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The newest Sandals Resort, Emerald Bay will be opening in late January.  This is exciting news as Sandals Emerald Bay will be the first all butler service resort for honeymooners and vacationers dreaming of a private dinner on the beach, being pampered while resting poolside or simply wanting every need taken care of while they take in the beautiful sites of the Bahamas.

The former Four Seasons Resort has been magically transformed into a top of the line Sandals Resort with three distinctive villages, five outstanding restaurants, English trained butlers at the beck and call of all resort guests, a 72 hole Greg Norman designed golf course and Red Lane Spa all oceanfront along a beautiful mile long crescent shaped beach.  As with all Sandals resorts, everything from meals, premium drinks to water sports like snorkeling and scuba diving is included in the cost of your stay.  With Sandals Emerald Bay you even get a butler who is always on call via “butler cell phone”!  Sandals Emerald Bay is the perfect dream destination wedding or honeymoon spot!

Another Totem Travel favorite, Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa in Jamaica, recently reopened following four months or upgrades and renovations.  One of our honeymoon clients just returned and had rave reviews.  Check out their detailed report on the resort and Totem Travel service at Trip Advisor.

Many changes and upgrades were made including renovations to all resort restaurants, the main lobby area and treatment rooms at the Red Lane Spa.  Some of the room categories have also been completely re-furbished, adding updated furniture, upgraded soft goods and new plasma TV’s offering an enhanced setting for resort guests.

In addition, Sandals Whitehouse will be debut a new dining experience to Sandals called Neptune’s which will be a flavorful Mediterranean-themed dining concept.

For a limited time take advantage of a Companion Fly Free offer at Sandals Emerald Bay or up to 65% off at Sandals Whitehouse.  Call a Sandals Specialist today at 1-800-321-7907 or book online and take advantage of the great savings at two spectacular Sandals resorts.

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In my search for the best all inclusive resort for families I have stayed at some of the best in Mexico and the Caribbean, but having just returned from a fabulous trip to Beaches Resort on Turks & Caicos, I am convinced that I found the number one or “best of the best” all inclusive resort for families. You’ll never have to leave the resort because everything is included at this top of the line family Resort. You can dine in 16 different restaurants, snorkel, sail and even scuba dive right from the resort and still check out without owing another penny.  Isn’t that what all inclusive is all about?

Most all inclusives offer limited menu restaurants opting for the buffet style of dining. Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort gave me 16 dining options so I indulged in wonderful Italian, elegant French, and good ole English Pub fish and chips among others. One of my favorites was the Barefoot by the Sea restaurant where the conch fritters are out of this world and parents enjoyed their dinners and lingered over a glass of wine or dessert while kids played in the sand near their table.

Besides being on one of the most beautiful white sand beaches which glistens over twelve miles long against pure turquoise waters, Beaches Turks & Caicos offers a variety of choices for young families.  Compared to most all inclusive resorts which start their kids programs at age 3, 4 or 5, Beaches offers a complete kids club for infants through the teens. 

While I was there the resort was full of babies and preschool age children who were having fun not only in the gentle sea, but watching Sesame character parades, sliding down slides in the waterpark and floating down the lazy river. The older kids found their fun trying their hand at the surf simulator, Xbox game room and DJ recording studio. Stayed tuned as I plan on telling you more about what is offered for children and describe the kids club in more detail in my next blog.

Another feature that makes Beaches Turks & Caicos stand out over other all inclusive resorts are the room accommodations available for families.   I always had to book two rooms to accommodate my family of five, but at Beaches Turks & Caicos there are fabulous options like rooms with bunk beds and trundles plus a king size bed and day bed with trundle all in one suite.  You can also link together some of the rooms to accommodate your family or even more than one family (up to twelve people).

If you are interested in going to Jamaica, there are three wonderful Beaches Resorts there and we have been to all of them.  Beaches Resorts leave no stone unturned in making the dream of a perfect family vacation come true where kids can play and parents can play AND relax!!

Just give Totem Travel a call at (425) 821-4100, or send me an email at patty@totemtravel.com and you’ll get personalized help from a Beaches expert at no extra cost!

Totem Travel was once again named “Best of the Best” at Sandals Star Agency Awards for 2009.  Woohoo!  It’s fun being recognized as a top travel agency and the perks aren’t bad either!

This year’s gala event was held at Beaches Turks and Caicos in the Southern Bahamas.  Beaches Resorts are for everyone and the Turks and Caicos resort is the ultimate all inclusive getaway.   So when we weren’t hard at work (you know, marketing forums… networking functions…) there was time to enjoy 12 miles of pristine white sand beach, 80 degree turquoise water, the luxurious Italian Village and the water park with lazy river, surf simulator and waterslides. 

Look for a series of posts on the resort with details on the kids club, land and water sports and the myriad of restaurants and bars that makes Beaches Turks and Caicos the best and most inclusive family friendly resort anywhere! Then call the Sandals and Beaches Specialists at Totem Travel if you need help choosing a resort or room category for your next vacation or honeymoon. 

We’ve been to all the resorts and are recognized by Sandals Chairman and CEO as ”Best of the Best”.

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If you’re looking for an adult only all inclusive vacation in the Caribbean and prefer a small luxury resort, check out Sandals Royal Plantation in Ocho Rios.  Royal Plantation has only 74 rooms and every suite boasts a gorgeous oceanview, stocked in room bar, pillow menu, robes and slippers and other luxury touches.

The food at Royal Plantation is gourmet and the service top notch, but the ambiance is relaxed and casual.  In fact, what sets Royal Plantation apart is the focus on pampering without pretension.  It’s a little hard to describe, but oh so easy to enjoy!

Let’s start with the food.  During a recent stay I enjoyed a wide variety of foods and flavors including island specialties like grilled lobster, gungo (a spicy bean soup), patties (pastry stuffed with beef), Jamaican hot chocolate (made with coconut milk and cinnamon), and of course jerk chicken and pork.

To balance the local dishes I indulged in more traditional gourmet fare like delicious pork tenderloin with orange sauce, crusted salmon, veal roast and a perfectly prepared steak with garlic mashed potatoes.

Favorite lunch offerings were fish and bammies (fish and chips with a Jamaican twist), homemade soups and yummy ice cream sundaes. But the mid day highlight was Friday’s fish fry where we prepared our own meal under the watchful eye of celebrity chef Peter Fraser, aka Resort General Manager.

Wearing a chef’s hat, Peter helped us select a fillet of just caught red snapper marinated in a puree of olive oil, garlic, thyme and onion.  We added vege’s like okra, carrots and scallions, a dollop of butter and splash of white wine.  Then sealed it all in foil pouches and popped them on the grill.  The finished product was fantastic and even the non fish eaters in our group ate every bite!

So enough about the food you say?  Let’s talk about the beach and watersports!

Royal Plantation has two lovely soft sand beaches fronting the turquoise Caribbean Sea.  On the main beach, butlers cater to your every whim.  Champagne at 10a, fruit at 11a and a cooling mist of rose water at noon… no problem mon!  Need something special?  Just raise a flag for service.

The second beach, a few steps away, has sailboats, kayaks and watertrikes for guests to enjoy.  You can hop on the snorkel boat a couple of times a day for a trip to a nearby reef or stay dry and see the fish through a glass bottom boat.

Landlubbers will enjoy complimentary golf at Sandals Golf and Country Club, tennis, giant chess, table games, billiard table and more.  Add an award winning spa, fun off property activities like swimming with dolphins and ziplining and even a complimentary Catamaran sail which many guests decline, preferring the more personal beach butler service to the “booze cruise”.

Royal Plantation is for discerning adults seeking a relaxed beach or golf getaway, romantic anniversary or luxury honeymoon resort.  Book online or call Linda at (800) 321-7907 with your questions.

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Swim with the Dolphins on your next vacation in Hawaii, Mexico or the Caribbean

Has swimming with dolphins been one of your lifelong dreams?  Fulfilling that dream is easier than you think because many cruise ports and tropical vacation destinations offer dolphin programs.

A favorite experience is swimming with a baby dolphin and its mother!  This is an educational program as well as loads of fun.  You will learn about dolphin nursing, their anatomy, physiology, echolocation and the close relationship between the calf (baby) and its mom during the first 5 years.  You will also be able to throw hoops and balls to both mom and baby.  Kids 8 to 80 love this experience and the dolphins love it too!.

Is speed and action more to your liking?  How about swimming with dolphins in the Caribbean Sea?  This program affords you the opportunity to jump right in with the dolphins and let them pull you around the water!  What could be more fun?  Dolphins are very “people loving” and you will really experience the special bond between dolphins and humans while swimming in their world.  They love to kiss you, sing for you, and show off a bit by giving you a ride on their belly.

On Oahu in Hawaii, Sea Life Park has a great program for small children called Dolphin Encounter.  The Dolphin Encounter takes place in shallow water, but the kids still get to experience a kiss and handshake from their new friends.  A Royal Swim is also offered at Sea Life Park and during this swim the dolphins will pull you around by their dorsal fin or give the ultimate “foot push”. You can feel all the strength and energy the dolphin has to offer as they jet you across the water from the bottom of your feet.  Wow!

Dolphin Quest on the Big Island of Hawaii, offers many of the same programs as Sea Life Park plus older kids and adults will enjoy shadowing a trainer for a day.  Beside pool interaction with the dolphins, participants help prepare the dolphins meals, help with health exams and learn some basic training skills.  Dolphin Quest is housed at the Hilton Waikoloa and many rooms have views of the dolphins.

Popular vacation destinations and cruise itineraries include Jamaica, the Bahamas and Mexico and each has a swim with dolphins program.  Ocho Rios has Dolphin Cove.  Playa Del Carmen, about 1 hour south of Cancun, has a great Eco-Park and dolphin program at Xcaret.

And in the Bahamas head to Atlantis on Paradise Island.  Atlantis is a magical place with a fantastic water park, but there’s also a swim with the dolphins program right on property!  The Atlantis is home to the Katrina dolphins which were swept away from their home in Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina.  After being rescued and nursed back to health, all of the dolphins were eventually transported to Atlantis to fully recover and reside at Dolphin Cay’s new state-of-the-art habitat.

Wherever you vacation, I strongly recommend you make reservations prior to your arrival.  Swim with the dolphins programs are extremely popular and often sell out months in advance. Please give me a call at (425) 821-4100 or shoot me an email at sandi@totemtravel.com to book your Swim with Dolphins vacation!