Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Where in the World in Carmen Sandiego?

Anyone else remember this kick-ass game show? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?


Well like the gumshoes searching for the one of Carmen Sandiego's crooks Mr. Riley and I spent months searching for the "best" honeymoon spot. I wanted to go to Africa, Mr. Riley did not... scratch. Mr. Riley wanted to go to Europe, I did not.... scratch. We both wanted to go to Australia, the budget did not... scratch. Finally we came up with this set of criteria:

1. A Tropical Local. After living in Kansas for a while we are both ready to soak up some sun rays and vitamin D.

2. All-inclusive. We didn't want to have to worry about carrying lots of money, possibly having to change currency, or keeping track of what we were spending and on what. We did have to make sure that there were plenty of restaurants (and bars) for variety.

3. Excursions. This was mainly for me. I have never been outside of the Continental United States and wanted to really "SEE" wherever we visited. Mr. Riley would be content just setting on the beach the whole time but is indulging my need to explore.

4. Adult-only. Although we LOVE kids, being that it was our honeymoon we were really looking forward to some exclusively adult time.

After hours and hours (and hours and hours) of researching , reading reviews on TripAdvisor, and weighing all the pros and cons we narrowed it down the islands of: Antigua, The British Virgin Islands (BVI), The Grand Cayman, St. Lucia, Turks and Caicos, and Aruba. Because of Mr. Riley's schedule with the Army we could only take about 7 days (inclusive of travel) for our honeymoon so flight schedules narrowed our search down even more. We were now looking at The Grand Cayman, St. Lucia, and Aruba.

Check out the amazing resorts we found*:

The Grand Cayman
The Reef Resort
Pros:
-Room with kitchenette and whirlpool tub
-Two swimming pools
-Live entertainment
-Moderately priced
Cons:
-One restaurant
-One bar
-Accepts children
-Excursions not as interesting
-45 minutes from the airport
Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort
Pros:
-Two restaurants
-Two lounges
-Swimming pool and whirlpool
-White Beaches
-Close to other attractions
Cons:
-Higher end of our budget
-Accepts children
-Excursions not as interesting
St. Lucia
Rendezvous
Pros:
-Adults only
-Two restaurants
-Three Bars
-Multiple swimming pools
-Scuba courses included
-Great excursions
Cons:
-Very top of our budget
Coconut Bay Beach Resort and Spa
Pros:
-Three restaurants
-Four bars
-Three swimming pools (including adult only)
-Resort divided into Family and Adult only
-Entertainment
-At lower end of budget
-Great excursions
Cons:
-Children accepted
Aruba
Occidental Grand Aruba
Pros:
-Six restaurants
-Swim up bar
-Casino
-Moderately priced
Cons:
-Aruba doesn't have a great reputation right now
-Excursions water centric
RIU Palace Aruba
Pros:
-Five restaurants
-Five bars
-24 hour room service
-Casino
-Wireless in lobby
Cons:
-High end of budget
-Excursions water centricba
Where are you planning to go on your honeymoon? Where do you think we ended booking?

*Please note all opinions expressed within are based upon our personal criteria, budget, an desires for a honeymoon and not reflections of the actual services or quality of services provided by the resorts.

1 comment:

  1. Just stumbled upon your post on Weddingbee, and the word "Riley" just jumped off the page. Well that and the camo.

    I work at Ft. Riley, so I thought I'd just give a shout out.

    God I hope that's not creepy....

    ReplyDelete