Author Topic: Re: Honeymoon spot? (Read 9235 times)

silentwitness33 · « **on:** January 16, 2007, 07:40:00 PM »

Good day all. First of all I really appreciate the reviews and all the great pictures that are posted on this place. I am currently in the process of finding a surprise honeymoon destination for myself and my bride to be and have come across the Royal Hideaway Ensenachos. The reviews look great and my gut is telling me that this place would be perfect. However, I've noticed that in probably 75% of the pictures there isn't much sun. I've been to the Mayan Riviera which was beautiful and I don't know how Cuba would compare but ultimately I want to take my new wife someplace tropical, romantic, and warm. We are potentially going April 3, 2007. Can people tell me what the weather is like there? Would I be dissappointed with the temperature compared to places like the Mayan? Any responses are greatly appreciated.

flopnfly · « **Reply #1 on:** January 16, 2007, 08:36:00 PM »

First of all, a big welcome to 7 Days in Paradise. :D

We were at the Royal Hideaway in September, and I can honestly say that it was fantastic!!!

We were pampered and spoiled rotten, and no other resort has come close to it.

I didn't write a review on it, but I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

When we were there in September the weather was fabulous, HOT HOT HOT!!! and very sunny although my pics may not show it. Thats down to my poor photography skills rather than the weather. :D

We were in Cayo Guillermo in April, and the weather was great. Very hot and sunny just the way I like it. I think we had one sun shower that lasted all of 10 minutes the whole week.

Occupancy at the resort was almost nil the week that we were there. There was only 35 guests on a resort geared for 1000. You can imagine that the staff were tripping over themselves to serve us.

The beach is the best I have seen anywhere in the world. Nothing compares to it. Powdery white sand for miles and the water is a beautiful color with a sandy bottom.

It would be the perfect place to spend your honeymoon in my opinion.

Welcome again to paradise and please feel free to ask any questions you like. We'll try our best to answer them.

silentwitness33 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 17, 2007, 06:03:00 PM »

Thanks so much for the reply. That helps my confidence level and from what I'm hearing and reading, this is going to be a great place for our honeymoon.

I do have a couple of questions. Firstly, I have the choice of going for the general room or going for the spa package. The spa package is another $100/person. Is it worth spending the money on? Additionally, I believe that the spa package dictates where on the resort your room is. Are we disadvantaged in any way by staying in this section?

Secondly...how is the snorkeling here? I've only been on in Mexico and it was incredible. I'd love my new wife to experience this as well!! :)

Again, thanks for all the help. It is much appreciated!

flopnfly · « **Reply #3 on:** January 17, 2007, 06:46:00 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Silent Witness:
Thanks so much for the reply. That helps my confidence level and from what I'm hearing and reading, this is going to be a great place for our honeymoon.

I do have a couple of questions.

Firstly, I have the choice of going for the general room or going for the spa package. The spa package is another $100/person. Is it worth spending the money on?

Additionally, I believe that the spa package dictates where on the resort your room is. Are we disadvantaged in any way by staying in this section?

Secondly...how is the snorkeling here? I've only been on in Mexico and it was incredible. I'd love my new wife to experience this as well!! :)

Again, thanks for all the help. It is much appreciated!

The rooms in both the spa section and the Hideaway section are the same.

The resort is split in two but each section has their own pools and restaurants.

The spa is very beautiful and relaxing. Very zen like. I would say that for an extra $100 it is well worth taking the package.

Here is a
rough map of the resort

You will most likely be put in the spa section, but it depends on occupancy levels at the time.

You can snorkel at the far end of the beach. There is a small wreck to snorkel. You can see it sticking up out of the water. They offer snorkelling trips as well.

JohnnyCastaway · « **Reply #4 on:** January 17, 2007, 08:09:00 PM »

Hi Silent Witness, welcome to Paradise, at least our little corner of it. :D

As Flopnfly said, Ensenachos was beautiful, the rooms look to be very close on either side of the resort, (Spa or Hideaway) but the spa side was very peaceful.

As for snorkling, the clarity of the water was incredible, and the wreck at the far end of the beach was pretty cool. Here are some pictures of it:

http://www.7daysinparadise.com/gallery/Ensenachos-shore

It's probably a couple of hundred feet from shore, but it's a nice easy swim out to it, dotted with Starfish. Just watch out for the starbord side of the wreck, there is some debris there that could be potential painful, but lots of room to go around it.
We also did an excursion on a catamaran that went from Cayo Las Brujas and got some great snorkling in there as well. here's some pictures from it:

http://www.7daysinparadise.com/gallery/Ensenachos-snorkling-catamaran

flynnsky · « **Reply #5 on:** January 21, 2007, 04:00:00 PM »

Silent Witness I just noticed your post. RHE is a real hideaway,wonderful rooms,fantastic service,a beautiful beach and good food.If you have not been to Cuba youreally will enjoy this resort.My wife and i had a great time there and would like to return. Dan F

silentwitness33 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 22, 2007, 01:21:00 AM »

I can't tell you all how much I appreciate all the feedback. I have spent, quite literally, hours upon hours reviewing various honeymoon resorts and locations and it's pretty difficult to tell what is worth spending the money on and what isn't.

I think that I am pretty much sold on the Royal Hideaway. I have done some traveling in the past but my future wife has never been outside of Canada so this is going to be a real treat for her.

Can I ask the members here what types of excursions/activities are worth doing outside of the resort?

flynnsky · « **Reply #7 on:** January 22, 2007, 10:28:00 AM »

We took one excursion called the Santa Clara Excursion,You leave at 8am and get back to the resort at about 6.30pm. It entails a train ride to Remidios,touring the town and a 16th century cathedreal, time for some shopping.You then move on to go through a cigar factory and a outside lunch.Afetr lunch on to Santa Clara, a tour of the Che musuem and then into the city of Santa Clara for some free time and shopping.The giude in this tour was exceptional , he made the whole trip. Everyone who I spoke to who was on this tour enjoyed it . Cheers. Dan

silentwitness33 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 04, 2007, 01:06:00 AM »

Well, as luck would have it the day that I received my passport and everything is a go, I get a phone call from my travel agent who advised me that Air Transat is no longer offering the Royal Hideaway leaving from Vancouver anymore.

But Air Transat is still offering the package leaving out of Toronto which means that I will have to get an adjoining flight out of Kelowna and flying to Toronto.

With some discouragement I started looking at other vacation spots and quite frankly haven't been able to find anything that seems to match up to the experience of what people are saying about the Royal Hideaway. I think I'm going to go for it anyway and pay the extra costs and fly out of Kelowna to Toronto and then on to Paradise.

mojitomiss_cuba · « **Reply #9 on:** February 04, 2007, 12:19:00 PM »

Silent Witness, West Jet out of Kelowna to Toronto (leave Kelowna April 2, fly out of Toronto Apr 11, assuming you are going for one week) 390 + taxes of approx 111 per person
Same price for West Jet out of Toronto

Harmony Air VCR to TOR 383 + taxes same dates as above

I was in Cayo Guillermo in April last year and the weather was PERFECT
These 2 sets of Cayos are in close proximity to each other so the weather would be about the same

beachwalker · « **Reply #10 on:** February 04, 2007, 05:42:00 PM »

Hi everyone, I've just subscribed having found out about you from the Happy Faces Cuba site - was in Ensenachos last March and am headed there again March 22. I too had been looking at going out of Calgary (am in Edmonton) but then they cancelled all the western departures after February. So we got a good flight to Toronto and a great price out of Toronto to Ensenachos. We decided not to pay the extra for the spa or the villas as from our point of view we are rarely in the rooms but for a honeymoon couple the villas would be special with your own butler and private hottub.... costs an extra 1,000 though. My only concern for you, and don't get me wrong, I LOVE the place, and this is the first resort my husband has agreed to return to cos he loves it too, but for a honeymoon couple you might be looking for a bit more lively night life and to be honest it's not there unless you get a lot of people there and from what I hear the attendance is really down. Of course you make of it what you will - I know we head down to the disco and have a good time but if you are looking for a party atmostphere like you would get at Veradero it won't be there. Peace, solitude, fabulous service, and beaches to do for, that's what Ensenachos is, oh and NO kids LOL.

silentwitness33 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 10, 2007, 01:44:00 PM »

GOOD NEWS!

Well, after much research and then some wheeling and dealing...WE ARE GOING TO THE ROYAL HIDEAWAY ENSENACHOS!

After my initial dissappointment with not being able to fly out of Kelowna I put to rest the idea of going to the Hideaway. But the more and more I looked I just knew that the Hideaway was the place to go and started making efforts at finding other economical ways of getting there. My travel agent made some calls for me and found out that she could get me a special deal through Carlson Wagonlit at $1000 per person plus bonuses once we got there! This is a $1000 cheaper per person than if I had flown out of Kelowna. I'M NOT KIDDING! What an amazing deal.

So after hours and hours and hours of researching honeymoon spots I am so excited that I've found THE place! It's still a surprise to my fiancee who can't figure why I'm grinning from ear to ear all the time when I talk about the honeymoon. LOL I think she is going to love it.

In regards to the last comment, my fiancee and I are not concerned about a lot of night life. I am a police officer, she's s nurse and so we are both looking for something relaxing. The Hideaway is going to be perfect.

Again, a very special thank you to all of you who have been kind enough to write in with advice and your reviews. I promise to take lots of pictures to show!

So I guess it's prep time. Any suggestions on what we should bring along for attire, money, gifts for the locals, etc?

Take care all!

mojitomiss_cuba · « **Reply #12 on:** February 10, 2007, 06:55:00 PM »

congratulations on booking and getting a great deal Silent Witness :)

I'm sure that you will get lots of great suggestions from Flopnfly, Johnnycastaway, Kharmar and Flynnsky who have all been to the Royal Hideaway

Your fiancee will be blown away I'm quite sure :)

beachwalker · « **Reply #13 on:** February 11, 2007, 01:56:00 PM »

Wow SW,now I'm jealous, and feeling ripped off, ;) 1,000 each from Kelowna - Ensenachos for a week in paradise? That is AMAZING at this time of year, I'm paying twice that much and thought it was a deal over last year! Ah well, good for you, you will love the place. As for what to wear, it's as casual or as dressy really as you want to make it, although you cannot wear your swimsuit into the main lobby and restaurant without a good cover up. A lot of people dress up for the evening but there are always those who don't. YOu don't need a lot of cash, except for the tipping and a taxi if you use one, and we usually take some Canadian cash and change it at the hotel, no problem. For tours and anything extra like the spa treatments or car, you can use a credit card. Just don't get american express traveller's cheques, they won't take any bank things that are american. For gifts, I often take some over the counter meds, tylenol, advil, etc., some toys for the kids, I hear baseball caps that used to be popular are now getting overdone!!! Last year I picked up some of those multi-gadget tools and the guys really liked those. I'm sure there's a list of stuff somewhere!!!
When did you end up getting your trip, you are probably arriving as we leave! Have a wonderful time.