honeymoon Archives - Page 12 of 19

Hollie and Matt’s Kiwi Adventure

January 2, 2014 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

When I tell clients that there’s no such thing as a “one size fits all” honeymoon, this trip report is exactly what I have in mind. Hollie and Matt worked with me to design an AMAZING two-week honeymoon in New Zealand that combined outdoor adventure, scenery, food, wine, beaches, their love of the “Lord of the Rings”, and more. It was the perfect fit for the two of them, and they were kind enough to send me their detailed feedback when they returned.

Overall, our trip was amazing. New Zealand was just as stunning as advertised. It is a gorgeous country, with very friendly residents and a lot of ‘Kiwi’ pride. It was a long trip, so I decided to organize this travelogue by cities rather than days in order to more easily summarize. My apology as it is still rather lengthy.

We arrived in Auckland on an early Wednesday morning (NZ time) after leaving at 11 am from Boston on Monday, with a stopover in San Francisco. We took Super Shuttle from the airport to our first hotel, the Sofitel at Viaduct Harbour. This hotel receives high marks for many things, but mostly for how we were treated upon check in. Since it was 7 am, I had assumed that the hotel would allow us to keep our bags at the desk until we could get into our rooms later that day. To our pleasant surprise, the hotel allowed us to check in immediately. This gave us time to get our belongings situated and for us to freshen up after two very long flights. We found this hotel to be in a great location. We had a room overlooking the harbor, so beautiful views of the water, yachts, and city. We were within walking distance of all kinds of shops and restaurants as well. Beyond shopping and eating, we visited the SkyTower to take in views of the city. We watched several jumpers take the plunge, but decided against the SkyJump (190 meters down) as we wanted to make sure we lived beyond the first day of our honeymoon!

We picked up our rental car the following morning and headed toward the Coromandel Peninsula. We took the Pacific Coast Highway for most of the drive which had great views along the water. We ate (and drank our first of many NZ beers and ciders) in Coromandel Town and stopped for a short hike at Long Bay. On the walk was a Kauri Tree – largest tree I have ever seen (see picture attached). After this, we headed to our next accommodation. NZ travelers should beware of the extremely winding narrow roads that will inevitably be encountered. Many roads are also gravel and run along steep cliffs with barely enough room for a car to pass. This adds to the challenge of driving on the opposite side of the road.

Our second night stay was at the Pauanui Pines Motor Lodge. Upon arrival, we knew we would like this place immediately. Before checking us in, the caretaker greeted us, asking about our day – where we had been (Coramandel), where we were going (Waitomo), what we were interested in seeing in Pauanui and where we might like to have dinner. She provided us with brochures that she had collected from other guests, as well as directions to the beach, info on the local eateries and “town center”, and offered up some golf clubs so that my husband could sneak on the golf course that the lodge backs up to. At this small establishment, they provided free internet, which I learned was a true bonus as we made our way to other hotels in NZ. The room was very comfortable; each one resembled a small cottage and included a kitchenette. Our favorite part of Pauanui was a shop in the town center called the Chocolate Pretzel. They had incredible muffins. The beach in Pauanui is also beautiful. We took a morning stroll there before heading to our next destination.

On our way to Rotorua, we stopped in Waitomo to check out the glow worm caves. We took the 4 hour Lost World tour where we abseiled 300 feet into a cavern. It was really great; the glow worms looked like stars in the pitch black caves. We would definitely recommend this tour, but be aware that the only way out of the cave is up, and that involves a 100 foot completely vertical metal ladder, which seems never ending when you’re climbing up it.

In Rotorua, we stayed at the Millennium Hotel Rotorua for two nights. This hotel was also in a great location, within short walking distances from the Visitor’s Info center, the Rotorua Museum, plus tons of shops and restaurants. We were able to park our car for most of the stay, which was a pleasant break. This hotel was okay, but could definitely use some refreshing. From Rotorua, we took a bus to Matamata to visit the Shire (Hobbiton Movie Set from the Lord of the Rings). I had been looking forward to this part of the trip for a long time, and I was not disappointed. Peter Jackson has made sure that every detail was accounted for, and it truly showed in the Hobbit houses, gardens, and the Green Dragon pub. I would recommend this tour to all LOTR fans. Also in Rotorua, we rode the Skyline gondola up to the top of one of the mountains; I took in the view while my husband did several Luge runs. Other adventures in Rotorua included ziplining with Rotorua Canopy Tours, and the Swoop Sky Swing at Agroventures. All were great. Lastly, Rotorua is known for its thermal pools and sulfur smell. You cannot escape it.

We left Rotorua and headed south. When planning our itinerary for NZ, we asked to see the real ‘Mt. Doom‘. We found ourselves literally at the foot of the famed mountain staying one night in the Chateau Tongariro. This stop helped break up the drive between Rotorua and Wellington. The hotel, upon arrival, is quite breathtaking, backing up against the snow-covered mountains. However, it is located (literally) in the middle of nowhere. There is one bar for skiers a few feet from the Chateau, which we walked to for a drink, but not much else. In addition to the location, upon entering the guest lounge/lobby, we felt as if we entered a time warp. At any moment, it felt like the ghosts of celebrities from years past could float into the room with their cigarettes and martinis. While the lounge has huge windows that gaze upon the mountains, we were really unable to move beyond spooky feeling for the rest of the stay. (I also likened it to the movie ‘Clue’ where all the characters fatefully ended up at a mansion only to be doomed.) The rooms themselves definitely require an update. We preferred not to use the shower, the doorknobs were awkwardly high (seemingly for giants), and there was no AC, which made sleeping pretty uncomfortable. WiFi was available only in the lobby/lounge, and there was a charge. The silver lining was the restaurant. We had a really delicious meal, with a pleasant server and a great bottle of wine.

After Tongariro, we had a 4 hour drive to Wellington, where we stayed for two nights at the Museum Hotel. We enjoyed the hotel overall – good location located directly across the street from the Te Papa museum and walking proximity to many stores and restaurants. We also enjoyed the quirky décor throughout the hotel. We tried to dine at the Hippopotamus restaurant onsite, but failed to make reservations (our fault) and missed out. Since we were all dressed up and still hungry, the host suggested that we check out the bar menu in the lobby/lounge area. This was a great idea. We ordered several glasses of wine and a few small plates. It rained most of the time that we were in Wellington, but it allowed us to rest for a bit and not feel guilty about spending our time indoors (eating, drinking and shopping).

We took a ferry from Wellington, through the Cook Strait to Picton on the South Island. We had premium lounge tickets for the ferry, which were worth every penny. The ferry takes at least 3 hours, and the lounge had tons of couches, blankets, pillows, beverages and food. It was much more comfortable than expected. After arriving in Picton, we picked up our next rental car and drove to Nelson where we stayed at the Grand Mercure Monaco Apartments three nights. We really enjoyed this hotel. It is a beautiful little village with overhung and overflowing flowers in every nook and around every corner. We had a one room apartment, which was quaint and comfortable. We also had an amazing meal at the restaurant on site, the Orangerie. Another plus is that this hotel is centrally located to dozens of wineries, and not far from Abel Tasman. On one day, we did a self-guided wine tour, visiting 3 different cellar doors, and on another, we drove to Abel Tasman National Park, taking a boat cruise from Wilson’s, and hiking around a loop at the Anchorage beach.

From Nelson we flew to Queenstown via Christchurch. Flying internally within NZ is very easy and very quick. We stayed at the Queenstown Sofitel for three nights. The Sofitel brand continues to impress us with their friendly service and top notch accommodations. This hotel is set back from the other main streets, but is within short walking distance to everything you would be interested in doing in Queenstown. I visited the spa during our stay and had a relaxation massage; I would highly recommend as it was literally the best massage I’ve ever had. Queenstown ended up being our favorite place in NZ. There are tons of shops, restaurants, and adventure activities. We hiked to the top of the mountain under the Queenstown Skyline. This was followed by a ZipTrek tour and mountain biking for my husband. We also took a bus to Milford Sound, where we got the real Middle-Earth feel. The Milford Mariner took us through the sound – it was beautiful ride but extremely windy.

We originally thought this was a once in a lifetime trip, but after visiting, we have no doubt we’ll be back again someday. Next time – we’ll reverse the trek, starting in Queenstown!

Mountains and mudbaths in the “Hawaii of the Caribbean”

October 27, 2013 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

Kristin and Greg just returned from a romantic honeymoon in St. Lucia, and it sounds like they took full advantage of the many adventurous activities available on the island, from ziplining and paddleboarding to soaking in volcanic mud. Check out their detailed review, with information about everything from their resort (Sandals Regency La Toc) to the specific tours/excursions that they enjoyed:

Hi Ann,

We LOVED St. Lucia. It was a beautiful island and resort. We had such a great experience and have talked about going back in a few years. We loved Sandals La Toc. The atmosphere was the perfect mix of partying and relaxation. We met so many honeymooners, and people from all over the world from Canada, to Haiti to South Africa. We really enjoyed just relaxing by the main pool, listening to the music, and stepping right onto the beach. We also went to another one of the pools that did not have music and it was nice just to relax without that. The beach was beautiful and the water was warm and clear. We were able to try paddle boarding for the first time, and went kayaking. The only thing I did not like about the people was the locals trying to sell us tours and Cuban cigars the minute we stepped onto the beach. However, once we said no thanks, they left us alone.

We did three excursions — the Pitons sunset Catamaran, zip lining and Joe Knows. I would HIGHLY recommend all three! The catamaran was relaxing and it was beautiful being on the water at night. We were also able to snorkel. They took us by the Pitons where we took some great pictures, and a pod of dolphins went right by the front of the boat. Zip lining was a blast. I wanted to keep going once we were done. Our guide “Simple”, was hysterical and made the van ride so much fun. I would zip line again in a heartbeat. Joe Knows St Lucia is a must! The best excursion of the trip. It was a party from the minute we stepped onto the boat, until the minute we got off. We were able to do the mud bath, hot spring and waterfall. We also had a great, authentic Creole lunch that was so good!

The hotel room was nice, but the bathroom wasn’t very clean the first day. I also kept finding long, dark hairs on my towels (ew!). We also had to go up to the lobby twice to remind the front desk that we were on our honeymoon. We were never asked for our wedding invitations, and when we mentioned we had it, they said they did not need to see it. We did end up getting a bottle of champagne and breakfast delivered to our room, though. We liked our location. We were on the first floor of the main hotel, really close to the pool, but far enough away that we could not hear the music.

We were only able to get one reservation, and this was at 9 pm for Kimonos. Dinner there was really good, and I loved that it was hibachi. La Toc was completely booked until the day we left, so we were unable to try that. We made the reservations the 2nd day we were there. I would suggest doing that immediately! I was not a fan of the service and dinner at the Pavilion. We once waited 45 minutes just for our soup. Neptune’s had a great lunch and so did Armando’s. The Pitons had a really good dinner. The Pavilion did have a good breakfast and lunch buffet that I recommend.

The bartenders at the swim up bar at the main pool were awesome. Tasha especially! She makes a great “Tasha Special”. All of the staff was extremely friendly and helpful.

If we do it again, we will book the helicopter tour. I am glad we did the shuttle from the airport, but I wish we did the helicopter after hearing how awesome it was to see the island from that view.

I hope this helps, and we want to thank you for all of your help in making our honeymoon a great trip!! If there is anything else I missed, just let me know and I will keep you in mind when we book another trip!!

-Kristin and Greg

Having a blast in Barbados!

October 16, 2013 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

I am so appreciative when clients take the time to send me detailed feedback about their vacation — especially when it includes pictures of them enjoying themselves! Chris and Christina obviously had an amazing honeymoon at the brand-new Couples Barbados, and I’m so glad to have helped to make it happen.

Dear Ann,

First of all, I apologize for my very delayed reply about the details of our trip! I’ll start with our travels – flight/transfers/airport pick up. Flight down to Miami was pretty typical (sadly no upgrades to first class by being honeymooners – haha!), and the layover was fine. We did have a slight hiccup in our plane that had to take a “pit stop” in Puerto Rico to check on the engine. Even though we were anxious to get to the island, we were at least better safe than sorry!

Once we arrived in Barbados, everything went flawlessly. Thank you for the detailed itinerary! We met our Couples Barbados representatives after retrieving our bags and had a pleasant ride over to the resort, courtesy of our friendly driver. Barbadians are the friendliest people!

The resort was perfection. The lobby was coastal-inspired and luxurious. The facilities were clean, modern, and comfortable. The walks between the buildings offered lush greenery and tropical flowers (and lots of palm trees – my favorite!). Our room was unreal. We had the most perfect lookout spot – a view of the main pool area and beach right in front of us. It felt really private, too, even with rooms on either side of us.

What a view!

Multiple couples we talked to during our stay had been to Couples Resorts in Jamaica. Each couple thought this new Couples Barbados Resort surpassed them all! These opinions just made us feel all the more grateful!

Our first night, the resort offered a manager’s welcome cocktail hour and a beach BBQ for dinner. Both offered amazing food! Just the beginning of weeklong “good eats!” Chris and I never tired of the food options. The three restaurants offered a variety of options and changed their menu choices frequently. One advice for future travelers: bring a few nice outfits and, specifically for guys, bring a couple of dress pants. One of the restaurants, the Dover, had a dress code requiring nice shoes, long pants, and classy dresses. Your other clients that had written about their experiences with the restaurants were helpful with our planning (reservations, types of food options, opening hours, etc.). I would definitely include that information for future travelers, as well. The service at the restaurants was wonderful, too – we always had a full glass of wine!

We loved the swim-up pool bar and beach waiter service. To only have to stick a flag in the sand to get free drinks?? Yes, please. We also took advantage of the room service and had breakfast delivered one morning.

Another drink, please 🙂

Like the other couple before us, we also took advantage of the private dinner on the beach. The extra money for this was definitely worth it! What other time in your life can you have a personal waiter serve you food under the stars? I would highly suggest the experience. We signed up for this night (and other excursions) through the front desk. When you sign up, you choose the menu you’ll have for the night.

Romantic dinner on the beach.

We also (thanks to your advice!) brought a copy of our marriage license and were able to receive a free honeymooners’ “couples massage.” This was just an awesome perk – I’ve always wanted to try something like that!

One of my favorite nights was a resort “event night” on the beach. The staff set up an outdoor movie night under the stars – with popcorn, drinks, and comforters spread out on doubled-up beach chairs (a make-shift bed/sofa)! It was such a cute idea – so fun and romantic.

Excursions! So many to choose from – it made me wish we had scheduled three weeks on the island! Our first excursion was a combination tour of Harrison’s Cave and a wildlife reserve. Both were incredible! The cave was massive. I would have never thought we could be taken on a trolley into the depths of a cave. It was also very informational about the geological and geographical make-up of the island. Following the cave we were able to feed monkeys, pet turtles, and observe many other wildlife animals in the reserve. Overall, the excursion was a great one.

Harrison’s Cave

Monkeys!

We also went on the included catamaran sunset cruise. The crew was HILARIOUS. That alone makes this excursion one you don’t want to miss out on! Each crewmember was just having a blast – dancing to music, making jokes, getting others to join in a dance party. Then of course, we saw a number of sea turtles! Snorkeling with the turtles in the tropical waters was a definite highlight – just don’t forget a waterproof camera!

Catamaran sail

Everyone we ran into kept raving about Oistins on Friday night, so we obviously didn’t miss out on this event, either. We tried some local swordfish and watched some great local dancing on a large stage. The whole night was really entertaining and gave us a feel of Barbadian life.

Our final excursion was zip lining through a gully with two comical guides. Chris and I had a personal tour through the gully – no one else joined us on the day of! This made the zip lining all the more fun – no waiting in lines! And we have some fabulous pictures and videos from the experience. A perfect place to cross zip lining off the bucket list!

Ziplining fun

The only downer I can think of: the shower didn’t stay at the temperature we wanted; most of the time, it just had a mind of its own!

Other wonderful aspects about Couples Barbados:

– Yoga was offered every morning in a beautiful open pergola

– A fitness center, exercise classes, and tennis courts were available (with tennis lessons offered!)

– People often played games on the beach (football/soccer, cricket, volleyball, etc.) – these were open to everyone

– A variety of entertainment was offered every night – with very talented performers!

– Rocking swings and hammocks were scattered around the property – just fun and relaxing perks!

– Pool and ping pong tables were available in the main lounge area

– Again – just a great staff of people that were incredibly gracious and fun to see every day

Overall, our whole honeymoon could not have been better. Travelers will not be disappointed here! For us – nothing could beat the atmosphere of the resort, the service, the people, the excursions, the beautiful scenery, the amazing weather, and, for me, my handsome husband (he’s not included for other travelers! Ha ha!).

So thank you again, Ann! We feel so blessed to have gone to Barbados – and to this newly opened resort! – for our honeymoon. We are so grateful that you found this perfect spot for us!

I’ve already recommended you to a number of other friends of ours looking to plan trips!

Thank you again!!!

Chris and Christina

A first look at Couples Barbados

August 7, 2013 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

It’s always exciting when a new resort opens up, and the brand-new Couples Barbados has been a very highly-anticipated opening. It represents the Couples brand’s first foray outside the island of Jamaica, and it’s the first couples-only all-inclusive on the island of Barbados. The property opened in June, and my honeymoon clients Kathryn and Jay arrived just a few weeks later, so I asked them to please be sure to send me some feedback and photos — and they sure did! Their fantastic (detailed) trip report is below:

Hi Ann,

Our trip was absolutely amazing!! The flights down were easy and smooth. Both flights were completely booked so they were crowded but otherwise fine. The Hampton Inn in Boston was a great suggestion for the night before. They were very perky at 4 am and the shuttle was on time. There were three couples, including ourselves, on the plane from Miami that were going to Couples and the shuttle at the airport was ready for us when we got out of customs. We arrived at Couples and were greeted with champagne and cold towels. The check-in process was pretty simple. (Note- the resort only takes MC and Visa, not a problem for us, but worth noting to future guests.)

The bellboy brought us and our luggage to our room, which was very comfortable. We were in the main building on the property- our balcony looked out on the pool/swim-up bar, and the ocean. The resort is really pretty. I guess the original owners built it on Dover Woods and did a really nice job keeping the plant life so it felt like you were walking in a mini-jungle when you were going from building to building. The added benefit of this is that each building seemed semi-secluded which gave the illusion of privacy. Anyway, after we settled into our room, we went down to the main lobby and met the activities director who offered tours and an orientation to the property. That was nice because it gave us the lay of the land and explained how the different restaurants worked and stuff like that.

The resort has 3 restaurants- the main restaurant is a buffet and did all three meals. There was also an a-la-carte restaurant that you didn’t need reservations for, and then there was one restaurant that you needed to make a reservation for in advance. We ate at all three and were very pleased with the food. The buffet always had local fish and chicken, salad, fruit, rolls, etc and then there was also a variety of other food, depending on the time of day. The second restaurant was very tasty but the third was by far the best food. Reservations weren’t hard to get, and the food was amazing. We also signed up for a private dinner on the beach on the last night and it was totally worth it. In addition to the restaurants, there was also a pool-side grill that was open from about 11-5, and then again from 10 pm to 5am (who was up that late, I don’t know!!) which did grilled fish (amazing!), burgers, hot dogs, chicken, and fries. It was definitely nice for days when we wanted something quick or when we came back from an excursion after lunch was finished.

The resort itself was up and running nicely by the time we got there. You could tell that they were still working on improvements- but they did them when it would be least obtrusive to the guests. i.e.- early morning painting, etc, The pools were great- we went in two of the three, and of course the ocean was perfect! There were activities each day to do at the resort- yoga in the morning, pool volleyball in the afternoon, one day had a pool tournament, there was jewelry making on a few days, board game day, etc. They gave us a schedule when we checked in so we could plan out what we wanted to do. The pools weren’t over crowded, but I forgot how many Europeans smoke!! Smoking was allowed outside so there was a fair amount of smoking around the pools but we did a pretty good job avoiding those people!

The staff at the resort were completely wonderful. They were really attentive and helpful. By the end of our stay, many of them knew our names (and we knew theirs). The resort, and the island too, was spotless. We always had clean towels at the pool, our room was cleaned and about mid-stay, they started doing turn-down service in the evenings as well. The waitstaff and bar staff were also really great, and very, very friendly.

In general, we tried to plan an excursion/outing ever other day, and then spend the other days relaxing at the resort. There was a desk at the resort where the staff would help us book activities. The sunset catamaran sail and swim with sea turtles was part of the inclusive package. Also, bus shuttles to Oistin’s fish fry were also included. We chose to add on an Island Safari tour which was absolutely amazing. It went all day, included lunch and showed us 10 of 11 parishes on the island. It was recommended to us by the activities director and we could completely recommend it to other travelers to Barbados. I think it cost about $90 USD per person. We also signed up to take a shuttle into Bridgetown for a half day of shopping ($10 USD each) which was really nice because we could explore on our own and do souvenirs and stuff. We also chose to do a half-ish day tour of Harrisons Cave (limestone cave network that goes 600 feet down into the earth- very cool, especially since I teach Geology!) and the National Wildlife Refuge (we got there for feeding time and this park/zoo doesn’t use cages, so you could see turtles, deer-like creatures, birds, and monkeys just come up and eat right in front of you. Wicked cool, got lots of good pics!). That trip was about $75 USD each. We also got a complimentary couples massage at the resort so we used that and enjoyed the spa as well. So clearly there were plenty of things to do. The only thing we didn’t have time for but would have liked was the tour to the Mount Gay Rum distillery but we chose the caves and wildlife instead. The locals were happy to take US dollars or Barbados dollars and the exchange rate was $1USD = $2 BDS so it was really easy to pay either way. I don’t think we met anyone who wouldn’t take US money but we collected some Barbados money as we went along.

Overall, we had an amazing time. You could tell that the resort was just opening again and that the staff was new but for us, everything seemed to run pretty smoothly. There were a few minor things that could be noted for the future. First, we had trouble getting the mini-bar in our room stocked. They were pretty inconsistent about it and we called down to the front desk a few times about it. We didn’t really drink in our room much anyway because the bars were more fun and better stocked but it was a little annoying at times that we didn’t get stocked when we asked to be. It’s pretty minor though. Also, another minor thing, was that there wasn’t an ice machine in our building. If we wanted ice for the room (for when our bar was actually stocked) we had to do across the property to get ice which was also kind of annoying. Otherwise, I can’t really think of any major complaints about the resort. We talked about wanting to go back in a few years once they have worked out all the kinks but we really can’t complain about our stay. We met (and then avoided like the plague) a very crabby New Yorker who complained about everything- from his bacon being undercooked, to the selection of food on the buffet, to the water pressure in his shower. He complained to anyone who would listen, and often complained to the staff, stating that Couples Negril was so much better, etc, etc. We just aren’t those people. We thought the resort was very luxurious and while you could tell that the staff was new, you could see them trying their best to make everyone’s stay the best it could be.

Our flights home, as you know, were delayed but we weren’t stressed because we knew we had the travel insurance, and your emails were waiting for us in Miami. I can not thank you enough for taking the time to reserve seats on the flight for the next morning, just in case we didn’t make our connection. We barely made it, by the way, and only because they were holding the plane and we sprinted to the flight. I guess there were a lot of people on the flight from Barbados that were supposed to make the same connection but very few of us made it. You alleviated the stress of what to do if we missed the flight though, and for that I thank you.

So I think that about covers it… and probably then some!! We would be happy to elaborate on any aspects of the trip in more detail if you would like. Thank you again from both of us for finding the Couples Barbados for us and for helping plan our honeymoon. The trip exceeded our expectations and we wouldn’t change a thing about it.

Thanks again for everything, Kathryn