Donna's blog

This morning started out early, up at 4 am to be at the Sandals Specialist training by 7:30 am.  To maintain my specialists status we have to go through a 4 hour training every year.

This year we went over all the properties, all of them have been refurbished and two of them are new.  There are 4 distinct brands within the "Sandals Umbrella."  They are Sandals Luxury Included (couples only), Beeches (families),  the Royal Plantation Collection (for discerning clients who expect nothing less than the best), and lastly the The Grand Pineapple (for price conscious who want a quality product).

Most Sandals products are all-inclusive luxury included.  They offer private villas with full staff, vehicles, and all meals/beverages  included.

Their newest resort is in Great Exuma, Bahamas and is called Sandals Emerald Bay (all butler, all oceanfront).  There are 5 restaurants on site, a Greg Norman-designed golf course with 6 signature holes, and their own 17 acre marina with 150 slips and Marina Club House.

Martha Steward Weddings are now offered at all Sandals and Beaches resorts.  The bride and groom have different packages to choose from or they can customize their wedding for additional cost.  The best thing about their new wedding offerings is that all the flowers and now real and are flown in just for the wedding.  They must be ordered when booking the wedding package and cannot be ordered on site or changed once the couple arrives at the resort.

Contact me for more information on any of the properties offered under the Sandals umbrella of Luxury Included brands donna@escapetotravel.com.

Today we received training on Club Med and what they have done to upgrade and compete with their product.

As most of you know Club Med was the very first all-inclusive product offering 60 years ago on France.  Because they were one of a kind they did not concern themselves with competition.

Things have changed greatly on that front.  There are many all-inclusive resorts available now in both Mexico and the Caribbean forcing Club Med to take notice when the started to loose market share.

So how did Club Med fight back?  They sold off 30% of their properties and re-invested those funds back into the remaining properties.  They now own 90 properties in 43 countries worldwide.  Club Med at one time only had one option for their rooms because the focus was not the accommodations it was the activities at all the resorts, that has changed for the better.  Club Med now offers 3, 4, and 5 star properties.  They only have one adult only property located in Turks and Caicos that is pretty much the same as it has always been, they have upgraded the lobby area and are considering refurbishing the rooms but have not yet.

Club Med also now has a 5 star all-inclusive 5 masted  sailing vessel club Med 2 that sails the Mediterranean during the summer and the Caribbean during the winter.  The ship is small accommodating 300 passengers with over 200 crew members.  The cabins are larger than most cruising vessels making them more comfortable.  The only items not included are shore excursions and personal items.  The serve premium alcoholic beverages, however if you would like a better quality alcoholic beverage they are available for a nominal fee.

Vacation styles are varied at Club Med and include family vacations, couples vacations, singles & friends vacations, spa vacations, ski vacations, traveling with babies – kids- and teenagers, golf, tennis, scuba diving, watersports, cruises, Caribbean & Mexico beaches

As well as offering all-inclusive resorts around the world Club Med also offers private villas-chalets in Mauritius for sale.  That's right you can own your own Club Med Villa-chalet  located on the outskirts of their resort property Club Med La Plantation d' Albion.  The villa-chalets are 3, 4, and 5 bedroom.

Club Med locations worldwide:

Africa & Middle East, Alps, Asia, Bahamas, Buccaneer’s Creek, Caravelle, Cancun Yucatan, Caribbean, Columbus Isle, Dominican Republic, Europe, Florida, Indian Ocean, Ixtapa Pacific, Mexico,  North America , Punta Cana, Sanpiper, South America, Turks & Caicos.

Contact me for more information at donna@escapetotravel.com

One of the best parts of being a "Romance Specialists" is visiting each of the properties I offer to my clientele to make sure it is something that will meet their needs.

All I can say about South Coast Winery Resort and Spa in Temecula is WOW!  This is a very special property right here in the middle of the wine country in Temecula.

They offer 76 villa rooms in clusters of 3 or 4.  Each has a private entry that includes a bird bath in the center and lots of wonderful smells (Jasmine).  I have a slide show at the end of this post so you can see for yourselves.  Of course they say a picture is worth a thousand words but pictures do not depict the beauty of this property

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Each room has a fireplace, sitting area, small dining table with two chairs, jacuzzi bathtub, separate shower, and a private patio within grapevines.  Very romantic place to get away to.

The GrapeSeed Spa/pool area is quite nice.  Several treatment rooms including therapies  made from champagne.  The pool area offers cabanas for protection from the sun if you like, lots of lounge chairs and a salt water pool.  All around the spa and pool area are private sitting areas with comfortable couches and chairs.

The Vineyard Rose Restaurant offers award-winning wines and fresh California Wine Country Cuisine.  I sampled their Caesar Salad with Salmon and Balsamic Vinaigrette, it was fantastic.

The tasting room is open and airy, also very busy with their wonderful award winning wine offerings.  We like dessert wines and one of theirs is a sparkling Muscat Cannelli they call Spumante Diamante, yum!

I must include in my posting about the staff, they are wonderful, very accommodating, polite, and friendly.

During the summer the winery host musical events, they are even having Kenny G, now I am really impressed.

Contact me directly for more information or to book your romantic get away at donna@escapetotravel.com