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Jenni,

Hi, Lidia

 

Oh, where to begin?!

 

We can't thank you enough for suggesting this slice of paradise!  We had only heard of T&C once before you mentioned it to us...and we can't imagine that we ever would have had a better time in the Bahamas, as we first considered.  For only the second time in my life, I really felt like I was *in* a travel brochure!!  (The first time was on the black sand beach in Hawaii.)

 

The Palms was lovely.  (Of course, we were totally spoiled by the Four Seasons in Wailea, which we consider the gold standard of luxury and set the bar very high for any of our subsequent experiences!)  We had a few hiccups with spa reservations and interactions with the concierge, but nothing that detracted from our trip significantly.  The staff, especially at the pool and on the beach, couldn't have been more pleasant and accommodating.  Because there are only 70+ rooms on the property, and they weren't at capacity, the restaurants, pool and beach weren't crowded at all, so it really made us feel like we were at an exclusive hideaway.  And we saw a few families with babies and toddlers, reminding us that an exciting life of travel doesn't have to end once children arrive. 

We asked one of our taxi drivers when the "busy" season was, since there didn't seem to be many people around....he said that the island is busiest from December to April, but this season hasn't been as crowded because of the weak U.S. economy.  It was nice to see other people around (so we didn't feel deserted) but not to be overwhelmed by crowds...and making dinner reservations was never a problem.

One slight disappointment was learning upon our arrival that the Gecko public bus system has been suspended, so we ended up spending more money on taxis than we anticipated.  But again, not a deal-breaker.  If we had it to do over (and we surely hope to go back!), we'd probably rent a car for a day or two and plan our movements around the island more carefully to make the most of each one-way taxi ride!

The restaurants were amazing!  When I returned to work, several people commented that they could tell I was really showing now -- I told them I wasn't sure if they were seeing the baby....or five days of resort cuisine!!  We had breakfast at the hotel each day, though we did order from the menu a few days -- the included continental breakfast just wasn't enough to sustain us some days.  :-)  We enjoyed both restaurants at the hotel -- Plunge and Parallel 23 -- for lunch and dinner respectively.  We also had an enjoyable lunch at Da Conch Shack, more so for the authentic local experience than necessarily for the food, but we knew that it was a "must" for being there.  We also had fabulous dinners at Coyaba, Coco Bistro and Hemingway's.  At first we had a bit of sticker shock at the prices, but we understood that the price of importing everything was an important consideration...and after all, we were on a special vacation.  Next time, we could find ways to eat a bit more economically, but this time, we didn't mind splurging.  :-)

The weather was spectacular!  In many ways, it was the honeymoon weather we never had!  (Though we know that so many people can say they had a perfect Hawaiian honeymoon...not everyone can tell the story we can that we were there for "the wettest March in 56 years!")  The forecast every day was "Another perfect day in paradise"  :-)  It was a bit more windy than we imagined, but nothing that a light sweater for dinner didn't cure.  And the two rain showers we experience lasted just about as long as it took the windshield wipers to make one swish along the taxi window!

One of our most enjoyable experiences was an excursion through J&B Tours to a private beach for the day.  For the reasonable price of $225 (compared to $950 for a similar experience through Sail Provo), we went to a secluded beach on the nearby island/cay of our choice (helped by the boat captain, who knew way more than we ever would have!).  The company provided the umbrella, chairs and picnic lunch and said they'd pick us up whenever we wanted -- from a few hours to the whole day, depending on what we wanted.  We chose to stay from 10-2...but when the captain came back for us, we wished we had stayed longer since it was so spectacular!

When we go back, there are a couple of other things we'd like to do/see -- a specific snorkeling expedition out on the reef (vs. what we were able to see closer to shore), touring more of the island in a rental car, looking in more of the shopping areas (also with benefit of a rental car), and dining at many of the great restaurants we didn't go to this time.  All in all, though, while there were plenty of things to do, we didn't feel that there was so much to do that we'd be somehow missing out if we decided just to relax on the beach instead!  As a testament to how great it was, we actually got up early on our last morning -- rising at 6 a.m. to make sure we were the first people at breakfast so we could spend every moment possible on the beach just taking in the experience before we had to leave for the airport.

Whew, that's probably more than you were expecting -- as Bryan would tell you, I'm the talker in the family :-)  If any of your other clients ever need a referral or would like to hear about our recent experiences, please don't hesitate to let us know. 

Thanks again for everything -- and we'll be sure to be in touch when we plan our next trip!

Regards,
Joyce

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