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Honeymoon Splurges
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Dining
à deux in Fiji
Well, after all, it
is your honeymoon! If ever there was a time to throw caution to
the winds, it's now. A few ideas from the pages of The World's
Greatest Honeymoons to inspire you:
Sea Route to
Quebec City: Precede your
visit to Quebec City with an unforgettable six-night, small-ship
cruise up the St. Lawrence River. Along the way you'll wind through
the 1000 Islands (there are actually 1,870 islands in this 50-mile
stretch of river). You'll witness a candlelight procession at the
religious shrine of Notre Dame du Cap Shrine, take a guided tour of
Montreal, ride in a horse-drawn wagon through a "living" 1850 village,
and much more. Each day you'll be surrounded by the forested beauty of
the majestic St. Lawrence; and you'll be fascinated during those times
your ship negotiates the seaway and its locks. Add in the delicious
meals, nightly entertainment, and lots of on- and off-board
activities, and when Day #7 dawns, you won't want to disembark. Until,
that is, you sail past Montmorency Falls and spot Quebec City shining
atop a distant hill.
Bahamas:
Want to stay in the same suite where such
luminaries as
Oprah Winfrey,
Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Michael Jackson have also lain their
weary heads? One small problem: it ain't cheap. At $25,000 per night—and
you've got to stay a minimum four nights—Atlantis’s
Bridge Suite is right up there with the world's most expensive hotel
rooms. Wondering what you get? A ten-room suite with high ceilings and a
great view, hand-painted linens, a butler, a cook, and separate master
bathrooms.
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British Virgin
Islands:
Retreat to privately-owned Guana Island, poised between the
Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea with 850 acres of undisturbed natural
beauty. The owners bill this place as "the Caribbean the way it used to
be," and you can't help but agree: seven white powdery sand beaches,
tropical forests, mountains, turquoise-blue water, no marina, no public
facilities, no more than 30 guests at a time...what a setting for your
honeymoon bliss. Rates for rooms, the beach cottage, and private villas
are quite pricey, as you'd expect; they include all meals, sports
equipment, laundry service, and other perks. You can actually rent the
entire island, sharing it with 30 or so of your nearest and dearest.
Weddings are easily arranged, and honeymoon packages ease the blow...a
bit.
Curaçao: Spend
your honeymoon in Hotel Kura Hulanda’s
Indian
Bridal Suite, where all furniture is made of sterling silver hammered
out by hand—and that includes the draped, four-poster, king-sized bed. The suite offers all the luxurious touches you’d expect,
including a marble jacuzzi. Rates are hefty (averaging $1050 per night),
but you’d probably opt for the Silver Knot Honeymoon Package: 5 nights in
the silvered suite, limo transfer to and from the airport, Spa massage for
2, candlelight dinner, and various other amenties. Cost, depending on the
season: $5600-6000.
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Turks &
Caicos: Hire a local fisherman to drop you off on a deserted
cay in the
morning and pick you up at the end of the day. In those in-between
hours, play at being shipwreck survivors washed up on your own
tropical island. As the only residents, you’re free to construct a
lasting honeymoon legend: run naked through the palm trees, swim in
the altogether with the porpoises, dine nude beneath flowered trees on
the picnic prepared by your hotel. Don't forget that camera...
U.
S. Virgin Islands:
The U. S. Virgin Islands (and
its neighbor, the British Virgin Islands) are famed for fabulous,
smooth sailing. That's why the area is an easy place to charter a
fully-crewed yacht (always a captain, often a cook as well, and more
crew if you're opting for a big and expensive boat). You work out the
itinerary with the captain, decide how you want the galley stocked,
and then just relax as you glide across the sea with halyards clinking
and the mainsail filled with wind. You'll anchor in out-of-the-way
coves or lively harbor towns, sleep in a comfy cabin, thrive in the
sun and salt air. This kind of trip is a dream, really—one you'll
always remember. BTW, if you already know how to sail, bareboat
charters are easily available.
Amalfi Coast
(Ischia):
Rent
one of
three light-filled luxury apartments available in 1400s Castello
Aragonese, perched high above the sea on the island of Ischia. The
Minore and Maggiore apartments—each with a bedroom, living room,
kitchen, bathroom, and sea views—are perfect for two (the spacious
third apartment, Campanile, is suitable for four). All three apartments
are located at a distance from each other, guaranteeing absolute
privacy. You'll reside within the castle walls, falling asleep to the
sound of waves and awakening to the careening calls of seagulls. Rates
are by the week.
London:If
you're up for
old-style opulence and sophisticated living, camp out in the
Infinity Suite at the Five-Star Langham London. The most expensive
accommodation in all of Britain, the Suite comes with its own car and
driver, a colossal Sharon Marston fibre-optic chandelier, and an
overflowing Infinity Bath. When it was built in 1865, the Langham was
considered the first Grand Hotel in Europe, and for quite a while it was
the haunt of the continent's royalty, along with celebrities like Mark
Twain, Arturo Toscanini, and Oscar Wilde. In other words, that place was
hot! But over time the hotel lost its luster and came close to being
demolished in the 1980s. Thankfully, a new owner came along and
refurbished the hotel's excellent bones (at staggering cost). Among the
many delights you'll get to experience while staying in the Infinity
Suite is the Landau, considered one of London's top restaurants; it's a
place of soft, brushed gilt panelling, timber floors, antique brass
chandeliers and Chinoiserie silk screens, and it also sports an
award-winning chef. Within walking distance: Regent's Park, the British
Museum, the National Gallery, Royal Albert Hall, and West End theatres.
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Paris:
Take
yourselves off for an unforgettable dining experience at one of the city's
outrageously expensive three-star restaurants, where the food, ambiance,
and service are as perfect as they could possibly be (that's why they have
three stars). The price for a three-star meal in Paris is quite high; with
wine, it's not unusual to pay $500 per person. Restaurants that currently
sport those magic three stars are: Arpege, Astrance, Grand Vefour, Guy Savoy, l'Ambroisie, Ledoyen, Meurice
(pictured here),
Pierre Gagnaire, Plaza Athenée (Ducasse), and Pre Catalan.
~ Another idea:
Many people prefer dining at less expensive one- or two-star destinations,
where chefs pull out all the stops in pursuit of another star.
Tahiti: Spend your honeymoon in one of the tantalizing
over-water bungalows these islands are known for. Designed in the style
of traditional island houses, you'll find them at
upscale resorts like the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort, Hotel Bora Bora Pearl
Beach Resort, Le Meridien Bora Bora, Hotel Kia Ora Village (Rangiroa),
Hotel Te Tiare Beach Resort (Huahine), Sheraton Moorea, Raiatea Hawaiki
Nui Hotel, and many more. The bungalows stand on stilts in the hotel's
lagoon, making it easy for you to step outside and into the water (or
watch the sun set). Super-romantic, these bungalows weigh in at a heftier
price than the average hotel room.
.jpg)
Alaska: A scenic
airplane tour—on a
bush
plane equipped with wheels, floats, or skis—is the quintessential
Alaskan adventure. These workhorses of the Alaskan tundra bring you into
some of the world's wildest, most remote, and most beautiful
places...effortlessly. They afford endless vistas of Alaska's magnificent
landscape, offering views and experiences you can't get any other way.
Land on a glacier. Fy to a remote luxury lodge on the edge of a pristine
lake. Circle Mt. McKinley and take photos of the summit. Fly over the
Turnagain Arm to Prince William Sound where, if you're in a Float Plane,
you can land on the water. Take a bear-viewing flight over Katmai National
Park or Big River Lakes. There are so many possibilities with a plane,
really. Many flight operators are ready to escort you, and you can either
take a packaged tour or design one of your own in conjunction with the
pilot.
Hawaii:
Harness those trade winds for the trip of your lives! Cruise Oahu (and
other Hawaiian islands while you're at it). And do it with panache, far
from the world's hurly-burly, aboard your own crewed yacht. The blue sea,
the blue sky, the sight of dolphins, turtles, whales, and sea birds:
it's all yours for a half-day
snorkeling or diving excursion, or a two-day cruise along the coast,
or—if you go completely hog wild—a week-long tour all the islands.
You're the one plunking down the green, and that means you get to say
where you go and what you do. Besides, it's your honeymoon!
The Keys:
Sign on for a full-day, low-altitude seaplane sightseeing adventure. Get
prepared by asking your hotel to prepare a picnic lunch to bring along
(grab a bottle of wine or whatever you prefer). Also, be sure your camera
batteries are charged up—the scenery's so stunning that you'll be
exercising your shutter finger constantly.
You'll travel from the Upper Keys out to the Dry Tortugas, about 60
miles away, landing in the waters off
Fort Jefferson.
After a tour of this beautiful and ancient brick fortification, the
Captain will provide you with snorkeling gear. You'll have time for sun,
snorkeling, swimming, and the picnic before the flight back.
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All written material ©WGH ~ Photos: Fiji
Islands Visitors Bureau Americas (couple dining on dock); the Meurice
Hotel (Paris dining); Island Yacht Charters (USVI sailboat); Tom Gideon
(Bush Plane,
CC License)
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