What a wonderful place the Luxury Lounge is… filled with fun travel stories, on-line friends and lots and LOTS of sharing. I share clues. I share contests. I share news about special promotions. I even – sometimes - share hats. But here’s something I don’t often share with you: a glimpse into my personal life. Here it goes…

I recently got married to the most wonderful man on earth (I’m not biased). We’re right for each other in so many ways, but one of the most important ways is in our mutual love for travel. Not just any travel but off-the-beaten-path kind of travel. So that’s why our honeymoon needed to be something special. Something no one normally does on their honeymoon.

After months of deliberating we finally decided: we were going to hike Machu Picchu then go to some interesting place with warmer weather towards the coast (maybe Ecuador….we weren’t entirely sure) and just veg out for a week.

Well, long story short, we ran into some hiccups with the planning and weren’t able to get the government issued permits necessary to hike Machu Picchu for the week right after our wedding. So, I had a few tears while my fiancé had a few ideas. His best one was, “How about we put off Machu Picchu for a few weeks… And why don’t you go on Luxury Link and pick something for the week right after the wedding?” Music to my ears!

After our first round of frustrations with travel planning, we decided to keep this one simple and go very honeymoon 101. Once we decided on an all-inclusive in the Caribbean, we ended up choosing Secrets Royal Beach in Punta Cana, and I am so pleased we did.

We arrived in Punta Cana about 26 hours after saying, “I do,” and after a 25 minute ride from the airport we were greeted with champagne. I couldn’t get over how quiet everything was. The lobby, the outdoor lounge, the pool area. We were escorted to our room by a gentleman who pointed out where the locations of the various restaurants, spa and gym areas. We arrived to our room and were greeted with a cute “Honeymoon” banner placed over our door. It was a sweet welcoming and I was very pleased with the size and cleanliness of our room.



We set off exploring the resort, walked around the pool area then went to one of the seafood restaurants for dinner. The food at this restaurant and overall was fabulous. We looked forward to the breakfast buffets every day. There was so much variety and everything – especially the fish – was incredibly fresh.



While the beach was beautiful, and the weather was perfect, it was the service that was the highlight of this trip. Whenever I would say, “thank you,” their response was always, “it’s a pleasure!” It was such a sweet and simple touch. They ALL were very genuine, kind and accommodating. Everyone from the concierge in the lobby to the poolside bartender all wanted to make sure we were enjoying ourselves. The place was immaculate, too. Every room we stepped in, every hallway we walked in, any pool/beachside chair we lounged in was impeccably clean.



I would love to return. But now we’re back home and gearing up for our next big trip – aka: Honeymoon Part 2. Stay tuned…