I was contacted by Pete in pre-Covid times, back in January 2020, seeking assistance to organise a memorable family experience over Christmas that year.
It had been a long time coming but they finally made it a couple of years later and it was fantastic to hear the story...
After a two-year pandemic-enforced delay and a huge amount of patience and hard work from the fantastic Amanda, our long-awaited special holiday finally arrived, and it was so worth the wait!
Our family of six adults and two children, ages 7 and 11, made our way from Solihull to Heathrow for the American Airlines/ British Airways flight to Orlando and a Christmas adventure to Florida and the Caribbean.
Arriving at Disney’s Caribbean Beach resort at 2 am for a 5-night stay, we were greeted by extremely friendly and welcoming staff, who expertly and efficiently organised check-in and our Disney Apps for room keys and park passes.
The allocated Family room was in a separate building from our other rooms and was quickly reorganised for us all to be in the same block.
The Market Place restaurant set-up had a simple menu and self-service style, with food collected from the counter when ‘buzzed’ and catered for breakfast needs, as well as offering pizza ‘take-out’ style which we enjoyed on one of the evenings.
The hotel is relatively simple, probably ready for some modernisation to rooms, but clean and convenient for the Disney Parks, particularly Epcot and the Hollywood Studios. It is also a station for the Disney Skyliner where gondolas transport guests to and from the parks.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here; it’s a good location and we would stay again.
From here we moved to the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal, Orlando, for three nights over Christmas, which met all the expectations of its 5-star status.
Rooms are large, modern and spotlessly clean. The bar and restaurants were excellent, all providing a high standard of service.
We attended The Kitchen for an exceptional Christmas Day brunch; The Palm restaurant was fantastic; and the Velvet Bar was also lovely and had live music on daily.
The parks and rides were brilliant and more than lived up to their reputation. There is a frequent ferry boat service directly from the hotel and the included express passes were a huge bonus and conveniently helped skip queues during our days!
After the bustle and liveliness of the parks, we flew to the Caribbean, via Miami, to the gorgeous “Isle of Spice”, Grenada, for a considerably slower-paced finale to the holiday.
The Kalinago Beach Resort is not a 5-star ‘Sandals’ style resort but a genuine authentic Grenadian hotel with fabulous local staff, excellent food, and ideal for families.
Rooms are a little dated but clean and the hotel’s location in a quiet sheltered bay on Mourne Rouge Beach has the feel of a private beach despite its proximity to the busier Grand Anse and the town of St Georges.
It was exactly what we were after - a laid-back piece of paradise with white sand beaches and deep blue seas.
Thanks to Amanda for her brilliant work in creating a once-in-a-lifetime family Christmas holiday that exceeded all expectations, tailored perfectly to suit all needs and our requests.
"The last words go to the girls who couldn’t have summed it up any better:
Best holiday of my life!
Disney and Universal Studios were brilliant!
Grenada beaches were beautiful, peaceful and relaxing and the views were amazing! Everyone was so friendly there."
Freya, age 11
"I loved all the big rides; Disney was so magical!
The sea and swimming pool were brilliant in Grenada.
It was the best holiday ever!"
Heidi, age 7
