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Aruba, One Happy Island

Posted on July 22, 2018

Aruba will always have a special place in my heart. It was here, 8 years ago, that I made the smartest decision of my life…I asked my wife Sarina to marry me. It was nice to finally be able to go back and this time, bring Nate along with us, to share our love of this beautiful island! For the accommodations, we partnered up with La Cabana Beach Resort & Casino. It’s a modern resort with some really great amenities, and right across from the famous Eagle Beach. The room we stayed in gave us an amazing view of the ocean, and even though the resort was technically across the street from the beach, it didn’t really feel like it was because it was still a super close walk to get to the beach. The room was very spacious with all the modern touches. It had a full kitchen, a bedroom with barn doors, a huge balcony with outdoor seating, a couch that opened up to a bed in the living room as well as another couch and plenty of closets. Which is also a plus for us because we definitely all pack on the heavy side LOL…especially me!

Eagle Beach is a public beach, but La Cabana guests were met at the beach by an employee and once you showed them your resort wristband they set you up with chairs & your own straw cabana. They also had a cute tiki bar right on the beach so we didn’t have to walk far for our pina coladas! The pool was really big, had a beautiful waterfall, a volleyball net and even a water slide, which we loved! One step away from the pool was the bar and literally another step away was their on site Islander Grill. Inside the hotel lobby I was pleasantly surprised to find there was an on-site Cinnabon! I couldn’t believe it. My family and I are obsessed with Cinnabon so we were kind of in heaven and actually ended up eating it every morning for breakfast LOL. There was also a gift shop/convenience store right in the lobby that had some tourist knick knacks, as well as drinks, snacks, and even some booze, which always comes in handy! There was also a jewelry store, a lotion shop, and though I’m not much of a Gambler, I know a lot of you will be happy to hear they have a casino right on-site as well!

The first day at La Cabana we did our usual and just hung around the resort. All of our vacations usually start with us waking up at 3am to get to the airport, so we’re all usually pretty wiped the first day, so we try and not go too crazy with exploring. We went straight to the ocean, grabbed a pina, got our little hut and just relaxed. It was great, because there were enough huts for everybody and also still enough empty beach that Nate and I could find room to throw the football and frisbee around without disturbing anybody, so it was perfect. Nate and I get antsy if we lay around for too long, so we like to stay active. The ocean was a beautiful turquoise…just as you would expect from the Caribbean. The one little bummer was that there was no snorkeling at the beach. That was the one disappointment I had with Aruba. Compared to other islands I’ve been to, the snorkeling just did not compare. Don’t get me wrong, the water is beautiful, but I’m kind of a snorkeling snob you might say HAHA and love when we can do it straight from the shore. After the beach we spent the rest of the day chillin’ at the pool, with happy hour & more pina coladas 🙂 and then got ready for dinner at their on-site restaurant, Las Ramblas. The food there was SPECTACULAR! We all really enjoyed not only our meals, but the whole experience. All the seating was outside on a cute patio with beautiful string lights above you, and a musician playing the guitar and singing while you ate. As weird as people might think it is, escargot is one of those dishes for me that if it’s on the menu, I have to order it! So, I was pretty excited to see it on there and even more excited that it was soooooo good. Nate was dying to eat lobster. He had tried it once before and ever since has fallen in love with it LOL. Even though they didn’t have lobster tail on the menu, they made it for him! I could not believe how fast he scarfed it down. The waitress was even shocked that his little body finished the entire dish! I had a perfectly cooked T-bone steak with chimichurri sauce, and my wife had the shrimp. For dessert, we had the creme brulee…which is one of my favorite desserts to order when I’m out to dinner. There’s just something about cracking the top of that custard that just gets me every time! This place was amazing. We had such an unforgettable dinner here! It’s always a plus when your resort had an incredible restaurant right on the property!

The second day we took our time getting out of the hotel and relaxed by the pool in the morning.But later in the day, we headed off to a snorkel trip with Red Sail Sports. They took us out on a really cool catamaran, the staff was amazing and the drinks were delicious…stiff LOL. Unfortanetly again, compared to the other islands we have been to, the snorkeling was a little disappointing. There weren’t as much fish or coral as we are used to seeing on. The second stop was at a shipwreck, which might have been cool to see but Aruba is very windy (which is great for battling the sun and cooling you off) but when in the ocean, it can make it pretty choppy. Nate couldn’t even get into the water to snorkel and the waves made the water a little foggy so you couldn’t really see the ship. I was able to dive down enough to see part of it so it was still pretty amazing to see, but again, not as visible as we had hoped for. We still ended up having a great time, but would have loved seeing some more fish. Our vacations never feel complete unless we take a boat out on a tour, so I’m still happy we went. We still had a blast!

The pool at La Cabana didn’t close until 10pm, so every night we made sure we went in for a late night dip. It’s starting to become a nightly tradition on all of our family trips, so we always make sure to find out the pool hours before deciding on a hotel. Once out of the pool, Nate always asked us if we could play checkers or chess on the oversized lawn sets. He loves these giant boards! I taught Nate how to play chess and was shocked at how quickly he picked it up! A lot quicker than my wife did! LOL

The next morning we made our way to De Palm Island. Normally you get picked up from your resort and brought to the ferry, but we decided to take our rental car so we could do some sight seeing after. While waiting for the ferry the wind decided it was going to take one of my favorite hats for a little ride, so I had to jump off the pier and into the water to find it. Luckily the water was so clear it was an easy find and was actually a really nice swim! Hang on to your hats in Aruba! De Palm Island has a really fun water park on the island, which is actually where we spent most of our time. Nate was a little hesitant at first but once he got warmed up to it, we could not get him off the water slides. He LOVED it! They had something for everyone. Little slides for Nate, medium slides for wifey and big slides for daddy LOL. Even my mother-in-law went down a few. The island is all-inclusive, so you can get all the adult beverages and non-alcoholic drinks you want, as well as food from the buffet and grill. We had burgers, hotdogs, and fries for lunch, and of course some pina coladas 🙂 After lunch we went to their snorkel section, which is where we saw the most fish during our trip. They had tons of blueish purple parrot fish and some of them were huge! Nate loved chasing them around. One of my favorite things on De Palm Island was the zip line. I had never tried it and had always wanted to, and it was everything I thought it would be…tons of fun! The island so fun. You could easily spend the whole day here, and I think Nate would’ve if we let him. He was obsessed with the little water park and still talks about it. It’s definitely a fun day with the kids if you head to Aruba!

After the island we did some site seeing. We stopped at Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar & Restaurant in Oranjestad. It was a really cool and fun spot and we loved the beachy atmosphere! Nate ordered a drink that came with a little story and a cool shark surprise. I don’t want to ruin it but if you have kids definitely stop in and order the Little Shark Attack! Even though we just stopped in for a pina colada, I couldn’t help but to order some fish tacos. The great thing about Aruba is that there is a ton to do and a lot of shops to walk around. I love checking out the watch/jewelry stores as well as the little local spots. I grabbed my Aruba dad hat and Nate grabbed his Aruba shirt, which is our new tradition whenever we visit a new destination.

On our last day of vacation, we usually always just stick around the hotel and relax. My wife Sarina and I got an amazing couples massage at the Citro Spa which is just past the pool and bar. I made sure to grab a drink on the way…hey I’m on vacation! Now I haven’t received a lot of massages in my life, so I’m no guru, but OMG this hit the spot. It was exactly what my wife and I needed to end our trip. It was so relaxing and was nice enjoying my first massage with her right next to me. We might have to make this another vacay tradition! We spent the rest of the day swimming and enjoying the water slide. We were pretty excited to have reservations at the Flying Fishbone for dinner on our last night. Even though it’s a 45 minute drive from La Cabana, it is well worth the trip! The food is out of this would and if you’re lucky enough to call in advance and get reservations, you can get a table where your feet are right in the water while you eat! That’s right, they offer beach dining at it’s best. Besides having a table right on the beach, they have a few that are right in the water. Watching the sunset and Nate feeding the fish along with some amazing food made this one of the most memorable dinners I have ever had. Back to the sunset though, it was absolutely gorgeous. I actually got engaged about 50ft from where we ate so it was a little nostalgic being back to this part of Aruba. Flying Fishbone is just incredible. You have to eat here if you visit Aruba!

It was such a great trip, and of course, as usual, went by way too fast. The staff at La Cabana were great, the location of the resort was perfect and Joe, their general manager, was the most accommodating to make sure my family and I had such memorable experiences on our short stay with them. Thank you Joe! Ahhh, as I’m writing this, I wish we were back there right now heading to the pool taking our late night family dip together. Make sure you watch our video above to check out all the fun we had. Wishing we were back there right now!

Family Reviews Style Travel

A Week at Sunscape Curacao

Posted on April 24, 2018

It’s no secret by now that my family and I love the Caribbean! That clear blue water and those beautiful beaches have us coming back trip after trip. This time, we decided to visit the beautiful island of Curacao. I have been wanting to visit the island for some time now and I’ve always heard it was a great island for scuba diving. Even though we didn’t get to dive this trip, we’ll definitely be going back, and when we do, diving is on the list! To be honest with you, I didn’t realize how much there was to do on the island! I honestly thought it was just a small diving island, but to my surprise, it was so much more!

We stayed at the all-inclusive Sunscape Curacao Resort. As soon as we got to the resort it was party time! We arrived on Saturday at around 1pm and the resort was bumping. It was actually also St. Patty’s day, but we did learn that they put on a show most days of the week. They had a DJ platform over one of the pools and everyone was dancing, drinking, interacting, playing the sports activities, and just all around there was energy everywhere! It was a little different than the trips we’ve taken in the past. Most of the time we usually stay at more quiet resorts, which we love, and at first I wasn’t sure if I was going to like a party, upbeat atmosphere, but it was actually a nice change from what we normally do! Nathan really liked the fact that there was always something happening to keep him entertained. When we weren’t snorkeling or getting our nap time on the beach, we were playing soccer, volleyball, checkers (they had a giant life-sized board which he loved), shuffleboard, rock climbing (they have their own rock climbing wall), or ping pong. It was great! It was really nice to be able to enjoy all these activities together without ever having a reason to say “I can’t right now bud”. Sadly, a lot of time during the week, we’re working or doing house chores and we don’t get to do all these little things whenever he wants us to. So, when on vacation, I make sure to never say “not now”. I might say “after this Pina Colada” though (LOL).

On top of the activities, there was so much food…I mean, I must’ve gained at least 15lbs while I was there. That’s another thing on vacation I never say NO too…food! They had a huge breakfast buffet that served everything from oatmeal to pancakes, and omelettes to fried plantains…you name it, they had it. I actually had oatmeal everyday. I don’t know what it was about their oatmeal, but it was soooo good. It’s weird, because I never eat oatmeal like that (especially on vacation) but it was just so good! Usually after breakfast (if we didn’t have an excursion or trip planned) we headed right to the beach. Make sure to get there early and claim your chair because people get there super early and do the same. The beach was small but pretty awesome. If you didn’t get a cabana or umbrella you could usually find a set of chairs under a palm for some shade, which I actually thought was cooler than an umbrella. While laying there it wasn’t uncommon to see a giant iguana walking around…pretty cool! The island is pretty windy (similar to Aruba, if you’ve been) which is nice, since it’s also very hot, so it keeps it cool. The resort has a rock wall built around the beach about 30 yards out, which makes the swimming area a calm pool. It also acts as a small reef and attracts some fish to look at while snorkeling right off the beach. Nate is really becoming a pro at this snorkeling!

The pools were huge and nothing beats a swim up bar! Since we were part of the Sun Club we also had access to a pool that only members could use. Unfortunately, we didn’t find the exclusive pool until our second to last day. The resort was so big I didn’t even realize there was another wing with a private beach and cabanas for Sun Club members! (LOL) Duh!

For lunch we normally hit up the Bluewater Grill where they had burgers, hot dogs, chicken and steak sandwiches. You also had another option for lunch to go eat from the World Cafe Buffet. There they had a stacked selection of food to choose from. Don’t miss the little window right near the buffet that serves the BEST, and I mean BEST cookies and cream (somewhat melty) ice cream cones. They were incredible and we always made sure to be back near the pool area when they were serving it!

The island is full of adventures, so we wanted to make sure we got to experience a good majority of them. We took a private tour with our airport transportation guy, Taxi Max. We left early to start the day and our first stop was to go see the flamingoes. Unfortunately, they were kind of far away, but you could see their pink, little pretty silhouettes in the distance. To be honest, I would probably pass on this if you’re expecting to see them up close, because I was a little disappointed. I wanted to get up close to take some photos! Maybe in Aruba I’ll get to. Taxi Max then took us somewhere (I forget the name of the place!) where we went on a brief hike (which Nathan loved) and we got to do some exploring down a narrow path and up some stairs made out of natural rock. When you finally get to the end of the walk you come upon a bench at the end of a cliff where you’re able to look down into a canal-like opening where you can take in the beautiful view of the crashing ocean. The coolest part of all is that you’re able to spot turtles swimming around in the water down below. It was here, that made us really want to now get in the water and start swimming with those little guys. Next stop, Playa Grandi beach! When first arriving at the beach you probably wouldn’t think much of it, but once you’re in the water, you realize why Max took us here. The fishermen clean their fish right off the beach and throw the guts in the water. This sounds gross, but you actually don’t see them doing this or anything in the water! What you do see is the many turtles that know where they can come for food. There were so many turtles it was amazing! If you swim about 50 yards out there is a reef where you can see some cool fish as well and even a pretty cool sunken statue. We just love swimming with turtles, so this was definitely a favorite spot of ours!

Once back at the hotel we were able to eat at one of the 5 options for dinner. There was the Italian restaurant, Da Mario, The Bluewater Grill, The World Cafe buffet, Oceana Seafood Restaurant, and our favorite place for dinner, the hibachi place, Himitsu. Usually after dinner we would either get a drink from the bar and get ready for the entertainment to start or go to Coco Cafe and get a hot or frozen cappuccino and a chocolate one for Nate. For late night entertainment they always had something going on to watch. Sometimes it was trivia games where they would ask for volunteers to go against each other and entertain everyone else, sometimes it was musical entertainment, and sometimes it was a parade or a show. One night they put on a spectacular show on the beach that had all kinds of fire spinning, twirling, dancing, and all this crazy stuff…it was very cool. We were lucky enough that we could see it from our room so once Nate started getting tired we could sit on the balcony and cuddle and still see it. We had a great view from our room!

Due to a storm in NY, Jet Blue decided to cancel our flight home which left us on the island for an extra 5 days! Even though we were initially shocked and thrown off, we decided to make the best of it. We decided to check out some more of the Island and since we loved Playa Grandi beach so much, we went back for some more turtle swimming! Be prepared…it is an hour drive from the resort, but it’s totally worth it! On the way back, we decided to stop at Shete Boka National Park. This was another highlight of the trip. Even though it was super hot you’re able to drive to the different sites in the park and see everything pretty quickly. The coolest thing we saw was a really cool blow hole. Nate really got a kick out of how high the water would shoot up between the rocks. It was beautiful. There was also a really cool natural bridge there as well. Nate and I also got to stack some rocks, which seems to be a thing to do there (LOL). We always love water activities the most, but since we had all this extra time on the island we wnated to make sure we saw as much of it as possible. Plus, Nate loves anytime we do hiking and exploring.

Not far from the hotel, about a 5 minute walk, is Mambo Beach. Though there were some cool restaurants and a beautiful beach, we didn’t spend too much time at the beach. This was definitely an upbeat and fun beach, but we had the same at our hotel. We did have some rolled up ice cream and walked around just to check it out, which was still fun.

A must when visiting Curacao is going to Willemstad. It’s such an amazing little city! It’s got beautiful colored buildings, tons of restaurants, a cool bridge which lights up with different colors at night, a fun fountain you can play in, and an old fort turned into shopping center which you can still get some history out of. We actually got to spend Sarina’s birthday in Willemstad. We took her out to eat at Porto. They had an amazing singer who could not have been more spot on with his voice and song choices. The food was ridiculous, and the whole family could not have been happier during our dining experience with them! In the middle of the fort they also had a bunch of restaurants & bars with a musician playing for everybody. Ever artist they had was really good and brought a lot of energy into the night. It’s just such a cute little area with great ambiance! We ended up visiting Willemstad a few times because we liked it so much, and we also liked the fact that you could go to a food truck and get an order of yummy churros for only 3$ (LOL).

During our stay on the island we also got to visit another amazing restaurant, Limoncello By The Sea, which had a great ambience and delicious food. It’s situated in the bay, which lends for a beautiful view. Ahhh, to be back there right now, eating my plate, stealing some bites of my wife’s and sipping some wine. I miss it so much!

We really couldn’t have been happier on this trip. The entertainment staff at the Sunscape Curacao was amazing. “Mr. Choco” and the “Candy Man” put on a show everyday and kept the party going. They always had so much energy and were super polite and friendly to my whole family. I have to also thank Chantilly from the Sunscape Curacao. She was absolutely amazing at making sure my entire family had a VIP experience. She was constantly asking if there was anything she could do for us, she gave us recommendations for island activities and made sure we had an unforgettable trip. She honestly went above and beyond. Thank you Chantilly (last photo of her & Nate) and all of the staff at Sunscape Curacao. Our not-so-planned extended vacay in Curacao was truly memorable. We’re already ready to come back!

Family Reviews Style Travel

Mandarin Oriental, Miami

Posted on September 15, 2017

This labor day I partnered with the Mandarin Oriental, Miami to take the fam on an extended weekend getaway. It was perfect timing! Nate was starting Kindergarten the Tuesday after we got back, and Sarina (my wife) and I were a little stressed, so we were in need of a little distraction from reminding us that our little man is growing up. The hotel is located on Brickell Key and is only 20 minutes from Miami airport and only a 10 minute walk from the Brickell Shopping area – which makes it super convenient. Since this was Nate’s first time in Miami we did do a little exploring, but now after looking back and spending the weekend at the hotel I honestly don’t think there was a need to leave the hotel at all! LOL We were perfectly content spending all day in their gorgeous pool. The pool had an infinity vibe and was right on the bay so you could see the ocean and city skyline directly in front of you. It was a beautiful open space, surrounded by a row of tall palms on one side, and the architecturally sleek hotel building on the other. We especially loved it because the pool was open until late! We love ending our vacay days with a family night dip! The pool area also had a Jacuzzi hot tub and the Oasis Pool Cafe. With a hit of a button you could have one of their super friendly staff come over and take your order, while you jump back in the pool. They would let you know when your food was ready or come right over and hand you your mojito or pina colada wherever you were. Talk about service! On the grounds they also had a private beach area, with cabanas, lounges and plenty of outdoor seating. Since it was the bay where boats were coming in, you couldn’t swim, but it an added perk to get right up near the water’s edge, surrounded by tons of palms overhead, with an amazing city view. Nate loved just digging in the sand and watching all of the luxury yachts coming in at night. We stayed in the Skyline View Suite and the room had everything. When you walked into the suite you entered the living room area which had a chaise couch, desk, built in cabinets with a flat screen TV, and a stocked bar with all of the necessary goodies and my favorite – the Illy espresso machine. The room also had a bedroom, master bathroom with a stand-up shower and tub, another half bathroom and a balcony that wrapped around from bedroom to living room and had gorgeous views of both the city and bay. The first day we were at the hotel we just hung out at the pool for most of the day. We honestly didn’t want to leave the pool, so we ate lunch at the poolside restaurant, where I had these delicious Asian style ribs, accompanied by a very tall pina colada. After lunch, I had some quiet time at the spa. I felt bad leaving my wife and Nate, but they continued having a blast at the pool. It was actually really nice to tune everything out and just unwind. I definitely passed out during most of it. After the spa and pool, we then got dressed and headed to their in-house restaurant, Yaku by LaMar. We had some cocktails on their outside patio, and I ordered some muscles as a pre-dinner snack! Since we were with Nate we knew we weren’t going to get to experience the real night-life so it was nice to get to hang out on the patio with a cocktail and listen to some music before dinner. I let loose a little and think I might have scared Nate with my dance moves. He has yet to appreciate my two step! LOL Once we sat down for dinner at LaMar I had one of the best culinary experiences of my life. I met with the super-talented chef, Diego Oka, who comes from an Asian and Peruvian background and has come up with some of the most delicious Peruvian dishes I have ever tasted. I’ve had Peruvian food in NY before, but nothing has ever come close to this. After chatting it up with myself and my wife, he offered to prepare a little something for us to taste each of the dishes on the menu. And since my wife mostly eats chicken, he even tailored her dishes around chicken, so she could still try the flavors. You could really feel his love for cooking. Diego had a way of talking about and romancing the food, that actually made my wife try dishes and flavors she normally would never have tried. Some of my favorite dishes were the Lomo Saltado and the Conchitas A La Parmesana. They tasted just as good as they were presented. Hands down – best dinner experience ever! On Saturday, we woke up early, enjoyed a morning dip and some pool time before heading over to the Frost Museum of Science. It’s always nice when an area we visit has something like this for Nate. He loves museums, aquariums, and any hands-on children’s center. Taking some time out to take him to something he really enjoys makes our trips a little more exciting for him and always helps make it feel like a complete vacation. The museum was excellent! It was very hands-on, with lots of interactive exhibits. We also got to see some fish, sharks, and other aquatic animals – which my family is always a fan of. Nate is all about space and the planets, so we also took him to the Earth IMAX movie, which he of course loved. After the museum we took a quick drive over to the Wynwood walls area to take a quick look at some of the artwork and check out the area. If I’m ever back in the area, and I hope I definitely am, I would like to spend a little more time in Wynwood. It looked like a very cool area! At this point, and with the Miami heat, we could not wait to get back to the Mandarin Oriental, Miami pool. The pool was so nice and relaxing that whenever we left we found ourselves all just saying to each other that we could not wait to get back. We stayed in the pool for as long as we could until it was time to get ready for dinner. We spent the night at the lobby bar and lounge, MO. Again, just what we needed! There was a Cuban Jazz band playing and we ordered food and cocktails and just melted away. If you decide to visit, make sure you go to MO’s Bar + Lounge and order the cucumber blah. It was by far the best drink on the trip. I cannot wait to make these at home! I was a little nervous it might be awkward bringing Nate to the bar/lounge area but because he was behaving so well, it was not a problem at all. He likes watching live music so he was intrigued. Nate just sat there with us adults, and his little Shirley Temple and just stared at the musicians in awe. It was such a relaxing and cozy night with the fam. Once again, before we went to bed, we went back to the pool for a night dip! On Sunday we started the morning (yep, you guessed it) back in the pool! LOL We then headed to the LaMar Sunday brunch. And by brunch, I mean BRUUUUNCH. There were two rows of food. One row had things like sushi and ceviche, and the other row had hot food like BBQ chicken and steak. Also included was a Peruvian rice – which I could literally eat every day. THEN…you also got to order something off of the brunch menu! I ate and ate and ate until I could literally burst. It was insanely good and insanely filling! LOL There were also unlimited cocktails from the brunch menu. And it wasn’t just your normal bloody mary’s and mimosas, there were custom cocktails included. I forget the name of the drink I had but it was made with cucumber and it was delicious. I love cocktails that are made with cucumber – they are just so refreshing! Now onto the dessert! They were all so elegant. It was a selection of bite size sweets that was served on a tower tray. One dessert even had a beautiful edible flower on it which I dared Nate to eat and surprisingly, he did! After brunch we rolled ourselves over to South Beach so we could show Nate the beach and the strip. We spent about an hour at the beach, took a quick dip, and then walked the strip. Nate was a huge hit down there. I think with his little shaved blonde haircut, and his beachy swagger with his Adidas slides and Raybans everyone looked at him like he was a little celebrity. LOL Every person he walked by or that passed him would turn there heads and give him a compliment. I thought it was hysterical…but he was oblivious LOL. He loved all the fancy cars and bikes that passed by on Ocean drive. Before leaving we all had to have one of those jumbo pina coladas you see spanning across the entire strip. Though South Beach might not really be for me anymore (it was a little crazier than I remember), it was nice that it was only a 25 minute drive away and that we could share another experience exploring with Nate. We just love exploring new places as a family! After a few hours we were ready to get back to that pool at the Mandarin Oriental, Miami. It was our last night there so we wanted to make it last. We stayed in the pool for as long as we could, and then ended the evening in their private beach area watching the sun go down and the yachts come in. It was a bittersweet night. It’s never fun when a vacation comes to an end, but Nate was starting to get excited about school the following day. After some city views on the balcony, we all snuggled in the king size bed before heading out the next morning. It was such an amazing weekend. The luxurious hotel, the over-the-top staff, the memorable food, and the pool we started and ended our days in, combined into the perfect experience and really made our extended weekend trip, feel full and complete. We all had a blast! Thank you Mandarin Oriental, Miami for such a warm, welcoming and memorable stay! Nate is already asking us When are we going back to Miami?!

If you’re looking to visit Miami, definitely consider staying at the Mandarin Oriental, Miami! Click here and get 15% OFF the best available rate!

This post is sponsored by the Mandarin Oriental, Miami.. All views and opinions are my own.

Family Reviews Style Travel

The Royal West Indies Resort @ Turks

Posted on August 23, 2017

At this point it’s no secret, my family loves the Caribbean! Almost all of our vacations consist of visiting a beautiful beach, on a beautiful island, surrounded by that beautiful blue water. I have wanted to visit Turks and Caicos for years now, but I was waiting for Nate to get a little older so he could enjoy some of the best snorkeling in the Caribbean. We finally decided we would plan our trip, and we’d just have to go again once Nate learned to swim. Little did we know…Nate actually learned to swim AND hold his breath under water, the week right before our trip. Perfect timing Nate! We partnered up with the Royal West Indies to share our first Turks & Caicos experience, while staying at their beautiful resort. The resort is only 15 minutes from the airport, which is perfect, since it’ a 4 hour plane ride from NY, and we didn’t want to spend any more time in a car. Although! We did stop at the island’s very popular, Sweet T’s, fried chicken spot on the way to the resort. When I tell you the chicken was good, I mean it was good! It’s one of the local’s fave spots, so make sure you stop by after you land! It’s been awhile since we stayed at a bigger resort, and the grounds at the Royal West Indies were just beautiful…they had the best landscaping and picturesque gardens. It was a great blend of green trees, cactus, palms, and colorful flowers. It was the perfect scenery for all of my photos 🙂 They had 3 pools: a huge pool, with an adorable kiddie pool attached (Nate’s fave!) and a bridge crossing over it to take you to their Pelican Bay Restaurant, and then 2 smaller sized pools in the quiet area – for those of your traveling kid-free and looking for a quieter scene. There was also a hot tub in the quiet area, and it was perfect for the wifie and I to get some mommy & daddy time, after Nate was in bed. My mother-in-law came on the trip with us, so it’s nice when my wife and I can get some adult time in. 🙂 The fact that the main pool had an attached shallow kid’s section for Nate and an underwater bench along most of the pool made Nate absolutely love it and helped him get the confidence to really expand his swimming skills. Now don’t be scared off! The resort is kid-friendly, but there was definitely not an abundance of them. During our time there I think I only saw 1 other kid in the pool. The craziest kid there was probably Nate (LOL). The pool was a stone throw away from the bar, which was perfect for us to grab our pina coladas and a bite to eat, because Nate literally never wanted to get out of the pool. The restaurant has some great choices and variety, but my favorite was the breakfast dish of grits and beef hash. I was told this dish is what the locals eat and it was soooo good. I actually ate it every morning. I’m a huge fan of grits and if it’s on the menu I’m ordering it. The pool-side bar also had happy hour from 5-7 so we always made sure we were in the pool at that time (LOL). I honestly can’t tell you how many pina coladas I drank, but they don’t get any better than how they make them here. Great, now I’m craving one right now! All of the pools are open 24hrs…which we all loved. Night life for us is pretty mellow these days, so it’s fun to be able to make a cocktail and head to the pool late at night with Nate, to extend our night and really maximize our vacay days. The room was a pretty standard size and included a bed (or 2), flat screen TV, and a small kitchenette with the basics, like a mini fridge and coffee maker. Our room had a balcony with a partial view of the ocean and pool and it was nice waking up and seeing both. The resort had bicycle’s you could use, as well as mini catamarans. The beach was of course beautiful. They had chairs and umbrellas you could use and it was only a very short and pretty walk from the pool. Though there wasn’t any reefs directly in front of the hotel beach, you can take a 15 minute walk down the beach to a small and very cool reef where we were able to snorkel from the shore. On the way, you can stop by Flamingo Cafe and grab a bite and cocktail right on Grace Bay Beach. We didn’t get to go scuba diving on this trip, but we definitely will on our next trip back – which hopefully will be soon! We did take a snorkeling excursion with Caicos Adventures. We stopped at 3 different reefs and I was blown away by the reef and variety & abundance of sea life. I never seen so many different types of coral. We saw so many different fish, lobster, and even some eels. Do however, beware of drinking too much of the complimentary rum punch like I did, because you are guaranteed to need a nap after (LOL). I think me and a fellow snorkeler must have drank a gallon! If you don’t feel like shelling out the $115 pp to take an excursion you can easily take a ride to one of the many snorkel spots off the shore. We went to the Coral Gardens Reef, which was literally 20 ft right off the beach. We went 3ft in and immediately almost stepped on a sting ray. This reef was perfect for Nate to get a first taste of snorkeling. I could not believe how good he did! He didn’t use a snorkel but he would hold on to me and swim around holding his breath underwater for about 20 seconds, and would just keep on pointing out all the fish he saw. The whole trip he kept saying he wanted to see a turtle and we finally were snorkeling around the reef and came up to 2 huge turtles lying on the ocean floor. He got to watch them swim up and take a breath above the water, and they were only about 3 feet away from us, so we all got a great close-up view! Snorkeling with Nate will truly be an unforgettable memory. I have never had so much fun and been more proud of my little man. Between the pool, the beach, snorkeling, and all of the pina coladas and rum punch, you really work up an appetite. There were so many restaurants to eat at but my favorite 2 would definitely have to be Cocovan and Mango Reef. Cocovan was a cool air-stream converted into a taco truck. They had the best tacos I have ever eaten! The Korean Beef and the Duck were my favorite. Oh and did I mention they have churros and ice cream for dessert. Sooooo amazingly yummy. Mango Reef was right by the water and was lit up with all these neon lights. They even had some neon lights in the water. The ambiance really made it feel like you were on vacation! As I’m writing this, it’s making me want to go back already. We all had an amazing time at the beautiful Royal West Indies. I know every vacation is going to be one for the books, but this one had a few firsts for Nate, so I’m always going to remember that this was the one where he really learned to swim and finally got to experience the magical sea turtles with his mommy and daddy. Thank you Royal West Indies for such an amazing trip! If anyone is looking to visit Turks & Caicos, definitely check this resort out. It was in the perfect location, had gorgeous grounds, really fun pools, is right on Grace Bay Beach, and has the best pina coladas! 🙂 We will definitely be back!

Family Travel

Cactus & Canyons

Posted on April 6, 2017

My grandparents have been living in Arizona for 25 years and have been trying to get me to visit for about 20 of them. I actually did visit the state once before but it was so long ago I don’t remember any of it. Now that my son is getting bigger and they’re only getting older I wanted to bring him to visit them. My wife and I had never actually seen the Grand Canyon or any of the amazing wonders in Arizona, so we packed up our super cool Herschel Supply Camo Luggage and headed out west. The first day we were there we just explored the neighborhood (Sun City West). It’s actually an uber cool retirement community. I mean they had about 5 golf courses, 2 mini golf courses, tennis, swimming pools, pickle ball…you name it they had it! And, you just hop in a golf cart and just boogie around town! On the second day out there we wanted to start marking off some of the places we had on our list. Wildlife World Zoo was one of them. We all went and got to feed the giraffes and see an array of other beautiful animals. One of the cool features of this zoo is that it had an aquarium in it as well. We love aquariums. They also had a skyride, roller coaster, freefall ride and a bunch of other fun rides. Nathan is still too small for most of the rides, so we just took him on the “ski lift” as he called it. The next day we decided to head to the Grand Canyon. Since the whole point of going to Arizona was to see the GG’s (Great Grandparents) we asked them to come along everywhere we went. Which for the most part was really cool. We found out the one hiccup would be that my Grand Father wanted to be a Nascar 500 driver in his previous life so we had to constantly be asking him to slow down (LOL). We didn’t really have as much time as I would of liked at the Grand Canyon. We stopped at the visitor center, walked around a little taking in the gorgeous view and then we headed over to the Watchtower. I thought the tower was a little better of a view. Plus, you got to walk up a couple flights of stairs to the top floor, which was definitely more fun for Nate. The next time I go to the Canyon I would love to make it a point to have a little more time for hiking and maybe take a helicopter and/or a jeep tour. I would’ve loved to have gone to the north side to walk on the observatory deck, but we just didn’t have time this trip. After the tower we drove another 2.5 hours to Page, AZ. We stayed over and then the next morning we took a tour of Antelope Canyon. Since Antelope Canyon is on an Indian reservation you can only see it by tour. You take a 15 minute jeep ride (where everybody is sitting in the back of an open jeep) until you arrive at the canyon. You can tell right when you get there it’s going to be a really cool. I liked the feeling of being inside of it, just surrounded by the beautiful red rock formations. The guide was helpful to show you all the cool angles and how to point your camera just right to get all of the beautiful rock colors. Unfortunately, depending on the time of year, you don’t always get some of the famous light beams you see in pictures, but it’s still hard not to get amazing shots in this place. Just gorgeous and unreal. After the tour, which lasted about an hour, we drove to Horseshoe Bend. From the parking area it’s about a 7 minute hike to the ridge. For those who have kids, be warned that there is no guard or fence at this location. There are people literally hanging off the cliff just to get that perfect photo. I consider myself fairly brave but I would not dare to venture to some of the spots these people were going to get their shot…nuts! I think this view was actually my favorite from this trip. At this point Nate was starting to get a little restless, so we climbed some rocks (which made mommy a little nervous and unhappy…LOL). I felt a little bad since I thought we’d be doing more hiking and climbing on this trip, so we made it a point to explore around the area, since Nate just loves to explore. From Sun City West and from location to location it was a lot of driving for all of us, especially for Nate, but he was a real trooper in the car for hours. On the way back we stopped in Sedona for dinner. The town has a breathtaking view and a picturesque town with a lot of cool shops. We definitely plan on staying there a little longer on our next trip! Overall Arizona was absolutely gorgeous. From the perfectly manicured properties to the palm trees and cacti that we were all obsessing over, the state is beautiful. I never understood why my grandparents chose to retire out there…as I always thought I’d need to be on one of the coasts, but after visiting, I really think I’d also consider retiring out there. There’s so much to do and they are in driving distance of so many sights in the surrounding states. I’m happy we finally made it out there to visit and can check off Arizona and the Grand Canyon off the bucket list!

Family Style Travel

A WEEKEND IN BOSTON

Posted on October 11, 2016

As much as my family and I would love to go to the Caribbean every weekend LOL, we realize that’s not possible, so we like to take Nate on little road trips, visiting the surrounding states and exploring areas we’ve never been to before. When we got the opportunity to stay at The Revere Hotel in Boston we were super excited! We actually had plans to visit Boston previously, but never actually made the move and went. We have always heard so much about the city and how beautiful and clean it is. It’s definitely different than NYC but great and a little quaint in its own way. We started our trip, as we always try to do when we visit a new city, and headed straight to where Nate can go nuts and have fun – the Boston Children’s Museum. As anyone with a toddler knows sometimes you just have to bribe your kid 🙂 We know that Nate doesn’t always want to shop and eat his way through a city like we want to, (LOL) so letting him have his fun first is always the plan! The Museum is right on the water and across the bay from the very cool looking Boston Tea Party Museum. Right when you enter the museum you’re greeted with a huge 3-story climbing jungle gym. It was pretty cool in the fact that it almost looked like a giant piece of artwork – so the fact that kids could actually climb in it all the way to the top was pretty amazing. Nate could’ve spent all day in there! On one of the floors they had these very cool water tables where kids can learn about the flow of water and play with boats. There are too many stations to list them all, but it’s definitely very interactive and hands-on while incorporating both learning and fun. Nate is still talking about how he wants to go back! After the museum and all that running around and learning, there was really only one place to go and that was Kane’s Donuts. I might be somewhat of a donut junkie because I always Google famous donut shops in the area wherever I’m headed! The Cookies and Cream donut was my family’s favorite! We then finally made our way to The Revere Hotel. It was in a great location and the lobby had some really cool musical artifacts, including a signed B.B. King guitar! Once we got to the room Nate and I did what we always do when we first arrive at a hotel…we jump on the beds and attack mommy with tickles LOL (No mommies were hurt during this) We had a nice balcony with a cool skyline view from our room and could see the rooftop lounge right below. It looked amazing, but unfortunately we had the rainiest of weekends and didn’t get to utilize it. The hotel is actually also going under some renovations and updates so we didnt’ get to see the indoor swimming pool, but doubt we would’ve had time for swimming anyways, as we were constantly on the move all weekend! Aside for all the food and shopping we did, we wanted to make one of the evenings there a little different, so we decided to take Nate to Blue Man Group. I actually took my wife to see this on our very first date together, so it was a little nostalgic for us, now taking Nathan to it for his very first show. He loved it! A week after we got home we caught him trying to throw mini muffins in his mouth, and then realized he had seen it at blue man group with marshmallows LOL Our last day in Boston we enjoyed an amazing chocolate bar & brunch and finally did some of the historic exploring. We walked the Freedom Trail, saw some of the famous burial grounds, and squeezed in a little park time even though it was still drizzling. Surprisingly, Nathan actually enjoyed himself and asked more questions than you would think a 4 year old would about history LOL. Overall Boston was a great little weekend adventure and the The Revere Hotel was a beautiful hotel to stay at. The staff was also very welcoming and gave my son a little stuffed lobster with ‘Boston’ written on it, right when we arrived. He officially named his lobster Boston, just like he named his turtle Cayman (for Grand Cayman)…unique Nate haha. We’re already anxious for the next adventure that comes our way. Stay tuned!

Family Travel

CARIBBEAN CLUB AT GRAND CAYMAN

Posted on September 15, 2016

For years my wife and I would take a vacation every year to the Caribbean. We were never really the sightseeing type and always want to be occupied doing a water activity or sitting on the beach taking in some rays and drinking cocktails! When my son was born I didn’t think I was going to make it back to an island for at least 10 years. I just didn’t think there would be enough to keep a kid his age occupied (no boardwalk or rides!). However, we missed that clear blue water way too much and couldn’t resist any longer! We decided to take a trip and partner up with the Caribbean Club to make our first family Caribbean trip to Grand Cayman. I have to admit, I was not expecting to fall in love with the island so much! Nor did I realize just how beautiful this resort was going to be. I mean yeah, I looked at the website pics and went on trip advisor, but still I was blown away! I am pretty sure though, that I will never get to stay in a room (actually a full luxury apartment) like that again. The room had 3 full bedrooms: 1 with a King bed, 1 with a Queen bed and 1 with 2 full beds. It had 3 (yes 3) full gorgeous bathrooms (1 for each bedroom) with 1 of them being shared as a communal bathroom. No matter how nice your hotel room is, I usually never want to waste time being in the room on vacation. But, with a suite like this, I found myself so happily relaxed lounging around in between dives, the beach, and pool time. Being that my wife and I are certified scuba divers and love snorkeling, we had always wanted to visit Grand Cayman. One of the things that drew us to the Cayman Islands, besides the obvious crystal clear water, was that a friend of mine had visited once before and told us that there was really good shore diving on the island…so we were excited to try that for the first time! Since we woke up around 4am to head to JFK Airport, we decided the first day on the island we would just hang out at the hotel, order some (lots) of pina colada’s from their on-site restaurant, Luca, and do some snorkeling on the beach. At first we were kind of bummed by the amount of fish we were seeing. We had been to enough islands to know that not every beach you can just jump in and see tons of fish, but we heard so much about shore diving and snorkeling here that we just figured we’d jump in to a giant fish tank! Luckily, we were given a tip by a fellow diver that you if you just swam straight out about 100 yards we would find what we were looking for…and we did! There was huge coral reef with tons of wild life…such as lobsters, turtles, parrot fish and more. We were in heaven! For the second day, we wanted to try and find something that Nate could participate in and hopefully would let him see some fish since he can’t snorkel just yet. Although, I was actually surprised by how much he just loved floating in the ocean. He’s used to the Jersey shore where the water is freezing and you can’t see your own nipples (lol) never mind see fish swimming by your feet. And, he was thrilled by the lack of seaweed! We booked a full day trip with Stingray City Cayman Islands that started with swimming with the stingrays at Stingray City. I have been diving and snorkeling before where I seen a sting ray, but never with so many! With this trip they were everywhere…I mean there was at least 30 swimming between our legs and all around. It does get a little crowded at Stingray City and for Nate the water was a little choppy, but we just held him since the water is only 3 feet deep. The tour guide holds the rays so you can take pictures with them and pet them. My wife, Sarina, and I also snorkeled around, swam, and pet them. It really was amazing! For the next stop we headed to Starfish Point. There wasn’t really much to see here but on the bottom of the ocean floor there were these beautiful starfish. I’m normally a big sissy with touching unknown creatures, but I really wanted to look cool in front of my son (lol) so I dove down about 15 ft and picked up a starfish to show him. I could feel his little suction cups on my hand – it was pretty cool, and my son dug it. Next stop was at coral gardens, but to be honest, I could’ve of skipped this stop. I didn’t really see anything that I couldn’t see snorkeling off the beach at the hotel. We then headed back to land and went to the Cayman Turtle Centre. This turtle farm and the whole trip was really an amazing hands-on experience. Right through the front doors you’re greeted with these HUGE sea turtles. I have never see turtles these big…I mean, when they come up for air its like a whale blowing its blow hole. They also actually have a lagoon where you can swim with a couple of different fish and tons of sea turtles, a giant pool with a pretty cool water slide and a man-made waterfall. One of my favorite moments of the trip was when Nathan and I went in the holding tanks and got to hold the sea turtles in our hands. We were taught (and it actually works) that when you pick them up and they get squirmy, if you rub their neck, they calm down. We bought him a turtle souvenir and he rubbed Cayman’s (his new pet turtle’s name) neck the whole ride back to the hotel. (he’s too cute) The next day we knew it was time to do some diving! Even though we took a refresher course, we both were still nervous to do any deep dives and really just wanted to shore dive. We decided to head to the Eden Rock Diving Center where we rented some scuba gear and jumped right in the ocean. It was such a cool experience and the first time we went diving without a guide. The shop owner showed us a map of the reef to show us where to go once we were underwater. To be honest, my adrenaline was pumping so much I didn’t really remember what he said, so we just explored. We swam with turtles, a barracuda, 5ft fish, and so many other creatures. Normally we go on a boat with other divers so I was a little nervous not having other bodies in the water with us (I’m kinda scared to come across a shark), but I can’t wait to do more shore diving on my next trip – so fun! At night we explored and ate at different restaurants. We felt so safe walking around at night and the location of the Caribbean Club was perfect…right on 7 mile beach! I could probably keep going on and on of just how amazing this trip was, but I’m not sure you’ll read much more (lol)! Overall, a breath-taking suite, in a beautiful hotel, with the nicest staff members, in the Caribbean with my amazing family…it was really a great way to end our summer. Thank you again Caribbean Club for the unbelievable accommodations! You made my son Nathan’s first trip to the Caribbean an unforgettable one. Now, how are we going to match that room on our next family trip?!!! My son will be expecting that! haha Hoping to be back again one day soon!

Travel Blogger

Aruba, One Happy Island

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The Royal West Indies Resort @ Turks

Cactus & Canyons

A WEEKEND IN BOSTON

CARIBBEAN CLUB AT GRAND CAYMAN

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