Community Forum - Blogs - jmbklj http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/jmbklj/ en Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:06:59 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.luxurylink.com/community/images/misc/rss.jpg Community Forum - Blogs - jmbklj http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/jmbklj/ Quick Getaway to Sunny South Florida http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/jmbklj/quick-getaway-sunny-south-florida-1680/ Wed, 29 May 2013 14:17:54 GMT We did a quick getaway trip recently visiting two Luxury Link Florida properties, first Attachment 1820... We did a quick getaway trip recently visiting two Luxury Link Florida properties, first Click image for larger version.  Name: Pool.JPG  Views: 533  Size: 28.3 KB  ID: 1820 spending a couple days at the Palms Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach and then visiting The Seagate Hotel & Spa in Delray Beach, both Preferred Properties. I've enjoyed staying at Preferred Properties in the past, so I looked forward to visiting a couple more, since they often are quite unique and varied.

The Palms was an auction I won quite awhile ago and in fact it was purchased at a "high season" price for the time period ending April 30th. But due to some scheduling constraints, I wasn't able to use it before the end of the high season/higher priced period. So I ended up going in early May, still during the overall availability period, just during a lower priced timeframe. I'm glad I was able to go, thanks to some scheduling assistance from the Luxury Link concierges.

Upon our arrival we received a bit of a chilly reception from the front desk clerk, as shown by one of his comments……that he didn't know where we made our reservation or what Click image for larger version.  Name: Room.JPG  Views: 77  Size: 17.3 KB  ID: 1818 ind of deal we got, but his computer showed we paid a only penny a night. He didn't seem to know about Luxury Link. I assured him I paid more than a penny a night, explaining that it was a prepaid reservation. That's OK…….. up to the room.

Thank goodness for a great bellman who took us & our bags up to the room. The room was not ideal as it was small, not such a big problem, but the bathroom layout was tiny and awkward. In fact, one could not sit on the toilet without knees hitting the wall, unless sitting sideways! What do you expect for only a penny a night? :)

Bellman know what the typical rooms are like, and I asked if this bathroom layout was typical for this class of room. They'll know if you're getting a decent room or not. Wow, within seconds, he was on the phone, found three other rooms for us and insisted on taking us to all three rooms to see them in order that we could pick one. What great service we got from him!

So we settled into our new room with a much better bathroom layout. The bedroom and the bathroom were still on the small side but the shower was large with both a rain shower and a hand held shower, furnished with Aveda bath products. Other than the check-in at the front desk, we had good service from the rest of the staff our entire stay.

Click image for larger version.  Name: Gazebo.JPG  Views: 77  Size: 26.4 KB  ID: 1819The rest of the property and the grounds were lovely and well designed, with a wedding gazebo, a large heated pool, an outdoor tiki bar, lots of lounge chairs, hammocks, a locked gate that opens on the boardwalk, and right on the beach, with beach chairs and umbrellas in the sand. The hotel was not busy with guests during our stay but I understand they had two weddings the previous day, so the place was packed then. While there, we commented on the feeling that we were in another country; it seemed we were the only English speaking guests........ heard languages from several different countries.

We were mainly there to chill but on the spur of the moment, we ended up doing a Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour. The hotel location was quiet at night with a nice boardwalk to take a stroll. However with a large building under construction next door, there was some construction noise heard during the day in our city view corner room but not noticeable by the pool. There was not much in the immediate neighborhood as far as dining or entertainment so it was good we had a car. South Beach was nearby. One night we headed over to the Design District for dinner at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, a recommendation from a LL'er - really good! One other good tip - Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza for lunch right after landing at FLL. Thanks O!

Up Next?

Part two of our quick sunny Florida getaway....... ]]> jmbklj http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/jmbklj/quick-getaway-sunny-south-florida-1680/ <![CDATA[Part Two - Florida Getaway - Seagate Hotel & Spa]]> http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/jmbklj/part-two-florida-getaway-seagate-hotel-spa-1681/ Wed, 29 May 2013 14:02:19 GMT Next stop - part two of of quick sunny Florida getaway in early May - The Seagate Hotel & Spa in Delray Beach, another Luxury Link Preferred Property. Delray Beach Hotels, Florida Luxury Boutique Hotel, South Florida Luxury Resort Hotel, Luxury Hotel in South Florida | The Seagate Hotel and Spa).

I had not been to Delray Beach previously and I ended up loving this cute little village by the sea, and the Seagate Hotel. The hotel location was on Atlantic Ave, right in the midst of all the shops, galleries and restaurants in this cute town.

Although our reservation was for a basic room, we were upgraded to a huge deluxe "smart" room with a fabulous bathroom and a large balcony overlooking Atlantic Ave. A nice touch in the bathroom was the lighted makeup mirror and fresh orchids in a vase. Everything about Seagate is well designed.

The beach, the restaurants, galleries and shops are in walking distance. Additionally, there are two free transportation services that go throughout the community, one a free shuttle bus operated by the town and the other was an independent golf cart type service that one could call in advance or wave down on the street. Delray Beach is proudly known as the "most fun small town" according to a 2012 USA Today/Rand McNally contest.

While the hotel is not on the ocean, there is the awesome Seagate Beach Club a few blocks away, for private club members in the community and for hotel guests. When the hotel is busy, they have a trolley to transport guests back and forth. Otherwise, hotel guests are transported in a white Mercedes Benz SUV which is what was used during our stay. It's also available to take you to shops and restaurants in town - so handy, but really everything is within walking distance. The property has two pools - one at the hotel and one at the Beach Club. There is also access to the Seagate Country Club.

Some interesting touches and amenities at the Seagate - a couple of huge aquariums - in the lobby and the lounge, with a shark tank. There was live entertainment in the lounge the nights we were there. The Seagate has a full service restaurant, along with an ice cream and sandwich shop. The spa looked lovely although we did not have time to use it.

The Beach Club was gorgeous, a 2 story building with fine dining upstairs and casual dining downstairs, inside and outside. There were soooo many beach chairs with hardly anyone there. We felt like we had the beach to ourselves. And there are beach attendants who set up beach chairs, umbrellas and deliver drinks. The beach was very wide because there was a large scale sand restoration project recently done after Hurricane Sandy blew by this past year.

The first part of our Florida visit was at The Palms Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach. Quite a contrast between the two locations! All in all, we enjoyed our sun and beach time at both locations during our quick getaway in Florida.
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]]> jmbklj http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/jmbklj/part-two-florida-getaway-seagate-hotel-spa-1681/ <![CDATA[Six Couples in Montana & A Good Time Was Had by All!]]> http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/jmbklj/six-couples-montana-good-time-had-all-1492/ Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:05:26 GMT I just returned from from a week's stay at a Luxury Link property in Montana, the Click image for larger version.  Name: Image.jpg  Views: 1827  Size: 130.6 KB  ID: 931Montana Sky Lodge, a 3 story gorgeous log "cabin". However, I don't think the Montana Sky Lodge (Montana Sky Lodge) is currently offered on Luxury Link. We had 6 couples from Ohio, Georgia and Florida, a mix of family and friends.

Talk about off the beaten track! The Lodge is located outside Anaconda MT, first 4 miles off the main road, then a few miles on a gravel road on a winding road up a mountain, with nothing in view other then a creek, the woods and some visiting deer.

One evening Click image for larger version.  Name: Image 2.jpg  Views: 253  Size: 74.6 KB  ID: 932while going down the road at dusk to a restaurant, we saw a large bull moose! We had heard that he had been hanging out by the pond near the road all week long and finally we got to see him our last day there.

Some pronghorn antelope were also seen on the drive to the lodge.

The night of our arrival Marlene, the owner of the Montana Sky Lodge, prepared dinner forClick image for larger version.  Name: Image 5.jpg  Views: 315  Size: 49.8 KB  ID: 933 us. It was so nice to have dinner prepared after a long day of travel. Most of our evenings we made dinner at the lodge, with the couples taking turns as to who was in charge of the dinner, and with everyone else helping out. It worked out well, and we ate quite well.

Now I've rented houses and villas many times for large groups in the US and other countries. Never have we had the pleasure of staying at a property with such a fabulously stocked kitchen! With some rental houses, the supply of dishes, sharp knives, pots, pans, appliances and kitchen gadgets are limited - not here! The kitchen was a chef's dream. Cooking demonstrations are sometimes done here and I understand that Marlene, the owner, attended culinary school so anything you could possibly need was there in our kitchen.

Click image for larger version.  Name: Image 6.jpg  Views: 240  Size: 56.4 KB  ID: 935On the last night we ate at a local restaurant, Barclay II where we had the most tender filet mignon; it was huge & delicious.

While in Montana, four of the couples did a quick one night stay in Glacier National Park. None of us had previously been to Glacier so we were blown away by the views while driving the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

We had some golfers in our group who enjoyed a day or two of golf at the Old Works Golf Course (www.oldworks.org), designed by Jack Nicklaus. The course was only a few miles away. Our group was able to get free rental Click image for larger version.  Name: Image 1.jpg  Views: 275  Size: 100.7 KB  ID: 938clubs, thanks to Marlene, the owner of The Montana Sky Lodge.

Six Couples spent a week in Montana and a good time was had by all. ]]> jmbklj http://www.luxurylink.com/community/blogs/jmbklj/six-couples-montana-good-time-had-all-1492/