2/22/2010, Day 1, we got up, loaded the Jeep, and headed to the airport with our many pieces of luggage. The night before I was upset at Eric because he didn't think that I needed three pieces of luggage and a carry-on. I see his point now, but at the time it was not pretty. :) Instead we came with two overweight big suitcases, two small carry-on sized suitcases, and a backpack (full of books).
When we arrived at the airport we went through the short security line (thankfully--Mondays are so busy at DIA) due to Eric being a 1K flier. Then we boarded the train, arrived at Terminal B, and headed straight to the Red Carpet Club, thanks again to Eric's 1K status and our International tickets. :) The Red Carpet Club is nice, but I WOULD NOT pay $50 for a one-time pass. It had some nice chairs, free coffee, and free continental breakfast. If you are an actual member you get free internet, but since we were only visiting, we would have had to pay. In fact, when I went to ask the customer service lady if I could get the PIN for the internet account, she looked at my ticket and said, "Oh, you're in coach. The PIN is only for first class passengers." "Ok, then HOW DO I GET THE INTERNET?" I replied. Coach. Whatever.:)
At 9:50am we boarded the plane, to find that not only were we in the very spacious exit row, in Economy Plus, we also did not have another person sitting in our row. On the 3.5 hour flight we read, played logic puzzles, and had amazing salads. Eric had Chicken Ceasar and I had a delicious spinach salad with blue cheese, walnuts and cranberries. Yum!
Around 2:45pm local time we got off the plane, picked up our bags, went through Customs, and found our shuttle. We paid quite a bit extra to have a private shuttle, but it was really worth it. 40 minutes later we were pulling in to the hotel.
First, Fairmont is a really posh place. When we arrived by shuttle, there was an armored military vehicle outside the entrance, filled with guys with big ass machine guns. There were three attendants and another guy with a machine gun at the gate. They are NOT messing around with security. After a few minutes we were greeted through the back window, "Welcome to Fairmont,Mr. and Mrs. Cohen", and we entered.
The enclosed "resort' is 240 acres, so it was quite a bit of driving up to the actual hotel. The hotel wsa built into a jungle, so everything is green, plush, and living. There are birds everywhere, lizards scurrying, and lots of fish in the canals.We were told there is even a crocodile! Seriously, what is a vacation without a signature crocodile??
When we stepped out of the shuttle, we were greeted with orange blossom scented cold towels to freshen up. I kept that silly thing for a while, and ended up bringing it back to our room. It smelled soooo good and was just another reminder that we were actually here, in paradise. On our way into the building we were each handed a wine glass filled with cherry flavored ice tea. It was amazing. Eric still wants some more. :)
So after checking in, we were greeted by a hotel person and taken to our room. Oh--my--goodness! A suite. I knew we were getting a suite. I didn't know how big it was going to be. Over 900 square feet. It's the size of an apartment. There are two full sized bathrooms, a big living room (where I am sitting now), and a master bedroom with bath. The porch/deck/patio is huge (long). Although there is only one bed, at least two couples could comfortably stay here. I should have packed a few friends!
The gentleman who brought us to our room showed up around and got us settled in. We thought we were going to be a on a top floor, overlooking the canal system, and were a little surprised to find no view off our patio, except for jungle. He called the front desk and they assured us we would be moved as soon as possible to an upper deck room. We did, afterall, make these reservations seven months ago. Also, my husband did spend over 120 nights with this hotel chain last year....so we were really glad when they decided to accomodate us. The perks of being a President's Club member.
After the first guy left, we heard a knock on the door, and in comes a gentleman carrying a tray of fruit and Perrier, compliments of the President's Club. Fortunately, Eric was able to pick what our gift was going to be, so he ordered the fruit. Basic fruits..apples, pears, and some weird fruit that I still don't know what to call it. It's like a tiny white guava. Of course, being the curious person I am, I decided to eat it without asking for instructions. I ate the whole thing. Nope. Not the seeds/inside, which is most of the fruit. But how was I to know? :)It is a wasteful little fruit!
After putting our bags down we went out on our own and adventured around the grounds, looking at birds, flowers, and walking the many paths. We visited the Spa (Fitness and Spa). The fitness room consists of lots of treadmills and some bikes, and an enitre set of machines that are really really nice. There is also a class room, and they put on three fitness classes a day. Classes include yoga, strecthing, fit ball, step, pilates, and something else....oh, Body Combat on Mondays at 8am. Entrance to the spa also includes men and women's shower rooms (separately). In each locker room there is fresh juice, tea, coffee, all the showering supplies you could ever want, a eucalyptus steam room, a gigantic hot tub, and an aromatherapy room without heat. Once you have your swim clothes on, you can go upstairs to the second floor where they have the "Serenity Lounge", with more food, drinks, and no children. It's completely quiet, with only softly played music. Amazing. There is a pool up there and a mineral bath. We knew we were going to love this place! It's extra, but it's worth it! Oh, and they have bottled water...for free...which is about $5 a bottle if you have to buy it. So I drink a lot of water from there. :) It's like getting to work out for free because I drink so much water now.
Eventually we made it to the beach. It's about a mile down to the beach given that the path is very curvy/windy. One of the three restaurants is there, Las Brisas. We decided to stop and have a drink and some snacks there. Two of the three restaurants have a dress code, but we were happy to know the bar did not. We ordered Milagro margaritas. Oh-my! Best regular flavored margarita ever. the secret is sugar. They put sugar and fresh lime in it, and it's A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! See photo below. We also ordered chips and guacamole (yes, the authentic kind, Jessica and Shavon!). :) It was really windy that particular night and a storm was passing through. Fortunately we didn't blow away...but some napkins did!
We finished up our first night by going to bed early. Paradise is tiring. (wink!)
No comments:
Post a Comment