Topics: travel destinations, romantic getaway, #travelwithfriends, #milestonebirthday, #viptravelexperience, travel planner, Romance Travel, travel

                                                                                                                                                    

Just ask anyone that has had Personal Butler Service at Sandals...Once you have experienced vacation with a butler, it is really hard to imagine not having a butler on all your vacations.

 

Why do butlers make for the best travel experience? It's where luxury meets exceptional hospitality!

Many clients are interested, but may be a little skeptical at first.  Some say "I don't need a butler, I'm not high maintenance."  While this may be true, none of us really need a butler, but if there is any way I can help elevate my clients experience - the butler service is one that makes them so happy.

 

I too was apprehensive at first about having a butler. When we first made the decision to have a suite with butler service, I was almost too embarrassed to let Nicola (our first butler) do anything for me. Then I learned what an honor it is for the staff to become a Butler. They sincerely love their jobs and it's almost disrespectful to not them do their jobs. They strive to do any and everything in their power to make your stay as special and as perfect as possible.  

 

 

When clients contact me about planning their trip, I try to share my experiences with a butler to see if that is something they would enjoy.  We determine what they are comfortable spending and if there is any way the budget will allow a butler, I highly recommend it.

Ten years ago we were planning our first visit to Sandals and we had dreamed of visiting St. Lucia for quite a while. However, after looking at what options fit our budget, we opted to visit Jamaica with a butler as opposed to St. Lucia without a butler.  As much as I hated not seeing St. Lucia ten years ago, I still think its the best decision we ever made, never before then have I felt so pampered --It's not something most of us experience too many times (until we return to Sandals). While the Sandals website provides a short list of the butler perks, it is only a starting point and just barely scratches the surface. I can never fully explain how awesome the butler service can be, because they take the que from each client. Their goal is to anticipate your every need and then exceed it. As a Sandals specialist, it makes my job so much easier because I feel relieved once my clients are in the hands of the butler, I know everything will be just perfect. Almost every client that has selected a suite with personal butler service comes back from vacation bragging that "their butler was the best ever." In fact I typically hear more about the butler than the excursions.  I have also noticed that clients that experienced butler service usually have their friends calling me within days of their return. I think really connecting with the local hospitality through the butlers, and island people fill our souls with gratitude and service. 

 

Curious about how to get the most value of butler service at Sandals?  Here are a few important things . . . 

 

Work with a travel professional!
Your travel professional will communicate your preferences the butler prior to your arrival. When you arrive, your travel professional will have already double checked that your suite is confirmed and your butler will have double checked that it is prepared per your preferences: Club Sandals Lounge keys, His and Hers plush robes with bed slippers, 24 hour room service, In-suite bar stocked daily with Mondavi wines, spirits, sodas, juices, water, fine Egyptian cotton linens and pillow menu including feather down pillows, coffeemaker with Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee and free wifi in room. Everything just to your liking!

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The butler knows your expected time of arrival and will be waiting for you in the lobby with lemongrass-scented hand towels to refresh you from your flight.
Here are just a few ways a butler enhances your arrival:

 

• Welcome cocktails and culinary treats
• Escorts you to your suite for check-in in the privacy of your suite and coordinates your luggage handling
• Provides you with resort and room orientation
• Reviews your personal preferences communicated through your travel professional
• Supplies a cell phone to reach him during your stay
• Offers to unpack your luggage
• Press your first night's clothes complimentary

During Your Stay

• Butler makes your dinner reservations, cabana rentals, spa treatments and any other activities you have added to your stay.
• Reserves your chair at the beach or pool and serves your favorite drinks while you relax
• Serves your lunch at the beach or pool
• Confirms your room is serviced while you are away and ensures it is kept in perfect order
• Ensures your table is arranged at the restaurants of your choice and escorts you to your table with preferential seating, skipping all lines
• Per your request, arranges a perfect romantic dinner for two in the privacy of your suite or patio.  They can order from any resort restaurant menu for dining in-suite.
• Shine/clean shoes for dinner
• Tend to your wardrobe
• Collect and return all laundry
• Leaves amenities in your room between meals (per the preferences provided by your travel professional or things he hears you mention during your stay)
• Ensures your bed is turned down and that you have anything you need for the night.
  
  
  

Before your Departure

• Provides you with check out details
• Offers to pack for your departure
• Ensures your bags are brought to the departure area
• Escorts you to the butler lounge to process check out
• Escorts you to your transportation and bids you farewell (i promise you will want to take them home with you, I know I did)

 

 

 A few other tips your Sandals specialist can help you decide: 

• For the same price as an entry level butler suite at one resort, you can stay in one of the top butler suite at another
• The higher the category of room, the bigger the room and better the view (usually)
• Some rooms have a private plunge pool or tranquility outdoor tub

Loosen Up:  

They will make it abundantly clear that they are at your beck and call, but who can wrap their head around that, right?  Remember, this is his job and you are depriving him of what he loves to do.  Making the most of your butler experience may include asking him for your favorite drink while you are on the beach,  or saving your chair at beach or pool or reserving your table at your favorite restaurant, etc.  The more you allow him to get to know you and learn about him and his life on the island, the more you will enjoy your stay.  Imagine your surprise when you return from dinner to find this?  He mentioned that he heard you mention your feet hurt.  

What to Expect?

Ask your travel professional what to expect.  Think about how much you hate to pack and unpack, take advantage of his offer.  I usually recommend that you unpack a few personal items and leave the rest for him to unpack while you are exploring the resort.  Or another idea would be to pack your personal items in a carry on which you unpack and ask the butler to unpack the other bags when they arrive.   Here's a little hint, my butler unpacked and packed WAY better than I did.

Remember, the only way they know what you want is if you speak up.  

Nothing makes you feel more special than a personal note on your pillow from your butlers reminding you "Love is All You Need".

    

True VIP Travel Experience is anything you want at the press of a button.  

It's okay to say no. Butler service is not for everyone and we understand and respect that. For those that are not comfortable with the idea, the concierge service at Club Sandals may be the right fit for you.  Club Sandals is a quiet lounge offering snacks and drinks and free wifi, televisions and even kindles to borrow.

As you know Sandals has a strict no tipping rule. However, butlers and spa attendants are the only Sandals employees that are able to accept tips from guests.  If your butler does an outstanding job enhancing your stay, consider leaving them a tip to show your gratitude.  If you aren't sure how to tip them, ask your travel professional. 

So is butler service worth every penny?  For me 100% yes, but you are the only one that can decide for yourself.  The one thing I tell my clients is if you aren't afraid to use your butler service, it is worth every single penny and much, much more!!  In my very humble opinion, once you try the butler service, it is almost impossible to go back!

Topics: #girlstrip, #bestvacation, #viptravelexperience, travel planner, planning the right trip, #reunion, travel concierge, travel consultant, #passportpassion, why use a travel agent, Best Vacation Value, group travel, paradiseescape

Travel heightens the experiences life gives us. It caters to the unique interests of each discerning wanderer. Taking ideal journeys for food and wine lovers, history buffs, families, the culturally curious and anyone who dreams of exploring this great wide world we live in.

 

Every person has a different travel personality. This can make it difficult in finding what should be top priority for the trip and it's our job as Travel Experts to figure out what type of traveler YOU are. This helps us customize your vacation to be exactly what you have dreamed and hoped it to be. There are many different personalities for travelers and none are mutually exclusive.

Here are just a few examples of some of travel styles we see most often.

 

What travel personality are you?

Escape Artist
For those choosing to escape for the holidays or escaping with the whole family and make it just a little more special, like Christmas in the Swiss Alps. These clients would probably prefer something cozy and more intimate to enjoy the company they're with as well as the scenery surrounding them. This client wants experiences to last a lifetime and add a little something extra to the festivities. Some activities may include dining or cooking class in home of local chef or in clients private villa renal, as opposed to cooking school.

Foodie
They seem to enjoy the culture and culinary experience from many different destinations and may be more interested in wine tastings, and authentic cooking classes over the typical sights and landmarks.

 

Active adventurer - All adventurers are not alike!
Testing their limits is what this traveler is all about. Clients that want action and adventure are usually going to want more secluded destinations that have kayaking, rock climbing, zip lining, hot air ballooning.  Anything to get that adrenaline flowing.  Yet the wanderer can be anywhere enjoying the exploration and immersing themselves in the culture maybe taking leisurely hikes or what about biking through wine country.   

Sightseers
Laid back, calm, happy-go-lucky, and typically the type of person who is up and ready to go so you can start soaking up anything and everything possible to fully take in your destination. These clients might have a specific destination in mind and ready to check places off that bucket list.

History Buffs
These clients love history, museums, and the arts. The client will be more prone to traveling to older, historically rich destinations. The want to see and hear about everything. They thirst for knowledge and are anxiously observing all the sights and sounds around them. Gearing the vacation to landmarks and museums, or maybe even the occasional castle.  These clients may enjoy after-hours tour of museums and other tours along these lines.

 

If you're wanting more travel inspiration and ideas for a travel inspired life click here.

 

Topics: #girlstrip, #bestvacation, #viptravelexperience, travel planner, planning the right trip, Italy, #reunion, travel concierge, travel consultant, why use a travel agent, Best Vacation Value, First Time Tips to Italy, group travel, paradiseescape

 

Hey VIP Travelers! I want to check in with you to see how are holding up. I hope you are finding some peace in your "new normal" during these times of social distancing and stay at home.  We are moving forward here.  I'm so thankful for the direction of improvement around the world.  Thank you to all that are helping to be part of the solution. We are definitely experiencing a completely different fall season than we had anticipated, but making it count just the same.  I'm very hopeful that we will come back stronger and better for the experiences we learned from this experience.  While my heart hurts, grieves really, for the many trips that were so beautifully imagined, designed and then grounded.  I hope your hopes are lifted for the future...that you will fly when you choose the time is right for you.   Through our associations with our national travel association, ASTA, we were able to voice concerns and arm ASTA with information needed for their talks with governmental officials to let them know how consumers were being affected.  As an industry, we sent many emails to our congressman begging for relaxing of rescheduling deadlines.  I recorded this little clip Behind the Scenes. I am so grateful for our clients' patience, understanding and for the many random acts of kindness from many of you.  It was very helpful to Justin and I.  I have really enjoyed following you on facebook and seeing the many positive and uplifting ways that you have made limoncello from the lemons we have been served. Do me a favor and shoot me an email and let me know is what information you would like to read about, what is helpful to you.  I'm anxious to move forward, whatever that looks like . . .  Keep Dreaming, we sure are!

 

justin@viptravelexperience.com tammy@viptravelexperience.com. I would love to make your dream come true.

Are you looking for the perfect travel destination to dream about?
We would love to help you with travel tips and more.

Topics: #viptravelexperience, travel planner, planning the right trip, why use a travel agent, Best Vacation Value, group travel, Italy Travel, experiencesnotthings, sicily

Venezia, a city unlike any other! Not just in Italy, but NO OTHER.  Show me a bucket list of travel destinations and I will be SHOCKED if Venice is not on it.

 

City on Water

I will NEVER forget the MAGICAL moment stepping into the water taxi and watching the city come to life.  Typically you will arrive in the morning and as your water taxi motors you to your hotel, you watch in amazement . . .  supplies arriving from the mainland and just the idea that there are NO CARS.  It is fabulous . . . the Grand Canal, the quiet hidden canals, narrow bridges!! Travel CAN change your life and it sure did that for me!

DON'T

Relax, breathe, slow breathing now, you're in the greatest travel destination I can think of!!  It's Italy and its slow and easy here.  Don't expect FAST service, enjoy the slow eats and slow living.  It's part of the Venice charm!!   Don't attempt to see all the sights I include on your itinerary . . . This is just plan B, C, & D depending on area you are in.  Don't miss the Bellini or Proseco!

No stress way to enjoy your Venice vacation

• Book early so that we can get you a quaint hotel in a great location with back access (you really don't want to pull your luggage on cobblestone streets).  
• When is the best time to go to vacation in Venice?  ANYTIME!!   I like  April/May, it's always busy, but LESS busy and the weather is great. 
• Take a locally guided tour of the HOT SPOTS and see them properly.  Sometimes if you don't know the story behind things, you can't fully appreciate the beauty and significance of it. How many times have you looked at something iconic and wonder "what's so great about that?"
  
• Hire assistants to transfer you at the airport, to the train station (and sometimes to your gondola  ha ha-you can and WE DID get lost-we could see it but with the alleys that just end, we just couldn't get there). I do believe in no-stress traveling.
  
• Hire drivers that will be waiting for you at the end of the train tracks.
• Take a walking guided tour with reputable, Italian based company.  Don't you want to hear unique stories of locals that were born and raised in Venice.  Oh the stories, they are amazing!  Skip the ques and get access to the sights, guides have pre-ordered priority access (included in tour) and you will make your way straight up to the mezzanine.  Get a close up view of the gold mosaic St. Mark's Basilica with marble inlays (this time I happened upon the Basilica right in time for mass-it was so beautiful).  Soak up all of the history, guides will take you a step back in time to the city's glorious past!!  As you walk along the corridors of Doge's Palace, your guide will share fascinating history of the Republic of Venice. Truly, don't skip the guide for St. Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace.  Oh and Cross the Bridge of Sighs and imagine for a moment the sadness of the prisoners taking their last look at beautiful Venice.  Ask about the most famous prisoner.
• Pick a couple of must-see spots, enjoy them, take it ALL IN!!  
• Private, serenade Gondola Ride (most people think they all include serenade, not so).  Definitely a highlight for me, the sweetest and most passionate serenade you can imagine--feels like you are the only people in Italy.
• Because everything in Italy revolves around food, take a Cicchetti Crawl.  Enjoy appetizers while sipping wine in a typical bacari and wander from the Cannaregio District to Strada Nuova and to the Rialo area.  With private tours, the owners will have your tapas and wines ready and waiting as you arrive.

Throw away the map

• Then throw the map away and wander, wander the Jewish Ghetto, hidden alleys, campo, piazza, cross the bridges.  Enjoy the fact, that you are walking in a maze.  Allow yourself to be surprised by venice in every turn. Enjoy getting lost in Venice.
  

• Use all of your senses, not only see all of the beauty, but take time to hear the beautiful Italian conversations, the chiming church bells, the serenades. Smell the wonderful fragrant, fresh fruit stands, or the earthy scent of truffles or pastries, spices as you pass the restaurants and salt water in the canals.
  

When you feel like it's a dream come true, it just keeps getting better!

The most important thing is to enjoy your Italy vacation.  Be  a traveler, not a tourist.  Sharpen your photography skills so you can capture "a snapshot in time" to remember the experience and preserve the memories forever  as you explore Venice, the city on water. Looking at my photos BRINGS ME BACK and its always such a beautiful memory! Justin Murphy shares some cool photo tips in this previous blog article.

I truly hope you get to go to Venice, call me, I would LOVE to help you plan the perfect Trip of a Lifetime!  Please tag us when you show off your Venice Travel Adventure  @VIPTravelExperience! (P.S.  don't get too caught up in the photos that you MISS the moment)

Topics: #girlstrip, #bestvacation, #viptravelexperience, travel planner, planning the right trip, travel concierge, travel consultant, #passportpassion, why use a travel agent, Best Vacation Value, group travel, Italy Vacation, Italy Travel, Italy Photographer, Italy Travel Tips, Anniversary Travel, Honeymoon

 

The beauty of traveling with someone whose company you enjoy!!     “Sharing adventures means enjoying them 100% more.” That includes vacations!! The beauty of sharing travel with someone whose company you enjoy is wonderful because the trip doesn’t end when you get home! On my recent trip to Sicily with my BFF, we purchased wine, pasta, and everything needed to recreate some of the wonderful meals we experienced there. When we prepare and share this food and wine to share with our family and friends, we will recreate the memories of the incredible times we had on our trip. We are also carving out some time to create photo books of our trip together – looking through all our photos, remembering the time we had chocolate bars and hot cocoa on the steps outside the oldest chocolate shop in Modica…the time we climbed to the top of the Mount Etna volcano amid freezing, blustery winds…the time we made pizzas from scratch and baked them in a stone fire oven in Aragona…These and so many more memories will be relived through the process of preparing our photo books – SHARING our adventures, enjoying them AGAIN and AGAIN. Think of the benefit of a “girls’ trip” where you have several friends experiencing the joy of travel together!   The same benefit apply when traveling with couples!  If you and your spouse enjoy traveling together, why not invite other couples to join you on your next adventure?  Again the SHARING of the activities on the trip and the reliving of the memories once you're home multiplies!  Traveling with small groups (for example 2-4 couples together) can actually provide opportunities for private tours that you may not be able to afford as one couple.  Sharing expenses will allow your group to afford more exclusive, bespoke experiences that are available in so many destinations - private cooking classes, privileged tours, and exclusive guides - things that will make your one-of-a-kind trip so much more memorable!   So, when planning a girls' trip for you and your besties or a romantic getaway for you, your hubby, and some close couple friends, VIP Travel Experience can help!  We can design the perfect experience for you, customized to the interests and tastes of all of your travelers.  We want to share in the planning of the perfect vacation for you to enjoy because ... Sharing adventures means enjoying them 100% more!

 

If this sounds like your perfect, no worry vacation, email us justin@viptravelexperience.com tammy@viptravelexperience.com. I would love to make your dream come true.

Are you looking for the perfect travel destination?  We would love to help you with travel tips and more.

Topics: #viptravelexperience, travel planner, planning the right trip, why use a travel agent, Best Vacation Value, group travel, Italy Travel, experiencesnotthings, Girls Trip

Topics: #viptravelexperience, travel planner, planning the right trip, #RiverCruise, why use a travel agent, Best Vacation Value, group travel, experiencesnotthings

 

The Benefits of Packing Light – especially on an itinerary where you will be moving and changing locations a good bit – cannot be underestimated. In fact, it can be the difference between an enjoyable vacation and a miserable one! You will never meet anyone who says “I wish I had packed heavier” when they return from a journey. Rick Steves, the Public TV European travel guru, only allows the members of his escorted tours to bring 1 carry-on size piece of luggage per person...even when the tour is 3 weeks long! Can’t be done? Yes it can...and it should! I’ve done it myself, and schlepped all over Europe with my kids with one carry-on each for a month!Admittedly, I was ready to make a big bonfire and burn the clothing in that carry-on when we returned home from our journey, but the advantages outweighed the disadvantages by a huge margin!Every morning we would dress quickly in whatever outfit was clean and appropriate for the day. I started thinking of my wardrobe as my “travel uniform”. We were there to learn and expand our horizons...not worry about what we were going to wear. Doing a little laundry along the way won’t kill anyone – in fact, it can be a real adventure!1. We could move quickly from place to place....No worries about big suitcases and where we would fit our luggage on the train or bus or taxi. A lot of European hotels have no elevator, so lugging heavy bags up and down stairs can be a real bummer. 2. Having too much luggage “marks” you as a typical tourist. Con artists figure you’re helpless and you become a serious pickpocket or scam target. 3. We saved enough money in checked luggage fees to treat ourselves to some special “extras”. We also saved time by not having to wait around at baggage claim. We were off and starting our adventure while everyone else was standing around waiting for the bags to arrive. 4. Here are my suggestions for cutting back on the amount of “stuff” you think you need on your next trip:  Spread out everything you think you might need on the living room floor. Pick up each item one at a time and ask yourself “Will I really use this enough to justify carrying it over the Swiss Alps?” (or wherever you are heading) When in doubt, leave it out!  Don’t pack for the worst-case scenario...Pack for the best-case and buy yourself out of any jams along the way. Risk shivering for a day rather than taking a heavy jacket. Buy a cheap umbrella from one of the many street vendors who "miraculously" appear when the drops start to fall. If you think it “might come in handy”, it should stay home.  Pack exactly the same whether you’re traveling for three weeks or three months. Rather than take a whole trip’s supply of toiletries, take enough to get started and replace them along the way. Believe it or not, Europeans use toothpaste, lotion, hair gel, soap and (sometimes) deodorant! It’s fun to go into a general store and stock up on local brands on the fly!  Invest in a good quality piece of luggage that fits your needs. Rick Steves offers a few options in his travel store at www.ricksteves.com/travelstore that are reasonably priced and come with or without wheels. If you are healthy enough to carry your bag, do it...suitcases on wheels don’t get along with cobblestone streets very well.... So weed out the unnecessary, pack your bag and go walk around the block a few times to get a good idea of what you will be dealing with. You will thank me later! Remember, in your travels, you’ll meet two kinds of tourists – those who pack light and those who wish they hadIf you're interested in a perfect, no worry vacation, email us justin@viptravelexperience.com tammy@viptravelexperience.com. I would love to make your dream come true.

Are you looking for the perfect travel destination?  We would love to help you with travel tips and more.

Topics: #viptravelexperience, travel planner, planning the right trip, #RiverCruise, why use a travel agent, Best Vacation Value, group travel, experiencesnotthings

Topics: #viptravelexperience, travel planner, planning the right trip, #RiverCruise, why use a travel agent, Best Vacation Value, group travel, experiencesnotthings