to the Four Seasons Costa Rica recently and apparently Nike had some college football coaches summit and Saban, Meyer others there and said place was unreal.

A lot of it depends on the room too. We went to Moon Palace (Cancun) a few years ago and good place, but our room was unreal. We upgraded and got this crazy suite in main building with huge private deck, hot tubs, overlooking pool, etc.

An underrated place worth a visit with a family is the JW Marriott San Antonio resort. Phenomenal place. They play a PGA tourney on course, 20 mins to River Walk, great everything.

I'd actually check groupon and and some of the online travel deals. After May is off-season and Zika has crushed local tourism. You should be able to find a decent deal.

Place is fire though. Fantastic people and service

 

[Fishy]

Like... what makes the super fancy island worth more than, say Puerto Rico or Mexico?

Cause it seems to me that if it's 85 degrees and sunny and I have a fancy drink, I'm pretty happy.

For me, it's the absence of people who are just happy with 85 degrees and a fancy drink.

 

[superjohn]

Technically it's not considered a resort but the Sportsman's Inn Motel is the nicest place I've ever stayed. The picture doesn't really do it justice.

 

[mauconnfan]

Technically it's not considered a resort but the Sportsman's Inn Motel is the nicest place I've ever stayed. The picture doesn't really do it justice. View attachment 22075

Someone will be throwing the 4 hour resort out there soon, The Grunt Moore

 

[jleves]

Ocho Cascadas (8 waterfalls) in Puerto Vallarta is by far the most interesting place I've stayed. Each suite is totally open air with a small wading pool on the edge of the living room that cascades down to the unit below (yes, you want to be up as high as possible for obvious reasons). The big suite at the top is pretty amazing. When I went you could get a 'floating chef' who would come to your unit and make an amazing meal for about $20. Puerto Vallarta is pretty gross in my estimation, but you can find some good places to go and avoid the less desirable places.

Yes, this picture shows your private pool, living room and kitchen.

 

[8893]

Ocho Cascadas (8 waterfalls) in Puerto Vallarta is by far the most interesting place I've stayed. Each suite is totally open air with a small wading pool on the edge of the living room that cascades down to the unit below (yes, you want to be up as high as possible for obvious reasons). The big suite at the top is pretty amazing. When I went you could get a 'floating chef' who would come to your unit and make an amazing meal for about $20. Puerto Vallarta is pretty gross in my estimation, but you can find some good places to go and avoid the less desirable places.

Yes, this picture shows your private pool, living room and kitchen.
View attachment 22077

Does The Love Boat still dock there?