Tag: luxury travel

Welcome home: To ‘The House’ Barbados

The rainbow view from our varandah at The House.
The rainbow view from our verandah at The House.

Once upon a time, whenever you landed on a tropical island in the Caribbean in the middle of a long, cold, northern winter, you emerged from the plane into the bright sunshine, quickly feeling enveloped by the warmth of the breeze.  You breathed deeply and immediately began to feel relaxed as you walked down the steps to the tarmac, rather than into an enclosed jet way.  These days, with the airport improvements being enjoyed by the islands, this is a less common experience unless you’re traveling inter-island on the Caribbean’s own airlines in tiny planes.  But there are some hold-outs.

Despite modern improvements, landing in Barbados a few weeks ago was still like the old days: we walked down those steps and into the terminal building, knowing at once that we were indeed on vacation.It’s been only two years since we were last in Barbados, when we stayed for three days at the Crane on the Atlantic coast en route to a cruise.  And since we rarely like to repeat experiences, we decided that this year we’d try a property on the west coast, in an area that tourist brochures refer to as Barbados’ “Platinum Coast” in a property simply known as “The House.”  The final detail that moved us in this direction was when Patty read on their web site that they are “adults only.”  At this point in our lives, that’s a real selling point! And with only 34 suites, this was a property that might just meet our needs.

We arrived at The House in the early afternoon, and were greeted warmly by a striking, immaculately turned-out woman named Vanita, whose precise function was not yet clear to us – but it soon would be.  She invited us in as one might invite a cherished guest into one’s personal domain.  She immediately made us feel at home by installing us into deeply cushioned sofas in the lounge which was open to the outdoors both at the front and at the back which led directly to the pool and the beach beyond.   We sipped rum punch, and she began to tell us about the property that would be our home for the next five days.  The House has no front desk, no bellmen, no line-ups, no request that is impossible.  What they do have is staff that is, to a person, there to help you with anything you desire.You see, Vanita was actually one of several personal concierges, and each of the employees was an ambassador.  Everyone from the bar-tenders to the wait staff could be counted on to answer questions and to assist us with anything at all – and they did.

As soon as we were ready, Vanita showed us to our suite on the second floor of the three-story building.  An oceanfront junior suite (all the ‘rooms’ are all suites), the room was more than adequate with its recent refurbishments that included a wonderful bathroom, fabulous terrace, and breathtaking views of the surf.  We knew that at least the suite would make us happy for five days!

The romantic lounge area in the evening.
The romantic lounge area in the evening.

But the service was what really impressed us.  We’ve often said that as discerning travelers who ourselves are in what can only be described as service industries (see our profile for details), we are focused on finding  those places – hotels, airlines, cruises – where service is of the utmost priority. From the included champagne breakfasts, to the dining at their restaurant Daphne’s, to the wonderful beach with a lounge chair and umbrella for everyone, to the fantastic company (most of the guests were British), this Property did not disappoint in any way.

One day as we sat in our comfortable, cushioned lounge chairs, bottles of water that had just been delivered by the beach ambassador at hand, two women approached us (all beaches in Barbados are public).  Evidently one of them had stayed in this hotel some years ago when it had a former incarnation.  She wanted to know if it had been turned into condos.  When we told her no, she asked, “It is reasonably priced?”

This is always a difficult question to answer, so Patty asked, “How would you define reasonable?”

“Under $200 a night?” she replied.

“Oh, well,” we said.  “Perhaps not, then.”

But for us it was – because even at these prices (and it is a bit expensive in the high season), the value is truly there.  It was a wonderful way to begin our three weeks in the islands.  And we are likely to stray from our usual approach to not repeating experiences: we will go back.  On to the Seabourn cruise next post.

The main entrance.
The main entrance.

If you’re interested in The House, their web site is http://www.thehousebarbados.com/ .

The ‘suite experiment’: Celebrity cruises ‘royal suite’ fails the test

The Celebrity ‘royal suite” living room & dining room.

It all started as the grand experiment: the discerning travelers would return to the scene of their first cruise ship suite experience, and travel in a Royal Suite on a Celebrity cruise ship.  We’re just back from that cruise and the verdict is in: the Royal Suite was not royal, and either we’ve changed, or Celebrity cruises has faced the recession by short-changing their highest paying per-person-per-day cruisers (we say that because the only suites larger are the two penthouses which seem to mostly be occupied by multiples whose cost-per-day can be kept down by sleeping on pull-out couches and sharing a bathroom!).

The experiment needs a bit of background: after our first suite experience, we were convinced that this was the only way to travel, thus took another Celebrity cruise in the same category suite as well as two Regent cruises and one on Silversea.  Both of these last two are billed as “six-star” luxury cruise lines and are all-suite accommodation (although the term suite covers a lot of ground).  We also sailed aboard the Cunard Queen Mary 2 in a Queen’s Grill suite last year, a singular experience if ever there was one.

We first need to say that we had a wonderful time on our vacation, the staff on the ship (especially in the dining room) adding considerably to that favorable experience.  However, as the “suite experience” goes, it failed the test of discerning travel.  When is a suite not a suite?  When it lacks the suite experience.

This was our third Celebrity Royal Suite experience.  At just under 540 square feet with a living room, dining room, bathroom with double sink, Jacuzzi tub and stand-up shower, as well as a 195 square foot verandah, as cruise ship accommodations go, these should be luxurious.  Well, that depends on how much you pay – and we paid a lot.

Art – need we say more?

All of the suite experiences we had on luxury lines (Silversea and Regent, as well as the Queens Grill suite on Cunard) were terrific – but as anyone who knows anything about cruising recognizes, they are very expensive in relative terms.  For example, aboard a Silversea ship for a comparable cruise in a comparable suite we paid almost double the cost of the Celebrity.  Silversea is however, all inclusive, but does that justify the price?  How much can you possibly drink in a week or two?   At this stage, we think the Silversea price is justified.  But you need the rest of the story.

We boarded the Celebrity Summit in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Unlike on the more exclusive lines, there are inevitable line-ups.  Although there is a dedicated line for suite guests, there is a wait nonetheless.  Last year when we boarded the Silversea Silver Spirit in Barbados, we were warmly greeted by staff and directed immediately to the ship where the check-in procedures took place.  At Celebrity we were perfunctorily directed by a pointing finger wagged by a young man who looked to be fourteen years old.  He directed us to stand behind an older woman who had decided to take the opportunity to have every single question about the cruise answered.  Hmm…

Then we were directed to get our keys from the maître d’ next door who informed us that as suite guests we could dine “for free” that evening in the specialty restaurant of our choice.  We chose our restaurant and our time and were promptly told we could not be thus accommodated.  So, we opted out. (Later, our butler was able to procure a reservation at one of them – and not our first choice –  after considerable haggling as he told it). But specialty dining is another story.

We boarded to find ourselves greeted by a tray of drinks and little else.  (Oh, for the Cunard, Silversea or Regent greeting where they take your hand luggage and show you to you suite with a smile!).  We found the staircase and made it to our suite on our own.  When our butler found us, we were delighted to find that he was the same one we had had on the Celebrity Century almost five years ago in our first suite experience – so we expected to have exactly the same service.  Well, things seem to have changed.

First, there was the water.  We asked to have the expected carafe of ice water alongside the ice bucket on the suite bar only to be told that Celebrity had discontinued that service.  There was now a large bottle of water (for purchase) in the suite refrigerator.  When asked why this had been done (other than the obvious money grab), he told us that it had been done for health reasons.  What nonsense!  What’s the difference between the stainless steel carafe of water and the stainless steel bucket of ice beside it?  Or for that matter, the communal jug from which ice water is continually poured during dinner?  And what about their “save the waves” environmental program?  Bottled water?  Which reminds us: there is no recycling bin in the suite.

The cruise line web site indicates a number of impressive amenities in the suites.  Frette linens, Bulgari bath products etc.  However, a significant number of the expected (and listed amenities) failed to materialize:  second hair dryer, slippers, “pillow menu”, reserved theater seating, tote bag (come on people, a flimsy grocery bag is not a tote), and our personal bug-bear – there was no luggage valet service (presumably on offer for everyone aboard).  When we asked, we were told that it was in selected ports only – and we were further told that there was such an indication on the web site.  With respect, we beg to differ, as this screen capture from their web site indicates.  In any case, they did send us up a bottle of wine to compensate.  Nice, but not what was on offer.

The snip from the Celebrity web site – snipped after our return. No mention of “only in selected ports” here. Check it out at http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard/singleColLanding.do?pagename=onboard_outstanding_service

We then went out to our verandah where we intended to spend a lot of time.  But the cushions were missing from the lounge chairs.  When asked, the butler informed us that the cruise line had removed them during the refit in January since they were considered (by someone) to be a fire hazard.  So, for two days we sat on loungers that were designed to be topped with comfy cushions until we could stand it no longer.  Guest relations promptly sent up the cabin attendant with cushions that are evidently now provided only on request.  If we had not been in the same suite previously, we would not have known that they were missing: we would only have known that Celebrity had the most uncomfortable lounge chairs known to man.   Evidently were not the first guests to complain either.

The chaises in the foreground. No cushions? What were they thinking?

There were two burned out light bulbs in the suite and one of the sinks in the bathroom lacked a stopper. Since these were not major inconveniences, we decided to see if anyone noticed during the eight days.  No one did.  It was often difficult to get service in a bar, and the debarkation process was chaos.  Part of what sets the six-star cruise lines apart from others whose bread and butter is not their highest-paying customers is the attention to detail – details that you expect not to be overlooked.

There were other parts of the cruise that now lead us to believe that the recession has taken a toll on service and amenities – but that’s a story for another post.

The bottom line is this for us:  when seeking a six-star suite experience, cruise on a six-star ship.  Suites on the other lines appear to be simply larger staterooms.  Pity.

Return to Èze: Revisiting memories in the south of France

Champagne on the terrace at Le Château de la chèvre d’or, Èze, France

It was our twentieth wedding anniversary and our Mediterranean cruise was set to take us along the French Rivièra.  Art had been there before, but it was Patty’s first visit, and he wanted to make it special by taking her to a magical place he knew that she’d enjoy.  His destination: Èze, a medieval hilltop town overlooking the azure waters of the Mediterranean, and more specifically Le Château de la chèvre d’or, a Relais and Chateaux property with a spectacular terrace boasting two Michelin stars.

Our young driver Caroline dropped us at the cobble-stoned entrance to the city where we’d begin our climb, on foot, to the top.  We often walk through these destinations where the history oozes from the walls and ponder what life might have been like in the fourteenth century in a village that actually dates to 2000 BC!  Sometimes it’s hard to summon the feeling, but not in Èze.  Every step took us back another century to the fourteenth century when the first buildings that are still there today were built.  At just over 1400 feet elevation, the hilltop village is crowned by an exotic garden that we visited before our lunch at the chateau.

That lunch began with the waiter asking us if we’d like to begin with champagne.  But of course!  So he wheeled over the champagne trolley and asked us which would be our pleasure.  We chose, we drank (in their bespoke crystal champagne glasses with stems shaped like goats – in case you missed it, the French word chèvre means goat, and chèvre d’or means golden goat), we enjoyed, and we nearly swallowed our tongues when we realized at the end of our lunch that the two glasses of champagne had cost more than the rest of the lunch – including wine – all together.  But we laughed.  It was worth it for the experience.

Then it was wonderful to share Eze with son, Ian.

So we savored every moment, thinking that we’d never return.  We lived in the moment taking in all the sights, sounds and tastes.  Then, our son moved to France at the age of 21.  He moved to southern France.  He moved to Beausoliel so he could work in Monaco.  And we visited him.  And we took him to Èze to experience the village.  And to lunch.

Our experience the second and third times were just as magical, but we learned one very important lesson through this: make every travel moment count.  Feel the experiences in the present moment and just really be there.  Step away from looking at everything through your camera lens for a while and really make a point of remembering.  It might just be the only time that you’ll have that experience.  And it will stay with you to take out and think about any time you like in the future.

If you have five mnutes, come to Èze with us…

Five tips for finding your perfect, private, personalized, dream tour

We all have our obsessions.  Obviously, travel is one of ours, and along with that goes our obsession with personalizing our holidays.  Gone are the days of pre-arranged group shore excursions from cruise ships, and gone are the days of European bus tours with 42 other well-intentioned travelers for us (but we did have a wonderful time all those years ago on a whirlwind tour of Europe with a ten-year-old  – maybe we’ll tell you about it sometime!).

In our quest for personalization, we’re becoming experts on finding tour operators who specialize in bespoke experiences, and finding those tour companies online – a tricky and anxiety-inducing prospect as you lighten your wallet by a considerable sum before even setting foot in the country to which you are traveling.  For what it’s worth, then, we offer you our five tips for finding that perfect (for you), private, personalized dream tour.  First, the story of how we discovered these tips.

It all started a few months before when we began our search for a bespoke tour of the countryside outside Paris.  That search led us to À Paris Travel and a wonderful woman named Sue Lillie.  With considerable trepidation, we had started an online search for tour companies specializing in European travel, and soon found that there were too many to wade through with any degree of certainty about their quality.  So we narrowed our search to specialists in visiting France and stumbled on this wonderful company.  But we didn’t know that it would be wonderful at that time.

We decided that we’d focus on one of our obsessions – champagne – and more specifically in Patty’s case Veuve Clicquot champagne.  This led us to create a tour of the champagne district that would include a visit to the Veuve caves and a champagne tasting or two.  Before we were willing to pay the complete upfront amount, however, rather than conducting all of the transactions through email and the web site, we decided that a chat with the proprietor might put our minds at ease.  And so it did.  After a very pleasant conversation with US-based Lille (late of Montreal as it turned out), we felt quite comfortable paying in advance for the tour (which is required for most of these companies).  Then all we had to do was hope that a car and driver showed up on the appointed day at the appointed time.

Moet & Chandon in Epernay, France.

Early one gray morning in Paris we made our way to the front door of our hotel on the Champs Elysees to find Pascale leaning against his car awaiting our arrival.  And so we were off.

After a few brief questions about our interests, Pascale was quite sure he know just where to take us.  He’d take us to one champagne house, and then make arrangements for the other.  First, we’d visit Épernay where we would take a tour and tasting at the venerable Moet & Chandon, and then we’d venture to Reims, the largest city in the Champagne district and home to the Veuve caves.  Between the two, Pascale would drop us off at a favorite lunch spot where we’d join the locals for a bite to eat.

Patty at the champagne-tasting bar at Veuve Clicquot in Reims, France.

With just the three of us on board, we had all the freedom that a group tour just doesn’t offer.  The itinerary was ours alone and if we decided to veer off course at any point during the day, we could.  It was another of those days that you mark down in your memory as ‘perfect.’  In fact, it was so perfect that we relaxed a bit about the second tour we had booked during that trip (yes, we took a chance and booked two).  When tiny Caroline picked us up in her massive Mercedes in Villefranche on the French Riviera two weeks later, we knew that we were in for the time of our lives thanks to À Paris Travel and our willingness to take a risk.

Tip # 1: Be specific about exactly where you want the tour to take you.

We were quite clear that we wanted to visit Champagne, rather than simply saying that we’d like to take a day trip out of Paris which is the thought we had initially.

Tip #2: Decide what kind of experiences you’d like (follow your obsessions for example), and then keep an open mind.

We had other ideas when Pascale picked us up that morning, but other than the visit to Veuve, we were open-minded and let him guide us.  These kinds of open-minded approaches have led us to many wonderful experiences over the years.  And these guides are truly wonderful resources.  Use them!

Tip #3: Do your online research carefully and consider it to be part of the experience.

This is so important.  You need to do a lot of research, and you should consider not thinking of it as work; rather you might see it as part of the learning experience that travel ought to be.  We actually consider research prior to a trip a part of the trip resulting in a much longer experience than the week or three that are actually away.

Champagne, vintage 1906, in the caves.

Tip #4: Do your due diligence.

For us that means that as often as possible, getting these tour operators on the telephone.  Even if it’s as simple as booking a limo drive from a cruise terminal, try to speak to someone in person once you’ve gathered all the information you can from the web.  You can learn a lot by that more personal contact.  If you have a gut feeling that this isn’t for you, you are very likely right.  Sue Lillie put us very much at ease as she told us about how her company had developed and her own passion for French travel.

You can also use online travel forums such as TripAdvisor (we’re contributors to this one), but remember that everyone is different.  Read the contributors’ pieces carefully and note the outliers – in other words, is it the only one that had a problem with the tour operator, or the only one that didn’t.  In either case, that one might not provide you with as helpful information as you might think.  Also, read reviews to see if they are specific, or if they are just subjective assessments (e.g. It was wonderful! Terrible!  etc. without concrete descriptions of exactly what made it so wonderful or terrible letting the reader then decide.).  In the end, a traveler review on a site such as TripAdvisor is based largely on the contributor’s expectations going in.  If we were to review some of the hotels that others find wonderful, we’d find them barely acceptable for a variety of reasons all based on what we’re looking for.

Tip #5: Make your decision, pay your money, and don’t look back.

Don’t second guess yourself.  After you make a decision, go with it.  File away other interesting information about other tour companies for the future, but don’t keep comparing what one might have offered.  You’ve made a decision, and it is very likely that if you did your homework, it will be the right one for you.

If you’ve hit on a truly terrific one, perhaps you’ll do what we did and book again with that tour operator.  We’d love to know how people make out with personalized tours.  If you have five minutes, come along with us as we follow our obsession with Veuve Clicquot from the caves in France to the Veuve bar aboard the Queen Mary 2.