For Adults Only III

Rounding out this category in the Caribbean the is largest resort collection for adults, Sandals. Sandals was founded by Gordon "Butch" Stewart in 1981 when he purchased an old hotel named Bay Roc which was sorely in need of repair. His vision was to created a new all-inclusive experience for adult couples only with luxury amenities. As a Sandals Certified Specialist for many years, I am pleased to share the resorts with you.

Twenty-eight years later, and 12 Sandals Resorts located in the finest Caribbean locations, Mr. Stewart had the right idea! In Jamaica alone, Sandals owns 7 resorts, ranging from the intimate Sandals Inn in Montego Bay to the opulent Dunn's River in Ocho Rios.

In the Montego Bay, are Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Royal Caribbean located near Sandals Inn. Because of their proximity to each other guests have the ability to take advantage of resort amenities at all three with the Stay At One, Play At All Policy. A shuttle bus regularly circuits the resorts providing access for guests.

Ocho Rios boasts two resorts in which to play. The opulent Sandals Dunn's River and it's sister resort, Sandals Grande Ocho Rios. Sandals Dunn's River was recently renovated to recreate the luxury feel of the Italian Renaissance. At Sandals Dunn's River you can pamper yourself with the taste of Europe on sandy Caribbean beaches. Next door, Sandals Grande Ocho Rios, and expansive property offers both beachfront and lush private accommodations. Oceanfront rooms can be enjoyed in the Manor House, directly on the beach. The Ciboney Villa Suites offer private stand alone villas with plunge pools, concierge and butler service nestled amid lush tropical gardens.

Traveling down the coast of Jamaica, you will find Sandals Negril which sits on the longest stretch of the famous seven mile beach. Since Sandals Negril is located on the western tip of Jamaica, be prepared for the most beautiful sunsets in the Jamaica. Also, Sandals Negril is the proud recipient of the Caribbean Hotel Association' Green Hotel of the Year award. Who said you can't have it all?

Finally in Jamaica on the southwest coast is Sandals Whitehouse. This is the first Sandals Resort built from the ground up by Mr. Stewart. This resort showcases the finest of Europe in the Caribbean. This amazing resort offers the blending of three fabulous European countries; Italy, France and Holland. Your European holiday was never so close!

As we now fly out of Jamaica we head for Antigua. Here we find the newly expanded Sandals Antigua. Along the beach with crystal warm waters, experience the new Mediterranean Village and the Caribbean Grove which is located in a tropic grove. While here, for the maximum of luxury experiences, choose a beachfront Rondoval, with romantic jacuzzis for two and price plunge pools. Your butler will at your beck and call during your stay.

Entering the scenic island of St. Lucia, you have three Sandals Resorts from which to choose. The intimate Sandals Halcyon Beach, Sandals Grande St. Lucian and Sandals Regency La Toc. Like the trio in Montego Bay, you can stay at one and play at all, giving you the best your vacation can offer. At Sandals Halcyon Beach explore the tropical gardens, have a drink at pool or relax on the beach. At night, seek refuge at the piano bar.

Sandals Grande St. Lucian offers scenic views of the Pitons as you relax poolside or on the beach. Like Sandals Antigua, for the ultimate luxury, stay in a beachfront Rondoval. Also, let's not forget the fun of a Swim Up Room. Step off of your private patio into the one of the free form pools.

Sandals Regency La Toc is the pinnacle of luxury with their Villa Suites located high on Sunset Bluff. As you rise each morning, you will be amazed at you view. This resort also is proud to have one of the largest fresh water pools in the Caribbean. Don't forget your clubs...take a swing the picturesque 9 hole course.

As they, "It's better in the Bahamas." Last, but not least is Sandals Royal Bahamian. You will feel like royalty from the moment you land in Nassau. Start out with the ultimate of luxury when you are whisked away from the airport in your private Rolls Royce with selected suite reservations. Your VIP pampering will continue with private check in by your butler in your suite. This Five Star Diamond award winner is sure to please the most discerning of travelers. Need some privacy? Try Sandals Cay, the resort's private island for some quiet sunbathing or snorkling.

Of course don't forget your appointment at the Red Lane Spas. Choose from a wonderful menu of pampering massage treatments, aroma therapies, manicures and pedicures. For the best your vacation can offer, please make your appointments before you go as there are limited appointments daily for the optimal service.

Ready to go? Call me now.

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Have You Enriched You Life Through Travel?

Seeing the world, meeting new people, sharing experiences with your family...what could be better? Where is your dream vacation? Is it sharing the excitment of your little one meeting Mickey Mouse or watching your grandchildren as they gaze at wild animals while on Safari in South Africa? Is it that second honeymoon you've promised each other on a romantic beach or candlelight dinner along the Champs-Élysées in Paris?

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What Is Your Travel Dream? Virtuoso Wants To Know

Everyone has a travel dream. Virtuoso knows that! Virtuoso wants to know your dream.

You are invited to take the 3rd Annual Virtuoso Travel Dreams Sweepstakes Survey. You must be a US resident to comply with the enrty rules. Deadline for your entry is March 31, 2009. Please enter my name as your Virtuoso Travel Advisor.

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For Adults Only II

Welcome to the second part of my series for Adult Only resorts. The next two resorts are also located on the warm shores of Jamaica. Both are owned by SuperClubs which created their first all-inclusive resort in 1976 in Negril. They pride themselves with the concept of "Super All-Inclusive" with no hidden costs. Their list of all-inclusive amenities is long and even includes learning how to use the flying trapeze at one of the resorts. I'll get to that in one minute.

The adult only Hedonism Resorts are for adults choosing to live life on the wild side, leaving their inhibitions at the door. This lively resort offers all the activity one can wish for on their vacation. Some guests need a vacation after their vacation at Hedo! However, there are many areas for complete relaxation by the pool or beach too.

Hedonism II, located in Negril began in 1981 with the concept of being an all-inclusive haven for adults, forgetting the outside world. Then along came Hedonism III in Runaway Bay, just adding to the pleasures of life. For adults looking for the ultimate playground, Hedonism Resorts is for you. The resorts boast nonstop, 24 hour a day fun, 7 days a week. From a quiet snooze on a hammock to dancing to the wee hours of the morning and everything in between, there is nothing left out of the daily activities. Both resorts offer their famous nude and prude areas so you can choose just how naughty or nice you want to be.

Theme nights such as Toga parties, Circus Showcase and Mardi Gras keep one hopping at night. During the day, learn to reggae, dive, snorkel, or set sail on a glass bottom boat. If you really want to do something special, go to Circus School and take your hand on the flying trapeze at Hedonism III.

If you are looking for the out of the ordinary vacation experience, Hedonism just may be the answer. Not sure if this is for you? Then you can be a guest for the day while you are visiting the island. Guest passes are available for a small fee.

I know I have peaked your interest! So call me, and let's get you on the way!

Trips Of A Life Time

So many of us dream about travel. Where should we go? When should we go? How do we choose? Take a look at this edition of Virtuoso's Insider Guide.

Click on the link below for some awesome travel ideas. These vacations offer some exceptional values through some of the our most respected travel partners.

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Trips Of A Life Time

For Adults Only

I have been asked by several readers for information about Adult Only Resorts. Your wish is my command! There are several types of adult only resorts, some more serene and some offering alternative life style activities. Over the next few weeks, I will review some of the more popular adult only resorts.

For the first of this mini-series, it seems natural to begin with Couples Resorts, the orignal all adult resort. In 1949, late owner, Abe Issa, opened the first resort in Jamaica to be opened year around. This resort known as Tower Isle soon became popular with luminaries from Hollywood and beyond. As popularity grew, Mr. Issa founded the idea of an all-inclusive, all adult resort in 1978 calling this renowned resort, Couples Resort Ocho Rios.

Now with over 30 years of all-inclusive, adult only resort offerings, Couples Resorts offers four all adult, all-inclusive resorts in Jamiaca. The resorts remain a leader in guest satisfaction with extraordinary inclusive amenities, dining and more. Their boutique style resorts strive to pamper guests and create a romantic atmosphere. Their list of inclusions is second to none!

To help me with this blog, I went straight to the source, and spoke with a long time representative of Couples Resorts. As I began to ask him questions, he found it challenging to narrow down just a few his favorite accolades of the resorts as they truly are many. Just ask the hundreds of guests returning yearly to their home away from home. One of his favorite details about Couples is the fact they are boutique style, intimate and do not have a mass market atmosphere. Also for the past 8 years, Couples Resorts has been consistently recognized as top 100 and top 500 hotels in the world according to readers of Travel and Leisure and Conde Naste Magazines.

Their smallest resort, Couples Sans Souci located in Ocho Rios has only about 155 rooms and probably has one of the most secluded locations on a beautiful sea side bluff. A full array of water sports, romantic amenities and room service are provided here. Take a shuttle into town for shopping or take an excursion to Dunns River Falls, courtesy of the resort.

Also located in Ocho Rios, is the soon to reopen Tower Isle, once known as Couples Ocho Rios. When renovating this resort, the owners read and reread guest comments about what they would like to experience in a resort. The resort was completely gutted and restaurants were added along with 2 swim up bars and entire new block of ocean front rooms. The resort is scheduled to reopen in April!

Moving southward we arrive at Couples Negril. This resort is also completing renovations to their interior including furnishings and refurbishment of bathrooms in the guest rooms according the Couples representative. This resort is built on 18 acres of beachfront property along the famed Negril beach. Couples Negril is considered by many to be their "chic" resort.

Lastly we come to Couples Swept Away also in Negril along the famed beach. Couples Swept Away renovated the resort and built new verandah accommodations to compliment the existing rooms. Probably the most intimate rooms are the Atriu m rooms nestled in the middle of the resort amidst lush vegetation. The accommodations boast louvered windows giving the feeling of a luxury cabin in total quiet with unparalleled scenery.

For true Caribbean style pampering and luxury Couples Resorts is a logical solution if you want an all-inclusive boutique resort. If this sounds good, hurry as the resorts have some very special offers for your travel happiness. Don't delay to get the best offers, call me today.

Responsible Travel

In the past few months media stories about travelers being injured or worse have made some would be travelers question the safety of their travel plans. I have been asked time and again is the destination I am traveling to safe. The traveler will go on to say, "but I heard...."

Yes, there are destinations which may not be the best choices due to instability in a region or unfriendliness toward US citizens. Choosing to travel to Iraq, Iran or Afghanistan may not be the right choice for the average western tourist at this time. However, tourism safety is up to the traveler and the use of common sense most of the time.

Some countries like Israel and Egypt are questioned by many about safety. I had some interesting conversations in the past few months with tourism partners in that region. There is a perception of ill will toward travelers or lack of safety which is simply not true. Those countries value their guests and do all they can to secure the safety of their visitors.

The same goes for many of the Caribbean Islands. I hear from so many a perception of danger on the islands. Again, simply not true for the responsible traveler. Tourists are coming and going by the hundreds without serious incident.

Of course the Natalie Holloway story in Aruba made so many fear the island. Actually Aruba has one of the lowest crime records of all the Caribbean area islands. The unfortunate mistake made was a young, immature teen leaving the safety of her group to go out late at night with a stranger. It is not something in all probability she would have done at home, but feeling free on vacation, she let her guard down. The outcome was a parent's nightmare. However, it was not the fault of the island or it's police.

Most recently, a young woman was attacked and killed in Puerto Rico. Again a most unfortunate occurrence. However, when reading the account of the woman, her friends said she was a thrill seeker and often came back with stories of how she would run through unknown neighborhoods and be chased by dogs, amongst other things. This is just yet another example of irresponsible travel behavior.

In the US, we very rarely see the foreign media reports about the US. If I viewed them, I may be afraid to visit the US. Of course no country is perfectly safe, but one must take the precautions to ensure their own safety when traveling just as one does in their daily lives at home.

Within almost every city globally, whether NY, LA, Dallas, London or Paris to name a few, there are certainly areas in which the traveler need not venture. We all know many cities have areas not meant for tourist inspection and wandering into those areas, even for residents of the area, can be dangerous. So why take the chance?

When traveling it is up to you to first choose a destination. Ask your travel professional about the destination. If you are not sure about the safety find out if there are any travel advisories. They should be happy to get the information for you if they do not already know. If you have concerns about an area, ask!

There are many times when I am asked about a destination's safety. Usually the answer is the destination is safe if you follow reasonable practice. My advice is to stay on the beaten path. Do not go wandering into neighborhoods which are too far from major tourism areas. If you are the curious traveler, ask your hotel concierge or the front desk agent about the surrounding neighborhoods. They will tell you if they which areas of the city are welcoming and which you might want to avoid. You also want to try to wander with a partner and certainly during the day time.

An example of safety would be traveling to Israel. The country as a whole is very safe with Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Eilat the most popular places to see. Last year the country saw the highest tourism numbers on record with over 3 million tourists, and one third of those from the US. They all returned home safely. While visiting Israel there are many cities which are safe and are welcoming to tourism. Of course areas such as the West Bank and Gaza are not on the recommended list of areas to tour. Again, it is using common sense.

Another example is Egypt. Areas such as Cairo, Luxor, Alexandra and Sharem el Shiekh are safe to visit. Wandering off the beaten path into smaller, unknown neighborhoods may not be advisable. You need to make good choices.

Also, the traveler must always take reasonable precautions. Be careful about flaunting your money or jewelry. You may want to leave your expensive jewelry or handbags at home so as not to call attention to yourself. Know the currency and exchange rate. Pulling out wads of money for a merchant to help you count is not wise. While the merchant may be honest, those around might not be. Gentlemen, keep your money in your front pockets. You may want to split the money into both pockets. It is much harder to be pick pocketed. Ladies, keep your wallet in a purse that zips. When making a purchase you don't need to pull your entire purse out. Please, use your common sense!
If you are traveling by taxi, be sure the cab you hail is licensed. Find out from your hotel how to recognize a licensed cab. Most will feature special license plates or dated stickers on the car to denote their standing.

Travel safely...use your common sense. Even though you are on vacation, don't take everything for granted. Be responsible for yourself and your actions. You will find this will make your travel experience a great one!