Hotels We’ve Stayed In :-)

These are some of the fabulous Hotels we were lucky enough spend time in.

**If you would like to skip to any particular area please click on the links below.

Amsterdam, NetherlandsAmstel Hotel – April 8-12, 2013

Andasibe, MadagascarVakona Forest Lodge – June 15th – 16th, 2016

Anguilla, CaribbeanBelmond Cap JulucaApril 23, 2017

Asheville, North CarolinaOmni Grove Park Inn – October 23, 2020 

Athens, GreeceHotel Grand Bretagne – August 10th – 13th, 2005,
                                                                                      November 3, 2011,
                                                                                      July 12, 2018

Atlanta, GAWaldorf Astoria – November 2, 2019 – November 5, 2019 

Austin, TexasFour Seasons – May 17, 2021 – May 18, 2021

Baltimore, MarylandFour Seasons – October 14, 2020 – October 15, 2020

Bangkok, ThailandMandarin Oriental – March 30th & 31st, 2014

Bora Bora, French PolynesiaFour Seasons – January 21, 2015

Boston, MAXV Beacon – October 11, 2019 

Big Island, HawaiiHilton Hotel – February 28 – March 2, 2017

Charleston, South CarolinaBelmond Charleston PlaceOctober 26, 2020

Charlottesville, VirginiaAlbermarle Estate at Trump Winery – October 15, 2020 

Chicago, ILPeninsula Hotel – August 30, 2017 – September 1, 2017
                            Trump Hotel – March 21, 2019 – March 23, 2019

Cape Neddick, MaineCliff House – August 2, 2020 – August 5, 2020

Cincinnati, OhioNetherland Plaza Hotel – April 28, 2019 

Dallas, TexasThe Joule – May 15, 2021 – May 17, 2021

D.C. – District of ColumbiaTrump International Hotel– June 8, 2021

Des Moines, IowaEmbassy Suites – August 23rd – 24th, 2017

Dubai, UAERaffles – November 22, 2011
                            Medinat Jumeirah – September 2, 2019 – September 4, 2019
                            Burj Khalifa-Armani-September 4, 2019-September 6, 2019  
                            Burj Al Arab – September 7, 2019

Eze, FranceLa Chevre D’Or – May 27, 2019 – May 29, 2019

Florence, ItalyFour Seasons – February 2011

Grand Anse Mahe, SeychellesHilton Northolme – June 18th – 22nd, 2016

Grand Rapids, MichiganAmway Grand Rapids Hotel – April 26, 2019

Honolulu, HawaiiRitz Carlton Residences June 14, 2022 – June 18, 2022

Hot Springs, VirginiaOmni Homestead October 17, 2020 – Oct 19, 2020 

Huntington, NYOheka Castle – September 2018 

Jerusalem, IsraelWaldorf Astoria – July 15, 2018

Johannesburg, South AfricaIntercontinental – September 20, 2019 

Kahuku, HawaiiTurtle Bay ResortJune 18, 2022 – June 20, 2022

Ko ‘Olina – HawaiiDisney Aulani – September 13, 2018 – Sept. 20, 2018
September  14th – 21st, 2013
September 7th – 14th, 2014                                                                                                    September 23rd – October 1st, 2016                                                                                    February 23rd – February 28th, 2017

Kruger National Park/South Africa – April 2009

Livingstone, ZambiaRoyal Chundu – June 7th – 13th, 2016

Maui, HawaiiWestin Hotel – March 3rd – 7th, 2017

Milwaukee, WisconsinHilton Hotel – August 28, 2017

Montauk, New YorkGurney’s Star Island – October 9, 2020 – Oct 10, 2020

Monte Carlo, Monaco Hotel De Paris May 23, 2019 – May 27, 2019

Nairobi, KenyaGiraffe Manor – September 8, 2019 
                                    Angama Mara – September 9, 2019 – September 13, 2019  
                                    Salas Camp – September 13, 2019 – September 16, 2019   

Nashville, TennesseeHermitage Hotel – May 24, 2017 – May 25, 2017

New Orleans, LARitz Carlton – October 28, 2019 – October 31, 2019 

Newport, RICastle Hill – October 9, 2019 
                              The Chanler @ Cliff Walk – October 10, 2019

Orlando, FloridaRitz Carlton – August 25, 2022 – August 27, 2022

Oceania Cruises Suites

Palm Beach, FloridaThe BreakersSeptember 22, 2013, October 25, 2015
                                               Mar-A-Lago – Members since 2021 

Papeete, French Polynesia – January 24, 2015

Park City, UtahSt. Regis – September 27, 2016 – September 28, 2016

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania –  Ritz CarltonAugust 8, 2019 – Aug. 10, 2019

Rome, ItalyWestin Excelsior Hotel – February 7th – 20th, 2011
                             Ritz Carlton -August 18th – 21st, 2012
                             Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri – August 23, 2018
                             Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri – June 2, 2019 – June 4, 2019

San Diego, CalifoniaThe US Grant – September 20, 2022 – September 23, 2022

Sedona, AZEnchantment Hotel – September 27- 29, 2010

St. George, UtahThe Inn at Entrada – August 27, 2013 – August 29, 2013

Venice, ItalyLuna BaglioniFebruary 3rd – 5th, 2011

Waikiki, HawaiiTrump International Hotel – June 20, 2022

Walland, Tennessee Blackberry Mountain – Oct. 21, 2020 – Oct. 23, 2020

White Sulphur Springs, VirginiaThe Greenbrier – Oct. 18, 2020 

Zakynthos, GreeceLe Sante Blu – July 7, 2018 – July 11, 2018

Zambia, AfricaRoyal Chundu – September 17, 2019 – September 20, 2019 

 

Zakynthos, Greece

July 7, 2018 – July 11, 2018

Before boarding the ship we decided to visit Zakynthos. We stayed in Lesante Blu Hotel which was beyond amazing. We had a private pool and we got a chance to relax before the cruise.

Follow us on our cruise which started in Athens, Greece.

If you want to see pictures of the food we ate while in Zakynthos, Greece 

The name of our hotel room.
Lesante Blu Hotel

John
Maria & John

Turtle Island is Yummy….

Maria & John
Maria
John
Maria & John

Maria

Kalo Nero, Kyparissia, Messinia, Greece

July 5, 2018 – July 7, 2018 

Today we visited my family who I haven’t seen in 14 years. I was very excited because they were going to meet John as well.

The next day we visited the Temple of Hephaestus. It was really hot so we cut our tour short.

After a few days, we drove to the port to catch the ferry to Zakynthos, Greece.

Follow us on our journey the next destination is Zakynthos, Greece.

Follow our cruise which started in Athens, Greece.

Maria & John

My Family
Maria & Aunt Eugenia
My uncles homemade wine
The old train station we used to use.

Temple of Hephaestus

Bacchus, Greece

Corfu, Greece

August 9, 2018

Today John and I rented a car and drove to Achilleion Palace which was built during the years 1889-1891 by the Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary Elisabeth. after visiting the Palace we drove back to the port to pick up our friend Evan. We then drove to Paleokastritsa and had lunch and a few drinks and then drove back to the ship.

Follow us on our journey the next destination is Kotor, Montenegro.

Achilleion Palace

Russian oligarchs Yacht 

Paleokastritsa Beach

John & Maria

Maria
Maria & Evan

Rhodes, Greece

July 24, 2018

Today we met a friendly taxi driver named Michael (his business card is down below) who took us around the beautiful island of Rhodes.  Michael took us to a beautiful place to have lunch in Haraki Bay then we drove to around to a few different beaches.

The best one we saw was called Anthony Quinn Bay. If we had a chance, we would’ve spent a few hours there.  After a brief stop, we then drove to the old town where he dropped us off in one spot, and we walked through this fantastic place and met him at the main square where he picked us up to continue our tour.

Our last stop before heading back to the ship was this ceramic shop where they handmade and handpainted pottery. There’s a video of a man making something down below.

Follow us on our journey the next destination is Valletta, Malta.

If you would like to see what we ate while in Rhodes.

D’Amboise Gate

The Church of Annunciation

Mykonos, Greece

July 25, 2018 

Today John and I rented a car and drove around the island we saw the nicest homes which were located on a secluded part of the island. There was only one way in and one way out which was pretty neat.  We also visited some of the cool beaches that I have heard about for many years.

Some of the beaches we saw were Ornos beach, Psarou beach, Gialos beach, Paradise beach, Elia beach, Kalo Livadi beach also visited Ano Mera village and just walked around a bit. After about 3 hours of sightseeing, we returned the car and had lunch on the ship.

Follow us on our journey the next destination is Rhodes, Greece.

Santorini, Greece

July 21, 2018

Today we took the tender boat to the cable car ride which takes you to the top of the mountain where you can walk around the town.  We decided to rent a car from Hertz and drove to Oia.

While we were there, we walked around for about an hour and then drove to Perissa which is where the famous black sand beach is. We had a lovely lunch at a place called Perigos the food was delicious. After that, we drove back to Fira (Thira) and returned the rental car walked around town a little bit and then took the cable car back down to the tender boat to get back on the ship.

July 23, 2018 – Second Visit to Santorini

Today we walked around Santorini with our good friends Nano and Mariya, and since we had already rented a car and driven around the island, we decided to stay back and find a nice spot with a great view and have a cup of coffee and a glass of wine and beer.  We walked with Nano and Mariya to the rental car place, and they rented a car and drove around the island.

We found a great spot overlooking the beautiful water hung out for about an hour and then went back to the ship.

Follow us on our journey the next destination is Mykonos, Greece.

If you would like to see what we drank while in Santorini, Greece.

Patmos, Greece

July 20, 2018

Today we took the tender to the port, and we rented a taxi, and the first stop was the Cave of the Apocalypse where St. John wrote the Book of Revelation.

Afterward, he drove us up to the Monastery of St. John and we walked around a bit and then we went back to the ship had lunch.

After lunch, we decided to take another cab to a little town called Kambos to have a glass of wine by the beach.  Afterward, we met up with Samantha, Evan, and Frederic in town and had some coffee with them and then took the tender back to the ship.

Follow us on our journey the next destination is Santorini, Greece.

If you would like to see what we drank in Patmos, Greece.

Image result for monastery of st. john patmos
Photo credit:http://www.monastiria.gr/monasteries/st-john-the-theologians-monastery-in-patmos/?lang=en

Wine with a view