Wine and Spirits Travel

Karisma Resorts asked me to go to the opening of the first Nickelodeon Resort this summer in Punta Cana. It looked like it was going to be quite a place, and I’m always a fan of the Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, the resort wasn’t open in time for me to go, but it worked out just fine: I got to check out some of the resort company’s Riviera Maya offerings. To make things a bit more complicated, just before the trip I injured my ankle. At the time, I didn’t know how serious it was, but I did know that I could not walk much. That left me with the terrible job of having to lay back, relax, and enjoy Mexico for a few days! My friend Roberta was flying from Tennessee to meet me at Cancun airport. We were going to stay in Riviera Maya at Generations Resorts . It’s a luxury family resort next door to the chain’s El Dorado Royale and El Dorado Casitas adults only properties we would also be able to enjoy. We arrived at Generations quickly and the lob

The port of Costa Maya , Mexico, had been damaged heavily during Hurricane Dean in 2007. It had since been rebuilt to include everything you could want in a cruise port stop – shopping, beaches, restaurants, bars, and even a little history. I had never been to Costa Maya so I wasn’t sure what to expect before I got there on my MSC Cruise . Mom decided to stay in for the morning while I explored Costa Maya, but we had breakfast together in Le Muse, the restaurant exclusive to Yacht Club members on the MSC Divina. We had a selection of Danish, croissants, scrambled eggs, and waffles with fruit. It was just the meal I needed to get me ready for the long day of walking ahead. The pier was filled with shops and restaurants, and even a Senor Frogs with a swim-up pool. There was also a museum that I didn’t get a chance to go to, Museo Maya. The three cruises had really filled up the area. There were two other ships in the terminal, one from Royal Caribbean and one from

It was another beautiful day in Cancun as I woke up refreshed at Secrets The Vine . I wasn’t rushing anywhere this morning so I went down for breakfast in the Market Café.  The selection was as big as it had been for lunch the previous day. I had a little of everything, including one of my Mexican favorites, Chilaquiles. These are tortilla chips soaked in a green chile sauce (it can also be made with red sauce) and topped with cheese. After breakfast, I changed into my bathing suit and met up with my fellow journalists at the Preferred pool. It had a unique infinity setting that made you feel like you were floating in the middle of nowhere. We enjoyed some cocktails and chatted about how unique this setting was. In the afternoon, we all headed to the Gourmet Tasting Village at the Moon Palace Resort . It was very different from ones I had been to at previous wine and food Festivals. It was smaller and had a bigger concentration on food than personalities or

The sun was once again shining on the Capella Pedregal resort in Cabo San Lucas and my friend Lynn and I were ready to take full advantage of it on our final day.   We started off with a leisurely breakfast at Don Manuel’s Restaurant. Julieta Hernandez of the Los Cabos Tourism Board joined us and told me about some of the new hotels going up in the area. She also told me a bit about nearby La Paz and the whale shark tours. I had known that as a Mexican playground for Hollywood stars Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo boasted many fine resorts, but I didn't realize until our conversation how many more there were in this area that were among the best in the world. I promised Julieta I would return soon to check out more of the Baja Peninsula and then headed to enjoy my final pool day for a long while. Even though my foot had just been stitched and I couldn’t go in the water, I enjoyed a few hours in front of Capella’s massive infinity pool under warm sunn

The sunrise from my balcony at Capella Pedregal in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, was so beautiful I didn’t mind that I was up so early and had almost forgotten I was still in a wheelchair from my injury. I vowed to enjoy the day anyway and that didn’t seem hard at a place as beautiful as this. Breakfast was outside at Don Manuel’s where we had a view of the ocean. My friend Lynn took a little of everything from the buffet and I just had some of their warm doughnuts with jam and a side of yogurt to start my day. Adriana Silva, the resort’s Public Relation Coordinator, took us on a tour around the property after breakfast. We were far from the only ones who thought Capella Pedregal was incredible. It had been bestowed the rare AAA Five Diamond award. The tour took us by golf cart in and out of the buildings, including one area that was reserved mostly for families.  It reminded me a bit of some of the resorts I had visited in Arizona with cacti between the casitas. Some