Tag: luxury

Fairmont Le Château Frontenac Christmas

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Booking to spend our Christmas at the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in Québec City, Canada is one of the best decisions that we ever made. This winter wonderland of a luxury hotel just oozes holiday spirit in December. What a wonderful place it was to spend my favorite holiday of the year! Read on if you’re thinking of making it a Le Château Frontenac Christmas.

Lobby Christmas Trees at the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac

Why the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, you may wonder? I have wanted to stay at this hotel since I first glimpsed it in person when I was 15 years old. We were on a family cruise with Holland America Lines, originating in New York and ending in Montreal, with a few days in Québec City. The place is a castle (a real château) – it enchanted me immediately. I had to stay here someday, and that day finally came in December 2016.

A brief note about inclusivity: I’m Catholic by upbringing, I identify as Christian, and I celebrate Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday. However, I believe that if you’re an atheist, Jew, Muslim, agnostic, Hindu, Buddhist, etc., you’ll still have a wonderful time visiting the Château in late December! No shade to other ideologies here – just speaking from my own perspective as a Christmas-lover!

I was not disappointed. If anything, I had underestimated how great this hotel really was. I felt like a Christmas princess all week in this snow-covered palace! And, what better place than to stay in the most iconic symbol of the city itself – Le Château Frontenac?

White Christmas at the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac

Getting There (In A Snowstorm)

Welp, driving to Québec City from New York City on Christmas Eve was not one of my BRIGHTEST ideas. To say the least.

Snowy Quebec City rooftops
Snow-covered rooftops of Québec City

We rented an SUV in NYC (from Laguardia Airport, which we were closer to than JFK) to make the drive up. I knew my Acura TL wasn’t built for snowy roads and we were going to Canada, after all. So, we rented a Nissan Murano and began our trek through upstate New York to the border.

Things were great until we hit a snowstorm around mid-Catskills! It kept snowing all the way until we reached Québec City. It took only about one hour longer than it should have, which was great. However, driving that far and long on snowy roads during a snowstorm means extremely tense shoulders and white knuckles for me.

Just a quick sidenote: drivers between Montreal and Quebec City are insane. We kept getting passed by Toyota Yarises doing 90 mph in a snowstorm. So, be warned!

Christmas Le Château Frontenac
One of the many Christmas decorations at the hotel

We arrived in town and began the meandering drive uphill toward the hotel. I was so glad we had the SUV at that point because there are some steep hills in Vieux-Québec. If you’re in doubt, rent the SUV with 4-wheel drive.

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Hotel More (Dubrovnik, Croatia)

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I can’t take credit for choosing the Hotel More in Dubrovnik, as my uncle picked it for our trip to Croatia last summer. But oh my gosh, I’m so glad he did. The Hotel More in Dubrovnik, Croatia was everything we could have wanted and…well… more!

Hotel More Dubrovnik Croatia
Location, Location, Location.

Hotel More’s Location in Dubrovnik

Located in the slightly more suburban area of Lapad (just north of old town), Hotel More is about a 15-minute bus ride directly from the Old Town main gate, plus a 10-minute walk. It’s actually a lovely walk, where you stroll the coastline of Lapad and pass lots of little shops and restaurants on the way to the hotel.

Three adults shown walking from behind down mediterranean seafront
Walking from the hotel to the bus stop to take us into the Old Town.

You’ll likely arrive at the hotel by street, though, if you come by taxi and you actually arrive at the top of the hotel in the lobby. The hotel offers a pre-booked airport transfer service (for a charge), and we arranged for a minivan to pick us up from the airport and bring us directly to the hotel. The driver was on time, professional and very kind. Nika, the hotel concierge who helped me arrange the transfer and our dinner plans, recommended that we use the minivan since we were 4 adults with 4 big bags.

The hotel is built into a cliffside, so it doesn’t look like much of anything from the street. But once you enter the lobby, the floor-to-ceiling windows show the beautiful coastline behind you and you’re immediately transported into vacation mode.

Hotel More Dubrovnik Croatia
The view from the hallway outside our room.

Arriving at Hotel More in Dubrovnik

The bellmen were really helpful and sweet, and the front desk/reception folks were friendly and professional. We got our room keys and set off in search of our rooms.

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A Winter Weekend in Donegal, Ireland

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A Winter Weekend in Donegal, Ireland

My stepsister got married at Harvey’s Point hotel in Donegal, Ireland on New Year’s Eve this year, so we spent a few days in Dublin and then a stop in Cavan for a night on the way up to Donegal for the festivities. I so wish we had been able to spend more time in Donegal and had gotten to see more of it , and would LOVE to return during the summer season in the near future and really experience the town in all its splendor. Despite the wintry weather, I would counsel anyone to make the trek to Donegal during a trip to the Emerald Isle.

Donegal Castle

Donegal Castle

Apologies first because we barely took any photos of the hotel itself, as with the wedding, it was a whirlwind weekend full of events (and merriment!).

DRINK AND EAT IN DONEGAL: OLDE CASTLE BAR

Although we had a full rehearsal dinner to attend, hubs and I snuck off to town with a friend to check into his hotel and walk around and see the town for a few hours before our call time. As such, we didn’t have a whole lot of time to do much sightseeing, but I had done a bit of research before we headed in and decided that we should drop in to the Olde Castle Bar for a pint or two. Continue reading →

Get Your Sleep On – Majestic Elegance (Punta Cana, Dominican Republic)

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It’s good to be the Queen.

Well, ok, maybe I’m not the Queen of anywhere, although my parents might disagree. But, that’s the way that the Majestic Elegance makes you feel when you book a room at their Elegance Club level – the adults-only part of the all-inclusive luxury resort situated in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Set on Bávaro Beach, this high-end all-inclusive delivers on hospitality and, well, elegance, throughout your stay.

The result of a boozy brunch barbecue, we booked this trip on a whim and decided to spend our Labor Day Weekend in a more tropical locale than the sweltering humidity of New York. It’s a long story and I’ll spare you the details, but we recruited some additional folks and booked on CheapCaribbean, who I am delighted to say made the booking process painless. We had 3 credit cards and 2 different airports of origin, and their customer service line was amazingly accommodating and helpful. I’d always book a stress-free all-inclusive vacation with them from now on. Not a plug, just love the website.

I’m digressing. Dominican Republic. We went there. And this is a review of our amazing resort.

Pro-Tip #1: Book a room with the Elegance Club level.

The CHECK-In Experience:

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Upon arrival in the lobby, we were whisked away by the greeter to the VIP Check-In Area, a separate suite off the main lobby with a buffet of pastries and other snacks, as well as coffee, wine, champagne and other treats. We were invited to take a seat at a table with refreshments as we checked in and were assigned our butler, Bladimir. Continue reading →

Dining at Dill (Reykjavik, Iceland)

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Dining at Dill

When I picked up the book Where Chefs Eat, I was stoked because it actually contains a few entries on Reykjavik. After flipping through the Iceland section and conferring with other websites and reviews, I knew it: We were going to eat at Dill or die trying.

Dill restaurant menu

Simple, elegant Scandinavian style ripples throughout the tiny venue – right down to the menu design.

So, we looked into it and made reservations online far in advance – which we were glad that we did because the restaurant is only open Wednesday through Sunday and is VERY small. In fact, with such long days of sunshine during June and July, we had to carefully plan our activities that day so that we got back in time to get ready and make it to the restaurant.

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Upon arrival, we were greeted by cheerful waitstaff and invited to hang our coats on the coatrack, then seated at the table just inside the door by the windows. The place is, as I said, miniscule. I was amazed that we got a reservation with no problem on May 23 for our Wednesday, July 1 dinner. The open kitchen is flanked by a bar where diners can eat at a counter, with some banquettes and tables along the exterior of the room. There was a large window at the back and some natural light flowed into an otherwise dark room, lit by romantic long tapered candles (not the LED kind, which is so ubiquitous now). It wasn’t so romantic that you can’t come eat here with friends – but it was a lovely atmosphere and set the tone for the fine dining experience which we were about to enjoy. Continue reading →

Our Tasty Tuscany Food Tour with Tuscan Wine Tours

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My husband and I did this Tasty Tuscany food (and wine) tour in October 2014, while on our Maltese-Italian honeymoon. We had been looking for something to splurge on during our trip, but wanted to find something interesting and exclusive to spend our money on – no run-of-the-mill bus tour would do. I’m so glad we found this tour by Tuscan Wine Tours, because it was one of our favorite days of the trip, all thanks to our guide Caterina, the fabulous company, and amazing destinations and local producers we met throughout our memorable day in Tuscany.

Our small group of 8 were all couples, all happened to be from the states, and were all really cool, like-minded and adventurous travelers. I was a bit hesitant to book the tour since it was a bit pricey at 300 Euros per person, but as we met in the Piazza Giuseppe Poggi that morning, all my anxiety melted away as we boarded the comfortable minivan with our cheerful co-adventurers and met Caterina, our tourguide/driver extraordinaire.

Caterina was a fantastic guide, who educated us on the wines and foods of Tuscany between our various stops on the tour. We were really excited because it turned out that our tour was the last of its kind before the itinerary was modified to make different stops.

The Stops

Stop #1 – Fresh Pasta Maker

Our first stop was at a fresh pasta maker.

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This spot was no joke. It reminded me of some of the shops in Mendoza, Argentina that the Italian-Argentine families run, who churn out fresh pasta daily to buy by weight and prepare at home.

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After a brief lesson on what the different types of pasta are called and which ones were “native” to Tuscany (pici!), we were whisked into the back of the shop – to the kitchen, to see the pasta making in action. Continue reading →