Blue Bay Grand Esmerelda, Riviera Maya Mexico

As a birthday surprise to my son Aidan, I decided to skip out of town and head South of the border to Mexico. It was a great idea to escape the start of the cold weather here in Ohio. We flew Delta Business class which was great as we could each enjoy our own shows and the big comfy seats. My 7 (almost 8 year old) is a spoiled traveler...but hey...its our thing!

Upon arrival we took a transfer 30 minutes South of Cancun Airport and made our way to the Playa Del Carmen area. We arrived and were greeted with a nice tropical drink of something..didn't matter it was great. Check in went smoothly and we were upgraded to the VIP buildings which was great as we were also surprising my parents who arrived 5 days earlier and who were already booked in this building.

The rooms were nice, simple and clean with a huge glass enclosed shower and lovely balcony overlooking a garden area. We changed and headed to the pool/beach within minutes. The pool was fantastic and we tried out the spinning bikes in the pool. Both of us enjoyed the unlimited Virgin Pina Colada and Strawberry Daiquiris. They had a great bar on the beach with swings all around...big hit with my 7 year old. We spent the day in the pool and at the beach and then headed to Room 5429 to make "our dinner" reservations. It was the best thing I could think of. The look on my son and dad's face was priceless....both of them said "What are you doing here?" My mom knew of our surprise and neither of us could believe we made it that far without slipping to our travel partners.

The rest of the stay was filled with lots of sun, pool and beach and great meals. We made sure to hit the nightly entertainment and even squeezed in a massage and relaxed in the spa. A must and the best feature of the resort!

I can't tell you what even a short 4 nights in a warm place, near the ocean can do for you. It was a blessing and I am already planning the next escape.

Our First Entry

Well...here it is! Our first Blog entry. We are very excited to chat up our clients experiences, our travel adventures, great resorts and travel partners. We have had an exciting month of visiting our favorite island destination...Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Our clients Wes and Deb tied the knot at the New Secrets Royal Beach and we have Todd and Jen Tedrow renewing their vows on May 11th!

Luis and Emily had a magical honeymoon at Paradisus Palma Real for 7 nights and finishes the trip off at Secrets Sanctuary for 3 nights.

On a personal note my husband Eric and I stayed at the Las Piedras Guesthouse in Punta Cana...a hidden gem of a place close to the center of town in the very busy Bavaro area. Upon arrival I was greeted by Ceasar, we had a lovely ride to the Guesthouse....me with my struggling Spanish and him with his English. We had many laughs and we actually were able to share much about where we came from and our families. Entering the guest house is like entering a secret wall. I was greeted by the owners adoring children..waving and smiling ear to ear. I loved it already. Our short stay was graced with incredible hosts, fantastic breakfast and coffee. The room was very quiet and had a great ceiling fan. If you want to experience life outside of the resort...this is the place. For those traveling in small groups or for people looking for a place to have a small rehearsal dinner...the charm and exotic backdrop of the guesthouse is an excellent choice.

Please contact Island Travel Company for booking information or contact the house direct on Facebook or via email at guesthouselaspiedras@gmail.com

Signing Off

with much kindness,
Angel