Client Review: Summer Vibes in Rome and Sorrento

by Leave a Comment

We were so excited to plan another trip for long-time clients Alicia & Jay, along with Alicia’s parents. They’ve traveled to Italy before, but this time they were focused on a summer adventure in Rome and the Amalfi Coast. A pretty straightforward trip, but we love making it special with amazing guides and local experts to add something unique.

Thanks again for all of your help planning our amazing Italy trip! We had an incredible time.

Rome

Hotel La Rovere in Rome was a great choice. We found the rooms to be clean and spacious, and mine and Jay’s room even had a cute courtyard attached where we had a pre-dinner bottle of wine one night.

The golf cart tour was a highlight – this was a great idea to help us beat the jet lag and get oriented within the city. Our guide Constantine was awesome! He was so knowledgeable and very attentive and accommodating. It was SO hot in Rome, so being whisked around in a breezy golf cart was a real treat. Mom and dad had a great time at the Vatican tour. Jay and I also loved the Colosseum tour, although in hindsight because of the heat we wouldn’t have minded if it was a little shorter.

The Trastevere food tour was another highlight. Our guides Michele and Miguel were great, and the food was incredible. We lucked out and had a great group of people – three of them also live in the same town as me and Jay – what are the chances?! The only problem is that I don’t think I will ever find gelato better than the place they took us!

Sorrento & Amalfi Coast

On our way to Sorrento, we stopped at a vineyard suggested by our driver Fabrizio. This lunch ended up being one of our favorite meals and we shipped a case of wine home, so needless to say the wine was amazing.

Fabrizio is the best! He made our time on the coast so easy and gave us so many great suggestions for how to get around and do what we wanted to do.

Sorrento was amazing and is now one of my favorite places. I am so glad that you based us here. Grand Hotel De La Ville is beautiful! Mom wished she had gone for the full ocean view room, but we found the rooms to be spacious, clean, and all of the tiling detail so beautiful. We spent a lot of time at the beautiful rooftop pool. We especially loved the proximity to the main part of town.

Strolling around Sorrento and the small cobblestone streets was the best. Our visits to Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello were a breeze thanks to Fabrizio. We went back a second day to Positano and spent the day at La Scogliera beach club, which was amazing! Our boat trip to Capri was also a highlight. The boat was so much fun, and we loved Capri.

Can’t wait for the next trip!

– Alicia

An Adventure in Portugal

by Leave a Comment

Kendra and Shad love to visit places where they can be active and adventurous. Places with stunning scenery, a bit of hiking, and incredible food. We knew the perfect destination for their 2023 adventure that would incorporate all of the above: Portugal. Here’s their feedback:

Hotels

The Sintra Boutique Hotel (Sintra) was wonderful. The concierge was super helpful, the location was convenient, the room was comfortable, and the food at breakfast was the best (of the hotel breakfasts) we had during our trip.

The AP Oriental (Portimão) was gorgeous. Front desk staff was friendly and helpful, the room was spacious and comfortable. The food was great; the pool was quiet and clean. The weather didn’t cooperate for us to spend time on the beach, but it looked like a beautiful set up. Convenient location to walk everywhere, including along the boardwalk and beach. It was nice that it was a quiet, adults only hotel. The trade off was that most of the other guests were much older (more of a 50/60+ crowd). Wi-fi was a bit spotty.

Brown’s Central (Lisbon) was right in the thick of things. If you like to be where the people are, it’s the place for you. That being said, once inside the room it was quiet and comfortable. The decor is hip and unique. The bar downstairs had great bartenders and drinks. Walkable to many points of interest, bars and restaurants – just make sure you’re ready for cobblestones, narrow side walks and some hills/stairs. And A LOT of people.

Excursions

We LOVED the food tour in Lisbon. Our tour guide was super knowledgeable and gave great info everywhere we stopped, plus additional tips and recommendations. 10/10 would recommend.

The boat tour of the caves was so much fun. It was a little choppy the day we went out, but definitely worth the hour or so we were on the water. The boat was smaller than some other tours, so while we traded off some comfort, it allowed us to get closer to/into some of the caves, including Benagil.

It was nice to spend a night in Sintra. While crowded during the day with day trippers, it was peaceful to walk around at night. We had a delicious dinner, got some gelato and walked around town. We visited Peña Palace, which is a must see. Unfortunately there was a workers strike the second day and we weren’t able to visit the Moorish castle, but we still hiked up to it and saw the outside

We spent an afternoon in Cascais and would highly recommend anyone going to Lisbon make the trip, even for a few hours. We also stopped at St Vincent lighthouse in Sagres (aka the southernmost point in Portugal).

Food

The food was incredible. Restaurant F in Portimão was our favorite meal. Everywhere we stopped on the food tour in Lisbon was also amazing.

Pastéis de Belém may be touristy, but it really is worth it. We didn’t go inside, but we took pastéis to go and ate them in a nearby park.

The southernmost point of Portugal featuring sea and lighthouse

Overall, we had a wonderful time! Thank you for helping us plan this trip and for making such great recommendations!

Facebook-square Instagram Linkedin Pinterest-square

You provided excellent guidance for us. I appreciated that you really had us think about what was most important to us when we were selecting the right cruise – and not to totally focus on what other people had to say. THANK YOU for helping to make this a memorable trip for our family! It really was a trip of a lifetime!

– Clare and Mark (family cruise to Alaska)

The level of service we experienced was out of this world (and we did NOT make it easy on Ann). We weren’t quite sure where we wanted to go, when we would be able to go, or what “vibe” we were going for. After asking us some key questions (what we liked, didn’t like, why, etc.) Ann helped us narrow down our trip details and planned the honeymoon of our dreams. She helped book some of our excursions, answered some emergency questions while abroad and was always available/willing to help. I think it’s safe to say we won’t be using anyone else for future travel planning – Ann is a rockstar!

– Carli (Italy and Spain)