jlh370

Ally,

I've been thinking about what I think romantic is. I think the most romantic place we have gone was to El Tamarindo in Mexico for our honeymoon. I found a site with some pictures. Although, the setting is totally different and it's an "outdoor" setting, the bathroom is what was amazing to us. I think there is only one picture on there of the bathroom. My husband is trying to find our pics of the bathroom.

The shower was the most amazing thing ever. Water sprayed from every which away. The other thing they had was retractable doors. They had a shutter system and I think they had screens on them. So you could get a breeze coming in without the bugs.

The most romantic thing they did, (which I still miss) was every night they would come around and light candles in these jars around your villa. They would burn out by morning. Not sure how that would work at your place, but I remember I looked forward to it everynight.

The other thing that i remembered being "different" was how they did the service. There was a kitchen that had a door to it from our villa, but also a door out to the exterior that the housekeepers could access. If we didn't want to be disturbed we could put our dishes, trash, towels, etc. in that room and leave the do not disturb sign on the other side of the interior door. That way they could still take or leave us stuff without coming into our living quarters.

I'll try to find some more of our personal pictures.

As for dinners there, we had only a few selections a night. We didn't mind that b/c the food was excellent. What did stink was that there was no variation in price. We splurged to pay to stay there and would have liked to be able to have the choice to spend a little less money at dinners if we opted to. Obviously, most people spending a lot of money on the hotel, have the money to spend on the food, though.

http://www.differentworld.com/mexico...s/entrance.htm

Iza

Ally, I do second the idea of the outdoor bathroom. We absolutely loved the bathroom at Florblanca which is totally open. Soaking in the tub under the stars was wonderful. We also loved the open shower.
You can find some pictures on their website: http://www.florblanca.com/accommodations.html#


We had no problem whatsoever with bugs.

carolll

Please, no music whatsoever! What one person may enjoy, someone else doesn't. I find most music played in public to be a terrible distraction and would much prefer the serenity offered by nature.
Carol L

AndrewGW

I have to say as someone who has been in the hotel business for a long time you have received some great ideas...
Robes - definitely light cotton not terry.
Amenities - go as high class as you can with what you put in the bathrooms - you don't need all the extras like sewing kit, comb, shoe shine, but have some available on request... Nice soaps, shampoo and conditioner are important. Also don't scrimp on your towels - big and fluffy bathtowels...

When I ran the dive shop at the Amanpuri in Thailand one of the things I loved about that resort was its library...
Guests could check out books - everything from trashy novels to super coffee table books, history etc and CD's - each room had it's own stereo. They didn't have TV's but if you are having TV's then DVD's could be another option.
The library itself had a few comfy chairs so you could just relax there if you didnt' want to take the book...

Offer cold towels not only by the pool but upon arrival along with the welcome drink... A small bar fridge near the reception area with a stock of face clothes, dampened and splashed with a fresh lemon essence - served on a small tray with tongs...

Menu - if you have a good chef in my mind a blackboard menu with a few options for each course - depending on what is readily available and fresh that day - keeps the guest interested to see what the chef is going to produce that day and is also more cost effective than a large set menu... Have seen this style work in very high end restaurants - when one dish has run out - wipe if off the board...

Having been the only western managers at a resort in India, my wife and I dined with guests almost every night - it is nice but shouldn't be standard - leave the option open for you guys as well as the guests - you will soon find out during the day if this is something that your guests want to do - and then there will be days where you just want to disappear and be by yourselves...

If I think of anything else I will post again...

Cheers
Andrew

ps tried to email you but it was rejected...