OT: Best resort you stayed in

[Yorkeez4]

The Biltmore Estates in North Carolina is very nice. The Marriot in St. Thomas was also very good. Love Barbados, unfortunately my favorite hotel there, Sam Lord's Castle is gone.

 

[jleves]

Does The Love Boat still dock there?

Yes it does on the 7 day Princess Cruise.

 

[Fishy]

Yes it does on the 7 day Princess Cruise.

No, no it doesn't.

 

[SixRings]

Can't believe this gem was missed. The Knights Inn in downtown Syracuse, NY. Lots to do there and the weather is always blissful.

 

[joober jones]

Nothing beats Econo Lodge.

 

[WhiteDressWes]

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.

And their national hero is a UConn grad!

 

[Excalibur]

Middle ground. ~3500 for two for the week

St James would be a better bet if you can get it in that price range.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Here I am a few years ago having a great time at Hedonism II!

 

[storrsroars]

Probably Manele Bay on Kauai. Bill Gates had his honeymoon there so can't be all bad, right?

While snorkeling wasn't very good (big island was fanstastic), it's an interesting island to explore as it's so small, yet exists in two or more very different climates. Two golf courses, one at Manele itself, a typical and challenging ocean course, the other, Koele, is just a few miles away, but like playing a course in the Pennsylvania mountains - hilly, chilly, pine trees everywhere. Beautiful place. Would love to revisit.

That whole trip was amazing as one of my co-workers used to be sales director for Sheraton Waikiki, so he talked to all his old friends and set us up with kamaaina rates everywhere we stayed. We were treated like VIPs on both Kauai and the big island. His payment for this was a case of steak sauce from Merriman's. Loved that guy.

 

[Marat]

In Pennsylvania, the Omni Bedford Springs is a pretty nice historic resort with golf/pools/hiking/everything. It was the summer White House of president Buchanan and was visited by other presidents as well.

Omni Bedford Springs Resort - UPDATED 2017 Reviews & Price Comparison (PA) - TripAdvisor

 

[boog204]

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

This looks like the coolest place ever...

 

[Excalibur]

Mar-a-Lago . . .

 

[QDOG5]

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

Get's you in and out of Midway quickly. Lots of motels that look like that in Chicago area.

 

[QDOG5]

A little off subject but... wife and I are going to NZ and Australia for our 25th anny next week. We have the trip pretty well put together but if anyone has been and has some must dos I'm all ears.

 

[Jerry1714]

Outside of Turks and St. Bart's the "Caribbean" does not really do for it me because spending 7 days stuck in a resort is not my ideal vacation, but this seems to be the theme of the thread so I recommend Casa de Campo and make sure you play Teeth of the Dog at least once.

Mykonos Grand in Mykonos, Greece, and Cachoeira Inn in Buzios, Brazil are not resorts but two memorable experiences if you are travelling in the areas.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

When I go to the Caribbean I typically rent a place because I'm not a big resort guy but if you ever have the occasion to stay at Jade Mountain on St. Lucia you should. It's pretty spectacular, although pricey.

Jade Mountain - St Lucia's Most Romantic Luxury Resort

 

[HooperScooper]

When I go to the Caribbean I typically rent a place because I'm not a big resort guy but if you ever have the occasion to stay at Jade Mountain on St. Lucia you should. It's pretty spectacular, although pricey.

Jade Mountain - St Lucia's Most Romantic Luxury Resort

We were just in St. Lucia in December and went by here on a boat and from the water that place looked very funky. Like something out of Star Wars. But everyone said it's the best place in St. Lucia.

 

[Marat]

We were just in St. Lucia in December and went by here on a boat and from the water that place looked very funky. Like something out of Star Wars. But everyone said it's the best place in St. Lucia.

Speaking of Star Wars, get ready for a new Disney Star Wars Resort -
Disney wants to launch a 'Star Wars' starship luxury resort, and it looks like a fan's dream

 

[Tenspro2002]

A little off subject but... wife and I are going to NZ and Australia for our 25th anny next week. We have the trip pretty well put together but if anyone has been and has some must dos I'm all ears.

Went up and down the east coast from Cairns to Canberra for 2 weeks a dozen years ago (great trip at the time as Aussie $ was 57 cents and NZ $ was 43 cents exchange rate). It's an interesting place, but in the end, we came away with the impression it's mostly just a warmer Canada with different animals. No regrets going and I think everyone should if given the opportunity, but not really a destination we're pining to get back to.

I'd characterize the whole place as somewhere where you're better off just trying to experience the whole thing as IMO you're not going to get "wowed" by the "must see" attractions, unless you're going deep into the outback to Ayers Rock or something.

If you're planning on driving around Australia, keep in mind they ticket by camera. Pay attention to speed limits and no rolling "stops". Yes, I got ticketed.

Anyway, kangaroos and wallabys are like deer around here. They're everywhere on the east coast. You don't really want to approach the kangaroos, but wallabys (much smaller) are cutie-pies. Definitely let your wife hold a koala and get a photo - all her friends will be jealous. Several nature preserves let you do that. The one we enjoyed most was outside Brisbane.

Barramundi is a pretty good eating fish. Asian food can be spectacular and there's a lot of fusion concepts that were pretty rare in the US. Aussie beer mostly sucked when we were there, but VB was the best of the widely available lagers. They do have a growing microbrewery scene, but that's relatively recent so we missed it. They don't really do drip coffee except in hotels, everything else is espresso based.

Wine is definitely where it's at there. If you're a wine drinker, for a very reasonable price, you can go to the Australian Wine Center in Sydney and get your palate profiled for wines you enjoy. They'll set up 8-10 bottles and ask questions while you're tasting, then give you a list of types of wines/regions you'll probably like. Do that early so you can stock up on what you want to buy, if you're buying any. We've had cases shipped here, which wasn't cheap, but still much less than buying bottles in the US.

Definitely see an opera at the Opera House. We lucked out as La Boheme was playing during our trip. It's one of the few I don't cringe. Hopefully you don't get Salome on your trip...

If you're heading north to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef (and you definitely should) keep in mind the boats going out there often hit choppy water and it's an hour trip or so. I was OK with it, but wife vomited all over the place We stayed at a resort hotel on Heyward Isl for that part of the leg and some brightly colored bird kept us company on the patio pretty much the entire time.

Can't say much about the Gold Coast - not much happening there unless you surf. But if you surf, I'm pretty sure that's the place to be.

Assuming you're in Auckland for a layover, check out Kelly Tarlton's aquarium. It's not too far out of the city. Probably best aquarium I've been to on the planet, although others have copied a lot of their attractions in the past decade. Sounds like a hokey side trip, but it's really pretty good. Unfortunately, my favorite restaurant closed (Cin Cin), but there's a lot of good food there as well. If you're into yachts, you may see some spectacular ones in the harbor. Larry Ellison's was docked there during our trip. It was amazing - even Trump would be jealous.

Mementos I still have hanging on the walls at home include a taiaha and a didgeridoo.

Wife and I did a whirlwind sample of Australia in late November (late spring/summer): basically 3 days in each of Sydney, Uluru (Ayers Rock), and Cairns.

Of those, I wish we spent more time in Cairns. The GBR isn't going to be around much longer, and it's worth a full-day snorkel or scuba tour, or two. The scenery is beautiful, and there's a lot more you can explore in the area (rainforests, island tours). Weather was 90 and sunny every day. Of course, this time of year it might be a bit cooler or rainier.

Being out in the Outback was neat, especially if you're into extreme climates and geology, but it's touristy and you probably don't need more than 2 days. It was absolutely worth going though. It was super hot when we were there, but next week it'll be moderate. Stargazing is also supposedly incredible, but we got unlucky with clouds all 3 nights.

Sydney was interesting for the history, but overall I'm not a big city/culture person. It was great to spend a few days though, and you could occupy yourself for a week or more.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

We were just in St. Lucia in December and went by here on a boat and from the water that place looked very funky. Like something out of Star Wars. But everyone said it's the best place in St. Lucia.

I'm an admitted hotel snob but the place is absolutely incredible.

 

[White Dwarf]

Nothing will top The Four Seasons in Bora Bora

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Nothing will top The Four Seasons in Bora Bora

It's a pretty incredible place.

 

[JSM1970]

I just saw some show and they were at the Sofitel in Bora Bora

Would be a great visit, along with

Maldives
Canary's

It's a pretty incredible place.

 

[Kitaman]

When I go to the Caribbean I typically rent a place because I'm not a big resort guy but if you ever have the occasion to stay at Jade Mountain on St. Lucia you should. It's pretty spectacular, although pricey.

Jade Mountain - St Lucia's Most Romantic Luxury Resort

When I created this thread I was simply looking for a resort for me and the Mrs., but with your post and others I'm now creating a bucket list. I've been to many different Ritz Carlton and other 'pinky out' tea drinking places so I realize its a minimum of $10k for 5-7 days (resort only) but I also think I'm going to finally dust off and review my RCI (never used) book which I've had for more than a decade.

 

[auror]

Bora Bora didn't seem worth the price when I looked into it. At least not relative to other options.