Hotel : Sofitel Moorea Ia Ora Beach Resort

Categories :LuxuryBeach,SuperiorOverwater and Luxury Overwater Bungalows

Booking period : from 10 January 2012 until 31 March 2012

Travel period : from 10 January 2012until 31 March 2012

Conditions : can be combined with our Honeymoon amenities. When staying 5 nights, honeymooners will receive T shirt, pareo,  bottle of French champagne and two 30min massage treatments.

Hotel : Sofitel Bora Bora Marara Beach & Private Island

Categories : All except Luxury Lagoon Front Bungalow

Booking period : from 10 January 2012 until 31 March 2012

Travel period : from 10 January 2012until 31 March 2012

Conditions : can be combined with our Honeymoon amenities. When staying 5 nights, honeymooners will receive T shirt, pareo,  bottle of French champagne and two 30min massage treatments.

STEP SIX: Planning out the wedding details

So, you sent out your save the dates, invitations, and travel information. Your guests are sending in their RSVPs and booking their travel. Now is the time for you to focus on the details! While you may have been working with your resort’s wedding coordinator all along, once you have an accurate head count, you can now plan and secure some of the finer details.

First and foremost, if you haven’t done so already, work with your coordinator to complete any paperwork required to marry in your destination!! In my situation, I had to provide certified copies of our birth certificates, our divorce decrees, and a completed, notarized form! Also, you may have already worked with the coordinator to choose flowers, vows, decor for your ceremony and reception, and music options for the ceremony and reception.  These items are things that can be done almost immediately after booking. However, once you have your head count, you can more accurately plan for meal choices for the reception, where the ceremony will be held (some places can be considered or eliminated once you have a head count), and reception venues. A lot of resorts that cater to destination weddings have many options to choose from for ceremonies and receptions, but depending on the size of your group, you may be limited to only a few. Outside of anything having to do with the resort or destination, be sure to keep up with buying a dress, wedding bands, accessories, or any bridesmaids/groomsmen essentials. Many destination wedding couples also provide guest bags to their group to help them get settled into their rooms. For example, if you choose a tropical island for your wedding, it may be nice to provide the guests with a small bottle of sunscreen, inexpensive flip flops, or some local trinkets.

Admittedly, I have it pretty easy when it comes to planning the details! The resort provided me a checklist to complete, and since it’s only the two of us attending, it was a fairly simple to nail down the details. The checklist included sections to choose flowers, ceremony sites, reception venues, cake flavors, and any ceremony and reception decor. I also requested photos from previous weddings to see examples of the resort’s work. When I returned the completed form, I provided pictures to the coordinator so she knew exactly what I was thinking. I recommend that every bride and groom do the same! Our ceremony celebrant also provided us with instructions and forms to apply for a marriage license. As I mentioned above, the Australian government required a lot of information from us. Not every destination is like that, however, be prepared to provide a scanned copy of your passport and your birth certificates at the very least.

I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and thank you for choosing Easy Escapes to plan your dream escape!

British Airways Club World:
We flew British Airways from Phoenix to London, London to Johannesburg, Doha to London, and then back to Phoenix again. Quite the routing, huh? Club World, and the associated taxes (which cost as much as two coach tickets to London!) is definitely the way to travel on these long haul flights. Club World is the equivalent of business class, so you get better seats and lounge access, which made our long layovers more palatable. The sleeper seats recline into a flat position and I was able to sleep soundly on all of our flights. As I mentioned above, we had lounge access and we took full advantage of that at all of our stops except Johannesburg. In Terminal 5 at London Heathrow, we also used the shower suites to freshen up.
South African Airways:

We had a very short layover in Johannesburg before catching our flight to Mauritius. We flew economy on this leg of the flight. We searched high and low for a Star Alliance Gold check in area, but ended up standing in line for a normal check in. One thing of note for your flights in and out of Johannesburg- either shrink wrap your bags or have TSA locks of them to prevent pilfering. Otherwise, our four hour flight wasn’t too terrible, except for the wretched smelling fish they served for our meal.

The Grand Mauritian and Mauritius:

Mauritius is one of the most densly populated places in the world and it showed as we drove the hour to the resort, which is located on the North side of the island. The North side is supposed to be sunnier and drier, but I found that during their winter (North America’s summer), it tends to be equally sunny on every coast. The water is also not as
colorful as what you will find on the East Coast near the Four Seasons and Ile aux Cerfs. The hotel itself was gorgeous, the staff very attentive, and the Beach Club plan allowed us to have a wonderful view from our room and a variety of complimentary amenities. Those amenities included free breakfast, free non-alcoholic beverages all day from Bar 68, free alcoholic drinks during Happy Hour, and free internet.  We went to Happy Hour every night and utilized room service for a few of our dinners since their menu was extensive. The food was good, though not a foodie’s paradise, unless you really enjoy authentic Indian food. The hotel definitely offers non-Indian options, including a theme buffet each night and an Italian restaurant, but the Indian population of Mauritius definitely made their mark on the cuisine.

During our stay, we visited Casela Park to do a walk with the lions and we also did a private speed boat tour of the other side of the island. Mauritius definitely offers a variety of activities, but the drive to most of them was a bit too much. It took us an hour just to get to the speedboat. While I really enjoyed the private tour, the walk with the lions was the highlight of the stay. Casela is a zoo, showing a variety of indigenous birds and animals, but they also have a zip line and the amazing lion area. I admittedly was scared to death to be anywhere near the lions, but the walk is very well controlled.

Air Seychelles:

After the smelly food on the South African Airways flight, I was prepared for the worst. However, Air Seychelles was a nice treat! We flew economy from Mauritius to the Seychelles, which is a short 2.5 hour flight. The boarding process was a scrum, but at least we had assigned seats. We really did not have any issues with this airline and, thankfully, the meal of non-odorous chicken was good!

Le Meridien Barbarons:

We arrived fairly late into the Seychelles and knew this was a short stay, so we chose something quick and simple. This hotel is the least expensive of the two Le Meridiens on Mahe Island. I chose this for our quick one night stay for that reason. We got to the hotel at 9pm and had to leave at 9am for the airport again. I used a combination of points and cash, which ended up being more confusing for the staff than I would have liked. We stayed in a suite (an upgrade at check-in), but the hotel itself is a little dated. It has a very retro feel and the grounds were not quite as lush as I would have expected. I can’t judge too much, though, since I only really saw the hotel for a total of an hour. Once thing of note is that the hotel triple charged me on my credit card! I am sure it was just an issue of thinking the card didn’t swipe, but defintely watch the charges from international travel! I immediately called American Express upon my return and they straightened it out.

Air Seychelles to Denis Island:

We flew a nice sized Airbus from Mauritius to the Seychelles, but we weren’t so lucky heading to Denis Private Island! Thankfully, I don’t mind small airplanes at all. The flight was approximately 30 minutes and, while a bit bumpy in both directions, it was worth getting tossed around to get to the resort.

Denis Private Island:

WOW. What a fantastic resort!!! I didn’t see the need to spend $6K/night on Fregate Island or North Island after
staying here. We stayed in a Belle Etoile suite and the room was spectacular. We had a half indoor/outdoor bathroom, a massage table, and our own sala facing the beach. We had our own stretch of beach to swim from, but oddly enough, dry
season in the Seychelles has rougher water and our stretch of beach had been eroded by the tsunami several years ago, so we needed to swim elsewhere. We didn’t mind, though- our suite was more like a villa in my mind! The
food was outstanding!  We sent them our preferences for meals ahead of time and they noted them to us immediately. My fiance has a mango allergy, so each time we went to the buffet, they pointed out which items had mango. Most, not all, of the meals come from a buffet, but they have made to order foods within it and everything was of top quality. They also grow most of the items used on the property! I really enjoyed the pancakes and french toast for breakfast and the stir fry for lunch. Each night for dinner, there was a theme, but my favorite was the romantic beach dinner. Each couple/group staying at the resort has a night that they are privately served dinner on the beach. It’s a part of the rate and it’s amazing just sitting there, listening to the waves and enjoying your feet in the sand. The resort rates include all meals but not drinks. The drinks were VERY expensive- about $15-$20 for a cocktail. We were hesitant to drink very much because of that, however, we enjoyed a cocktail every evening before dinner in the gorgeous open air lobby. We also requested soda for our mini bar in the room. We had some duty free liquor from Mauritius and we made drinks throughout the day. What is also nice about the mini bar is that they will credit you for any unopened drinks in the fridge.

On our last morning, we were offered a tour of the entire island. It’s not a very big island, but half is dedicated to the resort and the other half is used to support the resort (staff, gardens, etc.) and to support bird conservation. There are many unique and rare birds to be seen. Be sure to take pictures! We did not explore very much during our stay, and did not do much in the way of activities, but after seeing the entire island, we really wish we had taken a walk to the reef. Since the water was a bit rough, we didn’t do much swimming, but the water on the reef side is much calmer. It’s just that it’s quite a ways from the resort part of the island and you’d never really know it was there. At any rate, I’m really hoping we can make it back to Denis some day. We really enjoyed our time there and felt very well taken care of by the staff.

Le Meridien Fisherman’s Cove:

Because Denis Island only runs one flight per day, we had to stay our last night back on
Mahe. This Le Meridien is much nicer than Barbarons, but it was rainy, so we
didn’t get to do much. We ordered room service and they brought us a bottle of
champagne! The views from here are also fantastic.

Qatar Airways:

We had a flight change on Air Seychelles way back in time, so we ended up having to fly to Doha to get home instead of back to Johannesburg. Qatar is supposed to the best airline in the world, but what I found is that while the attendants were helpful, the airline refused to allow us to pay for an upgrade even though business class was empty. They also allowed the family sitting right behind us to let their kids scream the entire time. These children weren’t babies, which I understand you cannot control. These kids knew what they were doing. The kids kicked the back of my fiance’s seat for most of the 4.5 hour flight and the dad laid in his seat in a manner that did not allow me to recline my seat, even a little. The seats also recline fairly far back, but they don’t give you any extra leg room to compensate for the extra recline. So, when the girl in front of me reclined, I had to sit slumped in my chair to see the TV screen. Needless to say, I was less than impressed with the flight. However, upon arrival, my feelings changed. The Qatar Airways staff took care of us the second we landed, allowing us to skip going through customs just to check in with British Airways.  They gathered our baggage from customs and personally re-checked it with British Airways. This service was VERY helpful and saved us the $25 per person fee for the visas. I plan to fly Qatar again in the next few years when I can find the time to visit the Maldives. However, you will not be seeing me in economy class!

My advice to anyone planning this trip is that if you can utilize miles and/or hotel points, it will ease the pains of the trip. This trip would have cost us upwards of $50K if I had not used a combination of miles and hotel points to cover most our trip.  Since I travel frequently and have hotel elite status, we got major upgrades on each island. While Denis Island was certainly expensive in its own right, it was really the only major portion of our trip that we had to pay for out of pocket. Thankfully, it, and the trip, was worth every penny.

• Roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles via Air Pacific
• US/airport taxes/security charges/fuel surcharges/Fiji Departure Tax
• Meet & Shell Lei Greeting on arrival
• Roundtrip resort transfers
• 5 nights, Koro Sun Resort & Rainforest Spa
• Welcome Coconut Milk Foot Soak & Leg Massage
• All Meals (coffee & tea included with meals)
• 1 Champagne Breakfast in you Bure or Villa
• 1 Rainforest Rendezvous ~ Private Candlelight Dinner
• Non-motorized resort activities

Special Bonus Packages:
• Ultimate Induldgence ~ 1.5 hour Spa Treatment; Banana Leaf Body
Wrap & Couples Massage
• Fanasy Suite Turndown ~ Last night turndown service with trio of
decadent desserts
• Waterfall Excursion ~ with Village Visit & Kava Ceremony
• J. Hunter Pearl Farm Tour ~ special behind the scenes
• Private Beach Picnic with tropical fruites and lunch
• Guided Snorkeling Excurision ~ Soft Coral Capital of the World

Oceanview Bure FROM $5028 per couple

Edgewater Villa FROM  $6744 per couple

Kavika Falls Villa FROM $9584 per couple
*LAX/NAN/LAX Valid for sale through 31Aug11 and travel 1Sep-14Dec11 & 16Jan-31Mar12
Inquire for accommodation upgrade rates

Romance in Fiji Package
Stay 7 nights/Pay 5 nights + Bonus Inclusions

Includes:
Roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles via Air Pacific
Includes US/airport taxes/security charges/fuel surchages/
Fiji Departure Tax

Meet & Shell Lei greeting on arrival
Roundtrip resort transfers

Stay 7/Pay 5** nights Namale Resort & Spa

Lodging as noted below, nightly turndown service
All Gourmet Meals, private dining available
All Beverage – beer, spirits, house wine & house champagne
All Resort Activities including 1 scuba dive daily -excluding
Game Fishing/ Spa Services
Bonus Inclusions:

Ultimate Fusion Couples Spa Treatment

Dolphin Day Tour to Natewa Bay

Tropical Garden Bure from $ 7,779 per couple
Tropical Ocean Bure from $ 8,399 per couple
Honemoon Bure from $ 9,539 per couple
Deluxe Villas from $11,299 per couple
Tatadra House from $12,929 per couple

*LAX/NAN/LAX Valid for sale through 31Aug11, travel 1Sep-14Dec11 & 16Jan-31Mar12
**Valid for stays 1Nov-15Dec11 & 16Jan-31Mar12, inquire for rates at other times

Prices are based on double occupancy (USD). Subject to currency fluctuations, availability and to change without
notice. Full payment will guarantee fare. Seasonal surcharges & restrictions may apply. Travel must be completed
within time period listed for rate shown.

CTI lies just beyond Ocho Rios and is an adults-only, mostly couples-only all-inclusive. It is part of a chain of 3 other resorts within Jamaica. Since I had been to Ocho Rios previously, I really wanted to check out Couples Swept Away or Couples Negril, both located in Negril. Travel agents tend to get special deals to visit properties and then take their new-found knowledge to better market the properties. Sometimes you don’t get handed the exact property you want. Such as the case with me, so I wound up at CTI instead of Negril. Beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose!

The trip actually started off quite well. The hour and a half van ride was more tolerable than I remembered, I think mostly due to better road conditions and better air conditioning. When we got in the van, we quickly realized that we were the only couple heading to CTI, as the other couples were being dropped off at Sans Souci. This made us think that CTI wouldn’t be that crowded.

Once we made it to CTI, we were quickly greeted with music and chilled towels. We were checked in very quickly and escorted to our room- 4102. The rooms are fairly basic, though kept very clean. For once, the photos shown on the website will give you an accurate picture of what to expect. This is rare and a bit sad, so I commend Couples on being upfront. Room 4102 is located in Bldg 4, first floor and has a very nice view of the Caribbean, Tower Isle, and the swim up bar area just below. Due to its location just above the swim up bar, and also very close to the Bldg 3 connector hallway, the room can be noisy. If you like to go to bed early or sleep in, I would recommend a room on the top floor of either Bldg 3 or Bldg 4. We moved after a few hours to room 4503. Even then, the rooms can be noisy due to the doors opening into a closed hallway. There is a major echo effect and you can hear housekeeping rolling their carts, people entering or leaving their rooms, and in our case, we heard some construction. I assume their renovations are not yet complete, but most of the property has been updated.

The best part of CTI is the food and the service you receive when enjoying your meals or drinks. We found the quality of the food and beverage to be above average, and in the case of Eight Rivers, to be exceptional, at least for our tastes! Verandah restaurant is also quite good and is a very lovely, vibrant atmosphere. Patio, the buffet restaurant, always had excellent service, but the food was hit or miss. I think a lot of that was my own perception since I am a very picky eater. I enjoyed breakfast and the pizza, while my fiance enjoyed some of the more Jamaican dishes, such as Ox Tail. We dined at Bayside, an Asian restaurant, our last night on the property. The setting is perfect- very romantic, with amazing views. However, we were not that impressed with the food. It was good, but not as good as Eight Rivers or Verandah. Maybe it was what we ordered (beef stir fry and Pad Thai), but we have had much better Pad Thai from Pei Wei. The service was surely excellent, though. The resort also offers a pool grill, which mainly serves Jamaican grill items and finger foods. You can just walk in there and serve yourself with soda, nachos, or ice cream, or you can sit down and order entrees. The grill is open all of the time, except during breakfast and dinner hours. It’s even open at 1am for those late night cravings.

Navigating the restaurant schedule can be a little challenging since there are a few options and certain evenings when things are closed. Be advised that on Saturdays, at least as of right now, Eight Rivers is the only restaurant open in addition to a theme buffet and on Monday, Bayside is the only restaurant open in addition to a beach party. In our case, the beach party had to be moved into Patio due to the rain. The Jamaican Jerk pork was my favorite entree. The beach party also features a dance show, which was interactive and entertaining. Also, both Eight Rivers and Bayside require reservations, so be sure to book them immediately after you check in!

As for drinks, they do offer some top shelf choices, though not as top shelf as the Zoetry brand of resorts. For example, the top vodkas were Absolut and Skyy. The main patio bar is almost always open and they have a very extensive drink menu. Also, in the eveings, the piano bar is open for martinis and other drinks. The Piano Bar is located inside of the lobby area, just next to Eight Rivers.

CTI also  many opportunities for complementary excursions. These include a trip to Dunn’s River Falls, a glass bottom boat ride, nature walks, late night trips to Margaritaville, and a catamaran cruise. Due to the inclement weather, the catamaran cruise never ran during our stay. All of the activities book up quite early, so I highly recommend getting your schedule together when you check in and getting booked on your activity of choice as soon as possible. The hotel also has another activities desk for those excursions that are an extra cost. Some excursions they offer are trips to Bob Marley’s house or swimming with the dolphins. Sadly, we did not end up doing anything, other than sitting by the pool or on the beach, mostly because the weather was unpredictable. CTI also has a spa, which is small, but the therapists are excellent. We had Marie and Genevieve for our couples massage and wanted to drift off into a peaceful slumber during the treatment. Remember to bring cash for gratuity- you can charge the treatments to the room, but you cannot include a tip in that charge. The couples massage was very reasonable- $210USD for 50 minutes and a 10% tip is discretionary, but welcomed. It may be the only tip you shell out on the resort property.

I guess I should also mention the resort’s name sake, Tower Isle! It’s a small island right off the coastline of the resort. It is clothing optional and in the evenings, weather permitting, you can hold your wedding there. A shuttle boat takes you back and forth to the island and it is on demand. You just go to the water sports shack and request the transfer. I will mention, that at least during our stay, the island was rarely crowded. However, with the unpredictable rain, I imagine that most people who wanted to lay on the beach felt safer on the main resort beach to be closer to shelter.

So, without many complaints, other than the horrid weather, I returned from Jamaica hoping that one day I can visit Negril and experience a different side of Couples and the island. I will certainly NOT be going during the spring months, though. Having said that, I have many other resorts I would like to explore first, but CTI definitely left more of a positive impression than I had expected. I was a little concerned about the number of groups, mainly there for destination weddings, but it could just be that we hit a few bad, rowdy seeds and that is not the norm. CTI is perfect for those couples who want a mix of romance, fun, and a great value package combining food and activities. You really can’t go wrong with the inclusions. Thanks to the CTI staff for a relaxing, stress free stay!

Pictures will be added later- I did some additional traveling post-Jamaica!

• Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Daily!
• Beverages such as water, wine and beer
• Non-motorized water sports
• Cocktails and premium alcohols are an extra charge

Packages for 5 nights in Bora Bora, including airfare, start at $2649 per person, double occupancy!

The newest couples-only luxury resort in Fiji opens on September 1st, 2011! Visit Tadrai Island Resort, located in the scenic Mamanuca Island chain and experience your own slice of luxurious paradise!

Packages start at $5200 per person, based on double occupancy, including international airfare, transfers, pre and post-island stay at Sonaisali Resort (if applicable) and the Tadrai all-inclusive plan. The Tadrai all-inclusive plan includes all meals, select alcoholic beverages, all non-alcoholic beverages, and non-motorized sports.

Prices are per person, double occupancy (USD). Subject to currency fluctuations, availability and to change without notice. Full payment will guarantee fare. Seasonal surcharges & restrictions may apply. Travel must be completed within time period listed for rate shown.