I’ve booked several holidays for Lucy’s parents, so was thrilled to be contacted by her and fiancé Grant last summer when they were looking for help with their honeymoon plans.
With travel at the time still unpredictable, they were understandably apprehensive about booking for February 2022, but I reassured them that I’d always be there to sort out any issues that may arise.
Everything went to plan, and I was thrilled when they jetted off to Mexico for their special 10-night honeymoon. Over to the bridegroom...
Amanda came highly recommended by Lucy’s family, and she was outstanding throughout the entire process.
From the moment we first spoke about the honeymoon and expressed our concerns about traveling in “Covid times” she gave us confidence, providing clear information and reassurance, regular updates, quick responses, and nothing was ever too much trouble.
We set off for Riviera Maya shortly after our wedding in February, flying direct from Gatwick to Mexico where a professional driver and a stylish SUV with drinks onboard were waiting at the airport to deliver us to the El Dorado Seaside Suites by Karisma Hotels.
This was our first time staying at one of these resorts and it was the most perfect place to spend our honeymoon.
Everything we could have wanted was provided; the super friendly and hardworking staff were fantastic, from the maids who cleaned our room daily leaving rose petals on the bed to the 24-hour room service team who always had a smile when bringing us food whatever time of the day or night. The delivered breakfast and late-night snacks were magnificent.
All the suites are swim-out even the upper floors, but we totally loved having a ground-floor room with the swim-up pool bar. It may not be suited to everyone because it was more of a 'party pool' during the day but we thoroughly enjoyed that too and when some quiet time was preferred, we went to the Bali beds or sun loungers on the beach, where we also enjoyed spending time on the beautiful white sand.
We loved taking part in the great mix of daily activities organised by the events team, which included a fun cocktail-making session.
Every restaurant we visited in the resort was sublime, with the Asian restaurant particularly amazing. Food was plentiful and the bars offered most spirits not just local ones.
Our romantic candlelit dinner on the beach was delicious and memorable. Watching the sunset at our private table with a gorgeous view across the ocean was a wonderful gift from friends.
Amanda had set up a wedding gift list so friends could kindly contribute towards honeymoon extras which worked out well and meant we could do considerably more than expected. These included three fantastic small group excursions with fellow guests that we had investigated beforehand.
The catamaran boat that we ventured out on a snorkelling trip with five others was huge, giving us all lots of space. Not being the strongest of swimmers, I was a little apprehensive, but the knowledgeable guides were great, giving plenty of attention and support whilst still ensuring the others in the group had a good time. The water was crystal clear, and we saw some amazing things swimming around.
It was similar for the swimming with turtles trip where our small group was taken into a cove with our private guide who made sure we were in the right place to see the amazing turtles.
The exciting Xplor trip included an adventure on extremely high zip wires through the treetops and canopy, and underground water experiences. We purchased the obligatory photo package there which includes images taken from the microchip in your protective headgear.
Each of the excursions was well organised and great fun and we always felt safe and looked after.
After a hectic build-up to the wedding and celebrations, it was brilliant to be able to completely switch off and spend relaxing time with my wife knowing everything was taken care of.
We are very grateful to Amanda for all her hard work, warmness and reliability to make sure everything went smoothly for us to have the best time.
The honeymoon was perfect, and we are super excited about our forthcoming autumn trip to the US that Amanda has expertly organised.
Grant
