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Click here to book Sandals Grande Antigua from £1649pp

Chris & Diane at the Lookout

On Saturday 26^th March I set off with my husband for a much looked forward to holiday to Antigua. The holiday was for my husband Chris’s 40^th Birthday. I had previously been to Antigua with work and loved it so much that we decided to take our own holiday there. We were flying with BA and the flight went really well. The food was great and the cabin crew were fab, really friendly.

On arrival into Antigua we made our way to the Sandals check in desk where we were allocated our minibus to be transported to the resort. Once at the resort we were met by one of our two butlers, Cosi. He checked us in to our room which was amazing. We had the “Mediterranean Honeymoon Penthouse One Bedroom Ocean View Suite”, now that’s a mouthful!

The room was outstanding and had the most amazing views. We could also see the weddings from our balcony.

Steel Band at Shirley Heights

We did go away for a completely chilled out holiday but decided that we could not miss the spectacular sunset and party at Shirley Heights on the Sunday. The views are fab and the atmosphere is brilliant. All afternoon there are steel bands and then the reggae bands come on after the sunset. There is also a BBQ and bar. This is a weekly party every Sunday.

Our days were spent lazing around the massive pool with a cool box which our butler filled with drinks for us every morning and put with our loungers for when we went down. There were pool waiters around as well just in case we needed anything else. We could have called our butler to bring us our lunch everyday, but we thought with all that food and drink we needed to walk to the restaurants ourselves!

We had some wonderful meals and our favourite was in Kimono’s, which was the Tepanyaki where the chef cooked right in front of you.

Me & my Butler, Cosi

We also had some great nights in the Cricketers Arms (the English pub), it was quite amusing to see the Americans trying to play pool and darts (Chris became quite a celebrity as he was teaching them all to play).

We also did the complimentary snorkelling trip with Sandals where they took us out on their own boats and we stopped off and snorkelled off the reefs. Chris did this a few times during the holiday, but I was quite content to laze on my sun lounger.

We went up to the room around 4 in the afternoon to be greeted with rose petal baths, champagne and fruit which the butler had organised for us.

We met some really good American friends whilst we were there (so if you are reading this, hi to Jason & Courtney and John & Abby). We all went to the casino on our last night where we found, to my husbands delight, that our room number had been pulled out in a drawer for $50usd casino credit; this was gone within 3 minutes!

All too soon our week was over and we were heading back to the airport for our BA flight home. Before we boarded we made a quick trip across the road to Sticky Wickets, the original cricket ground for Antigua, where the Stanford 20/20 games were played. After bending the ear of one of the locals for 15 minutes about cricket, we made our way back to the departure lounge. I think this is worst we have ever felt about having to leave an island and go home, so I am sure that we will be returning as soon as we can.

You can read more about Sandals Grande Antigua on our hotel page here.

Or you can see more of Diane’s holiday snaps on our Facebook page here.

It’s Sunday 13th March when I find myself at London Gatwick Airport, boarding a British Airways flight to Punta Cana. A few drinks and some much needed sleep later; I wake to find us landing on time.
 

Dreams Punta Cana

Wedding Gazebo at Dreams Punta Cana

After collecting our cases, we are met by the Amstar representative and transported by limousine to Dreams Punta Cana Resort and Spa – WOW! Was my first impression as we entered the hotel. We were taken to the Preferred Club, where we were checked in and shown to our rooms, mine was a premium deluxe. That evening we had a hosted dinner with the hotel management at the Portofino restaurant, (I didn’t think it possible for me to eat a 6 course meal!) – STUNNING! The rest of the night comprised of chilling out with a few drinks and a visit to the casino – where,  yes, I lost!

The following morning we had breakfast in the World Café where there was so much choice, before being given a site inspection of Dreams Punta Cana. We were shown a number of different room types, including the Honeymoon Suite and the stunning Spa.
 

Zoetry Agua Punta Cana

Zoetry Agua Punta Cana

We were then transferred to Zoetry Agua Punta Cana, about 20 minutes away, a small property by comparison with only 51 rooms and very boutique in style, where we had a hosted lunch, before being given a site inspection. We again got to see a variety of rooms, my favourite being the Junior Suite Ocean View with plunge pool. We had the afternoon to ourselves, so I made the most of the beautiful Caribbean sunshine. Later we made our way back to Dreams Punta Cana, where we had another hosted dinner at the Hitmishu  restaurant and enjoyed the tapanyaki tables, which are a fabulous experience and a must to try if you haven’t already; watching the chefs cooking in front of you and getting everyone involved. The food was amazing; chicken, lobster and beef. A few drinks and an early night completed the day, as we had an early start and a busy day ahead of us.
 

Secrets Sanctuary Cap Cana

Secrets Sanctuary Cap Cana

After an early breakfast we head off into the mountains for a Zip Wire excursion, which is something I would totally recommend to do whilst in the Dominican Republic, it is absolutely fantastic  – as long as you have a head for heights! From here we head to Dreams Palm Beach Punta Cana, another beautiful property. Once checked in we were given a full site inspection. That evening we head over to Secrets Sanctuary Cap Cana for a gala dinner hosted by the hotel management; again the food was simply stunning and the hotel looked out of this world. We travelled back to Dreams Palm Beach and spent the evening in the disco.
 

Dreams La Romana

Dreams La Romana

The following day we we made the 90 minute journey to Dreams La Romana, down in the south of the Dominican Republic; we were now on the full Caribbean side of the island, which is reflected in the stunning white sandy beach and crystal clear flat calm ocean. We were shown around La Romana, but all too soon it was time to leave. After lunch we got to experience the Dr Fish excursion, which is very different and very enjoyable. We spent approximately 4 hours on a boat, where we got to experience a massage, try yoga, have a stingray massage and have a fish pedicure where you sit with your feet in a tank of water filled while little fish nibble at your feet! Back on dry land we head back to Dreams Palm Beach, where we have yet another hosted dinner at the Bordeaux  restaurant – where I definitely recommend the Steak! The rest of the evening was spent partaking in a few drinks.

It is now sadly the last day of this fantastic trip, and after breakfast we head down to the beach, where we board a boat for the Reef Back explorer, this is a floating island out at sea, where you spend around 4 hours. You can have a guided snorkel tour over the reef, have a massage, go kayaking and swim with Nurse Sharks and Stingrays – a great way to top up the tan! Leaving the ocean behind, we headed back to Secrets Sanctuary to see the hotel in its full glory in daylight and are give a guided tour of this amazing property. We take lunch for the last time before heading back to the airport.

All too soon it is time to leave this amazing Caribbean Island…

You can see more gorgeous photos from my trip on our Facebook page here:

Are you thinking of visiting one of these beautiful resorts for your next holiday? Give me a call on 08444 999 333 and I’ll be more than happy to share my expert knowledge with you and help you arrange your dream holiday!

Click here to book Athuruga Island Resort from £1459pp

Athuruga from the Sea Plane

I just wanted to share these beautiful photos with you all of Athuruga Island Resort in the Maldives. Firstly, a special thank you to Jayne Pattison for kindly taking the time to share her gorgeous photos with us and for writing her fabulous review.

You can see more of Jayne’s stunning photos on our Facebook page here.

Or read more about Athuruga here.

Jayne’s review of Athuruga, Maldives:

(Trip date October 2010)

“Athuruga, Maldives – We thought places like this only existed in dreams… but it DID exist, and it was truly amazing.

From the moment the seaplane landed we were in awe.

My partner and I stayed in a beach bungalow – no more than 8 strides from the waters edge. The bungalow was of a high standard, simply furnished (you don’t need lots of mod cons! Who needs TV when you’ve got the Indian Ocean!) having dark wood floors, ceiling and furniture – and a lovely big comfy bed. You also get a verandah with 2 steamer chairs to the front and a semi open bathroom at the rear meaning you can shower under the stars.

The snorkelling on the house reef was excellent – such an abundance of colourful fish and corals. The best section of the house reef was if you go out through the channel by the water villas, turn left and head along the reef edge towards the main jetty. For those who who want to get to know the fish species or are not so confident in the water – you can snorkel the house reef twice a day in small groups with the two resident marine biologists – it’s brilliant and it’s free! There are many organised trips to other reefs and thilas also, we went on two of these trips and also visited a sand bar in the middle of the ocean – now that was awesome! We were taken out on the hobie cat which was really great fun – we were on it within half an hour of asking, so no hanging around there!

I went on a couple of Scuba dives which were really good but did not see as much as when we snorkelled on the house reef. I also did a night snorkel with the marine biologists and saw a large manta ray.

The restaurant was buffet style with different themes each night, and was always good whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner. You have your own table and waiter for the duration of your holiday. There was entertainment most nights of a laid back nature – the casino night (pretend money!) and hubble bubble nights were good fun.

The bar was waiter service, which was very efficient and there was a good selection of premium brand drinks and cocktails to choose from.

It doesn’t get better than this – we were truly spoiled!

Thanks Blue Bay – for getting us such a good deal!”

If you have any holiday snaps that you would like to share with us or if you would like to write a review, please feel free to email them to me at lauren@bluebaytravel.co.uk.

For some time now I’ve been virtually bursting with excitement to announce the arrival of our brand new myBlueBay members’ account area.

As many of you will know, you have long been able to log in to your own personal account area to view your bookings and download documents. With our beautiful new myBlueBay members’ area the possibilities are endless…

Don’t worry… you can still log in using your surname and existing password; you won’t need a new account.

The first thing you’ll notice is the gorgeous new streamlined layout. We’ve made everything really easy to use; saving you time and taking the hassle out of your holiday. You’ll find all the same features that you’re used to using in the old myBlueBay… so you can still view your bookings, download your documents and view your account details.

Alongside these you’ll find some lovely new features, including:

• Personalised Themes
  Choose your theme to suit your mood!

• Calendar
  Personalised notifications and milestones, such as API (Advanced Passenger Information) deadlines & ‘balance due’ dates.

• Contact
  You can now contact us with feedback or queries directly from myBlueBay.

• The Loop
  Keep up to date with what we’re up to on Twitter and peek at our Flickr Stream.

• Change your Password
  You are now able to easily change your password from your account area.

Not only that, but we also have some amazing new features that we’re currently working on to make your Blue Bay experience even better.

Our Web Team are busy beavering away on developing:

• Message Inbox
  Allowing us to send you personalised messages and notifications relating to your bookings.

• Holiday Extras
  A search facility where with just one click you can search extras such as airport parking.

• Holiday Checklist
  An interactive checklist of everything you could possibly need to pack and take away with you… ensuring you don’t forget your toothbrush!

And as if all that wasn’t exciting enough, keep an eye out for our brand new mobile application… coming soon!

Why not log in to your account and have a nose around… you could always make use of the new features and let us know what you think!

Click here to visit our brand new myBlueBay members’ account area.

We believe in embracing the latest web technologies and, as always, when technology moves forward some things get left behind…

So, regrettably, all future versions myBlueBay will no longer support Internet Explorer 6 or 7. While the core features will still work, to experience myBlueBay in all its glory you will be required to use a more modern web browser (after all, IE6 is nearly 10 years old. In browser terms – that’s old!)

We recommend using Google Chrome or Firefox.

The Blue Bay Travel team in their PJs

Well, thanks to some tremendous generosity we managed to almost double our target and raise an incredible £901.06 for Red Nose Day! So a massive thank you goes out to everyone who kindly donated, everyone involved in the fund raising at Blue Bay Travel, to Leighton for selflessly donating his fantastic sweet hamper for us to raffle off, to Thom and Pete for giving up their hair to the cause and finally to Stuart and Angela who have generously doubled the total that we raised in house! (Gosh, I sound like I’ve won an Oscar…)

Anyway, back to the events… Friday kicked off with everyone at Blue Bay coming to work in our pyjamas, which I must say felt surprisingly right. The evening’s events began with a few nibbles and beverages during which Thom revealed his freshly shaven noggin! Coming to work this morning I did half expect him to have glued all of his hair back on… but hey, all in the name of charity! Leighton also pulled out his party piece and dressed up as a baby!

Our quiz followed, which was organised and hosted by our own Gemma, Naomi, Denise & Nicola. You know how quizzes work… it involved various rounds of trivia and a special round aptly named ‘What’s in the Box?’ where a poor soul from each team had to delve deep into a mystery box and name the squishy item. The lucky winners received a bottle of bubbly each.

We then moved on to waxing poor Pete’s legs and after a bit of pain & face-pulling, we quite rightly ended the evening in the local pub, attempting to numb Pete’s troubles.

All in all we had a great laugh whilst raising loads of cash for a great cause, I’d call that a successful event!

If you’d like to check out our photos from the evening we’ve uploaded them to our Facebook page for all the world to enjoy.

I’ll finish off by announcing the lucky winner of a £100 Love2Shop voucher. Everyone who kindly donated was entered into our prize draw… and the winner is (drumroll please)… Christoper Cooke! Congratulatons; your voucher is winging its way to you as I type!

See you all at the next fund raising event!