We travel. We love, love, love to travel. And, fortunately, we travel a lot and for many different reasons. But, our desires never change. Above all, we look to be super comfortable and that the needs of whoever we are traveling with – hubby, kids, friends, or alone – are met. I recently was booking a resort for an upcoming trip, so sat down and thought about what was most important to my family. Here’s what I came up with and actually checked off as I booked the trip.
7 MUST HAVES WHEN BOOKING A RESORT
LUXURY
Luxury is defined as something that is not necessarily essential, but you should always gain pleasure from. And, it must be extremely comfortable. We love awesome linens, rooms we don’t want to leave, and staff that knows we are there for some R & R and a break from our everyday life. Remember, we’re talking resort here and not a camping trip…
Casa Mañana at Cayo Espanto.
TRAINING VENUES AVAILABLE
This is pretty much a given as we are married to triathletes and training takes place essentially year round! We need to always make sure there is a place to run; jump on a bike in a gym or ability to bring a bike with us; and an ocean, lake, or pool for swimming. For us, we’re very happy with a simple treadmill or a trail with a view.
We have been fortunate to have some resorts go above and beyond to assist us with this. One resort actually had a treadmill delivered to the room for trihubby (Cayo Espanto you know who you are)! While another resort after seeing me go out each day in a kayak to spot hubby while he swam, brought in an additional staff person to take hubby out, so I could actually kayak and not have to follow him on the same out and back each day. Now that’s service…
Playing the spotter for my triathlete in Mont Tremblant.
GREAT FOOD, PREFERABLY LOCALLY SOURCED
We love food and we love real food. Give us a chef dedicated to his/her work and we are sold. Don’t cover up good ingredients too much to make up for a bad product; just let the real flavors show. We always love to try and meet with the chef to learn more and find they are more than happy to accommodate. This foodie has spent time in many kitchens learning new techniques or a bit about the regional kitchen. From cooking classes to just spending time with chef in the gardens and kitchen I am a happy girl. At Cavallo Point, I told the waiter that the veggie burger was the best I ever had and the chef came out and discussed the recipe with me. Oh, and, a great wine collection is always a plus…
Locally caught bass with house grown tomatoes at resort in Greece.
SPA
Not much to say here. Give me a good spa and I am set! It’s a given that your trihubby will be doing some training while you’re gone, so why not get a little pampering in, especially if you’re sans children. And remember, longer bike rides for trihubby, mean longer spa days for you!
A hot tub at Mamalahoa Hot Tubs and Massage on the Big Island.
LOCATION SET FOR ADVENTURE
Vacations and travel are meant many times for just chilling, relaxing, and recouping from our day-to-day lives. But in the life of a triathlon family, a little adventure is always welcome, especially when the kids are with us. From hiking, snorkeling, horseback riding, and kayaking to even greater adventures, we like to make sure there is something for our active family to do.
Horseback riding on a beach in Jamaica.
ACCESSIBILITY
We don’t mind flying at all, even long hauls or transfers – although preference is certainly non-stop! But, many times when we travel, either the hubby or the kids are not able to stay the whole time, so we like to make the time from airport to resort no more than 2 hours if possible. This also depends on how much time we have for the vacation.
Always nice to have a lounge to wait for your flight – a little work, a little wine…
PRIVACY
We honor our time together as a family. As the kids get older, it is important that the time we have together is ours! Making sure the resort has quite places; that not all activities are group activities; and that you have the availability for private excursions are all musts for us.
Having breakfast in the room for some alone time.
I hope you find these helpful to use the next time you are fortunate enough to book a resort vacation….
WHAT IS YOUR MUST HAVE WHEN BOOKING A RESORT?
Sherry is one of the TriWivesClub and LifeDoneWell co-founders and contributes to multiple blogs. She is a former co-owner of the California Apparel News and had a career in the healthcare industry. Her passions include traveling, real food, the environment, and animal rescue/welfare. She lives a healthy lifestyle and has been a vegetarian since 1987. She and her husband are parents to two rescue pups and reside in Connecticut.
