Sell me on your resort spot!

meryltheresa · February 2012

All this talk about vacations has me starting to look. DH and I are talking about going on a resort type vacation NEXT spring. But I've only been to the Bahamas for a college spring break type trip, and he's never done anything like that. So basically we have no idea where to start. No kiddos will be coming on this trip with us, we never had a honeymoon so we are treating it as such. TIA!!

Where have you been?

What did you like?

What did you dislike?

Did you find the best deals through the websites, or maybe a travel agent? ( ex. sandals seems to always have deals.)

emiliemetcalf · February 2012

I can tell you more in person, but we LOVED our vacation to Punta Cana and Dan is already planning our return trip.

We stayed at the Majestic Elegance resort in the "Majestic Club" which is the adults only area, which is definitely the way to go. We paid about $2600 for the entire vacation including airfare, and at our resort there were 6 restaurants, and like 12 bars. All food and alcohol is included in the price and in the "club" we had free wifi in 2 private lounges that also had computers with webcams, food and bottled drinks all the time. We also had a personal butler and 4 bottles of liquor and a bottle of champagne in our room when we checked in, and the mini bar was restocked daily, and there was 24 free room service. We had a private beach area with cocktail waitresses and there were no children allowed in that area, or in our private pool.

All of the pools in the resort were like lazy rivers. And they had activities everyday, like live shows in the evening and things like bingo and water aerobics during the day. We even went to the nightclub, which is funny being 6 months pregnant.

https://www.majestic-resorts.com/en/index.html

battybtags · February 2012

If no kids... We went to Aruba and stayed at the bucuti...it's an adult only place and is beautiful! They include breakfast but that's it. We didn't want all inclusive since we don't drink much and the restaurants in Aruba are phenomenal! It's very safe there...we never felt in danger or scared to wander the island. We rented a car a few days and explored the island on our own. I can't remember if we used a travel agent-I think we did though. We definitely want to go back someday!

ArcticFox · February 2012

We got married/honeymooned on the Mayan Rivera, Mex. I loved it because there was just so much to do - out of 10 full days there, we only spent 1 day at the resort. But.. with kids.. I imagine you want it to be a little more localized, less running around. They do have kid's resorts, I would check out PalaceResorts.com. I wasn't sure about the all-inclusive part, but it was really nice not to have to worry about carrying around $$ or whatnot. The resort was so big, pools, ocean, indoor pool, lots of stuff to do, and you can 'stay and play' at any of their resorts (so you could bounce between cancun/mayan riviera resorts).

I am generally less of a fan of smaller islands, since you are limited as to what you can do, but again, with kids, I'm not sure I'd want to be traipsing all over.

We visited Atlantis on one of our trips (for a full day). It was amazing but I think the $$ can add up.. a bag of chips or a cup of hot cocoa can be crazy expensive, so I can't even imagine meals in terms of cost. Also, the ocean there was crazy (the beach had crazy waves), but I think you'd just stick to their lagoon.

TinaL99 · February 2012

We went to Couples Swept Away in Negril, Jamaica for our honeymoon and it was incredible.

https://couples.com/swept-away/

I loved everything about this resort. It's romantic, small, nice rooms, lovely staff, great food, all-inclusive, sunsets...you could be as busy (snorkeling, booze cruise/cliff diving, kayaking) or as relaxed (massages/spa, swim up bars, hot tubs) as you wanted. There was entertainment every night.

Dislikes: It's a little pricier than a lot of other places. It's a pretty long ride from the airport in Montego Bay.

One of our friends aunt's is a travel agent for AAA so we book through her. Definitely check through the resorts websites for deals.

We also went to Sandals Dunns River in 2008 with a group of friends. I think that resort closed but I don't know that I would have recommended it for just a couples trip. It was perfect for our group of 8. Other Sandals may be more romantic, but this one was more for fun.

Mitzzi23 · February 2012

We've been to a few all-inclusives. We went to Sandals Whitehouse in Jamaica several years ago. I really like it. The food was decent, tons of alcohol, great pools, but not a fantastic beach.

We also stayed at The Royal in both Playa del Carmen and Cancun. There were some really great restaurants at both resorts. In Playa del Carmen there are cute shops and stuff. The beach at the one in Cancun was small, but Cancun has the most beautiful water IMO...look at my honeymoon pics on FB.

We also stayed at Secrets Silversands in Riviera Maya, right near Cancun. The rooms were absolutely gorgeous. The food was good, fun pool scene, they catch fish and you can choose which one you want grilled. pics also on FB.

Last year we went to Aruba which aside from Hawaii is my fav vacation spot. The island is just awesome. There is so much to do, and unlike the the other places we went you can leave your hotel and feel safe. There are fantastic restaurants. We stayed at the Renaissance (we had points) which was nice, but it was downtown. There was a boat that brought us to a private island. We went to see my aunt and uncle at the Marriott which is where we would have rather stayed, but we were being frugal with our Marriott points. We will go back to Aruba some day. Pics onFB.

I like all-inclusives for the ease, but Aruba was my favorite. It was also the most expensive. Sandals is great and the most well known, but there are other resorts just as nice (if not nicer) for less. I guess you should decide if you want to go out and about a lot, or just hang out by a pool or beach. We have a great Travel Agent who is right near our houses. I can give you her info if you want it. She is a "Sandals Expert." Wow, that is a novel, sorry we love to travel.

jnk062602 · February 2012

We went to sandals Ocho Rios for our honeymoon. We loved it, but because the ride from the airport is so long you lose a day on each end of your vaca due to travel. Because of that I doubt we would go back. But we would certainly go to another Sandals.

My parents took us to an all inclusive in Cancun when I was in high school. I don't know the name of it or any details, but I know they were also looking at other places and cancun was like half the cost. My favorite part of the trip was visiting the Mayan ruins, so Arctic's place sounds cool to me.

mrsoc · February 2012

We have never been to an all inclusive resort, but have been a a cruise together and one each separately. We love cruises, because you are on the move each day. I would like to try an AI resort someday though.

TinyPinkBug · February 2012

Depends on what you are looking for. Do you want to go to a destination where you can leave the resort, walk around towns, go sight seeing? Or a beautiful resort with everything you could need without stepping foot outside the gates?

If you want a place where you can explore the island on your own, I would recommend Aruba or Grand Cayman. We really like the Divi Divi in Aruba, all-inclusive, HUGE beach, and close to Orajansted. We visited Grand Caymen by cruise so I don't have a place to stay, but probably some place on 7-mile beach.

If you want a place with beautiful resort that you never leave, you want some place like Jamaica. We like to walk around, sight see and shop. We HATED Jamaica and will NEVER step foot in Jamaica again. Not even for a free vacation!

We have also been to Cozumel and Bahamas. They weren't bad, but I wouldn't go back if I had other choices. I think the Bahamas also depends on the island.

If I were you, I would consider going on a cruise. You will get to visit several different islands and get a good feel for what different places are like. We liked Princess cruise lines. While there were some kids on the ship, it wasn't geared toward kids so we didn't see very many.

missyjg · February 2012

Another vote for Aruba here! We stayed at Manchebo Beach Resort and Spa on the west side of Aruba. The beach was amazing, food was excellent and it was very relaxing. The island is relaxing in nature and is beautiful! We want to go back sooo badly. The resort is a short ride to the capital Oranjested (sp?) where there was great shopping and nightlife.

We booked through a travel agent. I think our total came to 2100 including airfair and tips. It was much cheaper then any of the other websites and to book through them it would have been 2x as much.

dle927 · February 2012

I love Playa del Carmen. We stayed at an all-inclusive on the beach at the end of the shopping district. DH is a lounger, I like to do things so it was a perfect compromise. We stayed at the Gran Porto Real. Across the street is the "sister" hotel - Royal, which was already mentioned. It's a step up and we would stay there if/when we go again. (The Gran Porto Real was fantastic but I *think* that the Royal is more couple based.)

BethPSU · February 2012

While I like beach vacations, they are just not DH's thing. He has to have lots of activity. We did go to the Mayan Riviera for our honeymoon and stayed at The Palace Resort (the adults only one). I got insanely sick on our honeymoon. It was a really nice resort and the food would have been great if I could have stomached it. For that reason alone, I don't think we will ever go back to Mexico. I am terrified. I also got a horrible UTI so the honeymoon was sort of a horrormoon.

Our favorite vacation was definitely our week long ski trip to France. We skied Meribel (Albertville olympics 1992), Corchuvel, Val Thornes, and Les Menuires. We stayed in Brid les Baines, France. It was absolutely the most romantic vacation and we loved every minute of it. We also spent 3 days in Paris. I would relive this vacation over and over if I could.

We also LOVED our trip to Sonoma/Napa. I went to San Fran for work and DH flew out on one of my free flights and we spent a long weekend in Napa doing wine tasings. It was awesome. I think we might go back in a year or two when we can leave the kiddos.

Telyco · February 2012

I agree with Beth. France is my favorite place on earth. I LOVE it. If I had a few days to go somewhere with DH I would go back there.

I looked at Turks and Caicos for a family vacation and it looks AWESOME there!! I hope to go someday! I'd like to go to Hawaii but the flight seems so long I'd rather go to europe in that time. I dunno - I'm not much help. I have a list a mile long on where I want to go!

You couldn't pay me to go to Mexico. I don't see me ever going on a cruise either. I'm a tough crowd.

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