Wine and Spirits Travel

It was another sunny day in Punta Cana paradise, and we took full advantage of it. The breakfast buffet at The Reserve was just perfect – where else can you get an omelet, a chocolate croissant and Plantanos in the same place?!  It was then onto my tour with Oliver and then meetings, where I learned about the resort and it’s eco-friendly efforts, which includes working with the community and other hotels to educate the locals. I had a great exploration of the grounds, dozen restaurants and enough bars to keep the pina coladas flowing.  I got to check it all out (including the bar) in my afternoon with my friend Jaimee. First up was the grill by the pool, where I had a great cheeseburger and Jaimee enjoyed the spicy chicken wrap.  I spoke with some other visitors to Paradisus Palma Real , a number of whom had been here many times.  It was easy to see why.  This place seems to have everything and it is the only Leading Hotels of the World recognized resort in the Dominican Republi

Every day in Punta Cana seems to bring more fun and more pampering.  Wednesday was not an exception. After a great breakfast in the Royal Service Restaurant, I headed over to the YHI Spa at Paradisus Punta Cana .  Before you even get inside this spa, you enter a state of relaxation with the soft music through the long path filled with flowers and trees.  Spa Manager Mayra Ramirez was waiting for me and showed me around the spa, which includes a pool, Jacuzzi, steam bath and sauna, in addition to private treatment rooms inside and outside in cabanas by the pool. It wasn’t long before I was laying on a massage table, with flowers all around me as Tao started on my Hibiscus Journey, the spa’s signature treatment.  It was an hour and a half of bliss as I was exfoliated with the hibiscus scrub and then, after a hot shower, massage from head to toe with warm oil!  It was followed up with a Jacuzzi and a sauna, while Jaimee was treated to a treatment of her hands and feet (she had been

My first full day in the Dominican Republic was a full one as I got to know Paradisus Punta Cana from the inside out. Guest Service Manager Maria Luisa took me on an extensive tour of the grounds.  This is probably the biggest Caribbean resort I’ve ever been to and there appears to be something for everyone.  I was really impressed with the kids’ pool and club, where you can bring babies as young as four months if you want to get in some private time in the swim-up bar.  We also went through the main lobby and The Reserve section, which is a hotel in itself. Paradisus Punta Cana has 14 restaurants, offering every food imaginable.  Something I’ve never seen before and thought was a great idea is the “Templo de la Gastronomia.”  To put it in simple terms – it’s a food court.  In the middle of a half dozen different restaurants, there’s a place to gather and eat.  So, if you and your spouse or BFF can’t agree on where to eat, you can each get what you want and still eat together.

As you can see from the photo of the backyard of my room (yes, that is a queen size bed, in front of the beach with  the aqua blue water of the ocean), I’m not exactly roughing it in Punta Cana .  The view is certainly heavenly and I’m looking forward to some time on that beach at the Paradisus Punta Cana (with my Royal Service butler bringing me a Pina Colada) sometime today.  There are a few minor glitches here, but I keep reminding myself that we are in the Caribbean and things happen a little slowly.  Speaking of slowly, I am still patiently awaiting my friend Jaimee’s arrival from Haiti and hoping her delay is only due to the slow roads between the two countries.  It is hard to imagine this is the same island, where Spanish is the language instead of French, and champagne is poured instead of rationed water, but we all need our relaxing getaway and that’s what Punta Cana is all about. My three flights all connected without a hitch and a driver was waiting for me right outsi