Zoetry – Everyone should enjoy Endless Privileges

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This year’s family vacation was to Zoetry Agua Punta Cana, a beautiful, luxurious, oceanfront property, with the most amazing amenities!

When we first arrived in Punta Cana, we had a driver waiting for us with a private nonstop transfer to take us to the resort. From the moment I stepped foot into Zoetry, I fell in love. We were immediately seated with warm towels and drinks while they checked us in. The exceptional service never stopped.

Zoetry Agua is located on an isolated stretch of beach that gives the resort an exclusive feel. Although we were advised the resort was full, it never felt crowded. Beach chairs were always available and there was never a wait for anything. Easily accessible on the beach, is a batch of coral reef that could be easily seen through the crystal clear water along with tropical fishes. Every night, we would receive the resorts newsletter “Sundial”, which listed all of the following day’s activities. Zoetry offered a wide variety of daily activities to choose from. As a family, we chose to go horseback riding on the beach and took a bike tour around the neighboring towns.

Being as I was in the Dominican Republic, I wanted to try some local dishes. Unfortunately none of the dishes we wanted to try were officially on the menu; however, the Chef was more than happy to cook us up some local cuisine. One of my favorite Dominican dishes is Mofongo. This dish is comprised of mashed up plantains with garlic and a side of fried cheese or a choice of meat with a side of broth for dipping. Another one of my favorite dishes is called La Bandera. La Bandera is spanish for “the flag” as in the Dominican flag. It is named the Dominican flag because it is the traditional meal for Dominicans; consisting of rice, beans, choice of stew meat, salad, and fried plantains The next day, a Zoetry staff member brought us local Dominican fruits like zapote, guanábana and guayaba to make fruit platters and shakes for us. Nonchalantly, I mentioned to a staff member how much my family and I enjoy coconut milk. From the time I made that remark, until the day I left the resort, the staff made sure to have fresh coconuts waiting for us as we arrived at the beach even though I never officially asked.

Due to the small size of the resort, guests are able to become familiar with the staff and vice versa. The staff catered to our every need, if we wanted something, they found a way to get it to us. They made sure you felt like Zoetry was your second home. It made leaving so much more difficult, because not only are you leaving stunning surroundings, it feels like you are also saying goodbye to good friends. On our last day, the restaurant manager surprised us with a special last lunch with all of our favorite dishes.

Zoetry Agua is hands down the best resort I have been to with Apple Vacations. A great resort, offering excellent food and drinks, great service, broad choice of activities, and a relaxing homey feeling, everything I think makes a great vacation. Zoetry Agua is my benchmark for measuring future resorts experiences and what an amazing trip should be.

Travel Tips for Punta Cana

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Apple Rep., Santos

I’ve been on a variety of trips while working here at Apple Vacations. And to be honest, they’ve all been great vacations. Recently, my husband and I went to Dreams Punta Cana Resort & Spa for seven nights and it was amazing! Here is my experience and personal recommendations for anyone traveling to Punta Cana in the near future.

First off, the flight was smooth and on time. When we arrived at the hotel and were greeted by the staff with a cool towel and a delicious beverage, which was so refreshing. After check-in, we just relaxed on the beautiful sunny beach at Dreams Punta Cana overlooking the aqua sea and surrounded by mountains. The weather was around the low to mid 80’s every day and just perfect. It was heaven.

My husband, Ted, with a star fish on the Saona Island excursion.

The next day, we went to a briefing on different types of excursions offered in Punta Cana. Our Apple Rep, Santos, was very informative and explained in great detail about the available excursions. He informed us about the hotel, the country and its people.  What to do and what not to do. And most importantly, he made everyone feel at home. Santos really was a “friendly face from a faraway place.” Thanks Santos for the Welcome.

We decided on the Saona Island and the Outback Safari excursions, both are full day excursions. The catamaran to the island was lots of fun and stopped in this natural swimming pool in the middle of the sea where you could snorkel, and pick up the huge star fish and the sea was an amazing turquoise color. We arrived at Saona Island for a delicious barbecue, merengue lessons and swimming.

Outback Safari Tour

The next tour we took was the Outback Safari Tour, which I enjoyed thoroughly! This is where you truly see the countryside, the mountainside, and how the people live, their homes, their life style, and taste the fresh home-made Dominican food. They are very proud people and so enthusiastic to share their lives with us. From the tobacco rollers, to the rum distillery, sugar cane fields, coffee trees and the school visit where the children were so happy to give us a warm welcome, we loved every minute of this tour. If you like to try different flavors, try their local drink, a Manna Wanna which is a mixture of wine, rum and honey (made only in Punta Cana). They claim it to have medicinal cures and after a taste of it, it will make you forget any ailments for sure. The excursion ended on a white powdery beach at Macao Beach, where the waves were aplenty and perfect for surfing. I was fascinated by this tour and definitely recommend it!

There are other adventure tours, cultural tours, historical tours, golfing, shopping tours, and much more! There is something for everyone, whether you like to keep busy or prefer to relax on the beautiful beaches. If you are feeling lucky, there are also numerous casinos to play games and are located at most hotels. The resorts have daily and evening activities as well. From the dancing shows, the magic show and the circus shows, the entertainment staff at our hotel was truly awesome. They also had children’s shows every night and the kids were having lots of fun!

So is 7 nights too long? No way – with so much to do and explore, I say stay longer!

94.1 WYSP’s Danny Bonaduce takes on Jamaica!

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One of the exciting parts of my job is when local personalities, DJ’s and sports stars call and say. ‘I want to go on an Apple Vacation.’ Recently, our friend Danny Bonaduce from 94.1 WYSP called and said just that. We sent him on an Apple Vacation to review one of our favorite hotels, Secrets Wild Orchid Montego Bay in Jamaica! We knew that Secrets Wild Orchid would have all of the things Danny looks for in a vacation – amazing resort, great food and lots to do.

Danny was gracious enough to hang out with many of his fans in resort. As you can see here, he is always willing to snap a photo and mingle with the other resort guests. Danny has even kept in touch with some of them for 10 years!

Here’s what Danny and his wife, Amy, had to say about their recent Apple Vacation to Jamaica.

I make important decisions all day long when I’m at work. So when I want go on vacation, I only need to make one decision and that is “call Apple Vacations.” Apple Vacations offers beautiful places, romantic nights, wonderful restaurants, and sometimes lifelong friends. Ten years ago on an Apple Vacation, I met a very nice couple celebrating their honeymoon. They just invited me to their tenth anniversary. That’s pretty amazing!

When I start to think about taking a vacation I ask myself, ‘Where do I want to go? What do I want to eat? What do I want to do at night?

A few simple answers point me in the right direction. I’ve determined that I want to go somewhere warm, I want French food for dinner, and I’d like to go to a nightclub. I bet you could spend a week trying to work out that perfect night, or instead you can just call Apple Vacations and pick any one of the Secrets Resorts & Spas they offer. Apple Vacations should change their slogan to “No Problem.”

I have encountered so many exciting things on an Apple Vacation. For instance, the first time I went scuba diving was on an Apple Vacation or the first time I saw an active volcano was on an Apple Vacation. I have no idea what I will see next, but I know I will see it with Apple Vacations!

Judy & Maria’s Travel, Inc. visits Punta Cana

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We (Judy & Maria’s Travel, Inc.) have just returned from Secrets Royal Beach Punta Cana.  We are happy to report that we had a great, relaxing time. The Management Team is top-notch, professional, and hard-working.  Secrets Royal Beach Punta Cana is the perfect vacation selection for ages 18+ who elect to vacation at a simple, beach resort.  The beach is absolutely breathtaking! This is a great chill out resort with a spectacular beach to walk for miles and miles.  The resort is fun and active. Guests at the hotel have complete use of the Unlimited-Luxury® privileges, amenities and services at the adjacent Now Larimar Punta Cana (for all ages).

Dining at Secrets Royal Beach Punta Cana is superb with ample options to choose from.  The food is very good, very appetizing with nice choices, and well-prepared by experienced chefs with worldwide culinary backgrounds.  Of note was the Italian Restaurant with the chef originating from Milan, Italy, and the Gourmet Restaurant. Based on our recent visit we recommend: Gourmet Restaurant: asparagus with béarnaise sauce and shaved parmesan cheese, the Beef Bourguignon, and the Crêpe Suzettes.  Italian Restaurant:  the chef’s handmade gnocchi.  The flavors were incredible.  Fine wine, good food, and excellent service, what more can one ask for?

We thoroughly enjoyed our vacation at Secrets Royal Beach Punta Cana!  Judy & Maria give this fine resort two thumbs up!

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana

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One of Apple Vacations Senior Marketing Executives just got back from a family vacation to the the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana. We got a review from her son yesterday, but here is what she had to say about the vacation:

We just returned from a great trip to Hard Rock Punta Cana. The resort was very impressive—grounds were beautiful, beach was awesome, and food and service was excellent. Our room was very spacious with a jacuzzi and great decor.  They are updating the rooms from the Moon Palace decor (which was already modern and tasteful) with a  Hard Rock touch—Rock ‘n Roll art, etc. The spa was huge and amazing and so was the casino, and there is all kinds of Rock memorabilia throughout the hotel.

There are something like 11 pools which are all big too and many with swim-up bars.

Being relatively new, the resort was not even close to capacity, but even when it is I can’t imagine having to get up early to reserve chairs because there are so many pools, all set along the beach. My teenage sons participated in the activities at the main activities pool and really enjoyed  the entertainment staff.

Unfortunately one of our bags got misdirected by the airline, and the hotel’s Customer Service staff was very helpful in terms of  making phone calls to the airline to follow up and arrange a ride to the shopping center. They also sent extra amenities to the room and made several follow-up calls to ensure we didn’t need anything. Complimentary long distance phone calls was another great perk!

If you like big hotels and don’t mind walking a bit , you’ll love Hard Rock!  If you are traveling with teenagers this is a great place to go as well because the staff really engages them—we have been on many Apple Vacations and this ranks at the top of the list!

Don’t forget—If you book by 12/31 Hard Rock Punta Cana is currently offering an air credit of up to $700.00 and resort credit of up to $1500.00. Click here for more details on how to redeem the credits and what they are good for.