luxury beach resort for the New Year?

Ocean View Junior Suite at Las Ventanas al Paraiso

Festive Season space is extremely difficult to find at the best beach resorts, but if you're looking for a short getaway to one of the top resorts in Los Cabos, here's a three night possibility at Las Ventanas al Paraiso.

An Ocean View Rooftop Terrace Junior Suite (see the picture above to get an idea of the views) just became available. The check-in date is January 1st with a January 4th check-out... and you can extend your stay beyond this date. The room rate is $2280 per night plus 34% tax and service for the three night period.

You'll receive extra value just by booking through your Virtuoso travel consultant:

• Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
• Continental breakfast daily, for up to two in room guests served in restaurant
• $100 USD Equivalent Spa Services credit, to be utilized during stay (not combinable, no cash value if not redeemed in full)
• Early check-in/late check-out subject to availability

copyright (c) 2015 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Laguna | two SoCal beach resorts

view from Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel

I was in Southern California for one night this week and spent the evening at Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel. While there, I had site inspections both of the Ritz Carlton and the Montage Laguna Beach. Here are my impressions of these two beach resorts.

I learned an interesting fact about Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel — it's the first resort that RC ever built. Located above one hundred feet above a long beach, the hotel offers incredible views of the Pacific Ocean. The beach view is so picturesque and inviting that there's a live web cam shown on four large screens behind the front desk... The resort has 396 rooms, and it's definitely worth getting a coastline view room for the beautiful view.

We were upgraded to a Garden View 1BR Club Suite. The rooms at RC Laguna Niguel have recently been renovated, and the results were very pleasant with a restful color scheme (blues and a pastel sea foam green) that gives a sense of place to this seaside resort. Our Suite had a powder room off the living room, and the main bathroom was large with dual vanities. A louvered door separated the vanity area from a smaller room with toilet and shower/bathtub combo.

Regular guest rooms feel spacious with the same color scheme as the suites. Additional space has been captured by removing the credenza from the wall opposite the bed, mounting the flat screen television on the wall, and moving the drawer space into a closet area. The bathroom had dual vanities and the same shower/tub combo. (The resort is 30 years old, and although it feels fresh, plumbing choices were made before separate step-in showers became the standard for luxury hotels).

I enjoyed the food. We ate Friday night at 180BLU, an open-air bar and restaurant overlooking the sea — very informal with a live musician playing an acoustic guitar. Our Saturday morning breakfast was enjoyed at Raya — we had a window seat in front of huge windows facing the sea from which we enjoyed watching the early morning surfers.

view from the lobby of Montage Laguna Beach

Montage Laguna Beach is a newer resort, built 7 years ago, just 10 minutes up the coast from the Ritz Carlton. A more intimate (just 248 guestrooms), our first impression of the property was the inviting lobby area with its inviting living room/lounge area overlooking the Pacific. Light and bright with a white wood cathedral ceiling, it feels like a casual yet elegant beach bungalow.

There are three categories of guest rooms at Montage. Every room faces the ocean, and Virtuoso guests receive an upgrade at the time of booking. You can see some ocean from the lead-in Horizon rooms, but Virtuoso guests are upgrade to Coastal rooms with quite a full view of the ocean. Book a Coastal Room, and you'll enjoy the upgrade to a Surf Room that has views of the ocean and the white sand beache. Guestrooms are a large 500 square feet, and bathrooms come with dual vanities, separate step-in shower and soaking tub, and a WC. The rooms have a residential feel that seemed just a bit tired to me; they could really benefit from new furnishings that reflect the casual elegance of the resort's wonderful lobby.

For a third option along the Pacific Coast in Orange County, consider Pelican Hill. A review from my previous stay can be found here.

copyright (c) 2015 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

got the polar vortex blues?

a clever ad from Cap Juluca, Virtuoso luxury beach resort in Anguilla

The weather outside is dreadful in so many parts of the country, with the polar vortex bringing arctic temperatures to the midwest and east coast of the United States and Canada. There is an alternative to suffering the cold and damp of winter ... a warm, sunny tropical beach somewhere south!

Cap Juluca created the clever ad at the top of this article. "Exchange white snow for white sand" was the subject of their email blast, and I share the sentiment. Cap Juluca is a tropical resort in the British West Indies on the island of Anguilla, named #1 Best Beach Resort Worldwide by Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report 2013. One of dozens of Virtuoso luxury resorts in the Caribbean, guests booking through a Virtuoso travel consultant receive complimentary extras — daily breakfast for two, a $100 resort credit, and an upgrade if available when you check-in.

So whether your travel dreams take you to the Caribbean, Mexico, or Hawaii, ask your Virtuoso travel advisor for some winter vacation ideas... and beat the polar vortex blues! We can provide you with great money-saving amenities at virtually any luxury resort you'd like to visit.

copyright (c) 2015 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Four Seasons Costa Rica | two beaches!

What a beach resort! This is satellite photo of Four Seasons Costa Rica from Google maps gives a birds-eye view of the resort, and the most amazing feature is that there are two beaches.

The beach to the north faces the Pacific Ocean. This is the "quiet beach" (and also has an adults-only "quiet pool" facing the water).

The beach to the south faces the bay, Bahia de Culebra. This is the "activity beach" with stronger waves. The resort's Sports Pavilion provides equipment for active beach activities including snorkeling, sea kayaking, sailing, and sail boarding.

The best thing about these beaches? Plenty of natural shade trees (which you can't really see from the satellite image, so here's a photo I took with my iPad while sitting on the beach while connected to the complimentary WiFi you received with a Preferred Partner booking). Grab one of the resorts many chaise lounges (no need to come early to reserve your chairs) and spend a few hours relaxing by the sea. The sand is soft and the beaches are uncrowded. Although technically "public" beaches, the only access is through the resort.

We've been to some wonderful Four Seasons beach resorts over the years (including Hulalai, Maui, Manele Bay, and Nevis), and FS Costa Rica is now my wife's favorite of them all!

copyright (c) 2014 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

the most incredible luxury vacation value

There are beach vacations... and there is Four Seasons Punta Mita, one of the world's most luxurious beach and golf resorts. Located just 25 miles from the Puerto Vallarta International Airport, the area features 9 miles of pristine white sand beaches and lava rock formations. With just 173 guest rooms nestled among 26 acres of lush tropical grounds, you will never feel crowded. And once you luxuriate in one of Four Seasons' spacious guestrooms and enjoy a fabulous night's sleep on their exclusive custom designed mattresses, you'll be spoiled for life!

Relax on the beach or enjoy activities ranging from golf on the Jack Nicklaus designed championship course, tennis, scuba diving, surfing, snorkeling ... even romantic horseback rides on the beach. Children can participate in the Kids Program which is included in your package.

This incredible deal is available until December 21st .. and not likely ever to be seen again.

1. Rates begin at just $415 + tax for a spacious 645 square foot Garden Casita.


2. For every four consecutive nights you book, you will receive a resort credit of $1,234 that can be applied to your room bill or other charges.


3. When booking through a Four Seasons Preferred Partner, you will also receive complimentary full breakfast for two daily, an upgrade to the next room category if available at check-in, and a $100 golf credit.

Do the math: Four nights with tax will cost about $875 with breakfast included. Eight nights will cost about $1750 with breakfast included. You're spending less than $220 per day to vacation at one of Four Seasons most renowned beach resorts.

Contact a Four Seasons Preferred Partner travel consultant for a complimentary booking.


Four Seasons Punta Mita (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2009 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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how to plan a romantic honeymoon

So you're engaged, and now you're planning a romantic honeymoon to begin your married life together. You may find that planning this trip is very stressful because there are too many choices! Do you want to take a cruise or spend a romantic honeymoon at a beach resort in a tropical paradise?

Where do you want to go? The world offers so many honeymoon destinations: Hawaii. Capri. Costa Rica. Tahiti and Bora Bora. Fiji. The Maldives. Mexico. Jamaica or the Caribbean. Do you want an all inclusive vacation? Do you want a totally flexible package?

This is perhaps the one time in your life when all these choices are not welcome. You're in the midst of countless decisions about your wedding, and you're getting frustrated by them. You are discovering that the two of you may have different decision-making styles, different priorities, even different expectations. You've had to deal with disagreements and conflict around your wedding ... and now you have the trip of a lifetime to plan. Both of you want it to be the most wonderful, romantic honeymoon ever, but you can't agree on anything. What's a happily engaged couple to do?

Here are some tips on how to plan a romantic honeymoon and keep your love intact!

1. Keep it simple. You'll want to avoid frequent packing and unpacking. Who wants the hassles of traveling to a dozen destinations on your honeymoon? This is a time for you to be together and enjoy each other. Talk about this question: What do we like doing for fun? Brainstorm destinations that would be fun to visit. Come up with separate lists, then compare and see what you have in common.

2. Set a budget. If your vacation costs more than you can afford, the expenses will add to your stress, both during the trip and afterwards (when the credit card bills come in). You can have a romantic honeymoon that stays within your budget and enjoy your memories forever (and avoid the debt).

3. Ask for help. Planning any kind of travel can be complex; if it were simple, you wouldn't be reading this blog! A good travel consultant will listen to the dreams you have for your honeymoon, respect your budget, do all the research, and offer you a few choices that you can talk over together. Whatever you may pay as a consulting fee, you will reap many times that investment in mistakes avoided, real value found, and a bottom line that you can afford. And, most of all, you will have a romantic honeymoon that's been planned by an expert so that all you have to do ... is enjoy it!


copyright (c) 2007 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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