Posts Tagged Dreams Resorts

Our Farewell from Dreams

Posted by TravelDesigned in Mexico, TravelDesigned, Uncategorized on August 17th, 2010

The management and staff of Dreams Huatulco invited the Apple Vacations guests to a very special farewell dinner at the end of the week to thank them for choosing Dreams Huatulco Resort and Spa for their vacation. The farewell dinner was by invitation only and held in El Patio, the Mexican specialty restaurant. Each lady was presented with her choice of a handmade rebozo – shawl. Ella chose green and I chose a red- Mexican colors, you know! A special menu was served, followed by flaming Mexican coffee.

Click to play this Smilebox greeting

I must admit this entry is bittersweet to write. I was teary eyed off and on all week as I experienced my dreams for this trip unfold and I admit, right now, I am having a hard time seeing the screen. Yes, I am an emotional train wreck when it comes to fairy tale endings.  And of course, they are tears of  pure joy!

 

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow

I had very high expectations for this trip. I knew this was going to quite possibly be the one and only time we might have a trip like this with Jack and Ella. I hoped and prayed everything would go smoothly and it did. None of the things I feared came to fruition. We shared our love of travel with them. We showed them why we love Mexico. We showed them Mexico's generous and kind people, her beautiful art, the magnificent nature and culture. I even taught them a few words and phrases. This makes me laugh as I think back to when their Mom met us in Chicago and asked them what they had to say as we said our goodbyes. Ella popped right up with a smile from ear to ear and said, “Gracias”! My mission was accomplished, my dreams came true!

A week later we received the best thank you cards the kids had ever sent us! And to Dreams Huatulco, I say a deep, heartfelt, “Gracias por todo los dulce suenos” – Thanks for all the sweet dreams!

Would I recommend Huatulco? You betcha! 

Would I recommend Dreams Huatulco? Definitely!

Terry and I were the guests of Dreams Huatulco Resort and Spa.   Their most generous hospitality has not influenced this article.
 

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Many Dreams Come True at Dreams Huatulco

Posted by TravelDesigned in Mexico, TravelDesigned, Uncategorized on August 14th, 2010

I never thought so many dreams would come true at Dreams Huatulco Resort and Spa.  I hoped the kids would be thrilled about every minute of every day.  Quite to my surprise, one of the things the kids really raved about was the Dreams Huatulco Entertainment Team nightly shows! Unfortunately, we missed a few nights because we were so tired from traveling and playing hard throughout the day. Honestly, I really do not know how the Entertainment Team does it. They are at the resort promptly starting activities at 9am with smiling faces and enthusiasm all day long, then at night they put on these shows with such high energy, singing and dancing all over the stage!
Click to play this Smilebox slideshow
We caught the Disco Show one evening. The kids liked it but didn’t understand what was so funny as the era was before their time. Being a former disco queen, I LOVED every minute! Terry being a disco vinyl burner didn’t enjoy it as much as I did- party pooper! Guess you can’t please everybody. I was so surprised they were entertained by the Dreams Idol Night when guests performed Karaoke. They loved voting on each of the contestants and stayed until the very end of the show.
Our last night was the Latin Show. Jack and Ella kept after me to make sure we arrived early to the theater as they wanted the BEST seats. I sent them to the gift shop to choose some postcards to send home. While I was paying for them, they went ahead of me and managed to get 3rd row center. You should have seen the delight in their faces when I arrived before the show started. Ella was sitting there holding a coconut full of frozen (VIRGIN) pina colada! Jack, a little gentleman, went to the bar to get me one too. The show was fabulous! Guests were invited on stage after the show for photographs with the performers. We were so glad we didn’t miss this show as it was very entertaining and fast paced, in fact we couldn’t believe the time had passed so quickly!  We felt this way about the trip too. Jack commented to me how he could not believe we HAD to go home in the morning. I had to agree with him.  It is funny how time passes so quickly when you are having a good time!
Click to play this Smilebox slideshow
I was surprised the next weekend to hear from Jack and Ella’s parents how they talked nonstop all week about the fun we shared.  My daughter and son in law are now contemplating their own Dreams family vacation! I hope they invite us along- (Jessica, if you are reading this–hint, hint! I will find us a good deal! )

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Dreams Huatulco – A Dream Come True

Posted by TravelDesigned in Mexico, TravelDesigned, Uncategorized on August 1st, 2010

Dreams Huatulco certainly made our dreams come true last week! Since we are not accustomed to traveling with children, I had many fears. What if we miss the flight, the children are bored,  they don't like the food, what if they are naughty…. oh,so many what ifs!  

We did not miss our flight, in fact, we check in early and missed a LONG line! They were little travel angels on the plane. Jack and Ella brought their I-pad, I-pods, and gameboys. I brought a special backpack full of travel games as well as art and craft supplies which included draw your own postcards, a create your own book, wooden fashion dolls to color, etching kits, tape, scissors, glue sticks and every color of pencil and marker Crayola makes.

The worst thing that happened: I got stung by a bee and we were constantly picking up after the kids. In the big picture of life- that is nothing! There was nothing I could do about the bee sting and fortunately, I am not allergic.  I would rather be stung than have the kids get stung, so all was well that ended well. Jack said, "Grandma, you have 2 thumbs on one hand!" Yes, all I suffered from was a swollen pinky. I tried not to swear too loud when it stung me and thankfully the kids were in the pool and couldn't hear me! Had it been any worse, there is a Doctor's Office on property. 

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow

 

From the moment we stepped off the plane not only was I impressed, the kids were too!  We were greeted with butterflies of every shape, size and color fluttering in the middle of the runway. We used the local transportation Especial private shuttle van. The fare was only 620 pesos -roughly $50-62 roundtrip for the 4 of us depending on the exchange rate.  The entire ride through the Parque Nacional Huatulco butterflies danced around the well paved winding road. Upon arrival to Dreams Huatulco Resort and Spa we were met  with cool scented  towels and ice cold fruit punch drinks. Ella couldn't believe it! She'd never been welcomed at a hotel like this before! You should have seen their faces when Christian, our concierge welcomed them personally with Explorers Club visors and t-shirts. 

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow

 Christian suggested we have lunch because we arrived several hours prior to standard check in. He came just as we finished lunch to say our accommodations were ready. Trust me, it was worth waiting for! We were so fortunate to receive a Preferred Club Oceanfront Jacuzzi Suite on the top floor! Talk about Dreams Huatulco dream accomodations-wow! This definitely was a dream come true! –especially for GRANDMA!!

Here is a tour of our suite, the Preferred Club Lounge and what we did the first 2 days at Dreams Huatulco. We tried so hard to stay up for the Mexican Fiesta Show but we couldn't. The travel day had taken it's toll on all of us. Each night at turndown, the Sundial activity and newsletter is delivered. The four of us would gather on the balcony to plan the next day's events and a few nights we played in the Jacuzzi together. The first night, Ella and I were both excited to find there would be t-shirt painting after breakfast!  Later in the day, a friend of mine at the hotel took us to see iguanas in their natural habitat. Jack told me at the end of the trip, this was one of the highlights of his Dreams Huatulco vacation. We also visited the lighthouse to see one of the 9 beautful bay views. We made it back in time for bungee trampoline, which was one of their many favorite Dreams Entertainment Team activities.

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow

 As far as picking up after the kids, I brought a recyclable shopping bag. You know, the large bags you pay a few dollars for at the store. Little did  I know this is how it would be used- every time I found clothes or toys lying around, I simply picked them up and put them in the bag. When the kids wondered where their things were, I just told them to look in the bag.;)

 To be continued
 

 We were the guests of Dreams Huatulco Resort and Spa. Their generous hospitality has not influenced this article in any way.
 

 

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Huatulco Dreams

Posted by TravelDesigned in Mexico, TravelDesigned on June 23rd, 2010

Huatulco Dreams (part 1 of our Huatulco, Mexico trip with our grandchildren)
These days I am having Huatulco dreams. We will be traveling with our grandchildren, Jack -10 and Ella- 8, next month to Dreams Huatulco Resort and Spa. I don’t know who is MORE excited, the kids or us!
I have been doing a lot of research about Huatulco, Dreams and traveling with children. My twitter pal, Cindy Richards from http://www.travelingmom.com called to reassure me everything will go fine! She reminded me to take a power strip for recharging all our electronic gadgets (dvd player, gameboy, Ipad, cameras, phones, laptop) and a splitter so the kids can listen to a movie without disturbing other passengers. Cindy told me I could not pack enough food and snacks for the kids to eat at the airport and on the plane or enough Ziploc bags for a million and one uses!  I was glad she suggested we take our own masks for snorkeling. Cindy explained an ill fitting mask will definitely bring a sudden halt to a fun day. I already have my own prescription mask so I would have never thought of this! Thank you, Cindy for saving the day, it has been a LONG time since I have traveled with children.
I have been dreaming about a trip like this for quite a while. I have always been VERY envious of other grandparents with their grandchildren on vacation, I can’t help myself.  One thing for sure, Dreams Huatulco will be the perfect place for our first, of hopefully many to come, “multigenerational” vacations.  Jack and Ella will love the Explorer's Club for kids. They were sold on the idea when I showed them the website. Jack and Ella are already excited about the weekly campout, the movies on the beach, sandcastle contests, arts and crafts, euro bungee (a bungee jumping trampoline) and the treasure hunt.  I wish I were young enough to join them! Though, my mind is completely at ease knowing the Explorer' Club staff is CPR, first aid and Red Cross trained. I will even be given a pager in the event I am needed in a moment’s notice. 
   

I emailed the hotel for the consent form for the Explorer’s Club. I wanted to make sure I knew what information would be required. I am glad I did, one of the questions asked their blood type! They will also be informed of any food allergies as they will be having lunch and dinner with the Explorers. It is kind of like a day/evening camp. Certainly, we will be spending plenty of time together, but I want the Jack and Ella to have fun doing "their own thing" — and of course, I will need time to do "my thing" too! I can hardly wait to hit the SPA!! I do have ulterior motives

All  on my own I made up  the following consent form for my daughter and son in law to sign and have notarized in the unlikely event of an emergency, I don’t want any problems. Better to be safe than sorry, I ALWAYS say!

 

 

 

Authorization for Minors to Travel

 

We, ___________________________________________, Mother

 

 

and ___________________________________________, Father

    

hereby authorize our minor children, names as appearing on their passports :

 

____________________________________________

and  

______________________________________

 

    

to travel out of the United States from

____________ 2010 to _________ 2010

    

traveling to 

 Huatulco, Mexico

    

under the custody of their grandparents:

 

@TravelDesigned and Mr. @TravelDesigned

 

 

We also give them consent to make any medical treatment decisions required.

 

    

 

 

 

Mother’s printed name and signature            Date:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Father’s printed name and signature     Date:

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Notary stamp:  

 

 

          

 

 

                    Notary  Signature:________________________

             

                      Date:_______________ 

    

 What are your tips for traveling with children?  

Huatulco Dreams to be continued……   

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