Honeymoon Archives - a Happy Healthy Home

The Grand Mayan Resort, Riviera Maya

Tiara — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:30:00 +0000

I can’t believe it’s been over a month since we were in Mexico. Time flys… Last month I posted an overview of the trip and today I’m breaking down the ~~mega resort~~ hotel. It truly was a small community!

We stayed at The Grand Mayan, Riviera Maya located 30 minutes south of Cancun and 15 minutes north or Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. The property is massive and consists of five “sub”resorts, three pools and seven restaurants. Oh and a golf course. (warning: this post contains a lot of pictures)

Here’s the entrance to “our” lobby.

There were tons of thatch roofs.

We stayed in a studio in the Jungle

The room was nothing over the top, but perfect for the week.

I wish my bathroom was this big at home

Of course we tried out the various restaurants. Havana Moon was located right on the beach. After dinner we made our way to the beach for a little dance party and moonlight stroll on the beach.

Havana Moon (restaurant, bar, beach club and cigar lounge)

Lights inside Havana Moon

Dinner one night at Freda’s.

restaurant Del Lago

They even have flamingos and alligators on the property.

and then there are the amazing pools….

One pool area even had a fake beach.

and the ~~real~~ beach…

At the end of the beach there was this little white house for sale. I think we might need to buy it

Typically when I travel I’m not a mega resort type of gal. I prefer a cute little place with big flavor, but we were able to book the hotel within a month before we left and during high season.

My over all impression/takeaway: The resort was amazing and the staff was lovely, but it was a bit more remote and we didn’t experience the local culture as much as we would have liked.

Psst: You can now find me over at Bloglovin

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The Honeymoon :: Riviera Maya, Mexico

Tiara — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:14:00 +0000

Hello Lovelies!

Let’s just stay after looking at all our honeymoon photos I’m ready for another vacation

I decided to break up the honeymoon posts, today’s will be a brief overview of our week long stay in Mexico!

Originally we were planning to honeymoon in South America, but with a job promotion (the Mr.) and major projects (me) we decided we needed some time relaxing beach side. Since we both love Mexico and were interested in seeing the Mayan ruins it was a unanimous decision to visit the Yucatan Peninsula which lead us to the Playa Del Carmen area.

I quickly called RCI and booked a room at The Grand Mayan – Riviera Maya and off we went.

This is what paradise looks like (from the hotel beach)!

We spent some time poolside, at the swim up bar…..

and lounging in our cabana.

There may have been one or two fresh Pina Coladas

We enjoyed a show.

Took a little trip to see some Mayan ruins – Chichen Itza to be exact.

Visited the oldest Church in the Yucatan.

Browsed local shops and stocked up on vanilla. Yes, vanilla. In my book it’s a must when in Mexico!

The sun might not set over the beach there, but we still experienced some breathe taking sunsets.

Most of all we relaxed, unplugged and enjoyed each others company!

It was so nice to getaway and much needed. The resort was massive and warrants a post of it’s own just like our excursion to Chichen Itza don’t worry I’ll be back with more honeymoon details very soon

Linking up with

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A Mexican Honeymoon with Meg from Henning Love

Tiara — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 20:30:00 +0000

Hi Ice Cream and French Fries followers!

My name is Meg and I blog over at henning love.

I am happy to be filling in for Tiara while she is off trotting around Playa del Carmen, probably drinking lots of margaritas, laying around catching an awesome tan while having an awesome honeymoon with her husband. Tiara asked that we stick to a travel-theme guest post and I thought since she is down in Mexico, I would stick to the theme and country and share our honeymoon in Cancun.

Sean and I have been married for 2.5 years and we got two honeymoons technically. Let me explain. Sean and I were married and then the following Saturday, exactly one week later, Sean was a bridesman in a friend’s wedding. So in between our wedding and the other wedding, we spent a few days down in Oceanside, went to his friend’s wedding and then jetted off to Cancun.

While waiting for our plane in the airport to take us to Cancun, we started talking to the woman sitting next to us and she commented she could tell we were honeymooners because Sean’s ring was a little too shiny to not be recently wed.

Anyways while in Cancun, we tried on sombreros of different sizes.

Then we tried on some masks.

We did some sight seeing at Chichen-Itza and a cenote.

We also made friends with larger than life animals.

And stopped for a cheeseburger in paradise at margaritaville…

By the end of our honeymoon, we were sad to leave and re-enter the real world although we were excited to start our marriage.

Our honeymoon was awesome, we had a great time and Tiara, I hope you and your husband are having as great a time that Sean and I did!

Can’t wait to hear about your honeymoon when you return.

Meg

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Around the World with Jane from In the Pink and Green

Tiara — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 20:30:00 +0000

Hi everyone!

First of all, thanks so much to the lovely Tiara for having me today while she’s out having fun on her honeymoon in sunny Mexico. As much as I love the winter here in Tahoe, I’m definitely more than a little jealous! So while she’s having drinks by the pool, let me tell you a little bit about moi. My name is Jane and I blog over at In the Pink and Green, which is basically my little corner of the internet where I showcase my passions–fun times with family and friends, travel and the outdoors, style and beauty, and last but not least–food! My husband and I started eating (mostly) Paleo about a year ago, and the recipes I feature on my blog are a mix of healthy Paleo dishes with some indulgent desserts thrown in the mix! Although I’m originally from Michigan, I’ve been happy to call Tahoe home for the past year, and like Tiara, I definitely enjoy all that this beautiful place has to offer! So now that your up to speed on me, time to dive in to today’s topic…a subject near and dear to my heart and perfectly fitting seeing as Tiara’s currently on her honeymoon–travel!

When Tiara asked me to guest post for her on a travel-related topic, I couldn’t make up my mind exactly what to talk about. Since getting married in June of 2009, my husband Cameron and I have lucky to be able to take some great vacations. While we’ve really enjoyed getting to travel all over the US–that’s what happens when you’re from Michigan, your husband is from Oregon, and you’ve lived in four states since tying the knot! However, the trips that really stick out in my mind are the three times that we’ve traveled outside of the country since getting married. So rather than just pick one favorite vacation, I thought I’d briefly talk about and share a few photos from each of these beautiful places!

Jamaica

We went to Negril, Jamaica for our honeymoon in June 2009 and stayed for a week. After our wedding we just wanted somewhere that we could go and relax, and Jamaica was the perfect place to do that. We stayed at a hotel that had meals and drinks included, but it was a little smaller and lacked some of the amenities of larger resorts. However, it was a great deal and overall traveling to Jamaica was fairly affordable, so I’d highly suggest it if you want to go to the Caribbean on a budget. We were able to snorkel, lay on the beach, and hike through waterfalls–good times!

Europe

In May of 2010, my husband and I took a six-week trip to do the whole cliché backpacking around Europe experience. And it was AMAZING. We decided to take the trip because my husband had just finished grad school and had a break before starting his new job and I’m so glad we did it. We started out in London, then went to Paris, Bruges, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, Munich, Venice, Rome, Cinque Terre, Interlaken, and Frankfurt. To be able to see so much of Europe was incredible; the landscape is beautiful, the food is so so good, and the different cultures are fascinating. We got the full backpacking experience as well–carried just our backpacks for six weeks (a feat for someone who is a compulsive overpacker!), we stayed in hostels (some nicer than others…), and had an unlimited Eurail pass (so convenient!). Plus, we were able to celebrate our first wedding anniversary in one of the most beautiful countries on Earth–Italy! I’m dying to get back to Europe soon, but nothing will ever top that first trip!

{Paris}

{Prague}

{Salzburg–that’s the house from the Sound of Music in the background!}

{Venice}

{The Swiss Alps}

Turkey and Israel

Two months ago, my husband and I took a trip to the Middle East where we spent three days in Istanbul and eight days in Israel. Both were places on our bucket lists, and they were absolutely magical to visit. Istanbul is an extremely vibrant city that has soon much interesting history, and we packed our three days there full of sightseeing. Our time in in Israel was jam-packed; we got to see so much of the county and it was really moving to visit a place of such spiritual significance to us both. The food was amazing and despite what you see on the news, we felt very safe. I’d highly recommend everyone visit Israel!

{The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul}

{Boat cruise on the Bosphorous River}

{Tel Aviv}

{The Sea of Galilee}

{Jerusalem}

{The Western Wall}

We’ve been fortunate to have some really amazing international adventures during the past 3.5 years of marriage, and I’m excited to continue traveling with my husband in the years to come. As for where we’re headed next, I know we’d both like to travel to another continent (or two) before we have kids so some of our top choices for future trips would be Thailand, Peru, Argentina, or New Zealand! We’ll see where life takes us…
{You can read more about our travels here}

Thanks so much to Tiara for having me today, and I hope you’ll stop by In The Pink & Green and say hello!

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Honeymooning in St.Thomas with Kaitlyn from Wifessionals

Tiara — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:30:00 +0000

Hello! I’m Kaitlyn and you’ll normally find me over at Wifessionals. I was so excited when Tiara asked me to come and hang out with you guys for the day.

That yummy man standing next to me is my husband, Ryan. We just got married last June. Ryan is an officer in the Army, so that has made for an interesting life adjustment for me.

I began “adjusting” a week after we got married in Nashville. Ryan got orders to move out to Arizona, so we packed up our entire life and almost immediately drove out there!

We were blessed enough to squeeze a honeymoon in between the wedding and move. That’s what I’m here to share with you today.

Our lovely honeymoon to

– St. Thomas –

A little narration for you:

The first picture is us landing in St. Thomas! Right when we got to the resort we realized they were trying to stiff us. They put us in a downgraded room from what we paid for and then were arguing with us – hence the stink faces. I finally got it straightened out and we got dressed up for dinner. Mid – dinner Ryan started feeling sick so we went back upstairs. He ended up being sick that entire first night. Great start to a honeymoon!

All the other days Ryan felt great! It was SO beautiful there.

We played a lot of bingo, had unlimited FREE drinks, saw a couple get married on the beach, and snorkeled our hearts out…

I chased a ton of iguanas & we FINALLY won bingo!!!

Our faces show you how we felt about the resort food by the end of the trip…there was no variety and it was all kind of blah…but that was really the only thing we could complain about!

We were sad to board our plane to go home, but I thought it was crazy that you board straight from the tarmac!

Overall, St. Thomas was a fabulous place to honeymoon!

It was gorgeous and I loved having time to spend with my new husband before our big move to Arizona!

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Honeymoon Tips from Natasha at Schue Love

Tiara — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 20:30:00 +0000

Hello! I’m Natasha from Schue Love and so excited to cover for Tiara while she is off enjoying her honeymoon in Mexico! Thinking of her while she and her husband enjoy their honeymoon, makes me reminisce back to the trip we went on…to Kauai! It was such a wonderful trip and really great to actually relax and enjoy time together as husband and wife.

I wanted to offer some tips and highlight some things we did there while hopefully inspiring a trip to the Hawaiian Islands as well! I know I could use a trip there, especially with the frigid weather both Tiara and I have been experiencing in Tahoe lately!

I definitely recommend renting a car wherever you go on your honeymoon! It will give you a chance to explore the area get away from the resort for a little while. We got to see all of Kauai during our week-long stay and I loved being able to visit other ares and restaurants outside of our hotel.

Speaking of our hotel, we stayed at the Grand Hyatt and highly recommend it! The property was gorgeous and the staff was super accommodating.

Take some fun shots! We went on the catmaran trip and loved seeing the island from the ocean.

Be sure to get some couple shots! It’s hard when it’s just the two of you, but you will get the hang of it pretty fast!

Document one week of being married by splurging and going to a nice restaurant!

Take a walk on the wild side! I am scared to death of heights but we opted to go on a helicopter tour with NO doors and it was 1,000% worth it!

We got gorgeous views like this one! Ahhh! Take me back now!

For more pictures from our honeymoon, you check out my post here.

Thanks to Tiara for having me today and enjoy every second of your honeymoon!!

xo natasha

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A European Honeymoon with Casey from True Colours

Tiara — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 20:00:00 +0000

Hi Friends!

If you’re just tuning in yours truly is in sunny Playa Del Carmen, Mexico for a delayed honeymoon and mini break from the snowy winter. I’m sure I’m relaxing poolside, drinking a cocktail with an umbrella by now.

Don’t worry I’ve lined up some fantastic guest blogs for you. Today I’m hosting my first ever guest post! I’m delighted to introduce the lovely Casey from True Colours. I absolutely love her blog, it’s all about travel. Don’t forget to check back and give the other ladies some love too.

xo – Tiara
______________________________

Hey readers, I’m Casey from True Colours (yes, spelled the European way as I love all things Europe) guest posting today while Tiara is off enjoying the sun in Mexico! While she’s off on her honeymoon, I thought it’d be a perfect time to recap on my honeymoon 2.5 years ago when my husband and I jetted off for 2 weeks in London and Paris.

It was my first time in London, and my first time returning to Paris after having been there as a kid many times over 10 years previously. Needless to say we had a magical trip and my Paris love affair began again. Paris and London are two of my all time favorite cities in the world and both feel like second homes. We have since been back to both numerous times and they are both on the itinerary for our travels this coming year.

You’re welcome to check out my travel guides on both cities here and here and I have much more on both places on my blog. But looking back on these honeymoon photos has been so much fun and has brought back so many wonderful memories. Paris and London are magical always and there is nothing quite like strolling the Left Bank or grabbing a pub lunch in Notting Hill. There is something about these cities that takes your breath away just by being themselves and I can’t wait to be back in both of them again this coming year!

London

Photo copyright to Nick Nieto Photography

Paris

Photo copyright to Nick Nieto Photography

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