Monthly Archives: July 2012
Hawaiian Hyatt Honeymoon of my Hdreams.
There is one singular mantra getting me through the dredges of stress at this, the 2 month out point of wedding planning. It goes like this:
SWIM UP BAR SWIM UP BAR SWIM UP BAR SWIM UP BAR SWIM UP BAR SWIM UP BAR
I don’t want to emotionally “miss” the wedding by focusing completely on the honeymoon, but I find myself fantasizing about the sweet, sweet feeling of relief that will accompany the completion of something that has taken a good year to plan. And I’m just saying, it’s a particularly sweet to picture that relief from within the safe & loving confines of a swim up bar.
Richie & I were torn about where to honeymoon. And I should clarify- I LOVE to travel. My favorite place on the planet is Queenstown, New Zealand. Followed by Prague I think. And then Costa Rica maybe. So when I thought honeymoon, places like Bali & The Maldives came to mind. Richie, on the other hand, considers an unpleasant drive to New Jersey “traveling”.
So I got thinking. Hawaii is pretty much the perfect compromise. It warms him up to a zillion hour flight but he can still speak English & get ahold of a cheeseburger. Baby steps. And ultimately, all I care about is RELAXING. I don’t care if I ever leave the pool (which is why the swim up bar is a necessity).
Once we’d decided on the islands (Kauai & Maui!), it was time to research the resort of our dreams. On my global travels, I’ve become a hardcore Trip Advisor advocate, so I started my digging there. But I’m a big ‘ol cross-reference with The Knot type of chick who then Yelp’s the heck out of something. What I’m saying is, I do my research. Before long, I found one name that popped up over & over again. Being the altruistic woman I am, I’m going to save you a million hours of research & just tell you exactly where to stay on your future Hawaiian vacation.
Our first stop will be Kauai. And I pretty much died when I found the Grand Hyatt Kauai ( http://www.grandhyattkauai.com/). When I read they made the Conde Nast Gold List for 2012 & were ranked as the #1 hotel on Kauai, I was done. Please look at this ridiculousness:
Yeah, I know. I’m not promising to ever come home.
After Kauai, we’re popping over to Maui. And lo & behold, Hyatt won me over again. The Hyatt Regency Maui (http://www.hyattregencymaui.com/) is equally ridiculous. Because when Travel + Leisure Magazine gives you the World’s Best Award (August 2012), that’s pretty much enough for me. And if that’s not enough for you (you are being TERRIBLY difficult right now!), then I’m happy to bring up the Grotto bar, aka the bar…inside a cave…that you swim into.
You had me at hello, Hyatt.
Yes, please.
Statistically, if you haven’t already been to Hawaii, you’ll be going there soon. Ok, I made that math up, but here’s the point- it took me some digging to find the dream spots for our honeymoon & hopefully my expert blogging skills will make your future trip to Hawaii that much easier to plan. I’ll let you know what I think of these resorts post-vacay but I can assure you of one thing: with all of my world travels, I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to stay at any resort.
Side note, because I’m planning to make sure Richie is REALLLLLY glad we’re getting hitched (& also because I love a good shopportunity), I’ve gone on a quest to find a brand new super hot bikini for every day of the honeymoon. You’re welcome, Mr. Wilson.
Some cliché with the word “Lei’d” in it,
Rach
And the chocolate shall pour down from the heavens…
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I never had the little girl wedding dreams. In fact, I’d never given it much thought at all. But I can tell you that within about 4 minutes of engagement I knew one thing for certain: our wedding needed a chocolate fountain.
Chocolate is at the apex of my food pyramid (followed closely by cheese, wine & coffee). And the idea of a beautiful fountain spouting chocolate is pretty much my nirvana. It was my One Wedding Necessity (much as the glamorous mini hot dog was Richie’s…god love him).
After “painstakingly” researching a number of chocolate fountain companies, I found the one that stood head and shoulders above the pack: Chocolate Fountain Fantasies ( http://chocolatefountainfantasies.com ).
Their chocolate is insane. Unlike the other guys, they don’t water it down with oil. You’re getting the REAL DEAL. Pure Sephra Premium Fondue Chocolate by Callebaut. If chocolate were Meth, you’re essentially getting Breaking Bad quality stuff. (equally addictive, no?)
Here’s the other thing I liked about Chocolate Fountain Fantasies: they ONLY do chocolate. Most of the companies I talked to do all kinds of party rentals, lighting, flowers…they’d probably sell you new tires, I don’t know. The point is, with my expert chocolate taste buds, I require a chocolate SPECIALIST.
And the dipping items? Stop. You can pick from like 12 million amazing things. Although I’m way more into carb dipping awesomeness of the cookie/pound cake/graham cracker variety versus the fruits (particularly the absurd pineapple/melon/grape variety), I am ALL about choices. And when I had the pleasure of sitting down with the lovely owner, Laura, to discuss selections, she pretty much blew my mind. I’ll save our picks for the post-wedding pics, but needless to say, there will be a vertible cadre of sweet chocolate goodness.
And let me also just go here: as someone who comes from a bi-chocolate family (I’m hardcore milk, my sisters are hardcore dark), we will have NOT ONE, BUT TWO glorious chocolate geysers! So the weirdo dark chocolate people can experience the same bliss that I’ll be feeling over at Milk Landing.
Thank you, Chocolate Fountain Fantasies, for being pretty much the second best part of my wedding (after marrying Richie, of course).
Mentally prepare yourself by following them on twitter: http://twitter.com/chocolatefountn & liking (LOVING!) them on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChocolateFountainFantasies
Sweetly,
Rach
Fine, change. 