by In Brides, Destinations, General Travel Information, Luxury Travel, Uncategorized, Wedding Tagged , , , , , , Leave a comment

Do you want in on some Secrets?

 

I’m not talking about gossip or confidential information; I’m referring the Secrets resorts! Secrets Resorts are upscale adults only all-inclusive resorts. Secrets Resorts features “Unlimited Luxury”, a new and better way for adults to have it all. At Secrets resorts there are no wristbands or reservations for dining, an extra measure of romance, 24 hour room service, gourmet a la carte dining options, top shelf spirits, daily refreshed in room minibars, pool and beach wait service and more! They do a great job at combining an active lifestyle with relaxation and privacy. Secrets also offer their Preferred Club category of rooms that come with additional amenities and privileges.

There are 10 Secrets resorts located throughout Mexico, 2 resorts in Jamaica, and 1 in the Dominican Republic. Recently I was in Cancun, Cozumel, and the Riviera Maya and toured 6 of their resorts. There was not a bad one in the bunch, but all had distinctly different personalities!

Secrets Playa Mujeres will be their newest resort in Mexico; opening in November 2014. This resort reminds me of Costa Rica meets Mexico. It is lush and beautiful! We were there during construction (hard hats required for our tour!)

Secrets the Vine was my host hotel for 3 nights; I love this hotel! It is a very hip, happening resort. Do you like wine? This is the resort for you! They have daily wine tastings and one of the largest wine menus I have ever seen. Premium hotel zone location offers convenience to the airport and to Cancun and the beach is amazing.

Secrets Maroma Beach is a 5 diamond AAA resort located on one of the top ten beaches in the world and certainly the best beach in Mexico. If you are all about the beach, this is the resort for you! This is definitely a great option for couples or couples traveling together.

Secrets Silversands is a hip, modern, chic resort. This resort combines style with sexiness and sophistication. I would definitely categorize this as a fun resort for couples or a group of adults traveling together. The resort is one of 8’s – 8 pools, 8 bars, and 8 restaurants.

Secrets Riviera Capri is situated in a gorgeous tropical yet ocean front setting. This resort is unique in that the entire resort is Preferred Club with regards to room categories and amenities. The drive in to this resort is gorgeous, and the resort does not disappoint. Beautiful, nice sized rooms, great pools, and of course a great beach.

Secrets Aura Cozumel sits on one of the best beaches on all of Cozumel. Cozumel is a water enthusiast’s paradise and this resort has full service onsite dive operator. The resort all has the largest resort spa on the island. This is the perfect resort to do it all, or do nothing at all.

Each Secrets definitely has its own personality and its own vibe. While all of them are adult only, some are more of a couple’s environment and some are great for all adult guests. Working with a travel professional who takes the time to become educated and visit the properties helps to insure the right resort selection for you.

If you would like to see pictures of these resorts and some of the other Secrets resorts, check out my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CouplesTravelConciere

Safe Travels,

 

Iberostar Grand Hotel Paraiso – Riviera Maya

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My assistant Emer was in Mexico with her husband Neal earlier this month.   I’ve asked Emer to provide us with a review of her vacation.
Here is the review from Emer!

Kelley, as you know, right before you left for Mexico, Neal and I had just returned from a 5 day paradise trip at the Iberostar Grand Hotel Paraiso, Riviera Maya.  We had previously had only one experience with an all inclusive resort on our Honeymoon – many moons ago.

We flew into Cancun airport, and it was only about a 45 minute drive to the resort by pre-arranged transportation.  Once we got there, I was surprised by the size of the property – there are several different Iberstar hotels on property, some are family friendly, ours was the Adult ONLY Grand hotel. The drive around property was beautiful with lush trees and well maintained grounds.

         

The Lobby area of the Grand Hotel is stunning – cool, airy, tiled floors and tasteful decor.
Upon arrival we were warmly greeted with a fresh towel and a welcome cocktail. The staff is very professional and courteous.
We had arrived early so our room was not quite ready, we were invited to visit the Lunch Buffet by the pool.  Our patio table looked out on the ocean.
The assortment of food was unbelievable – there was a fresh seafood buffet with Lobster tails, Jumbo Shrimp. Crab claws and many different salads and side dishes for anyone’s taste.  In addition, there was a hot cooked buffet line and a full dessert bar to boot.  Needless to say we went there regularly.
  

There are several restaurants(Italian, French, Japanese and Surf and Turf) on the property along with two different buffet style restaurants.  We tried them all and each one was outstanding – no complaints here about the food or service.

Our room was an oceanfront with balcony – really beautiful and tastefully decorated.
After a few minutes our butler arrived to review the resort amenities and room features, and to insure that we were satisfied with our amenities.   We had been able to pre-order our comfort requests including mini bar preferences, spa appointments, restaurant reservations and desired pillow menu online prior to arrival, and everything was perfect.
  

The beach was right outside our room, it was paradise with luxury lounge chairs and beds, under shaded grass umbrellas.  Staff came around continously to freshen drinks and take care of any other requests you had.  We were spoiled..!!!  We booked a couple of Spa treatments that were out of this world !!

We got to see several beach wedding photo shoots while we were on the beach, it seemed like the perfect place to get married.  We chatted to a wedding party one evening at dinner and they were having a great time, they said everything was outstanding.


We also booked a couple of excursions
off property including a Catamaran          snorkeling trip and a Pro-fishing trip.
Thanks to Kelley we had booked these through one of Kelley’s reputable companies prior to leaving.

We thoroughly enjoyed both, especially for me the snorkeling.  The Ocean was perfect.

 

One of the things I most appreciated about this resort was that it never felt crowded.  Because of the size of the property and the number of amenities, everything was spread out.  I loved walking through the hotel as it was cool, airy and quiet.  Also, even though we don’t personally play Golf, other guests were commenting on the world class golf course on property.  We had a restful vacation and would have loved some more time.

I would definitely go there again and this time, I would stay longer and also do a full day tour of the Mayan Ruins – I heard fantastic things about that trip.

Until we go back, I can dream of paradise……..

I don’t know about you, but Emer has been successful in making me want to go back again… Thanks Emer!

Safe Travels,

What’s to eat ??

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Kelley’s Travel Times 

 

When it comes to planning your vacation, food can be an important consideration! Can you imagine going to a destination, or taking a cruise, and being hungry the whole time you are gone? Okay, so that has never actually happened to me…but there are destinations, cruise lines, and resorts that are perfect the foodie in all of us.

An important part of your vacation planning should be letting me know your food tastes and styles. If you are a very casual person or have very simple tastes, my recommendations will be slightly different than if you like formal dining or haut cuisine

 

                           

When it comes to cruising, most cruise lines have such a variety of restaurants that there is truly something for everyone.  There are a couple of lines that place more of an emphasis on their cuisine such as Holland America and Oceania.  Holland America has demonstration kitchens and offers a variety of cooking lessons.  Oceania has the legendary master chef Jacques Pépin as their executive culinary director.  Norwegian has partnered with Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakaran and Cake Boss; while Carnival has partnered with Guy Fieri.  These are just a few of the samples.
       
When it comes to resorts, there are some resorts that really excel in the world of culinary arts.  Karisma Resorts uses the tag line Gourmet Inclusive.  Azul is their family brand and they really know how to keep the food interesting for kids of all ages.  El Dorado is their adult only brand and the food choices are amazing at these resorts.  The Gourmet Inclusive tag line lives up to expectations; truly something for everyone and all high quality.
                
As for destinations, there are many for the foodie in all of us.   Italy and France come to top of mind.  You can do entire culinary oriented tours in both countries!  These are two of my favorite countries for food, but the list is too long to list.

Hopefully I’ve given you one more thing to consider for your vacation planning.  Now that I’ve made myself (and hopefully you) hungry, it’s time to go find my next culinary adventure!

Kelley