I won the "trip to anywhere in the world" (up to $20k)! So...where should we go?!
Feb 17, 2012, 5:19 pm
#106
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2008
Location: CHA, MAN;
Programs: Delta DM 1 MM; Hz PC
Posts: 11,169
Well fly into Alice Springs and then out of Ayers rock via Cairns for the Great Barrier reef would be good. However, the most southerly city on earth on the Patagonia sounds good too.
Feb 23, 2012, 7:28 am
#108
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: USA - HNL, SEA, DEN, ORD, MCO, and all points inbetween
Programs: Way too many!
Posts: 1,188
Indeed.
If I were going around the world for free, I'd not go to my usual spots (Paris, London, Madrid, Milan). I'd book something exotic, decadent, and totally unlike my usual travel. Maybe Terre Haute, Indiana. Tour the Columbia Records Club facility and maybe do some humidity tests on unprotected steel structures.
Kidding aside, what a great trip I'd have once I left Terre Haute!
If I were going around the world for free, I'd not go to my usual spots (Paris, London, Madrid, Milan). I'd book something exotic, decadent, and totally unlike my usual travel. Maybe Terre Haute, Indiana. Tour the Columbia Records Club facility and maybe do some humidity tests on unprotected steel structures.
Kidding aside, what a great trip I'd have once I left Terre Haute!
Feb 23, 2012, 8:44 am
#109
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: BOS
Programs: ALLLLLLL of them. Well, most...
Posts: 597
we haven't booked anything yet but we must complete the trip by 5/16 and it looks like we will push right up against it (meaning, expect us back mid-May).
Feb 23, 2012, 9:24 pm
#111
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: New York USA
Posts: 2,933
Just PM me. And congrats on your great sweepstakes wins!!
Feb 23, 2012, 9:39 pm
#112
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: BOS
Programs: ALLLLLLL of them. Well, most...
Posts: 597
a digression on catsitting.
plus catsitters only come for a certain period of time each day.
housesitters sleep in the home (more time for the kitty) and it tends to be a win-win, if it's someone visiting nyc who doesn't want to pay for a hotel and/or someone with a small apartment with friends/family visiting.
we've had a lot of good experiences with housesitters, including several years ago a wonderful gentleman from flyertalk (we talked on the phone, he gave us a deposit, he flew in the night before from europe and left the day we returned!).
May 28, 2012, 3:42 pm
#113
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: BOS
Programs: ALLLLLLL of them. Well, most...
Posts: 597
back from the four seasons bora bora!
thank you to everyone who gave us advice! our trip to bora bora was fantastic. a quick summary for those who asked:
flights
we flew virgin america main cabin select (jfk-lax), air tahiti nui business (lax-ppt), and then just "board and find a seat" on air tahiti (tiny planes, one class). on the way to ppt our business class on air tahiti nui was upgraded, and first was WAY better than business (sleepsuits, almost flat seats, etc.).
vx has been discussed ad nauseum on flyertalk - and i noticed that several reviews have also been posted on air tahiti nui - so i won't bother here. one thing worth noting, if you end up going to bora bora yourself: the airport is not air conditioned, and it is HOT AS HELL. our flight was delayed and i was really hurting (pregnant--and even when not pregnant, not a person who does well in the heat). and this was at 7am!
the whole trip took about 24 hours from jfk and was pretty hard on me (besides the pregnancy, also had a cold), even with business class, but i imagine it'd be easier for a person in normal health and spirits.
resort
four seasons bora bora...what can i say that hasn't already been said, on this site and others? we had a mountain view overwater bungalow, and it was truly fantastic. you can see into the lagoon from different areas throughout the bungalow; you can jump right in from your deck; you can take a bath in a huge tub with the sliding doors wide open to the elements.
food
the room includes free breakfast daily: they have an astonishing buffet with fresh fruits, a fresh and ridiculously delicious juice daily (e.g., mango vanilla - vanilla is a huge export in tahiti), western foods (scrambled eggs, bacon, omelets cooked to order), japanese breakfast, raw fish, you name it. beyond that we mostly ate in the room, with fresh fish and steamed jasmine rice with vanilla sauce and anything else we liked. as many others have noted, food is RIDICULOUSLY expensive via the hotel...but we didn't feel like leaving, so we (happily) paid the price!
activities
the resort offers any number of activities; with me pregnant, we chose not to go too crazy, but snorkeling was a highlight. we snorkeled with a sting ray and a huge (~10 feet across) manta ray, and any number of fish. every room comes with snorkel equipment so you can also pop it on and just hop into the lagoon from your deck, but the lagoon at the resort is all dead reef (so said our snorkel guides, who took us out on a boat elsewhere), so there are less to be seen. that said, we saw MANY rays (including one spotted) noodling around the bungalows, along with some small sharks.
spa
the spa is ridiculously awesome--and unlike many resorts, i was pleasantly surprised to find out that you can use the facilities for free without any spa services. what this meant was that the old pot and pan (who doesn't like spa services) got to use the steam room and sauna on the men's side - then lounge in the plunge pool - while i got massaged. we did this a few times during our stay--go in together, he'd utilize the entire spa while i got massaged, and we'd meet at reception afterwards--and really enjoyed it. they have free bottled water, chilled towels redolent of gardenia, banana oil (and other scents) for the massage...i could have just lived in that spa.
service
finally, the staff...it's a four seasons, so you know it's going to be phenomenal, right? beyond this, the french polynesian culture is so laidback and friendly (most employees were tahitian or french). they come across as genuinely nice...again, we didn't expect anything less for a four seasons, but it was still such a relief to be treated so well. we wanted for nothing.
the resort has a pool we used briefly, but the super awesomer thing is the HUGE bungalows you can lounge in for free poolside (other high end resorts like ritz carlton cancun charge for using their beachside or poolside bungalows/loungers). they are first come, first served, open air huts that withstand the rain, have waiter service, towels, bottled water and pillow to lounge on. we'd lay in there for a few hours some days just to relax, eat a casual lunch, and look at the rain.
speaking of rain...
weather
boy, did it rain a lot!! every day, and some days for at least half the day. i LOVE rain so this pleased me immensely, but it was a surprise: we understood our trip to be well past the rainy season. indeed our snorkel guide confirmed (it rained the morning we went snorkelling) that it was unusual to have so much rain at the end of april/early may...he chalked it up to climate change/the general unpredictability of weather.
when the rain ended, it would often be immediately sunny. it was HOT: we asked for a ride (the resort will pick you up in golf carts and drive you anywhere, if you're not inclined to walk) a few times because i was just too hot/not properly sunscreened enough to walk back to our bungalow from the spa or restaurant. but hot is ok there, because we were never too far from the water.
i hate cold water and a few times i had trouble inching my way in, but for the most part, the water is pretty warm. much warmer than anywhere else i'd been, and i imagine it gets warmer/more to my liking as june and july come around.
i guess that about covers it! it's probably clear from the bit i wrote above that i just didn't want to come home. i mean, the bungalow is a large enough apartment for our standards: we had a full rain shower, separate toilet and 2-person tub, separate sinks and vanities, separate bedroom with high ceilings, two flat screens...i could go on. my understanding is that bora bora itself doesn't have a proper hospital, or i might have tried to pressure my husband to just stay there and have the baby. we hope to return one day...
flights
we flew virgin america main cabin select (jfk-lax), air tahiti nui business (lax-ppt), and then just "board and find a seat" on air tahiti (tiny planes, one class). on the way to ppt our business class on air tahiti nui was upgraded, and first was WAY better than business (sleepsuits, almost flat seats, etc.).
vx has been discussed ad nauseum on flyertalk - and i noticed that several reviews have also been posted on air tahiti nui - so i won't bother here. one thing worth noting, if you end up going to bora bora yourself: the airport is not air conditioned, and it is HOT AS HELL. our flight was delayed and i was really hurting (pregnant--and even when not pregnant, not a person who does well in the heat). and this was at 7am!
the whole trip took about 24 hours from jfk and was pretty hard on me (besides the pregnancy, also had a cold), even with business class, but i imagine it'd be easier for a person in normal health and spirits.
resort
four seasons bora bora...what can i say that hasn't already been said, on this site and others? we had a mountain view overwater bungalow, and it was truly fantastic. you can see into the lagoon from different areas throughout the bungalow; you can jump right in from your deck; you can take a bath in a huge tub with the sliding doors wide open to the elements.
food
the room includes free breakfast daily: they have an astonishing buffet with fresh fruits, a fresh and ridiculously delicious juice daily (e.g., mango vanilla - vanilla is a huge export in tahiti), western foods (scrambled eggs, bacon, omelets cooked to order), japanese breakfast, raw fish, you name it. beyond that we mostly ate in the room, with fresh fish and steamed jasmine rice with vanilla sauce and anything else we liked. as many others have noted, food is RIDICULOUSLY expensive via the hotel...but we didn't feel like leaving, so we (happily) paid the price!
activities
the resort offers any number of activities; with me pregnant, we chose not to go too crazy, but snorkeling was a highlight. we snorkeled with a sting ray and a huge (~10 feet across) manta ray, and any number of fish. every room comes with snorkel equipment so you can also pop it on and just hop into the lagoon from your deck, but the lagoon at the resort is all dead reef (so said our snorkel guides, who took us out on a boat elsewhere), so there are less to be seen. that said, we saw MANY rays (including one spotted) noodling around the bungalows, along with some small sharks.
spa
the spa is ridiculously awesome--and unlike many resorts, i was pleasantly surprised to find out that you can use the facilities for free without any spa services. what this meant was that the old pot and pan (who doesn't like spa services) got to use the steam room and sauna on the men's side - then lounge in the plunge pool - while i got massaged. we did this a few times during our stay--go in together, he'd utilize the entire spa while i got massaged, and we'd meet at reception afterwards--and really enjoyed it. they have free bottled water, chilled towels redolent of gardenia, banana oil (and other scents) for the massage...i could have just lived in that spa.
service
finally, the staff...it's a four seasons, so you know it's going to be phenomenal, right? beyond this, the french polynesian culture is so laidback and friendly (most employees were tahitian or french). they come across as genuinely nice...again, we didn't expect anything less for a four seasons, but it was still such a relief to be treated so well. we wanted for nothing.
the resort has a pool we used briefly, but the super awesomer thing is the HUGE bungalows you can lounge in for free poolside (other high end resorts like ritz carlton cancun charge for using their beachside or poolside bungalows/loungers). they are first come, first served, open air huts that withstand the rain, have waiter service, towels, bottled water and pillow to lounge on. we'd lay in there for a few hours some days just to relax, eat a casual lunch, and look at the rain.
speaking of rain...
weather
boy, did it rain a lot!! every day, and some days for at least half the day. i LOVE rain so this pleased me immensely, but it was a surprise: we understood our trip to be well past the rainy season. indeed our snorkel guide confirmed (it rained the morning we went snorkelling) that it was unusual to have so much rain at the end of april/early may...he chalked it up to climate change/the general unpredictability of weather.
when the rain ended, it would often be immediately sunny. it was HOT: we asked for a ride (the resort will pick you up in golf carts and drive you anywhere, if you're not inclined to walk) a few times because i was just too hot/not properly sunscreened enough to walk back to our bungalow from the spa or restaurant. but hot is ok there, because we were never too far from the water.
i hate cold water and a few times i had trouble inching my way in, but for the most part, the water is pretty warm. much warmer than anywhere else i'd been, and i imagine it gets warmer/more to my liking as june and july come around.
i guess that about covers it! it's probably clear from the bit i wrote above that i just didn't want to come home. i mean, the bungalow is a large enough apartment for our standards: we had a full rain shower, separate toilet and 2-person tub, separate sinks and vanities, separate bedroom with high ceilings, two flat screens...i could go on. my understanding is that bora bora itself doesn't have a proper hospital, or i might have tried to pressure my husband to just stay there and have the baby.
we hope to return one day...
Last edited by BettyKat; May 28, 2012 at 3:45 pm Reason: typo