http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/enewseven/ en Sun, 26 May 2013 00:35:51 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.luxurylink.com/community/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/enewseven/ http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/enewseven/agua-aye-caramba-982/ Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:26:37 GMT It's good to be home ! My wife and I just returned from a seven night package we purchased here on LL for the Agua Resort in Punta Cana and for the first time we are glad to be home from a vacation. From the time we got off the plane and took the hour and twenty minute drive on one of the worst pothole ridden roads I've seen,we were nauseous but excited for our arrival to the new Agua Resort.

The grounds, architecture and setting is beautiful and brought a sense of serenity. We were shown to our ocean front room which was spacious and well appointed, with sliding doors that open out to the beach...we were psyched. We decided to get a late lunch so we went to the beach restaurant that we were told is serving lunch and sat down. After 10 minutes of phone calls by the waiters, bartenders, and to whomever they were calling, we were sent back to our room and told to order room service. At this point I started to get the feeling that ("Houston we have a problem..." ). We ordered room service and an hour later our $18 each grilledchicken platters showed up. We were starving ! The waiter opened up the platter and we witnessed the worlds smallest grilled chicken breast sliced into six pieces, with 5 soggy French fries on the side and herbs sprinkled on top. We ateit all andsoon after realized how gross and expensive($36) our lunch was !!!

We took the hit and decided to make the best of it and ventured off the world class spa which we read so much about. It was a very nice set up and had a water circuit which we heard many good things about. As we jumped in and started to press the buttons to turn everything on, nothing. I went to the front desk and was informed that it was broken and would not be fixed anytime soon. We were dumbfounded at this point, after all we paid a lot of money to come to a spa and were now being told that it doesn't work , for the week. It's like when Clark Griswald took his family to Wally Worldonlyto find out ( " sorry folks the park is closed " ) quoting National Lampoons Family Vacation.

After we now accepted this big hit and decided to play tennis. We asked the desk if we can buy tennis balls but none were for sale, so they gave us two cans of dead balls they had in the back. Hey, it's better than nothing ! We went to the court, walked on, and looked down. Let me describe it as a green court with white paint brush strokes, reminiscent of a Van Gogh Impressionist painting, all over the court. When we attempted to play it was virtually impossible to see the yellow ball bounce through all of the white paint splatterings. I've been playing tennis for many years and never in my life seen a court in this condition (especially at a $500.00 per night boutique hotel).

We got some rest and ventured off to dinner. Dinner was decent on the first night but to make a long story short, there are not many choices in general at this resort and we've asked for different dishes as other people mentioned in their reviews, but still very limited. We couldn't get a hamburger for lunch ever, after we were told we could, and we were often served stale bread with our meals. Breakfast was included in our package, which was nice but we noticed little black bugs crawling on the china every morning which is not the most appetizing way to start your day.

We decided to walk down the beach about 100 yards on the left and discovered The Sivory Hotel witch is also a LL partner and we ate the rest of our meals there and were very content.

Finally about two days into our trip a very rare hurricane hit the island, and we had to be moved off the beach to a garden room for our safety which was fine. As the hurricane came and went, we were never offered to move back to our beach front roomor compensated for the difference in price. Management never tried to compensate us in any way shape or form,on any level forall the things we mentioned above.

We are both young hard working people and don't get much time off, but it's a real slap in the face when you pay top dollar for a high end place and when things are not going well, our complaints had fallen on deaf ears. It's unacceptable in the travel industry. I do have to say that all the workers were very nice, hard working, and polite, but unfortunately the management appeared to be non existent, lacked any form of leadership and customer service. I truly never look to write negative reviews about vacations, because I'm so thankful that my wife and I have the opportunity to go on luxury vacations, but this is a business and if you charge the high prices you better be able to deliver ! We'll get over this loss of vacation time and money but no more stale bread and Agua !



Message Edited by enewseven on 12-18-2007 06:53 AM

Message Edited by enewseven on 12-18-2007 06:54 AM

Message Edited by enewseven on 12-18-2007 07:01 AM ]]> enewseven http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/enewseven/agua-aye-caramba-982/ http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/enewseven/unique-flying-experience-970/ Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:29:30 GMT Hello Everyone,



I've seen a few posts regarding private charter jets and fractional share travel and would like to share with everyone the unique experience I had this past weekend as I was able to take 3 test flights in the newest, most sophisticated private businesses class personal jets on the market today.



Thanks to the new magazine Private Air, the sponsor of this wonderful event titled Air Raters, several individuals were assigned three different jets to experience and rate their flight.



For those of you who have flown on, or have fractional shares (Net Jets), or charter this analysis may be beneficial for you future decisions.



The first flight was in the new Gulfstream G200 http://www.Gulfstream.com/g200/. This jet from the minute we took off was sheer power ! The cabin was also as luxurious as you can get and make it. Leather seats, fine wood, full technology including XM Radio and flat screen monitors. The take off was a bit turbulent but overall a smooth flight. I felt the cabin could be a little more well lit or windowed but overall very impressive and price competitive for this class of private jet at around $22 million. I belive you can get this one as well as most of the Gulstream Jet through Net Jets. I've included the link on all of these jets so that everyone can see the statistics for each jet as well.



The next flight was aboard the Bombardier Challenger 605 http://www.bombardier.com/index.jsp?...%3D3%26id%3D40. Another extremely impressive jet with an even more elegant cabin that the Gulfstream G200. It was also the most expensive one we flew that day priced around $27.5 million. The flight overall was smooth with a little turbulence and bumpiness on the landing but I would have to say that everyone on board felt like rock stars stepping off this jet and we can all see why sales have been so great for this company.



The last flight was on the Embraer Legacy 600 http://www.embraerexecutivejets.com/...cy600_home.asp. This was by far my favorite jet. It had a much larger and open airy feel in the cabin than the two previous jets. It also had the smoothest flight on take off,overall flight, and landing I've ever had on any jet. The cabin was a simple elegant design, with a galley that even had an espresso machine, which the others did not have (important to me at least). This Brazilian company is known for their excellent commercial jets which I'm sure many of you have flown on and probably didn't know it. This is Embraer's splash into the private jet market with their fine track record, elegant design and roomy cabin, I believe this one was the stand out . And priced at about $25 million I believe offered the most value out of these jets.



When one gets to the level of having to choose between these luxury toys, kudos to you for your success and this is a very large investment so good luck ! I hope my opinions will offer some guidance and will help anyone when booking their next commercial flight, charter flight, fractional share flight, or out right purchase. Please feel free to invite me along too I would love to go up again in the jets and take them to my next LL vacation destination.



E

Message Edited by enewseven on 06-11-200707:42 AM ]]> enewseven http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/enewseven/unique-flying-experience-970/ http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/enewseven/jade-mountain-honeymoon-bliss-966/ Wed, 23 May 2007 18:41:57 GMT Hello Everyone, Im finally back, married and happy to share with you all our wonderful experience at The Jade Mountain Resort in St. Lucia. ... Hello Everyone, Im finally back, married and happy to share with you all our wonderful experience at The Jade Mountain Resort in St. Lucia.



From the moment we stepped off the plane and boarded the chopper for our helicopter transfer (highly recommended). We could not be happier with our destination choice of St. Lucia. The island is the most lush and vibrant out of all the Caribbean islands. We saw this perfectly as we flew aside the Pitons (volcanoes) of St. Lucia and made our descend to the team awaiting our arrival at The Jade Mountain helipad. There we were greeted by a group of four who took our luggage and welcomed us. They immediately took us to the beautifully designed structure that housed our sanctuary.

We were handed a refreshing mint towel, a mixed drink and then the door opened to the most beautiful, awe inspiring room and view my new wife and I have ever seen! With the water, the Pitons, and the open air environment we were very excited to spend our next seven nights here. Our room, a Sun Suite was the largest of the room categories at Jade. It spanned over 1800 sq. feet, with a pool (not a plunge pool, or a lap pool) a full 900 sq. ft. infinity swimming pool for our enjoyment. There was a large patio with two lounge chairs and a very comfortable netted bed which also shared the same breathtaking views. Off of the entrance way there was a set of stairs that took us up to a loft area which was our open aired bathroom. There we found a very large hot tub with cromotherepy LCD lights, double vanities and an open toilet and shower all once again with that view, products by Molton Brown, and overall very spacious.



When looking around the room and structure itself I really appreciated the attention to detail like the hand laid stones which made up the walls and the colored glass tiles which made up the pool and bathroom. We read that the floors and all the wood for the resort were picked out at a rainforest by the team of engineers and designers. The furniture was well made and of high quality and aesthetic design. This was truly a room that we would not be leaving anytime soon.



The room service was very quick even when placing our order by posting a bag with an order form outside our door (there are no phones to call anyone). The food was excellent as well!



We dined mostly at the exclusive Jade Mountain Club, which also had the beautiful views, a swimming pool and a large variety of dishes to choose from. At the main resort Anse Chastanet, we dined at some of their restaurants as well and were very pleased.



The beach area was a nice change from our in room pool on some days and provided a quaint area to soak up some sun, have some cocktails, shop for great art work, snorkel and of course have a bite to eat.



We visited the live volcano and sulfur springs which was also unique geographical site to see (and smell). In addition we took a water taxi to Castries (the capital) for some shopping and a wonderful lunch at The Coal Pot, which I highly recommend.



Overall, we would like to personally thank Nick and KarolinTroubetzkoy for creating such a beautiful, serene, luxurious, unforgettable vacation experience (honeymoon in our case) that we will never forget. I can see this place becoming the premier Caribbean luxury destination as others find out more about this new resort. I would say book now to those interested in JadeMountain!










Message Edited by enewseven on 05-23-200712:44 PM ]]> enewseven http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/enewseven/jade-mountain-honeymoon-bliss-966/