I have heard great feedback on the fantastic new NH Royal that I wanted to share. It’s a new adults only hotel with an amazing beach. The neat thing about this property is that they listened to customer feedback (from surveys from the Eden NH Hotel), and that is how they designed the new NH Royal hotel. From special things like a private jacuzzi on your balcony or terrace, to simple things like bridges so you can walk over the pools

There are a couple of other things that stand out about his hotel that are worth mentioning. First is the wedding area. It is located on the 3rd floor of an ocean-front building looking over the beautiful crystal blue turquoise water, and gorgeous white sand. It is truly a unique wedding venue. Another is the buffet. It is an ocean-front buffet so you get to dine gazing out at the crystal blue water. It is truly exquisite! What better way to eat surf and turf than with ocean-view dining. This new hotel is a real home-run!

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It was 2 weeks ago yesterday that the earthquake hit Haiti. I was in the office when I heard the news and I called down to Punta Cana to check in with our sales team, who were in Punta Cana at their annual sales meeting. The sales team were nowhere near Haiti, and had not seen much of the news coverage yet, except to hear that there had been an earthquake. They were not in the U.S. where the coverage was chaotic and constant.

Punta Cana and Port Au Prince are about 400 miles apart or 12 hours away by car. There are mountains and extremely rough terrain that divide the two nations. So the resort operations and vacations are uninterrupted in Punta Cana, and it is business as usual. The Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism assures visitors that all of its cities, tourism and resort areas are conducting normal business operations. …Read More>>

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We are in our busiest season. Here are a few tips on navigating dining at an all inclusive. The biggest tip I want to stress is to know the resort rules before you go, preferably before you even book. This should be a part of the decision making process. Make the decisions that will make you happy on your vacation.

Find out the dining reservations policy ahead of time. Different resorts have many different dining and reservations policies. Resorts within the same chain can even be different. All of the policies can be obtained ahead of time. Ask your travel agent or research it on - line. For example: Do you need to make reservations for the specialty restaurants each morning in the lobby? Is their a concierge in the hotel at your specific building where you can make them? Or are reservations not required? If you don’t want to get up and make reservations each morning, then don’t book a hotel where that is the policy. If room service is important to you, then book a hotel that offers it. Now keep in mind, I am talking about the specialty / a la carte restaurants, the buffets are usually open for longer hours and they do not require reservations. …Read More>>

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I am an avid sports fan. The Phillies and Eagles are at the top of my list. I always saw ads for “Superbowl on the beach” or watch “the game” from the beach … but never until I experienced it did I realize how much fun it is!

Many of the resorts show the night time NFL (NBA etc…) games ON THE BEACH! Dreams is where I stayed to experience this. I have done it at both Dreams Tulum and Dreams Cancun, although the major sporting events they show at all The Dreams Resorts. …Read More>>

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Playa del Carmen

It’s hot and humid - summertime in Mexico. Riviera Maya greeted our group of Apple Vacations’ employees with a wealth of sunshine as we began our three-day Fam (familiarization) Trip, on-the-job training to gain personal experience of the destinations and resorts our company sells. This knowledge means we can help identify the right resort for every customer.

During the Fam Trip, twelve employees from our Chicago and Philadelphia offices participated in pre-arranged site inspections at various resorts. Sometimes an excursion will be on the itinerary, as well as scheduled dinners. Excursions are just as important for us to experience as the site inspections - it gives employees the opportunity to experience a destination and culture off resort.

On our itinerary this time, we have one scheduled excursion to Playa del Carmen, and one scheduled dinner at our host resort- Secrets Maroma. Before checking in, we have a site inspection at Barcelo Costa Cancun followed by Dreams Cancun. Both impress our staff for their value, location, and the buzz of activity that is apparent everywhere in Cancun. …Read More>>

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