Welcome to: Where I Spent My Week Off —by a NYC Restaurant "Insider"
So, what do you do in the industry?
I currently own three restaurants in NYC.
And you have how many weeks off a year, generally?
I try to take off at least twice a year, for about a week to 10 days each time.
What made you choose la República Dominicana for this vacation?
It came highly recommended to me by a good friend of mine.
And where did you stay?
Tortuga Bay at the Puntacana Resort. My friend told me great things about it, and it sounded right up my alley. So I took a chance, and I’m glad I did.
How was the ambience/service/amenities etc?
Wonderful. Actually better than I had expected.
Any major glitches and/or disappointments?
Major glitches? No, none. The food could have been a little better, but it wasn’t bad. As a food professional in NYC, sometimes you have to learn not to be so spoiled by the standards we keep.
Oh, and the outdoor jacuzzi on our balcony didn’t look entirely clean to me, but I tend to avoid public jacuzzis and hot tubs in general, anyway. Nasty.
Any great standout experiences?
Wow, where do I begin? First of all, I love the fact that they pick you up right on the airport tarmac and whisk you past the immigration line and you’re off and away and in your room in what feels like 10 minutes. And the little golf cart they give you is so great. I love that you can feel as private or as social as you like, because you have access to the bigger and more bustling Puntacana Resort. So all you have to do is drive your golf cart over, and it feels like a night out on the town. The little restaurant all the way over by the marina was our favorite.
And the beach is incredible. Is that the whitest sand I’ve ever seen in my life? Could be! The current kicked up the sand so the sea wasn’t quite as clear as I would have liked, but still, pretty nice. The ecological trail is fantastic, too. My kid went crazy in those lagunas. How does that water stay so unbelievably clean and clear? It was amazing.
And the fact that you have all this less than 4 hours away is incredible. I would definitely come back here.
How much did you blow all week?
Less than I would have thought. Flight: About $550 each. Room: About $750 per night. Meals/drinks daily: About $200 to $250 averaged.
Welcome to: Where I Spent My Week Off —by a NYC Restaurant "Insider"
So, what do you do in the industry?
I’m a chef. [And commercial kitchen consultant for several popular restaurants worldwide].
And you have how many weeks off a year, generally?
Total? About 5 or 6.
What made you choose the Turks & Caicos for this vacation?
I’ve been hearing nice things about it for a while now. A good friend of mine has been there several times already, and I trust her judgment when it comes to stuff like this, because her tastes are similar to mine.
And where did you stay?
Amanyara. I love Aman hotels. If there’s an Aman wherever I’m traveling, I’m there.
How was the ambience/service/amenities etc?
Excellent as always. That’s why I always choose Aman whenever possible.
Any major glitches and/or disappointments?
Well, funny enough— my friend, who’s also stayed at Amanyara before, tried to warn me about the "glassed up windows." Apparently, the bungalows used to have "windows" that were merely screens with adjustable louvers to block out the sun/wind if necessary. She was very disappointed to find on her last visit that they had closed up the louvers by replacing the screen with glass, apparently because of a "sand fly" problem; the tiny little flies were passing through the screens. This, in effect, makes it impossible to open the bungalow up to any fresh air at all; if you leave the sliding doors open, then of course you allow mosquitoes and other flying insects inside. My friend had tried to warn me about this prior to my booking the arrangements, but, as a person who’s partial to air conditioning anyway, I didn’t think it would be a problem. Well, it turns out my wife hated not being able to open the windows; she loves the sound of the surf at night while she’s sleeping. Plus, she would have preferred fresh air to AC, and I would have gladly given up the AC to make her happy. In this case, we didn’t have any choice.
I also don’t know why there seems to be such a noticeable fly problem at their smaller, casual restaurant near the beach. Obviously outdoors, a few flies can’t be helped. But an overabundance of flies is generally not a good sign; it usually indicates uncleanliness somewhere.
Any great standout experiences?
I did think this specific Aman hotel was particularly beautiful. And the beach was quite extraordinary.
How much did you blow all week?
For everything? About $12 grand.
Welcome to: Where I Spent My Week Off —by a NYC Restaurant "Insider"
So, what do you do in the industry?
I was a General Manager/Maitre d’ for an [popular] restaurant in Tribeca, but I left there about a month ago. I also used to be a managing partner for a Midtown restaurant several years ago. I’m currently on hiatus until the end of January.
And you have how many weeks off a year, generally?
I generally take about 4 weeks off a year, but not in succession.
What made you choose Virgin Gorda for this vacation?
We weren’t able to book the trip that far in advance, so I guess our first priority was finding something that was available, nice and not too expensive considering the such late notice. I do have a travel agent and she recommended it according to my needs. We also didn’t want to travel too far and have a very long flight or a lot of connections. However, it still took almost 12 hours overall, because we had one connection and a boat ride.
And where did you stay?
At Little Dix Bay, which I think was originally built by the Rockefeller family. I did hear of Little Dix Bay prior to this; I know it was a super hotspot maybe 20 years ago. A friend of mine told me he visited there briefly around that time— he was sailing the Caribbean with friends and they dropped in there for a drink, and he loved it.
How was the ambience/service/amenities etc?
Not bad. However, the resort does seem to be a little worse for wear and could use some sprucing up here and there, especially the rooms. Also, it was a lot more family-oriented than we were led to believe, but that could also have been exacerbated because of the holiday. The beach was lovely, though.
Any major glitches and/or disappointments?
Our first meal upon arrival was at the more casual restaurant near the dock, and that was awful. The service was incredibly apathetic considering the cost of the resort as a whole. The food was pretty terrible, too. We decided to just avoid that place for the rest of the trip which affected our overall spending, because it was the least expensive dining spot. Also, if you chose not to partake in the very very expensive (!) all-you-can-eat/drink New Years Eve buffet, there were no other options for dining than room service. There must have been some kind of lesser surcharge for the buffet upon booking, because I find it very hard to believe a lot of those families (of 6 or 8+ people) paid that astonishingly exorbitant price per person for the experience. We could eat at Per Se for that kind of money.
Like I said, I also thought the room was shoddier than advertised. There were cracks in the walls and bathroom tile, for example, and the linens were cheap and worn out. There’s no TV and no dock for playing music, so late at night if we weren’t tired, we had to resort to watching movies (which we had with us) on my laptop.
Even the beach experience was somewhat strained, as these families get very territorial and downright rude about "their" little area with "their" lounge chairs and tables. So in that sense, the resort should have been better prepared for the upswing in holiday traffic and provided ample accommodations for everybody.
Any great standout experiences?
The water is the clearest and most beautiful I have ever seen in my life. It was the one thing (aside from my companion) that salvaged the trip and made it all truly worthwhile. I’m an avid swimmer, so being able to swim in the sea that was as warm, clean and placid as a pool was wonderful. The prevalent stingrays are a little scary though, but thankfully, there were no bad incidents.
Also, the complimentary daily afternoon "tea" was a nice welcomed touch. Perfect for the sunset after a day on the beach, right before freshening up for dinner.
How much did you blow all week?
The airline tickets were about $700 each. And the room was about $650 per night. Food/drinks every day were probably about $150 per day (but breakfast is included with the cost of the room).
Welcome to: Where I Spent My Week Off —by a NYC Restaurant "Insider"
So, what do you do in the industry?
I’m a bartender, but I’ve also worked as a waiter. I’ve been in the F&B/Nightlife industries for about 14 years for various [very popular] places in NYC.
And you have how many weeks off a year, generally?
I don’t get paid vacations, but I do try to take off at least 2 or 3 weeks a year if possible.
What made you choose St. Lucia for this vacation?
I usually like to travel to warm places in the wintertime. My girlfriend’s family is from St. Lucia, so she was visiting them for the holidays already. We arranged our trip so that I would fly to St. Lucia to meet her there later, and she came to meet me at the hotel we booked especially for this occasion.
And where did you stay?
At the Jalousie Plantation which is currently being run by Hilton hotels. A friend of mine had recommended it since he’d stayed here several years before. It sounded great, but from what I gather, it had previously been privately owned by a somewhat eccentric English gentleman. My friend had gotten to meet him on his visit, and he said it made the experience a lot more charming, as he was invited to a private party thrown by the owner on the property of his personal home on the resort. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to have the same experience.
How was the ambience/service/amenities etc?
Overall I’d say very good. Our room was beautiful, but we got lucky, since apprently they are in mid-construction to convert Jalousie into a Tides hotel, and we received a room that was already renovated. The construction noise was irritating at times, but it was sporadic enough not to affect the trip that badly. The service was all right, but I’ve traveled to the Caribbean before, and it’s somewhat to be expected that everyone and everything moves much slower than New York, but mostly everyone was very warm and friendly. The food was a standout, as it was quite good, which is another thing that doesn’t come easily in the Caribbean. Aside from the fresh seafood and amazing fruit, I even had some American staples like the burger, and that was much better than I had expected.
Any major glitches and/or disappointments?
The only thing I can think of is that the long ride from the airport is a major pain. It’s about an hour’s ride since it’s slow-going at times over the rough terrain. I tried to book a helicopter for the return trip, because I was so not looking forward to the ride out. I was happy to see that the cost wasn’t prohibitive, and I booked a reservation, but at the last minute the pilot just decided not to fly so that was a major disappointment.
The other thing is that you have to get up very early and be aggressive if you want to save a first-come-first-served "cabana." Luckily, my girlfriend is an early bird so it worked out great, but the beach does get crowded all day every day. People move into their cabanas at sunrise, and it seems like they don’t move out until they check out.
Any great standout experiences?
We mostly just laid around the whole time, as my girlfriend isn’t so into hiking or other activities like that. She does waterski though, and the great thing is that local boats are always hanging around that will just take you out randomly on a whim. They also do tube rides if you’re into that sort of thing.
Also, the fireworks show on New Years Eve was nice. Being there in the sand watching fireworks on such a warm gorgeous night with my girl felt really great and special. And some of the people we met there were nice and cool too.
How much did you blow all week?
Ha ha, I don’t even want to think about it. But the room rate was lower than I’d expected. At first I thought it was due to the economy (as usually places will jack up the prices quite a lot for the holidays) but now that I think about it, maybe the reduced rate was due to the fact that the resort was under construction in some areas. My flight was about $750 economy, and the room was around $600 per night (but I think it’s normally around $900 for the holidays). We didn’t have an all-inclusive plan (but breakfast was included), so we probably spent about $150-$200/day average on food/drinks.
= "personne extraordinaire"