Karisma Hotels is running a wedding designer's contest. They are looking for wedding planners & designers, as well as event planners to create a wedding ceremony and reception setup. You could be one of seven winners of a four night Gourmet Inclusive vacation for two including a $500 air credit. The contest ends on July 15, 2012. For more details, click here.
We are back from Royal Hideaway Playacar. This adults-only, all-inclusive resort is truly paradise. Stay tuned for a full review of our week's stay at this fabulous place. Above is a little snippet of our photos. If you happen to see a great deal for this resort, don't hesitate, book now. Trust us, you won't regret it and you can thank us later.
You can now find Beach Junkies on different forms of social media. If we can, we will try to live tweet while we are on vacation. We will post photos of where we have been on Instagram and we love to pin all sorts of beach-related photos on pinterest. We would love for you to follow us...
It's been a long four years since we've been to Mexico and this year we've decided to go back! This time staying at the wonderful Royal Hideaway Playacar in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico! We have been to a Royal Hideaway before in Cuba back in 2009 and it was one of our favorite vacations to date. Stay tuned for our review of the Royal Hideaway Playacar! In the meantime, here is a wonderful video of the property we found. Enjoy!
The hardest part of planning our trip to NYC was getting there once we landed. Most flights from Toronto fly to either Laguardia Airport or Newark Liberty Airport (though just announced today that Air Canada will start service to JFK. West Jet also goes to JFK but it uses American Airlines as it's carrier). This time we decided to fly into Newark. There are a few ways of getting to Manhattan from EWR as stated here but which option gets you there the fastest and the cheapest?
It really depends what time you go. There are a few forum threads going on in TripAdvisor asking this same question. Everyone has their opinion but these are all personal preferences so choosing a way is very difficult. Originally I had booked for a car to pick us up at EWR and to be dropped off at our hotel in Midtown Manhattan. It was the only way I knew. You can take a Taxi there as well but I find that the rates are very similar to taking a Town Car, so I've always opted to take the nicer ride in. The problem this time around was we were arriving during the morning rush hour the last day before Christmas Break. Traffic suddenly became my worries.
I went back to the drawing board, and luckily I found MoreFFmiles on TripAdvisor and out of everyone, he had given the best advice on how to get to and from EWR. So, I took his advice and we are so glad we did. Not only did we save time, he saved us a whole lot of money in the process.
NEWARK LIBERTY AIRPORT TO MANHATTAN
Once we landed, we asked where the AirTrain terminal was and the employee directed us to it's location. When we got there, we went to the kiosk and purchased our tickets which was $12.50 USD per person one way (at this point make sure you keep this ticket as it will be punched once you get on the New Jersey Transit Train.). Once purchased, we went up the escalator and went to the proper platform that brings you to NEW YORK PENN STATION (there are signs that lead you to the right platform or you can simply ask one of the uniformed employees in the station but just remember, KEEP YOUR TICKET )
There are two Penn Stations on this line. Make sure you get off the New York one and NOT the New Jersey one. Once on the train, there will be someone that punches your ticket and he will leave a little white ticket in front of where you are sitting. If you decide to move, make sure you bring this ticket with you cause there will be another employee collecting these.
After about a 20 min ride, you're at New York Penn Station and from there you can either walk, take the subway or taxi to your hotel.
Honestly it's such a simple process. It sounds more confusing when you read it, but it's really simple once you go through the motions.
This site is a good tool to use if you're thinking about this route or if you're a visual person like I am, the video below helped us a lot too in our decision.
MANHATTAN TO NEWARK LIBERTY AIRPORT
I find it important to give yourself enough time to catch your flight home. Last thing you want is to miss your flight at the end of the trip, so for our return to EWR we decided to use a car service. There are plenty of car service companies out there. Make sure you do your research before you book one for yourself. Yelp was a good site and that's how I found WiroLimo.
There are a few things to keep in mind when booking a car service from EWR. The one thing to remember is that you are in New Jersey, not New York so these cars to charge for toll fees. From what I understand, toll fees have increased - the $50 one way car ride that I took with my friends 4 years ago no longer exists. When you see a rate of $45 one way, it really ends up being about $70 or so.
Now WiroLimo charges $90 FLAT from EWR (additional charges are added when using a credit card). It's a bit more than the other companies but it's the most reliable. Reading reviews, I saw that people who booked with other companies missed their flight due to the driver showing up late and running into traffic and a whole bunch of other horror stories.
Booking with William at WiroLimo was painless. It was fast and quick, and if you need to make adjustments on the fly, you can email him and he quickly gets back to you. He will email you instructions on how the driver will contact you and give you a confirmation as well.
On our date of departure, Felipe sent me a text saying that he was downstairs waiting for us and look for the SUV with the flashing blinkers on. He was there 30min before our requested pick up time and he goes at your pace. He was nice and friendly and to my surprise they are equipped with a GPS and an iPad to get them through the city and avoid all the traffic jams. He was polite and honestly one of the best drivers I have ever met!
The next time we go to NYC, we will be taking WiroLimo there and back since we plan on bringing check-in luggage with us this time. The Airtrain option was a good one for us since we only had small carry-on luggage with us but I can't see us maneuvering that way with two big luggages.
I hope this post helps you as I know how confusing and difficult it can be to get to and from Newark Liberty Airport. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us through our email on the side bar or our twitter account.
One of our main goals was to try as many drinks as we could at Forty Four. After dinner we would walk back to the hotel in anticipation of what drinks we would get that night. The drinks here are awesome! Pricey, yes but if you go to other quality bars and restaurants around the city, the price is just right. There is a range of cocktails and other drinks to choose from, but knowing that Forty Four bar is staffed with awesome mixologists, we knew we were going for their signature cocktails!
Drinks: Please keep in mind that we did not drink all of these in one sitting. These were the drinks we had throughout our stay.
Creamsicle & Ginger Julep
The Creamsicle is an off the menu cocktail that Matt at Forty Four had done up for "M". It was clean, tart, fresh and strong. If you like the taste of spirits, this drink is for you. If not, I'd stay away from it as it might be too much for your taste buds. "A" ordered the Ginger Julep and this is where Matt introduced us to Honey Jack Daniels! Y-U-M!
Seven Spiced Cider & Agave Royale
After sitting on top of a double decker tour bus for 2 hours in the cold, we longed to sit by the fireplace at the lobby of the Royalton Hotel. Seeing that we were chilled to the bone, Jason recommended that we get the Seven Spiced Cider. It was definitely what we needed. Hot, flavorful, and just a soothing cocktail! It was perfect for coming in from the cold. "A" opted to get the Agave Royale, her second crushed ice drink of the trip. At this point I was getting really jealous of her crushed ice drinks but I'm glad she shared with me.
French Caribbean & Sidecar
I thought this time around it was about time that I ordered a crushed ice drink, so I went with French Caribbean which became my absolute favorite drink of the trip. It's pretty much a Pina Colada on roids. It's that good. It also comes in a clear Tiki mask mug that I thought was a perfect touch! The only thing that could've gone better with the drink is if it was called Beach Junkie lol! I definitely recommend it. As a joke, "A" decided to order a Sidecar since Matt raved about it (inside joke). She should've ordered it when Matt was there but Merritt made one for her instead.
Merritt also made us a bunch of drinks our first night like the Alchemist and the Italian Banana Bread which were delicious as well but unfortunately we forgot to take photographs of them.
Appetizers: We don't remember what they called this bread, but we sure can still taste it. This was the best bread we have ever eaten! At first we thought it was some sort of danish. The outer layer is like a danish but the inside is like bread. You really have to try this. It's unreal
Fresh Mozzarella Salad: A-MA-ZING! The roasted peppers and arugula compliment well with the texture of the mozzarella. It was really fresh. We've never eaten fresh mozzarella before and I can see what the difference is. It's not hard and chewy, it's tender and slightly flakes at a bite. Just great!
Tuna Tartar: The best tuna tartar you will ever have. Sushi grade tuna dressed with Kimchi and mixed with Cucumbers and toasted chia seeds. Fresh. Flavorful. Fantastic.
Main:72 Hour Braised Short Rib: This meal was straight from mama's kitchen. Perfectly cooked baby carrots, peas and pearl onions. The mash potatoes was amazingly soft, fluffy and creamy and the short rib was outstandingly juicy!
As it turned out, our last meal of our trip was the best meal of our trip. It was amazing and the service was once again outstanding. The best part about Forty Four is that you don't have to be a guest at the hotel to enjoy this goodness. You can walk right in and enjoy the drinks and food, like so many people we saw during our stay. If the food doesn't lure you in, then the drinks should. It is a bit pricey but there is a reason why and as the saying goes, you get what you pay for and we definitely got what we paid for!
We chose to have our Christmas Day dinner at Bryant Park Grill. They offered a 3 course pre-fixe menu for $68 per person which was really reasonable considering the other prices we saw in town. We also wanted to eat somewhere that had a very festive feel and being that the Holiday markets and ice rink were there, it just made sense.
Appetizers: Crab Cakes: We were off to a good start with this meal. It was quite delicious and perfectly cooked. Unfortunately, this was the best dish of our seating and you'll see why below.
Main Course: Duck with Portobello Mushroom and Mash Potatoes: The duck breast was actually pretty good and so where the cranberries. However the dark meat portion of the dish wasn't so great. It had a really gamey taste to it and wasn't desirable to the pallet at all. Good thing I ate it last cause I almost lost my appetite because of it.
Turkey with cranberry sauce, stuffing, sweet potatoes and vegetables. I chose to eat traditional turkey for my Christmas dinner. The turkey was moist not dry and there was three huge slices included in my entree (a little too much for me). I barely made a dent in my meal but I was full. I am not use to eating so much carbs.
Dessert: Bread Pudding with coconut drizzle and creme fresh: The savoir of the night. If it wasn't for this, I would've been really grumpy on Christmas Night since my main meal wasn't satisfying at all. Then again can't judge it fairly since it could've been good since my duck was so bad. In any case, it was edible at least.
Mascarpone cheesecake with chocolate ice cream: Being lactose-intolerant, I tried not too eat too much of the cheesecake but it did taste delicious with the cookie crumb base and ice cream.
Overall this was our most disappointing dinner of our trip. We wanted the ambiance and that's what we pretty much paid for. The meal wasn't great and the portions were extremely huge that we didn't finish everything. The service was your typical "get you in and out" as fast as they can. This was a good thing since we didn't wait long for our meal, but it unfortunately showed in the quality of the food.
