My spouse and I want to go on vacation to a beautiful tropical beach destination.
Here's what we like (highest priority first):
1. NICE BEACHES: Stunning, pristine, unspoiled, peaceful beautiful
beaches. Mainly we want to relax on the beach in beautiful peaceful
surroundings.
2. GOOD WEATHER: We'd like to be able to count on sun for most of the
days we're there.
3. NICE RESORT: Beautiful peaceful non-corporate high end resort that
isn't super expensive. We'd like to stay at a place that's really
beautiful but doesn't feel like it's just a standard big American
hotel on the beach. That doesn't mean we want a small boutique place
(well, possibly we might) -- we like the resorts that do a great job
of creating tranquil beautiful surroundings that don't feel corporate,
although big is OK. The place should consistently get great reviews
on service. Preferably not a place that feels like someone's
grandmother's apartment (e.g. a Ritz Carlton) -- instead modern,
sparse and sleek are better.
4. AFFORDABLE. It would be great if it's somewhere in the world that
the dollar goes a long way. Beautiful hotel rooms for under US$200
and good meals for two under US$50. However, it would be great if you
could include some high-end resorts that are more expensive, if they
fit the bill in every other way. For example, the whole AmanResorts
chain looks amazing; we would consider splurging and going to one of
those -- at least for a few days, possibly followed by a week in a
more affordable place.
5. GOOD FOOD. Being in a part of the world known for good food
(especially Asia) would be a plus. (For this reason, the Carribbean
is probably a minus, although I wouldn't rule it out.)
6. TRAVEL: Ability to fly there on American Airlines, United, or one
of their codeshare partners. (Not essential but definitely a plus.)
7. EXOTIC DESTINATION. This is not a requirement, but being in a cool
interesting part of the world would be a plus.
8. GOOD SCUBA. This is the lowest priority. We're not huge into
Scuba, and we are relative beginners, but it would be great if there
is beautiful blue water and a nice shallow coral reef to explore...
To give you an idea of what we like...
-- The Hotel Nikko Bali in Nusa Dua, Bali, is pretty much ideal.
Beautiful and peaceful, with great food and service. Super nice
people. We would go back in a second, except the affordable flights
appear to be all booked for the rest of the dry season.
-- The Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach in Cancun is super nice.
Although it's in a party town (and we're more after peace and quiet),
we still really enjoy going there, because the place is so nice and
peaceful.
-- As examples of the kinds of hotels we like... in NYC we'd stay at
the W Times Square or the Tribeca Grand -- nice sleek places that
place an emphasis on design, comfort and unintrusive service.
Here's what I'm hoping for in your answer:
1. A list of suggested destinations.
2. For each destination:
- The best time period to visit. (We are mainly interested in
October-November-early-December, although OK to include a few others
outside of this.)
- A description of the destination.
- Some suggested hotels, with some information on each, including
an overview of the reviews (e.g. on TripAdvisor) that the places get.
- Other information that addresses the items in our wish list above
(including whether United/American or their partners fly there).
I'm hoping for an answer that includes a fair amount of detail,
addressing the 8 "what we like" points for each destination.
Ideally, you will make it easy for us to choose where to go on our
10-day vacation, which will be sometime between October 1 and December
10, 2005.
(We work super hard and save our $$ for these vacations so want to
make sure we find the best place...)
Thanks!!! |
