CHIC Punta Cana Trip

This post is a few months late (and back dated) because just thinking about my trip experience has a tendency to make me sick. Toward the start of summer, Brian and I decided to go away for a few days. We considered going to the US for an extended weekend and considered some places like the Pocono Mountains, Niagara Falls, Michigan etc. However when I looked in prices these places were the same price level as an week-long all inclusive vacation. Likely due to summer vacation and the fact that many people prefer island destination travel to take place in the winter and not the summer. It seemed silly to only go for a few days and have nothing included when we could go for a week and be in a tropical paradise with all our meals, drinks, included.

 

So I booked with the "Sunwing Surprise Escapes" which ensured a stay at one of four "five star" resorts. That promotion should have been called "Chic Escape" as pretty much anyone I talked to online or on the plane was heading to Chic. Which makes sense since Sunwing has ownership in it, so I wasn't too surprised that of the four choices it turned out to be the cheaper "budget luxury" brand. When we arrived it looked amazing - beautiful lobby, gorgeous decor. There were cold towels being handed out as well as some pesto-bismol looking cocktail rimmed with colored candy. You could see the palm trees and glimpses of the ocean in the distance. So it seemed like the trip was going to be as amazing as we planned. 

Check in went okay. They tried to up-sell us to diamond which would have been over $1000.00 more for the added benefit of a private lounge, private beach area, butler service, better liquor, a nicer bracelet and a better room. Maybe for a few hundred more I could see the value but not for that much more. Plus all the diamond rooms are right by the pool and either facing the pool or an active construction site which I had read was very loud. I wanted a quiet room so we stuck with what we booked and were at one of the buildings behind the reception. These buildings seem like an after thought and are clearly separate from anything diamond related. It was like they wanted to ensure we knew that our second-class place on the resort. 

Our first room was in building 6 on the main floor. While the decor was nice and the room spacious the smell of mildew was overwhelming. We tried airing out the room and stayed there for about 25 minutes but the smell was awful and making us gag. Considering the resort is less then a year old I was shocked at how repugnant this room smelt. We went back to the lobby and were able to switch rooms - this time to building 7 on the third floor. This room looked the exact same in terms of decor and still had a slight moldy/mildew smell but was much less overpowering and easy to deal with. We found that keeping the AC on high and opening the balcony doors helped limit the smell. The AC would shut off the second the door opened so we made sure we were in the room when we did this so it didn't get too hot. If we left and didn't have the AC on the room became an oven by the time we got back - likely due to the June heat.

It was after 3:00 by this time and everything but the snack bar - Munchies - was closed for food so we went there. My husband ordered a burger which was slider size and when he bit into it, found a piece of bone inside. I had nachos which I ultimately passed on eating as they were covered with this awful fake cheese sauce, think much lower quality then movie theaters. 

The pool area was beautiful - lots of pool chairs, a few umbrellas, a large spacious pool area and shallow areas where lounge chairs could be placed right inside the water. There wasn't really anything shaded (the umbrellas didn't even provide much shade) so my husband knew he wouldn't be outside between 11:30-1:30 each day. One thing I was surprised to notice was the Diamond Club swim out rooms. If I had paid the extra 1000.00+ for this room I would have been very disappointed. The impression I had gotten and the way most swim out rooms are, is that you can leave your room and be directly in the pool. Usually it's done lazy river style which then takes you to the main pool area. That wasn't the case here. The swim out rooms were just rooms with a square shaped small mini pool area attached. There were two chairs in the water and a small area that you could sit, stand, semi-float in. There were all attached in a row but there were walls between each room so you were confined to your space. They backed onto the pool area but the wall was high so you couldn't get to the main pool from your swim out pool without going into the room and leaving from the front door. A few times the waiters were serving people in their room pools but for the most part they weren't in use during the day. I think it was something that people used more at night more and hung out at the main pool during the day. Honestly it seemed like a huge waste of money and something I am glad I didn't upgrade to.

That night we went to the Italian restaurant for diner which again was beautifully decorated with a decent menu. The food was okay - probably the best food of the trip when you look at the overall picture but that isn’t saying much. I had pizza which was decent and Brian had lamb. By this point we were both thinking the resort had some pros and cons, but it was going to be a great vacation.

The next day we went over to meet with the excursion people which was a disappointment. The options were more limited then I had expected and the prices insane. We decided to go into a shopping area later in the week but not bother with any of the tours and just save the money. Breakfast was laughable – I have never encountered such a horrible buffet. The food looked like it had been sitting for days and the overall facility just looked dirty and didn’t make me want to eat anything from them (I opted for a box of dry fruit loops). Same for lunch – everything just looked old, and about to go bad. The pool area was amazing – very beautiful, truth be told any positive experiences I had at this resort were at the pool. But again due to the lack of shade, I was here alone. Brian would have burnt to a crisp if he tried to sit outside with me. Still I spent most of the time here – reading, swimming and trying to make the best of it all. 

One of the absolute worst aspects was the “concierge” of our building. You are led to think he’s there to make sure your stay goes as planned, but really it’s a timeshare ploy. We went to the “information session about the resort” after asking 5 times if this was about timeshare and being assured it wasn’t. Yet when we get there we learn it is indeed about Timeshare. Then when we walk out – as we have Timeshare elsewhere – the concierge treats us horribly for the rest of the day/trip. Not very comforting as he is able to get in and out of our room and knows when we have left to go to dinner etc.

We ate at the Steakhouse one night which was just okay. The best part was when I ordered a non-alcoholic drink, and the waiter gave me something with Blue Curacao and told me that wasn’t alcoholic… Yup, the staff were that knowledgeable! The Sushi place was probably the best restaurant in terms of taste and quality, but the Moroccan I don’t even want to think about. After eating there I got so incredibly sick – sicker then I have ever been in my life. Maybe it was the food there (you never know for sure) or maybe it was the bottled water (which never seemed sealed and to which I saw a maid refill from the tap which they tell you not to use). Regardless as careful as I was (only eating fruit you can peel, staying away from produce, cheese and anything else that can go bad, and not drinking anything but water I could tell was sealed) I was violently ill. 

A few days before leaving I had found out I was pregnant (which had nothing to do with how sick I got, a doctors visit home and testing proved I ate something at the resort which caused it). But anyways, because I was newly pregnant I didn’t want to risk staying there and being that sick. I had heard horror stories about medical care in Dominican, so at an added cost to us (since Sunwing wouldn’t let us swap flights and wanted another $1000.00 to get us home) Brian and I left. The trip ended up being a disaster and a complete waste of money – but we got home safely and thankfully the baby wasn’t impacted by the illness.

Below is my Trip Advisor Review of Chic Punta Cana:

“I am still amazed at how awful my trip here was. The resort has put all its money into make sure everything looks beautiful - the lobby, the restaurants, the decor, the rooms, the pool, etc. Any photo will make you fall in love with this resort - but photos don't tell the whole story.

Check in - they tried to upgrade up to a diamond room for an extra $1000.00+ which didn't make sense given the limited benefits. We stuck with what we booked and our room was way at the back --- making sure we knew our place as second class citizens in the resort hierarchy (trust me - we were treated accordingly).

Rooms - first room had an overpowering smell of mildew which made us gag. Second room still had it but to a lesser degree.

Food - was simply horrendous. I stayed elsewhere in Punta Cana a few months earlier, spent less and had much better food. The quality was questionable - bones in a burger, rancid cheese, a buffet that looked like it was seeing the same food from days earlier. The Italian was prob the only edible restaurant and even then it wasn't good. Room service was laughable. Watch out for the bottled water as hardly any of the seals were intact and I actually saw the maid refilling my bottled room in the room.

Staff - some were friendly, others clueless. The worst was when I ordered a non-alcoholic drink and got one with blue curaçao. The waiter told me that isn't alcohol just a coloring product. Then came back 45 mins later to tell me he was wrong and it was alcoholic (which I figured).

The pool was great - but you have to get there early for a chair. The beach was okay - as a lot of Dominican there is a lot of seaweed and such which is to be expected.

Honestly I feel sick thinking about this trip. I got sick four days in and had to leave early - despite the high cost to get home I was glad to leave.

The value isn't there. Considering it's a new resort the facilities look better then they actually are. And the restaurants need a massive overhaul. If you are heading to Punta Cana look into Punta Cana Princess - I had a much better trip there.”

So needless to say I don’t recommend this vacation spot!

All Things Christmas [Part Three – Various Traditions]

In addition to the Festival of Lights, I have a few annual Christmas traditions which add a lot of love and fun to the holidays. Isn't that really what the season is all about? Spending time and making memories with those we love? 

Shopping with Nanny: Up until I was 7 years old, my dad would take Adam and I shopping for our mom. Each shopping trip followed the same pattern – go to the mall, hit the main box store (Sears, Zellers or The Bay), go to housewares, pick up a pot or something kitchen related, buy it, then head to an electronic store to look at the remote control products. I was against this for a number of reasons – First, mom didn’t even like to cook. Secondly, I hated remote controlled anything. And third, I wanted to look around and find the perfect gift. I don’t know exactly how it happened but I eventually complained to Nanny about the injustice of it all and from then on she would take me shopping. I treasured these Nanny-Chantal trips as we would spend hours at the mall going from store to store. She never rushed me and put up with my obsessive need to keep looking (usually only to go back and buy the first thing I saw) and we would usually stop and have lunch or pie at Gallentry’s (man, I miss that place!). Once I was older I tended to shop more on my own, but every Christmas there is at least one day that we go shopping together. Usually Mom and/or Aunt Honey join us, but the fact remains its still our tradition and has always been “our” thing! (Eventually Dad and Adam stopped with the kitchen-related gifts and began actually picking out things mom would actually want/enjoy!)

Christmas Shopping with my Brother: While on the topic of shopping traditions this is another one I have. Adam and I are very different. That’s not to say we don’t get along but we don’t really have many similar hobbies or interests. A few years back we started spending one day together at Christmas and shopping for our parents. A few times these shopping trips resulted in brother-sister arguments over what to get them (the worst one being when we both refused to budge and my dad ended up with a monkey table and a wine holder) and more often then not they ended with older sister picking up the tab amid promises of “I’ll pay you back later!” Regardless of all that, they are moments that will always have a special place in my heart because it was just us.    

This was what Adam ended up getting Dad the year we had a huge argument over gifts. I personally hated this thing and still do, but Dad loves him.  

Cookie Baking with Amanda: For about the last 6-7 years Amanda and I have gotten together to spend a day baking. She makes her usual short bread cut outs and I usually make something else – this year it was my Nutella cookies. We spend the day hanging out in yoga pants, drinking wine, eating some incredibly bad for you-yet-delicious take out and being silly. A few years back she gave me these ABC gingerbread men cutters (Already Been Chewed) and someone else bought me a set of Ninja Gingerbread Men ones. Most years our cookies end up being a strange mix of traditional and silly. This year Amanda confessed that she absolutely hates baking these cookies, and only does because it’s our tradition. That’s definitely a sign of a true best friend! 

Distillery District Christmas Market: For the last few years Brian and I have been going downtown for this. It’s Toronto’s version of the European Christmas Markets with little booths set up selling handmade products/edibles and various food/drink vendors. We’ve always gone on the weekends and it’s been packed with swarms of people – couples, friends, families – it’s become a huge tourist attraction. This year was by far the worst. I don’t know if its because we went closer to Christmas or because it was a Saturday night – but either way it was chaos. The booths are all full of interesting and unique items but the prices are often insane so we don’t tend to spend a lot of time looking at them anymore. Usually we only visit the beer gardens to have a quick drink or sample something (the Cider and Mulled Wine being my favorites) and go elsewhere for food but this time we decided to eat there. That was an adventure in itself! We each had a traditional sausage and shared some fancy poutine – both of which were good albeit over priced. Then Brian spied these huge Turkey legs and wanted one as well. We waited in the 30 minute line up only to realize it was the only booth that didn’t take debit. Brian ran off to find an ATM and I remained in line letting people go ahead of me. I think there were about 5-7 people who didn’t realize I was in line and letting people go ahead of me, and these people started throwing fits that I was “budding in” – That was fun. Meanwhile Brian went to the 4 ATMs on-site only to find them ALL out of money and he ended up having to leave the site and find a bank. He had been gone about 50 minutes and was just heading back when the booth announced they were down to their last 10 turkey legs. At this point I pulled out an American $20 and used that to secure one of the 10. This sucked for me as it was taken on par, at a time when the US dollar was much higher then ours. But Brian got his turkey leg – which unfortunately looked a lot better then it tasted! We didn’t stay much longer after that. The crowds were making it impossible to move and it just wasn’t as fun as it had been. Next year we will go back but we will make sure to go earlier when they first open – and we will probably go back to eating elsewhere. Still its a fun tradition that we have. 

The beautiful Christmas Tree! 

The end result of the Turkey Leg Drama 

One of the cute booths - this reminded me of the market in Budapest where I bought a bunch of handmade products as souvenirs. 

A collage from last year's market! 

Christmas Light Drives: I love driving around the area and checking out all the amazing Christmas light displays. It’s a fun way to spend the evening – sipping a candy cane hot chocolate and seeing all the bright lights. The brighter and crazier the better is my motto. Brian is much more into the traditional décor – white lights, classic and simple – but I love seeing the various colors and the whimsical decorations and absolutely love the over-the-top houses. I've already told him that when we have a house of our own I'll have dad send him out of town for "work" around Christmas and when he returns our house will look something like these! This year I found the show "The Great Christmas Light Fight" which quickly became my new favourite holiday TV Show! 

On the topic of Holiday drinks - I did find a new favourite at my beloved Starbucks - a Chai-Nog Latte. Basically it's a chai tea latte made with egg nog instead of milk. WOW! It's pretty much the most amazing drink I have ever tasted and made some of my holiday traditions extra special.  

Gingerbread House Decorating: This was a new tradition Brian and I started this year. I had actually never decorated a Gingerbread House and wanted to give it a try. We wanted to actually bake our own houses but no matter how hard I searched I couldn’t find the cookie cuter set that would make that possible, so we settled on a kit from the store. We each got a house and spent an afternoon gathering up supplies from the Bulk Candy store. I managed to find one of the rare stores in the area that carried Necco wafers as according to Brian they are a crucial element to Gingerbread roofing. Looking back, I took this way too seriously. I think because it was my first time doing it I was both overwhelmed and hit with the desire to make the perfect house. I am a little ashamed to admit this but I re-roofed my house 4 times! Once I managed to let it go a bit, I had a lot more fun. Brian’s house was a bit more traditional – he did the Necco roof and made it very simple with a bit of candy mixed in. Mine however was a bit over the top and became a house worthy of being a palace in the Candyland Realm!

I learned a lot from this attempt and will definitely give it a try next Christmas. One main thing I will keep in mind is that sometimes less is more!   

My Candy Palace! 

Brian's traditional house!

Watching Sappy Christmas Movies: Sappy Christmas Movies are my guilty pleasure. I spend all of Nov/Dec searching the TV guide and taping movie after movie. Often Dad and I watch them together – or at the very least discuss which ones we have seen. While there are ones that air year after year, there always seems an abundance of news ones to choose from. The Hallmark Channel isn’t something we get here, so usually we are a year behind in terms of those Holiday movies. But the W network and Showcase always have a great selection. Of all the movies I saw for the first time this season, the following were my favourites:

The Christmas Shepherd, Window Wonderland, Christmas Hope, Christmas at Cartwrights and The Christmas Ornament. Of course I also have a list of ones I watch year after year like The Sound of Music and Love Actually.

Pottery Painting: A few years ago I took Paige to a local paint-your-own-pottery studio so that she could make some Christmas gifts for her parents. Now it’s become a tradition that we do annually. This year we tried a new place that is closer to where I live – The Clay Emporium. I am so glad I found this place! While I liked where we used to go, I much prefer this place. Not only is it closer, but it is much larger and better laid out. The tables/chairs are more comfortable and the selection of pieces and colours is much better. Over the past few years we are joined by other family/friends - this year it was Paige, Amanda, Nanny and myself. I am not really the most artistic person but I love pottery painting! It is such a fun activity and an opportunity to be a little bit creative. This year Paige painted a beautiful mug for her dad and a purse bank for her mom. I did a mug (it didn’t turn out how I planned) and a trinket box for Paige. Nanny made a vase and Amanda did a mug and Christmas ornament.

Overall it was another wonderful Christmas season filled with some amazing and fun times. I really am blessed to have such great family and friends to share the holidays with.

Me and my Godmother!

The Scottish song that we sing every Christmas Eve - "You Canny Shove Your Granny Off a Bus"

Christmas Themed Girls Night 

Pappy and his Granddaughters!

All Things Christmas [Part One – Planning and Shopping]

Anyone who even remotely knows me will tell you that I am a bit Christmas-obsessed. It is my favourite holiday/time of the year and I go all out. I start my decorating as soon as Halloween is over (this is no joke, I actually start on November 1^st) and will have my Christmas Cards done and mailed as soon as the American Thanksgiving is over. Most years I am finished shopping by the first week of December with packages having already been sent out and gifts wrapped. My Christmas crazy extends into many elements – planning, shopping, baking and various traditions.

The leaves may still be on the ground, but the Christmas decorations are being put up! 

Planning

I think that planning is one of the main reasons that I enjoy the holidays so much. With a clear plan I can ensure that everything gets done by a reasonable date and actually spend time having fun with family and friends. Before the Christmas season is upon us, I spend a little bit of time updating my lists of whom I am buying for and setting budgets. I use the mGifts app which has been a lifesaver! It lets me set up people and budgets and I can easily track what I get them (and what I have gotten them in previous years) and track the status of it using categories like need, purchased, wrapped, shipped, ideas and archives. While it doesn’t exactly keep me in budget each year it definitely helps ensure that I am keeping track of money spent and gifts bought.

I also make lists in terms of my Christmas cards. Ideally I try and start working on them at the start of November. While this may seem early, there were a few years where I had them all done and ready before the 1^st of September. That was a bit much so I now wait until at least the end of Halloween. I spend a few evenings at the kitchen table listening to some Christmas songs while I write out my well wishes. I have also cut back dramatically on these going from sending out almost 200 cards to about 90. I keep track of who sent cards back/acknowledged them and keep that in mind for future years. My Christmas Card shopping has become a bit of an addiction on its own – every year before and after Christmas I stockpile boxes and boxes of Christmas Cards. I am a sucker for the cute designs and anything that sparkles! This year when my mom and Nanny needed cards, they didn’t bother buying them – they just picked from my selection!

Brian needs a Beer to help prepare for the Christmas Card Pile he has to sign.
This wasn't even all of them that year! 

I also start my baking early. I love Christmas baking but learned the hard way how little fun it can be when I am rushing to finish it within the last few weeks. Plus the prices shoot way up closer to Christmas. Now I start narrowing down my recipes, stockpiling supplies and bake 1-2 things each week. I freeze them and usually assemble treat boxes a few days before Christmas which are given out to family, friends and co-workers.

My Holiday Motto!

Shopping

Ideally, I tend to Christmas shop all year round. When out and about I will keep my eyes open for gift ideas and pick up a few things here and there for people on my list. In previous years I have done a large chunk on Black Friday and used the Thanksgiving Holiday to ship out gifts to Brian’s American family members. I am very much a deal-oriented shopper and will pick up things at various outlet malls and sales I encounter. This is allowed me to find some amazing designer products at reasonable prices. I used to leave my Christmas shopping until the last minute but stopped doing that once I was working at retail at the local mall. The last thing I wanted to do before/after or on my day off was walk around the mall! I also found the closer Christmas was the more unhappy and rude fellow customers and employees were. 

So now, while I may run out to a store or two during the last two weeks of Christmas it’s always for a specific item with a specific plan in place. Brian on the other hand is completely the opposite and leaves all his shopping until the 22^nd-24^th of December. It must be a guy thing as my dad and brother do this as well.

Plus, getting my shopping done early means more Starbucks dates with this guy!