Royal Plantation Island - the Ultimate Escape!

Need that perfect Island getaway and escape from the wild crowds? Well here is THE place you've been dreaming about!

Royal Plantation Island at Fowl Cay is a Sandal’s newest private 50 acre island in the Bahamian chain of the Exumas. The resort has six luxurious villas and the most pristine beaches amidst a sapphire sea. Plans are to build a few more with most of them becoming over the water bungalows and villas.




The Birdcage House is situated on a peninsula that looks out at Fowl Cay Cut and overlooks Big Major spot where many spectacular yachts sit. The two story, two bedroom house has windows that have breathtaking views of the waters that surround this villa from three out of four sides. There is a fresh water pool if you’d rather, but the crystal clear waters beckon one to dive in and enjoy!




The Lindon House has huge dark-wood French doors that when open let the trade winds fill the one bedroom sanctuary with scents of pure sea air and exotic tropical flowers.

The Seabreeze Villa and Starlight Villas are perched on top of a ridge overlooking the multi colored ocean. The villas offer a panoramic view of the Exumas that will leave you breathless. Each of these two bedroom villas are independent across from the kitchen, living room and open air patio.

The Harbour Club eating and drinking house sits atop Royal Plantations highest point. You can dine by candlelight under the stars or join others in the Mahogany Bar and Lounge. On the south beach is the Barefoot by the Sea Restaurant and Bar where you can find the finest gourmet Caribbean seafood and grilled specialties in a casual atmosphere.

Unlike most private islands, you can book the entire island, or you can book by the house. The Birdcage has two bedrooms and a pull out sofa with two full baths and a full kitchen. The Blue Moon house and the Sweetwater House are three bedroom villas that include 3 full baths and a full kitchen. The previous mentioned Lindon House is 1 bedroom, 1 bath with full kitchen, and the Seabreeze Villa and Starlight Villa are both two bedrooms, 2 baths also with full kitchen.








The Royal Plantation Island is perfect for corporate retreats, family reunions and destination weddings. Groups of up to 30 can be accommodated where you can do everything or nothing at all. The environment is resort casual. The villas are fully stocked which gives tremendous flexibility. The island has incredible snorkeling, and most water sports like diving (with lots of wrecks including 3 airplanes), waterskiing, deep sea fishing, sailing and sea kayaking are available. Deep Sea fishing is available for Wahoo, Mahi Mahi, Barracuda and Mackrel. The island is also very famous for bone fishing. Snorkeling and diving are extremely popular. You will be surprised to be able to feed nurse sharks, and see pigs swimming in the warm Caribbean waters. Yes…I said pigs!


There are walking trails, shopping areas and lots of close by Cay’s to investigate. The resort is 1 ½ hours south of Ft. Lauderdale, only 3 minutes by plane from Nassau. About 200 sailing miles from Miami and you can take your own boat here if you wish, moorage is very near by.

While on the island, you can visit so many famous sites – like Thunderball Grotto! One of the most renowned snorkel sights in the Bahamas. This is where portions of James Bond Thunderball and also the movie Splash were filmed, and now we know why! And who would want to miss the social hub of the region? The Staniel Cay Yacht Club is open for lunch and dinner and it’s on Jimmy Buffet’s list of top ten bars!





The price of your vacation includes the villa rental and linens, - A/C, ceiling fans, private bath per bedroom, satellite TV, DVD, CD, full kitchen, deck or patio, grill, cooler and more!
All Food and Beverages consumed on Fowl Cay (including alcoholic beverages)
A Golf Cart* per house Clubhouse with dining room, open bar, swimming pool, exercise room, pool table, dartboard and board games Tennis Court (racquet and balls available) Kayaks and Sailboats Bocce Court, Horseshoes Snorkel, Fishing, Waterski and Tubing Equipment Internet Enabled Computer / Fax, and even a Motorized Boat

To get more information about Royal Plantation Island and to reserve your perfect escape, please call or email me right away!

Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort

I was recently honored to be a part of Sandals Star Awards attendees at Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort in Nassau, Bahamas. The Star awards are Sandals recognition of the best of the best travel agents and top agencies that work with people from all over the world to send them to the best resorts of the world - Sandals, Beaches and Royal Plantation. Not everyone gets invited and I was indeed honored to be recognized as one of Sandals best!


You can’t imagine the feeling one gets when traveling from a cold winter home to a sunny warm destination like Nassau, Bahamas and having the honor to stay at Sandals Royal Bahamian!




This resort is one of Sandals top 5 star, diamond resorts and it’s easy to see why. Sitting on the point at Cable Beach on New Providence Island, the views of the incredible multi colored turquoise, green, blue waters are simply breathtaking. Sandals Royal Bahamian has old world glamour mixed with state of the art, world-class sophistication.
Breakfast is held in one of two restaurants, both buffet, however, there is a cook available to make any type of egg dish you wish, from soft boiled to eggs Benedict! Lunch time offers a choice of a buffet, or a couple of a la carte restaurants that serve up local conch fritters to hamburgers. Dinner is where the resort really shines – most of the restaurants are Elegant Resort attire – meaning – dress up! There is only one resort casual dining room open in the evening. Food choices range from French to Italian, Caribbean, Southwestern, Teppanyake, Seafood and the British Pub Style. Newly opened is the new Pizzeria which rivals the best pizzerias in the states!
There are a total of 443 rooms in the resort, and all of them include air conditioning, mahogany four poster king-sized beds, cable TV, cd-clock radios, iron and ironing board and the bath comes with a wonderful amenity kit that includes lotions, shampoo and conditioners.
The deluxe and premium rooms are in the Manor house and face either the pools or the gardens. The luxury rooms also in the Manor House face pools, gardens of if higher up ocean views. The suite concierge rooms in the manor House and the Windsor Building have balcony or patios and also face pools, gardens or ocean views. There are some concierge rooms that are oceanfront and the ones in the Manor house were the most beautiful views. The Balmoral Honeymoon Ocean view Suite and the St. James Grand Luxe Oceanview suite are high enough in the Windsor Building to give you not only an incredible ocean view but also over much of Nassau’s Cable Beach area. The best rooms are of course the Butler Suites – The Royal Village rooms while they do not have ocean views, are protected in a most beautiful and private garden area and the suites are huge, romantic and have separate sitting rooms. The Royal Bahamian Ocean view one bedroom suite and the Royal Windsor Beachfront One Bedroom Suites are simply elegant!
The resorts boasts seven pools, nine restaurants, an exotic offshore island, luxurious suites with chauffeured Rolls Royce or Mercedes service. The world famous Red Lane Spa is simply one of the best especially if you take advantage of a massage on the beach in the Zen Garden on Sandals Cay!




Sandals offshore island – Sandals Cay is a very short ferry boat from the Sandals dock and includes a pool, whirlpool, swim up pool bar, 2 beaches (1 on each side of the island) the afore mentioned Red Lane Spa Zen garden and a restaurant. It is open daily from around 10am to 4pm and open evenings only for special events, like the once a week Goombay Bash party!

We happened to be there during the Christmas holidays which start right after Thanksgiving. Bahamas celebrates the holidays with a Junkanoo! For two nights we were entertained with mini Junkanoo bands and on the last night, Nassau held the Jr. Junkanoo parade. This where all the islands schools come to celebrate. The children work all year on costumes, themes and practicing their parade in hopes of taking home a trophy. This is huge event in the islands where thousands come downtown where the streets have been blocked off and stadium risers have been put up for the crowds to cheer on their favorite school. On December 26 and again on January 1, the adults perform Junkanoo and it is twice as large as the Jr. Junkanoo. The Junkanoo costumes rival those of the Carnivals in Rio and Venice.





Sandals Royal Bahamian is for those who are a little more upscale and are used to world-class luxury travel. It is perfect for high-end weddings and honeymoons. If you are looking for the best in Sandals All Inclusive that is close to the United States, then look no further. Until the Windsor Block of rooms has been refurbished, however, you may wish to inquire about staying in the Manor house or the Royal Villas.
Contact me if you have any questions or wish to make your next reservation at Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa and Off Shore Island resort!

Alaska and the Yukon Quest

I just returned from Fairbanks, Alaska the 2008 starting city for the 25th anniversary of the Yukon Quest. The temperature upon arrival was a mere -30 below zero, but the sun was trying to shine between the layers of freezing ice fog.

The first place I headed was for the University of Alaska and the Museum of the North. What a fabulous museum! Filled with over 2,000 years of Alaskan art and displays of Alaskan culture, including Blue Babe, the world's only Ice Age steppe bison mummy. My favorite room - The Place Where you Go to Listen - an ever changing sound and light environment where the University has linked the sounds of earthquakes and even the Aurora to drums and bells and...Well you just have to go.

The next day off to Chena Hot Springs and the Aurora Ice Museum. The hot springs are very medicinal and warming when it's -40 outside. The Dog sled ride is also a must! The Ice Museum has lights and sculptures and is simply wonderful...the best part though is the world famous Appletini's served in souvenir ice Martini glasses.

Off to Denali National Park. Stopping along the Parks highway in Nenana where they hold Alaska's largest gaming project. No lottery up there. A tripod is planted into the ice river and a trigger stops the clock that records the time the ice breaks up. Bets are placed and last year’s winners claimed $304,000. Yes, I placed my bets! Lunch stop in Healy at one of Alaska's best diner’s- Rose's Cafe . Finally Denali Park - a great visit and wonderful talk by park rangers and a visit to the dog kennel to see a different kind of kennel –these dogs patrol the park during winter via sled. On the ride back to Fairbanks, we were able to turn back a few times and catch a magnificent sunset over Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in N. America. No wonder there are so many that wish to climb it!

Saturday morning - start of the 25th anniversary of the Yukon Quest! This race is younger than the Iditarod and doesn't get as much publicity, which is sad in some ways, however, not having it widely publicized also meant that we could get up close and personal to the dogs and their musher’s. There was an air of pure adrenalin as everyone was anxious to begin that 1,000 mile trek to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. Especially those dogs! Every three minutes a team takes off, until all 24 teams were out.
So we check the web for race results and the winner should be arriving into Whitehorse shortly and by the end of the week, the rest of the musher’s will be in. Training begins for next year's race...Whitehorse to Fairbanks.

For some pictures of this incredible quest...click here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21283786@N05/sets/72157603951696585/

What a ride! If you'd like to check out the Yukon Quest, here is the link: www.yukonquest.com
If you'd like to go to the next race, contact me, I'm going again! I can hardly wait!